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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- John Beck passed for 464 yards and four touchdowns, Curtis Brown became the leading rusher in Brigham Young history and the No. 23 Cougars clinched the Mountain West Conference championship by beating New Mexico 42-17 Saturday.
The Cougars (9-2, 7-0) won their eighth in a row and locked up the MWC title -- BYU's first league championship since 2001. BYU can complete a perfect conference season by winning at rival Utah next week.
Beck completed 28 of 42 passes with two interceptions and became the second Cougar to pass for 10,000 yards. Brown had 13 carries for 124 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and also caught a 9-yard touchdown.
Quincy Black returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown for New Mexico (5-6, 3-4), but the Lobos couldn't stop Beck and Brown in their final game at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Cougars finished with 653 yards of offense and punted only once while finishing a perfect home season.
After stopping New Mexico on an incomplete pass in the end zone, the Cougars let the clock run out, but had to wait a few minutes for security to clear the field so coach Bronco Mendenhall and his Cougars could receive their first MWC championship trophy in five years as the remaining fans chanted "B-Y-U!"
The Cougars also accepted a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl during a boisterous celebration that included a recording of Elvis singing "Viva Las Vegas."
BYU hasn't trailed since a double-overtime loss at Boston College on Sept. 16. The Cougars kept that streak alive with two touchdowns in the first quarter, starting with Brown's 49-yard run just 2:07 into the game.
Brown needed 38 yards entering the game to tie Jamal Willis' school record of 2,970 yards, set from 1991-94. He had one rushing yard before breaking free up the middle and went untouched to the end zone.
The Cougars had 419 yards of offense in the first half alone and led 28-3 at halftime after forcing three turnovers.
New Mexico took just two plays to score on the first drive of the second half on a 35-yard pass from Chris Nelson to Travis Brown. Then after BYU drove deep into Lobo territory, Quincy Black intercepted a pass from Beck at the 12 and returned it for a touchdown that cut BYU's lead to 28-17 with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
Beck added a 4-yard touchdown pass to Matt Allen in the third quarter to put BYU ahead 35-17, then Beck kept the ball on a 1-yard dive for a touchdown with 4:53 left to play.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
