In what may be the most defining moment of Josh Allen's University of Wyoming football career, the then future NFL MVP made a mistake that somehow became legendary.
During the 2016 Mountain West Championship game against San Diego State, Allen threw what appeared to be a certain pick-six.
But instead of watching helplessly as the defender ran toward the end zone, Allen put his head down, chased the player down the sideline, and delivered such a crushing tackle at the goal line that the ball popped loose and was fumbled through the end zone for a touchback.
Wyoming got the ball back, the mistake became a momentum shift, and the play became folklore.
On Nov. 22, Allen will return to War Memorial Stadium for the first time since his 2018 pro day to watch his No. 17 jersey officially retired at halftime of Wyoming's game against Nevada.
The ceremony will mark the first official jersey retirement in Cowboys football history.
Allen quarterbacked Wyoming to two consecutive eight-win seasons, a Mountain West Championship game appearance in 2016, and two bowl games.
Over his college career, he accounted for 5,833 yards of total offense and 57 touchdowns. He was drafted seventh overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018 — Wyoming's highest-ever draft pick — and won the 2024 NFL MVP award.
"It is a very exciting and a wonderful day for the state of Wyoming," UW Director of Athletics Tom Burman said in a statement. "Josh is the most high-profile ambassador the University of Wyoming has ever had."
Earlier this year, it was announced that Allen was inducted into the UW Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
A Legend
Kevin McKinney has been announcing Wyoming Cowboys football games since 1998, and basketball games since the early 1970s. In nearly five decades around Cowboys athletics, he's witnessed countless memorable moments.
Allen's career stands apart, he said.
"What he has brought to the University of Wyoming in terms of exposure is unmatched, unparalleled," McKinney said. "I think that's part of the reason that he was such a dynamic force at Wyoming. You know, as a player, as a leader, team captain. One of the great — I've been around a long time — he's one of the great competitors I have ever been around at Wyoming."
McKinney vividly remembers that championship game tackle that exemplified Allen's relentless approach.
"That was one of the probably most amazing things he did, and it was created by a mistake he made. But he certainly made up for it," McKinney said. "He scored the winning touchdown in a triple overtime game. He made a big play after big play to beat Colorado State here in Laramie.
"And then, of course, the Boise State game in Laramie when he threw a touchdown at the end of the game. Those are the things that make a legend."
The longtime broadcaster also noted Allen's transformational impact on Wyoming's sports allegiances.
"This used to be a Denver Bronco stronghold," McKinney said. "They're Buffalo Bills fans now, and I think that's remarkable."
That fan devotion will be on display this season, according to McKinney.
"I know that the alumni are setting up a game in November, and they've already gotten 300 Cowboy fans to sign up to fly to Buffalo and be in attendance at the game with their red and gold number 17 on," he said. "And you know, it's going to be cold as can be. That's just what he's done for the state."
Cowboy Greatness
Cody Tucker, founder and editor of 7220sports.com, has covered Wyoming athletics for seven years and witnessed Allen's rise firsthand. As a lifelong Cowboys fan who didn't miss a home game for 27 years growing up, Tucker has seen plenty of Wyoming football. Allen was different.
"Man, favorite moment? I mean, it's hard to not think about the triple-overtime win against Northern Illinois," Tucker said, referring to the Sept. 3, 2016 game. "And today, in fact, is the anniversary of that game back in 2016, when he drove into the end zone at like 2:45 a.m. to knock off the Huskies and kind of his coming out party showing that he was one of the best young quarterbacks in the country."
Tucker also remembered that championship game tackle that has become Allen lore.
"To me that really embodied everything that Josh is all about. And once you see stuff like that you're like, yeah, this guy is destined for great things and he's going to be a great quarterback in the NFL,” said Tucker.
Tucker noted the historic nature of the jersey retirement.
"He's the first. He'll be the only one who's officially retired of all players," Tucker said. "They've never officially retired (a jersey). They took number 10 out of circulation in 1970 when Ed Synakowski, a former quarterback, died in a boating accident.
"And then in 1988, Dave Schutt, a linebacker, was killed by a train in downtown Laramie, and he wore number 56. So since 1988, 56 also has not been issued.”
Wing Man
Trent Weitzel owns Double Dub's, a chicken wing food truck operation that has expanded from Wyoming to multiple states and is fresh off its fourth straight Festival Favorite win at the National Buffalo Wing Festival.
During Allen's playing days, the future NFL star was a regular customer with a specific order.
"When Josh played quarterback for the Cowboys, he used to come to my truck all the time," Weitzel said. "His go-to was the spicy blue — buffalo blue cheese sauce with blue cheese crumbles on top."
That relationship would later prove pivotal for Weitzel's business. When the food truck owner struggled to gain entry to the prestigious wing fest in Buffalo, New York, Allen stepped in to help.
"I called Josh. I'm like, 'Dude, I really need a favor from you,’” Weitzel said. “I kind of told him that I've been trying to get in for years and years and years. And Josh, he loves chicken wings like he's a big wing guy.
"So he called Drew [the festival director] and talked to him for about 30 minutes. Then Drew called me back and he's like, 'Dude, you're in. You're 100% in.'"
The results were immediate and impressive.
"The first year we were at the Wing Festival, we won four awards. We won rookie of the year. We won traditional best medium buffalo sauce. We got second place in barbecue, and then we got third place in traditional way hot," Weitzel said. "We were the first rookies coming into the Wings Festival to ever win four awards."
Historic Homecoming
The Nov. 22 game against Nevada offers the perfect opportunity for the historic jersey retirement, as Allen will be available following the Bills' Thursday night game schedule that week.
For Wyoming fans, the ceremony represents not just recognition of a great player, but acknowledgment of someone who put their program — and their state — on the national map in unprecedented fashion.
On Wednesday, a day before the official retirement announcement, Allen appeared on the Like a Farmer podcast and let the cat out of the bag, saying, “I actually get to go back to Wyoming after we play the Houston Texans — number retirement. How about that? So, that's pretty cool. Yeah. So, I'll get to be there. We're playing against University of Nevada-Reno and got a couple buddies, got one buddy that's coaching there, James Price.
"So, that'll be cool reunion. He was a receiver for me at Wyoming and yeah, it'll be a good moment. I haven't been back to Laramie since pro day, believe it or not. So, it's been over eight years. That'll be cool, man."
Cool indeed, said McKinney: "He's something that we've never seen in Wyoming. I don't know if Mountain West has seen anything like him. He's just an amazing figure.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
