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Wednesday, November 8
White makes history against New Mexico State

By Mike Sorensen
Special to ESPN.com

For most of the season, Utah State running back Emmett White has been a well-kept secret in the low-profile Big West Conference.

Last Saturday night, however, the nation found out about White when he absolutely shattered the NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a game in leading the Aggies to a 44-37 win over New Mexico State.

	“	It's really neat to be a part of something like this. He had the best night of anybody in NCAA history -- what more can you say? ”
		— Utah State coach Mick Dennehy

White became college football's first 500-yard man as he picked up 578 yards rushing, receiving and kick returning. The junior running back amassed a school-record 322 yards rushing, caught seven passes for 134 yards and added 120 yards on four kickoff returns and two yards on a punt return.

White's big night smashed the old record of 435, set by Central Michigan's Brian Pruitt in 1994 by 143 yards.

"It's really neat to be a part of something like this," said Utah State coach Mick Dennehy. "He had the best night of anybody in NCAA history -- what more can you say?"

The soft-spoken White gave the credit to his offensive line, saying, "The O-line made it extremely easy for me. I knew it was going to be piled up a little, but I didn't think it was going to be that high at all."

Dennehy credited White's tenacity for wanting to play as much as possible for his accumulating so many yards.

"To be honest it would be nice to have a couple of other guys to give him a little rest," said Dennehy. "But he gets mad at you if you try to do that, because he wants to be out there."

White was only used as a return man last year when he was 10th in the nation in punt returns and 26th in kickoff returns because the Aggies had Demario Brown, who became USU's all-time leading rusher.

This year White said he didn't want to give up his return duties when he took over as the team's No. 1 running back. He made that clear back at the start of fall practice and his coaches, wanting to keep the best players on the field with their thin squad, listened.

"The guy never has a bad day, never has a bad practice," added Dennehy. "His second-effort is incredible. He's a great competitor and his attitude carries over to the whole team. He's just he's an incredible young man."

White extended his lead as the nation's No. 1 all-purppose runner to 65 yards over second-place Robert Kilow of Arkansas State. His 254.8-yard all-purpose average is on pace to be the second-best total in NCAA history behind none other than Barry Sanders, who averaged 295.5 for Oklahoma State in 1988.

White also moved up from No. 17 to No. 8 in the nation in rushing with a 132.2-yard average. He also ranks No. 13 in kickoff returns with a 25.7-yard average.

And remember, he's only a junior.

Around the Big West

Boise State
The Broncos have scored at least 31 points in every game this season and rank No. 7 in the nation in scoring with a 40.2 average. ... Bart Hendricks continues to lead the nation in "points responsible for" with a 20.4 average per game. ... Hendricks ranks 5th in the nation in both total offense and passing efficiency. ... Jeff Edwards leads the Big West in punting with a 42.1-yard average and also ranks 24th in the nation. ... Boise State leads the Big West in attendance with a 24,800 per game average and could get a sellout at 30,000-seat Bronco Stadium for Saturday's game with Utah State. ... The Broncos have won 11 straight home games. ... With Saturday's win at Arkansas State, the Broncos matched the school record for road wins with four. ... Placekicker Nick Calaycay has made the top 20 list for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's top placekicker. Calaycay ranks second in the Big West and 21st in the nation in field goals with 1.22 per game. He's made 11 of 12 field goals and 43 of 45 PATs this year . . . In 44 trips to the red zone this year, the Broncos have come away with 30 touchdowns and eight field goals. ... Over the past two seasons, Boise State is the 6th winningest program with a 17-5 mark, the same as Oregon and Florida. ... Boise State leads the all-time series with Saturday's opponent Utah State 5-4.

New Mexico State
Injuries took a toll in Saturday's Utah State game with several players going down. Senior Cornerback Jascon Willis broke his left ankle, while senior offensive lineman Trevis Beckworth sprained his right knee. Both will be out for the season. Also, senior free safety Donald Malloy received a concussion, while running back Chris Barnes injured his left shoulder. Both are expected to play this week. ... The Aggies have scored 30 points in six consecutive games, averaging 36.3 points per game. ... NMSU is averaging 267.1 yards per game, which is 8th best in the nation. ... Kenton Keith, who is still referred to as "Keith Kenton" in the official Big West Conference releases, had a career night with 177 yards rushing against Utah State, including a 50-yard TD run in the first half. ... Placekicking has been inconsistent all season and cost the Aggies against Utah State. Freshman Dario Aguiniga missed a PAT that would have given NMSU the lead with 55 seconds left and also missed a 38-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter.

Utah State
Along with all the other accomplishments Saturday, White became the first Aggie player to get 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game . . . White has been named USA Today Big West player of the week three of the past four weeks. The other week (Oct. 21) the honor went to USU quarterback Jose Fuentes. He was also named Big West offensive player of the week for the second straight week. ... Defensive tackle Nate Larsen injured his knee against New Mexico State and will miss the final two games against Boise State and Idaho State. ... USU has gained nearly as much yardage in the past three games (1,671 yards) as it did in the first six games (1,725) . . . Receiver Aaron Jones is 27th in the nation in receiving yards (770) and 30th in pass receptions with 50. ... Sophomore quarterback Jose Fuentes has moved up to No. 25 in total offense and has moved into the top 50 in passing efficiency at No. 48. ... Since beating Boise State in 1996, USU has lost twice on the blue turf -- in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl to Cincinnati 35-19 and 30-16 in 1998 when the Broncos scored 23 points in the final quarter.

Idaho
The Vandals dominated Big West player of the week honors as linebacker Chris Nofoaiga was named defensive player of the week, while placekicker Ben Davis was named special teams player of the week. Nofoaiga, last year's BWC Defensive Player of the Year, made 15 tackles, including 11 solo against North Texas, while Davis booted three field goals, including the game-winner from 21 yards out with four seconds left. ... Running back Willie Alderson has fallen behind Utah State's Emmett White in BWC rushing statistics, but his 113.0-yard average is second-best in the league and 19th-best in the nation. He also ranks 10th in the nation in all-purpose running. ... John Welsh is 6th in the nation in total offense and 15th in passing efficiency . . . Idaho ranks 10th in the country in both passing yards and total offense.

Arkansas State
Robert Kilow moved into second place in the nation in all-purpose yards behind Utah State's Emmett White with 189.2 per game. Kilow has also moved up to No. 3 in the nation with 7.6 catches per game and is 8th in receiving yards with 102.4 per game. ... After getting within 21-14 early in the third quarter against Boise State, the Indians allowed 21 straight points. ... Cleo Lemon completed 19 of 28 passes for 219 yards against Boise State. Jonathan Adams continues to have a fine season, rushing for 69 yards on 17 carries. ... Garrick Smith, a three-year starter on the offensive line, is expected to return to the lineup this week. ... Running back Danny Smith is still questionable for this week with a hamstring injury. Freshman offensive lineman Brandon Crocker will undergo shoulder surgery but should be ready for spring practice

North Texas
Freshman quarterback Scott Hall passed for a season-high 142 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown pass, and also ran for 20 yards and caught a pass for a first down. ... Tight end Randy Gardner caught three passes Saturday after getting two in the previous eight games. ... After a slow start this season, running back Ja'Quay Wilburn has played well lately with 292 yards the past two games. He now has 2,856 yards for his career and will likely become the first player in school history to lead the team in rushing four consecutive years. With two games left, he should reach 3,000 for his career. ... Junior linebacker Brad Kassell extended his streak of double-figure tackle games to six with 11 against Idaho and now has 91 for the season. ... The Mean Green rank second in the Big West in both scoring defense and total defense. ... Because of his ejection in the first half of Saturday's game against Idaho, linebacker Fred Pertile must miss the first half of the Arkansas State game. Starting in his place will be true freshman Taylor Casey, who has 19 tackles the past three games. ... Sophomore Ty Jackson is 2nd in the Big West in punt returns with a 10.1 average and UNT leads the league in punt returns. ... Kassell and Don McGee continue to lead the league in interceptions.

ALSO SEE
ACC notebook

Big East notebook

Northwestern still in the running for the Roses

Big 12 notebook

Mountain West notebook

Pac-10 notebook

WAC notebook

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