Wyoming is going to look back on this game Saturday night in Boise and see that there were a lot of opportunities to extend their lead, or keep Boise State from extending their drives, but in the end they didn’t capitalize on those opportunities.
Wyoming dropped an important road game on Saturday night at Boise State 24-14 in front of 35565 rain soaked fans.
There were a lot of chances for Wyoming’s defense to get off the field on third down, but so many times Boise State was converting those into first downs to keep drives moving. Josh Allen had chances to keep drives going but missed on several critical passes.
On one hand you could say that Allen missed on a lot of passes that would have been nice to complete, as many passes were behind receivers, or in the dirt, or many other things. However, if not for Allen there’s a good chance this game is not as close as the final score appeared. Allen accounted for both of Wyoming’s touchdowns on the night. The first touchdown came in the first quarter when Allen kept the ball and scored from one yard out. The second touchdown came when Allen bootlegged to his right and tossed a beautiful pass to Austin Fort from 20 yards out for the score.
The Cowboys were looking for their second consecutive win over the Broncos, however, trying to get a win on the blue turf is not always an easy task. The Cowboys turned in a strong defensive effort in the first half, but after the Broncos turned in an 18 play, 70 yard drive that took 9:44 off the clock, the Cowboy defense didn’t look nearly as strong.
The Pokes were already short on the defensive line going into tonight with an injury to Youhanna Ghaifan, but in the third quarter Connor Cain went down with an injury and had to be carted off the field in an air cast. His status is currently unknown.
On the other hand, Wyoming had a tough time containing the two quarterback effort that Boise State was trotting on the field. The Broncos alternated between incumbent starter Brett Rypien and senior transfer Montell Cozart. Cozart showed a dynamic skillset throughout the game. Cozart caught a touchdown pass, ran for 52 yards and two scores and kept many drives alive with his legs. He even showed a flash of being able to complete forward passes downfield.
The second half was a night and day effort from the Broncos, who mustered only 118 yards and seven first downs. The second half, however, the Broncos gained 224 yards and held the ball for 22 minutes while scoring 21 points.
Allen was 12/27 on the night for 131 yards and one touchdown, while throwing two interception. Allen led Wyoming rushers with 62 yards and a score. Austin Conway led Wyoming receivers with five receptions for 33 yards. Conway also had two jet sweeps for nine yards.
On the defensive side of the ball Andrew Wingard accounted for 15 tackles against the Broncos. Carl Granderson recorded his first multi-sack game with two sacks, as well as 12 tackles. Marcus Epps added 13 tackles for the Cowboys. Tim Zaleski had five punts for the Pokes, for a 38.5 yard average.
Wyoming will be back at home next week after two weeks on the road. The Cowboys will host the New Mexico Lobos in their annual homecoming game. The Lobos lost a close game to Colorado State this past weekend, a 27-24 contest in Albuquerque. The game in Laramie will kick off at 5:30pm and can be watched on ESPNU.