SAN DIEGO -- Near the end of 19th-ranked BYU's 48-27 victory over San Diego State on Saturday, guard Travis Bright and defensive tackle Rick Wolfley snuck up on a coach for the celebratory Gatorade bath.

Look out, Bronco Mendenhallfi

Nope. For this game, the head coach was safe. The target was offensive line coach Mark Weber.

Good call. The BYU offensive line was devastating, plowing the road for a season-high 311 yards in the Cougars' ninth straight win. The victory also completed BYU's second straight undefeated Mountain West Conference slate.

On a night when the BYU defense struggled to contain Aztec quarterback Kevin O'Connell, Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna saw nothing but huge holes every times they took a handoff.

"It was like Moses parting the Red Sea," said Unga, who rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

"The holes were so big an elephant could have gone through," said Vakapuna, who added a season-high 97 yards and another score.

As he left the field soaked in blue Gatorade, Weber said his charges "exerted their will on every play." Center Sete Aulai agreed.

"When we saw we could run it seven or 10 yards a play, we said 'heck ya,' " Aulai said. "We were executing and on the same page all night."

It started early as BYU (10-2 overall, 8-0 MWC) scored on its first possession. Unga had runs of 10 and 13, then capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown reception. The Cougars scored on all but three of 10 drives in the game. There was one punt, one interception on a tipped pass and the final drive which ended with backup quarterback Brenden Gaskins taking a knee in Aztec territory.

"Right off on the first drive, I saw how easy it was for us to go down and score," said BYU quarterback Max Hall, who was 19-of-26 for 227 yards and three touchdowns. "We felt like every time we got ball we should be able to go down and score. Every time we'd run we'd get 10 yards, so we kept doing it."

While the Cougars were doing pretty much whatever they wanted offensively, O'Connell was dazzling the BYU defense. The senior did everything but fly the Coast Guard helicopters that buzzed the stadium before the game. He finished 33-of-55 for 288 yards and a touchdown and ran for 61 yards and two more scores. O'Connell personally accounted for 349 of SDSU's 356 total yards.

"He was just as we thought he'd be," Mendenhall said. "He did a great job of creating and making plays all over the field."

Even with O'Connell's fantastic play, the Aztecs could never catch BYU. Lynell Hamilton nabbed a 3-yard scoring pass from O'Connell to close the gap to 27-20 with 6:49 to play in the third, but the Cougars put the game away with two long scoring drives. Unga and Vakapuna combined on 10 carries for 68 yards on the first, which ended in Unga's fourth touchdown of the game. Now down two touchdowns, San Diego State dug in against the run but BYU turned to play action. Hall was 4-for-4 for 65 yards on the next drive, which culminated on Vakapuna's 1-yard scoring run. Now BYU led 41-20 with most of the fourth quarter left to play.

BYU fans may have been switching channels on Saturday night to see who else was winning games and how it might affect the Cougars postseason destination. Mendenhall said his team was ready for whatever plays out today.

"From an overall perspective, I feel we're ready and capable to play whomever we'll be matched up with," he said. "Our program is ready for another measuring stick and we want to play the very best team possible.

"As far as the BCS, I've learned a lot about scheduling. It appears now through 2010 it makes sense to schedule down in the non-conference, if the number of wins is rewarded, not strength of schedule. This season, we've done everything we can do."

On Saturday, BYU senior linebacker Bryan Kehl and his teammates were all about celebrating another undefeated MWC season.

"The Cougars are on top, we're king of mountain," Kehl said. "It's going to take a really big push to get us off."

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com