Brigham Young Keeps Redmond and Arizona State in Check, 26-6

Sophomore tailback Ronney Jenkins had a career-high 171 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards and a touchdown as Brigham Young defeated No. 14-ranked Arizona State, 26-6, on Saturday at Provo, Utah.

BYU (1-1) defeated Arizona State (0-2) for the second consecutive season, with the Cougars winning, 13-10, last year in Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State’s J.R. Redmond, who had 254 all-purpose yards last week in a 42-38 loss to Washington, had only 62 all-purpose yards against BYU, including 28 in 16 carries. He also fumbled deep in Arizona State territory with 1:16 remaining in the first half, allowing BYU to get a field goal and take a 16-0 halftime lead.

Jenkins, from Oxnard Hueneme High, had 773 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in 1996, then was suspended last season because of a BYU honor code violation. Leg cramps limited his performance--six carries for 11 yards--in a 38-31 loss to Alabama last week.

No. 4 Nebraska 24, California 3--With starter Bobby Newcombe sidelined a second consecutive week because of a knee injury, reserve quarterbacks Eric Crouch and Monte Christo played well enough at Berkeley for the Cornhuskers (3-0) to increase their win streak to 17 games.

Crouch had 16 carries for 59 yards and for two touchdowns while Monte Christo was the more effective passer in going nine of 12 for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Nebraska had six sacks and two interceptions in the final three minutes.

No. 21 Arizona 31, Stanford 14--Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins again shared the quarterback duties for Wildcats (2-0) at Palo Alto, with both throwing for a touchdown while combining for 288 passing yards in the Pacific 10 opener for both teams.

Jenkins, who was eight-of-14 passing for 158 yards, entered the game early in the second quarter with Stanford (0-2) ahead 7-0, and led Arizona to 24 unanswered points.

Smith was eight of 14 for 130 yards.

Arizona had a 223-60 advantage in rushing yards. Trung Canidate, coming back from a stress fracture in his right foot, had 110 yards in 21 carries.

No. 24 Oregon 33, Texas El Paso 26--Backup tailback Herman Ho-Ching had three fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Ducks (2-0) at El Paso, Texas.

Ho-Ching, a freshman, had 117 yards in 13 carries, running for touchdowns of three and 31 yards while getting another on a 50-yard play on a screen pass.

Until the 21-point fourth quarter, the Ducks had only four field goals.

Oregon had 477 total yards to UTEP’s 426, but the Miners (0-2) effectively rushed quarterback Akili Smith and held starting tailback Reuben Droughns to 19 yards in nine carries. Smith was 17 of 33 for 295 yards with one interception.

UTEP’s Paul Smith had 155 yards and one touchdown in 19 carries for UTEP.

Washington State 33, Boise State 21--The Cougars (2-0) scored 27 second-half points and took advantage of six Bronco turnovers at Boise, Idaho.

Washington State was behind, 14-6, to Boise State (1-1) in the third quarter when quarterback Steve Birnbaum finally got going and led the Cougars to five scores. He was 18-of-34 passing for 174 yards and no interceptions.

Washington State also got an 88-yard kickoff return for touchdown from Dee Moronkola.