Austin Fort scored three touchdowns, the Wyoming defense forced seven turnovers and the Cowboys rolled over New Mexico 42-3 Saturday night in Laramie.

Wyoming (5-3, 3-1) led 7-0 after the opening quarter. Then the Pokes exploded for 35 points in the second and only gave up a fourth quarter field goal to the Lobos. The seven forced turnovers is a program record.

Josh Allen tied his career high with four touchdown passes and added a TD run in the Homecoming victory.

Fort caught passes of 4 and 11 yards for touchdowns and added a 2-yard run. Allen connected with John Okwoli on a 19-yard TD pass and hit a wide-open C.J. Johnson for a 38-yard score. All five came in the second quarter.

Carl Granderson’s interception and return of 37 yards put UW at the New Mexico 3-yard line. Two plays later Allen scored on a QB sneak for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

In the second, the Pokes capitalized on interceptions by Marcus Epps and two from Andrew Wingard, plus a fumbled punt return recovered by Tyree Mayfield for four scores in the second quarter. They also put together a 7-play, 80 yard drive that resulted in Fort’s third TD on the 11-yard pass.

Allen finished 16-28 for 234 yards. He completed passes to nine different receivers. Defensively Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia led the way with seven tackles apiece. Jalen Ortiz added six stops. Tyler Hall had his first career interception, while Braden Smith had the other fumble recovery. The Cowboy “D” also had two sacks, four tackles for loss and five pass break-ups.

New Mexico (3-5, 1-4) lost its third straight game. The Lobos were held to 184 yards of offense. It was their lowest output since 2012. New Mexico was also limited to 115 yards on the ground, well below their average of 251.6 per game. Jason Sanders 42-yard field goal helped the Lobos avoid the shutout.

Wyoming returns to action next Saturday in the annual Border War against rival Colorado State. Kick-off is at 5 p.m. from War Memorial Stadium.

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