Punt return sparks No. 12 Horned Frogs in win over Rams

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jeremy Kerley came to a near stop after tiptoeing the sideline. Then Texas Christian's electrifying punt returner backtracked a couple of steps, curled into an open gap and sprinted into the end zone.

"That play happened at a perfect time," quarterback Andy Dalton said after the 12th-ranked Horned Frogs beat Colorado State 44-6 on Saturday to remain undefeated halfway through what they hope is their BCS-busting season.

Kerley's 69-yard return, his second for a touchdown in three games, made it 17-6 just before halftime and came less than 21/2 minutes after TCU (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) finally took the lead on Joseph Turner's 2-yard touchdown run.

"He's a pretty amazing dude," coach Gary Patterson said. "It's always fun to get the ball in his hands."

TCU had gone 89 games without returning a punt for a score -- since the 2002 season opener -- until Kerley's 71-yarder just before halftime two weeks ago against Southern Methodist put the Frogs ahead to stay in their last home game.

This time, Kerley fielded the punt and sprinted down the right sideline in front of Patterson and the TCU bench. He was almost pushed out of bounds near the 25, but kept his balance and then avoided another defender before suddenly putting on the brakes near the 15 before his final move to score with 49 seconds left in the half.

"Walk the tight line, that's all I could think about," Kerley said.

"I watched the whole play from when he caught it, until he made six guys miss and scored," defensive end Jerry Hughes said. "It lit a fire under everybody."

Colorado State punted after being pushed back by Hughes' seventh sack of the season. Hughes, the national leader with 15 last season, later added his eighth.

The Frogs seized the momentum, scoring touchdowns on their first four drives after halftime. Dalton threw two touchdown passes, ran twice for 28 yards to set up Antoine Hicks' 3-yard TD run, and Luke Shivers scored on a 4-yard run.

Colorado State (3-4, 0-3) lost its fourth straight game despite taking a 6-0 lead on field goals by Ben DeLine its first two drives, the second after a TCU fumble.

"They outclassed us and outplayed us in every way, shape and form," Rams coach Steve Fairchild said. "We didn't play well enough to even give them a game."

Boise State is the only non-BCS team ranked higher in the polls than the Frogs, whose convincing victory came three days after the fifth-ranked Broncos held on to win 28-21 at Tulsa and before TCU plays at Brigham Young next weekend.

• No. 18 BYU 38, San Diego State 28 -- At San Diego, Max Hall threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score to lead the Cougars past the Aztecs for the 500th victory in school history.

BYU (6-1, 3-0) beat SDSU (2-4, 0-2) for the eighth time in the last nine games.

The Aztecs' Ryan Lindley also threw three touchdown passes. SDSU kept pace with BYU into the third quarter, tying it at 21 before the Cougars' massive offensive line wore down the Aztecs, allowing Hall to throw two touchdown passes in less than four minutes.

Running an effective no-huddle offense, Hall was 27 of 39 for his fifth 300-yard game of the season. Lindley was 21 of 33 for 298 yards.

• Air Force 10, Wyoming 0 -- At Air Force Academy, Colo., Connor Dietz came off the bench in the second half to spark the Air Force offense and Jared Tew scored a 17-yard touchdown to lead the Falcons past the Cowboys.

Air Force (4-3, 3-1) has now won four straight over the Cowboys (4-3, 2-1), whose three-game winning streak ended.

Tew led Air Force's rushing attack, finishing with 105 yards.