Cowboys Come Just Short in Upset Bid Over No. 12 Boise State, 17-13

Cowboy defense holds Broncos to 1-of-10 on third down

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 23, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys took the twelfth-ranked and College Football Playoff four-seed Boise State into the fourth quarter, but a score by Boise State with five-minutes left was enough as Wyoming fell 17-13. UW held Boise State to 140 yards under their season average and held the Broncos to 1-of-10 on third down.

“I give credit to Boise State,” Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said. “They have a great football team. They have a great football program. I’m proud of our players tonight. We had a game plan of what we wanted to do – to milk clock and control the ball – and I thought our seniors showed up tonight and did a really good job. They fought tonight.  I’m thankful for the fans. We had a great crowd tonight. We have to finish games. We have to give them the product that finishes games. We’ve lost four games by a combined 13 points and two others that were within our grasp.”

The Cowboys got out to a 3-0 lead on the opening drive with a season long field goal of 54-yards from John Hoyland. Heisman contender Ashton Jeanty recorded a 61-yard touchdown score to give Boise State a 7-3 lead late in the opening frame.

Wyoming took a 10-7 lead on a touchdown reception from Kaden Anderson to Justin Stevenson from five yards, but the Broncos tied the game at 10-10 to close the first half. Neither team could find pints in the third quarter, but Hoyland connected on a 35-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead for the Brown and Gold. But Jeanty led a drive that proved to be the game winner for a 17-13 lead. Wyoming would have 19 seconds remining, but the Bronco survived with the win.

Wyoming recorded 319 yards of total offense with 203 yard passing and 116 rushing. Boise was held to 352 yards with 185 rushing and 167 yards passing. Wyoming held on to the ball for nearly 35 minutes in the contest.

The Cowboys were led offensively wide receivers Stevenson and Jaylen Sargent with four receptions. Stevenson had a career-best 82 yards with Sargent adding 86. Running back Harrison Waylee added 69 yard rushing to lead the Cowboys. Anderson left the game at half with an injury but was 9-of-14 for 116 yards with a touchdown. Backup Evan Svoboda was 6-of-13 for 87 yards. 

The Wyoming defense was led by linebacker Connor Shay with seven tackles with a tackle for loss. Keany Parks added six with three others adding five. Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa added a sack as did defensive end DeVonne Harris.

The Broncos were paced by Jeanty with 169 yards and a score. Zion Washington led the Broncos with nine tackles.

The Cowboys head to Washington State next Saturday in Pullman, Wash.  The contest is slated for a 4:30 p.m. MT start on The CW in the final game of the season for the Brown and Gold.