Game recap: UW 29, Weber State 22
Final game statistics
The Wyoming offense looked good early, scoring on its first possession, highlighted by a 44-yard touchdown run by true freshman Alevester Alexander -- on his first carry as a Cowboy.
Weber State then countered on a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cameron Higgins to Tim Toone, who got behind the Wyoming secondary in the right corner of the end zone.
While junior quarterback Robert Benjamin showed the ability to move the ball (6 of 8 passing for 66 yards, 3 rushes 19 yards), Wyoming coach Dave Christensen went with true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels in the second quarter.
Mistakes have hurt both teams in the first half and the Cowboys are taking advantage of the Weber State miscues. Early on, the Cowboys lost a chance to maintain a nice drive with a holding penalty, then lost the ball on a fumble after a nice drive. The Cowboys then missed out on a chance for a touchdown after being forced to a field goal after first and goal on the 3-yard line. A procedure penalty pushed UW back.
Weber State hurt itself on a running into the punter penalty on third and 4. Later in the drive, the Wildcats had an illegal substitution penalty that gave the 'Pokes a first down.
Seemingly in trouble on 4th and 10, Carta-Samuels avoids the rush and finds Travis Burkhalter down field for a 28-yard pass to the 4-yard line. Darius Terry then scored his first career TD on a 2-yard run for a 16-7 Wyoming lead (missed extra point by Austin McCoy).
Weber State had nine penalties in the first half and Higgins threw two interceptions. Wyoming up 16-7 at halftime. Cowboys 290 total yards of offense, Wildcats 175 (negative 5 rushing).
Second half
Benjamin back in at quarterback. Cowboys go three and out with two incompletions.
Wyoming, however, gets the ball right back when freshman Shamiel Gary picked off Higgins on the Weber 15-yard line. Terry scores three plays later from 1-yard out. Benjamin has 13-yard run to the 2-yard line. Austin McCoy kick to make it 23-7 with 13:12 left in the third quarter.
Cowboys get another interception -- tipped by linebackers Brian Hendricks to Gabe Knapton to Gary to the Weber 32. Wyoming goes for it on 4th and 5 from the 12 and incomplete pass.
Weber has 16-yard punt to UW 30. Carta-Samuels back in at QB. Cowboys can't move the ball -- lose 17 yards on penalty and sack.
Gary gets third interception at UW 43, but Cowboys again can't move the ball.
Thanks to a 49-yard run by running back Treyvn Smith, the Wildcats are driving. Down to the UW 11. Still 23-7 after three quarters.
Wildcats settle for field goal attempt and have it blocked by UW's Knapton.
Wyoming goes 72 yards in 11 plays and gets a 25-yard field goal by McCoy to take a 26-7 lead with 9:45 left in the game. Nice runs by Alexander and Terry, but Cowboys have to settle for a field goal.
Cowboys called for iffy pass interference penalty on fourth down and Wildcats take advantage with 4-yard TD pass from Higgins to tight end Cody Nakamura. Smith's 2-point conversion with 4:20 left cuts the Wyoming lead to 26-15.
Weber fails on on-side kick and Cowboys take over on Wildcats 38. Cowboys Carta-Samuels 20-yard pass to Orlando Arnold. Pokes in good shape to run out the clock, but kick a field goal for 29-15 lead.
Weber State made a late touchdown drive to cut the lead to seven in the final seconds. UW recovers on-side kick and Cowboys win 29-22.
Coming up in the next couple of days on Wyoming Sports.org, stories on the UW running game, featuring a pair of firsts for Alexander and Terry, the big game by Gary (three interceptions), Christensen's first game as head coach, the quarterback shuffle of Benjamin and Carta-Samuels and more.
The Wyoming offense looked good early, scoring on its first possession, highlighted by a 44-yard touchdown run by true freshman Alevester Alexander -- on his first carry as a Cowboy.
Weber State then countered on a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cameron Higgins to Tim Toone, who got behind the Wyoming secondary in the right corner of the end zone.
While junior quarterback Robert Benjamin showed the ability to move the ball (6 of 8 passing for 66 yards, 3 rushes 19 yards), Wyoming coach Dave Christensen went with true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels in the second quarter.
Mistakes have hurt both teams in the first half and the Cowboys are taking advantage of the Weber State miscues. Early on, the Cowboys lost a chance to maintain a nice drive with a holding penalty, then lost the ball on a fumble after a nice drive. The Cowboys then missed out on a chance for a touchdown after being forced to a field goal after first and goal on the 3-yard line. A procedure penalty pushed UW back.
Weber State hurt itself on a running into the punter penalty on third and 4. Later in the drive, the Wildcats had an illegal substitution penalty that gave the 'Pokes a first down.
Seemingly in trouble on 4th and 10, Carta-Samuels avoids the rush and finds Travis Burkhalter down field for a 28-yard pass to the 4-yard line. Darius Terry then scored his first career TD on a 2-yard run for a 16-7 Wyoming lead (missed extra point by Austin McCoy).
Weber State had nine penalties in the first half and Higgins threw two interceptions. Wyoming up 16-7 at halftime. Cowboys 290 total yards of offense, Wildcats 175 (negative 5 rushing).
Second half
Benjamin back in at quarterback. Cowboys go three and out with two incompletions.
Wyoming, however, gets the ball right back when freshman Shamiel Gary picked off Higgins on the Weber 15-yard line. Terry scores three plays later from 1-yard out. Benjamin has 13-yard run to the 2-yard line. Austin McCoy kick to make it 23-7 with 13:12 left in the third quarter.
Cowboys get another interception -- tipped by linebackers Brian Hendricks to Gabe Knapton to Gary to the Weber 32. Wyoming goes for it on 4th and 5 from the 12 and incomplete pass.
Weber has 16-yard punt to UW 30. Carta-Samuels back in at QB. Cowboys can't move the ball -- lose 17 yards on penalty and sack.
Gary gets third interception at UW 43, but Cowboys again can't move the ball.
Thanks to a 49-yard run by running back Treyvn Smith, the Wildcats are driving. Down to the UW 11. Still 23-7 after three quarters.
Wildcats settle for field goal attempt and have it blocked by UW's Knapton.
Wyoming goes 72 yards in 11 plays and gets a 25-yard field goal by McCoy to take a 26-7 lead with 9:45 left in the game. Nice runs by Alexander and Terry, but Cowboys have to settle for a field goal.
Cowboys called for iffy pass interference penalty on fourth down and Wildcats take advantage with 4-yard TD pass from Higgins to tight end Cody Nakamura. Smith's 2-point conversion with 4:20 left cuts the Wyoming lead to 26-15.
Weber fails on on-side kick and Cowboys take over on Wildcats 38. Cowboys Carta-Samuels 20-yard pass to Orlando Arnold. Pokes in good shape to run out the clock, but kick a field goal for 29-15 lead.
Weber State made a late touchdown drive to cut the lead to seven in the final seconds. UW recovers on-side kick and Cowboys win 29-22.
Coming up in the next couple of days on Wyoming Sports.org, stories on the UW running game, featuring a pair of firsts for Alexander and Terry, the big game by Gary (three interceptions), Christensen's first game as head coach, the quarterback shuffle of Benjamin and Carta-Samuels and more.
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