C.J. Johnson dives into the end zone in the 2nd quarter versus Texas State. (Photo via KOWB Radio)
Laramie, Wyoming – The Wyoming Cowboys (3-2, 1-0) will head into their bye week on a high note after a 45 – 10 victory over Texas State (1-4) of the Sun Belt Conference. A crowd of 21,784 saw an offensive explosion in the second quarter after the teams completed the first 15 minutes of action scoreless. The Cowboys scored a total of 31 points in the second quarter which was the most productive quarter in terms of scoring in the Craig Bohl era and took a 31-10 lead into halftime. The Cowboys followed up the second quarter with a strong third quarter scoring two more touchdowns and with neither team scoring in the fourth quarter the 45-10 scoreline held up.
The victory over the Bobcats was a total team effort and when coaches say all three phases of the game matter this is the type of game that shows it’s not just a football coaching cliche. Wyoming’s first three scores of the game came from the three different football phases offense, defense and special teams and the Pokes never looked back. The last time the Cowboys scored in all three phases of a game was last season in the road loss to UNLV.
C.J. Johnson opened the scoring on offense with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen to make it 7-3 Wyoming. Just 11 seconds later the defense scored when Rico Gafford intercepted a Texas State pass when the Bobcat receiver fell down running his route to make it 14-3 Wyoming. The Bobcats would score later in the quarter to make the score 14-10 Wyoming. Special teams would take back the momentum on the ensuing kickoff as Tyler Hall returned the kick 95 yards for a touchdown giving the Cowboys a 21-10 lead. Hall’s kickoff return for a touchdown was the second of his career after the 97-yard return versus Hawai’i last weekend. Hall is now the only Wyoming football player in program history with two kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Josh Allen and the passing game exploded to life against Texas State after two weeks of struggles against Oregon and Hawaii where Allen did not eclipse 100 yards. In fact, Josh Allen had over 100 yards at halftime en route to a 219 yard and three touchdown day with no interceptions. On the day, Allen completed passes to nine different players including fullback Drew Van Mannen who had two catches. The star of the afternoon for the receivers was sophomore C.J. Johnson who had four catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns a week after he was demoted to the second receiving unit after a few dropped passes against Hawai’i.
The defense had another strong game as well only allowing 10 points which is their second-lowest points allowed in a game this season. The Bobcats were held to 10 points because Wyoming racked up defensive teams stats of: 1 interception, 4 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles with one recovery that severely limited the Bobcats offensive output. In terms of individual performances, Youhanna Ghaifan had himself quite the day with 9 total tackles and 2 sacks. The Nebraska high school product showed glimpses of his potential to dominate a game that Wyoming fans will hope to see the rest of this season and years to come.
Overall it was a complete team effort and the players and coaching staff welcome the bye week with only Mountain West Conference games left. Coach Bohl mentioned that the Cowboys came into today a “tired” football team and an extra week to prepare for Utah State comes at a good time. Josh Allen added that having your bye week with only conference games left was, “the best timing you can have.” With that in mind, you can look for a rested and energized Wyoming football team to take the field in Logan, Utah in two weeks as they look to compete for a Mountain Division football title.
Quick Box:
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Texas State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 31 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
QB Josh Allen : 14 of 24, 219 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs
RB Trey Woods: 21 carries, 53 yards 0 TD
WR C.J. Johnson : 4 receptions, 57 yards, 2 TDs
LB Logan Wilson: 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble return for a TD
Up Next:
Wyoming has a bye week coming up and will next take the field on October 14th in Logan, Utah versus Utah State. Kickoff is at 2:30pm MT and the game will be streamed online via Facebook.