Sunshine state

Chris Rainey and the top-ranked Gators blew past FIU on Saturday. Check out all the best college action.

Nowhere to go

No bowl, New Year's or otherwise. Jon Paul Morosi says Michigan fans must face the sad reality of a season-ending loss to Ohio State.

Identity crisis

Before Notre Dame deals with Charlie Weis, it needs to figure out just what kind of program it wants to be, Don Borst says.

Byu Notes, Quotes

by Sports Xchange

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Updated: November 23, 2009, 12:41 AM EST

--BYU said it didn't do anything specific to get the ball to talented TE Dennis Pitta, who nonetheless had his biggest game of the year: "It's nice from a personal standpoint to have a great game," Pitta said. "It's nice to get the win as well. We always seem to do well against Air Force over the middle. It's nice to have a game where the defense wasn't paying so much attention to me."

Pitta caught nine passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. It beat his previous season-best of eight in the season-opener against Oklahoma. He had caught seven passes total in the previous two games, and it was the first time this year he's had more than 100 yards.

--Air Force was the best team in the Mountain West, and third nationally, in turnover margin. BYU hounded the Falcons, however, into four turnovers.

"We knew coming into the game that they were plus-18 in turnover margin. That's how they win ballgames," safety Andrew Rich said after making a pair of interceptions.

"They play really good defense and they don't turn the ball over. We knew that we had to force turnovers and give our offense chances because they have a good defense. Fortunately, we were able to get our helmets on some balls and some interceptions. It was a big momentum swing when we got turnovers."

--Senior QB Max Hall passed former Heisman trophy winner Ty Detmer for the most wins in school history, 30. Hall's career has seen its share of ups and downs, great wins and tough losses, and he received a lot of criticism (nothing new for a quarterback in Provo).

"I'm glad Max is our quarterback," coach Bronco Mendenhall said of the three-year starter. "What's he accomplished hasn't been easy. I hope he is appreciated more when he's gone, but right now I think he's doing an amazing job."

GAME BALL GOES TO: S Andrew Rich -- He had a pair of interceptions and also forced a fumble. He was back to the hard-hitting player who set the tone in the season-opening win against then-No. 3 Oklahoma (back when OU quarterback Sam Bradford was playing).

KEEP AN EYE ON: How the Cougars handle "Utah week" -- There actually isn't as much on the line compared to previous years -- no BCS bid, or even a league title because of TCU's dominance -- but it's always an interesting time as players and coaches usually know each other quite well and there's such community (and church) involvement leading up to the big game. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall told his players specifically not to talk about the Utes immediately after the Air Force win, and he'll definitely be hoping they don't say much leading up to it.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We limited big plays and made (Air Force) drive the ball on us. Everyone just played hard all around. When the offense plays well and puts up points against a team like Air Force that has to run the ball, it puts them in situations they're not comfortable with. Credit to our offense for putting points up early." -- BYU safety Andrew Rich, who paved the way for the offense with two interceptions, a forced fumble, seven tackles and a pass break-up.

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