Cowboys Fall to Utah State 27-25 on Last-Second Field Goal
LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboys dropped a last second contest to Utah State 27-25 on Saturday evening inside War memorial Stadium in Laramie. The Aggies knocked in a 40-yard field goal as time expired to halt a comeback win for the Cowboys in Bridger’s Battle.
Wyoming recorded a season-high 470 yards of total offense on the night but could only find the end zone twice in the contest.
“That’s a heartbreaker,” UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. “That’s also the direct result of not putting ourselves in a better position with the third quarter we played. With the way we played the third quarter defensively, we should have won that quarter 10-0, 14-0. We didn’t play well defensively early in that game. We played much better in the second half defensively, but then needed to make one more stop at the end of the game. I feel for our players. I feel for our seniors. To be in a rivalry game, a trophy game like that, and to not be able to finish that off, there’ll be a lot of things that I’ll second guess.”
The Cowboy offense finished the night with 470 yards of total offense. Wyoming rushed for 276 yards on the night and threw for 194 yards. Utah State, a high tempo offense finished the contest with 378 yards of total offense with a balanced attack of 230 yards passing and 148 yards on the ground. It was nearly 100 yards below the season average for USU.
Wyoming trailed 17-10 at the half but held Utah State to only nine yards in the third quarter. UW recorded over 300 yards in the second half. Kicker John Hoyland recorded four field goals on the night and is now four points away from passing Cooper Rothe for the school scoring record. He is 9-of-11 this season in field goals with his only misses coming for 5-plus yards.
Wyoming’s offense was paced by running back Sam Scott with 115 yards and a touchdown. It was a career-high in rushing as he ripped off a career-high 43-yard rush. Freshman Chris Durr, Jr. was outstanding with a career-high nine catches for a career-high 83 yards. It was the most catches by a Cowboy this season and most since Austin Conway had 11 against Wofford in 2018. Wide receiver Tyler King rushed for a career-best 77 yards including a 54-yard score. He also had a career-high four catches for 52 yards.
The Cowboy defense was paced by four players with eight tackles. Connor Shay recorded a career tying eight tackles with defensive end Tyce Westland recording a career-high eight tackles. Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa and safety Wyett Ekeler each recorded eight tackles. Suiaunoa added two tackles for loss. Defensive end DeVonne Harris added five tackles for a season-high including his first sack of the season.
Utah State was paced offensively by running back Rashul Faison with 131 yards rushing. The defense was led by safety Jordan Vincent with 11 tackles and an interception.
The Cowboys hit the road next week against New Mexico in a 2 p.m. start on truTV.
TEAM NOTES
• The Cowboys and Aggies met for the 73rd time on Saturday. The series began in Logan in 1903.
• The Cowboys are 28-41-4 all-time against the Aggies. The Pokes are 5-4 during the portion of the MW history of the series.
• Wyoming moves to 16-14-3 all-time against the Aggies in Laramie.
• The contest marked the 10th meeting for the “Bridger Rifle”. The trophy was introduced in 2013. The rifle is a .50-caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken Rifle.
• The Cowboys are 5-5 in the “Bridger’s Battle” portion of the series.
• The Pokes have won four of the last seven meetings in the series.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• The Cowboys finished the night with a season-high 276 yards rushing. It was the most rushing since having 365 yards against Hawaii on Oct. 29, 2022.
• Running back Sam Scott recorded a 43-yard rush in the first quarter. It was the longest rush of his career.
• Scott found the end zone in the second quarter for his third of the season and the fifth of his career.
• Scott finished the game with a career-high 115 yards. It was the first 100 yard game of his career and the first for the Pokes this season. He averaged 10.5 yards per carry.
• Wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. hauled in a career-high nine catches for 83 yards. He had two third-down catches on the touchdown drive for the Cowboys in the second quarter and two in the third quarter and one in the fourth for five first down plays.
• Wide receiver Tyler King added a 54-yard touchdown rush and added 77 yards on the ground. He also added four catches for 52 yards. It was a career high rushing and in receptions.
• Tight end Clay Nanke hauled in a 32-yard pass in the third quarter for the longest reception of his career.
• Quarterback Kaden Anderson threw for a career-high 182 yards in the contest. He was 15-of-24 passing in the game completing 63 percent of his passes.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• In the last three home games the cowboy defense has allowed 21 or fewer yards in the third quarter. UW allowed nine yards in the third quarter to Utah State. Wyoming held Utah State to nearly 100 yards below their season average.
• Defensive end DeVonne Harris recorded a sack in the first quarter. It was the 13th of his career and marked the 20th tackle for loss of his career.
• Defensive end Tyce Westland recorded a career-high eight tackles in the game. He surpassed his previous high of five with seven tackles in the first half.
• Defensive end Braden Siders recorded a career-high tying six tackles. He had six tackles tying his career-high in the first half.
• Cornerback Keany Parks recorded two pass breakups in key moments in the second quarter. Once on a fourth down and once on a third-down that held Utah State to a field goal.
• Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa added eight tackles and two tackles for loss on the night. He came into the game with 235 tackles and now has 243 in his career.
• Linebacker Connor Shay tied a career-high with eight tackles.
SPECIAL NOTES
• Cowboy kicker John Hoyland connected on a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter. It added to his school record. He now has 64 in his career with the Pokes. He later added his 65th and 66th of his career.
• Hoyland came into the game with 326 career points and was 16 points behind Wyoming’s all-time leader Cooper Rothe (342 points from 2016-19). He is now three points behind Rothe’s school record with 339.
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players