By NIck Seeman, UW
The Cowboys (3-2 overall) dropped a 38-24 decision at longtime rival No. 19 BYU on Saturday evening in Lavelle Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah in the first meeting between the schools since the 2016 season. The Pokes led in the second quarter, but a score until a late first half score by the Cougars propelled BYU to the victory.
“We had had a competitive first half and to beat BYU on the road we need to be able to stay on the field,” UW head coach Craig Bohl said. Defensively we need to play and go after contested balls. We need to tackle better, and some of that has to do with BYU’s ability. This is a hostile environment and is a tough place to play. We will hang together as a football team and get ready for San Jose State in War Memorial Stadium next week.”
The Pokes were held to 278 yards of total offense in the game with the Cougar offense adding 525 yards for the game. BYU did their damage through the air with 337 passing yards and only 188 yards on the ground. The Pokes rushed for 124 yards and passed for 154 yards. BYU recorded
Wyoming was led by running back Titus Swen with 78 yards on 20 carries. Wide receiver Wyatt Wieland grabbed two catches for 27 yards and had three rushes with one touchdown. Quarterback Andrew Peasley was 14-of-27 passing for 154 yards tying a career best with two touchdown passes. Wide receiver Josh Cobbs added four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Treyton Welch also added a touchdown in the contest.
The Cowboy defense was paced by safety Issac White with a season-high seven tackles. Defensive tackles Jordan Bertagnole added seven tackles as well coming one shy of his career high of eight. Cole Godbout also added seven tackles and had 2.5 tackles for loss and is one more tackle from loss to moving into the top-10 in UW history.
The Cowboys forced a three-and-out on the Cougars first drive and the offense would use the running game to set up a 28-yard field goal from John Hoyland for a 3-0 lead in the opening five minutes. The Pokes rushed for 48 yards on the drive with Swen tallying 29 yards and McNeely adding 19 yards. It marked the third-straight game the offense scored on their opening drive.
The Cougars would take a 7-3 lead at the 2:50 mark of the first quarter on a six-yard rush from Christopher Brooks. The four-play drive was highlighted by a 32-yard pass from Jaren Hall to Issac Rex to set BYU at the Pokes’ six-yard line.
The Cowboys answered right back with an impressive 10 play, 75-yard drive ending in a four-yard touchdown run from Wieland on an end around for his first career score. Swen was once again the setter for the Pokes rushing for 26-yards on the drive. Wieland also added a nine-yard run on the drive and Peasley found Wieland on a 19-yard reception.
BYU would take a 14-10 lead into the half on a three-yard touchdown reception from Hall to Brayden Cosper with four seconds left in the half. The drive went 13-plays and 76 yards over 3:28.
The Cowboys were forced to punt on their opening drive of the second half and the Cougars would go 83 yards on nine plays to take a 21-10 lead on a touchdown pass from Hall to Kody Epps with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter.
BYU added to the lead making it a 28-10 game on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Hall to Keanu Hill to cap a nine play, 67-yard drive over 4:24. The score with 1:13 left in the third quarter came on 6-o-f7 passing from Hall with only two rushing plays on the drive.
The Pokes added a tally when Peasley found Treyton Welch from 19 yards for a 28-17 to start the fourth quarter. The three-play drive, which was aided by penalties from the Cougars also saw a six-yard rush from Swen and a 13-yard catch from Will Pelissier.
The Cougars added a fourth quarter score on a 68-yard touchdown from Hall to Hill for a 35-17 contest.
The Cowboys added a score on a four-yard pass from Peasley to Cobbs. The six-play, 75-yard drive took two minutes for a 35-24 contest with 3:15 remaining. Cobbs had 53 yards receiving on the drive on three catches.
BYU added a field goal with 1:24 remaining in the contest to make it a 38-24 contest. Cam Stone would return the ball to the 37-yard line on the kickoff, but the Cowboys would not convert with the Cougars taking the game 38-24.
The Cougars were led by Hall with 337 yards passing going 26-of-32 with four touchdowns. Running back Miles Davis rushed for 131 yards on the night with Hill Grabbing five catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Defensive back Micah Harper added six tackles to lead the Cougars.
The Cowboys return to action next week hosting San Jose State in War Memorial Stadium at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in a contest on CBS Sports Network. Fans may order tickets online at GoWyo.com/tickets, by emailing tickets@uwyo.edu or by calling (307) 766-7220.
