The Wyoming Cowboys recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage but a floundering offense and two blocked punts returned for touchdowns in the first half helped UNLV rack up points quickly and the lead was too much to overcome, helping UNLV stay undefeated and win 31-17.
“There was a very strong intent, very strong preparation, a very strong focus on playing well and winning this game,” Jay Sawvel said after the game. “We didn’t get that done.”
UNLV coughed up the ball on the first play of scrimmage, and things were trending the Pokes way early, converting the turnover into a field goal for a 3-0 lead. After that, all the breaks went the Rebel’s way, marching down for a quick TD, then blocking a punt for another 7.
Even before the first quarter ended, they tacked on another field goal, and before they knew it, the Pokes had dug themselves a 17-3 hole. They couldn’t stop piling the mistakes on even after this, and after a Kaden Anderson fumble had set up the UNLV field goal, Sam Harris lost the ball within the Rebel’s 30-yard line to compound on the troubles and squander opportunities.
“Something’s not clicking right now,” Kaden Anderson said. “We got to figure it out.”
Just when it seemed like the Pokes might be able to escape the half, another blocked punt returned for a TD was the cherry on top of a disastrous half.
“When you get two punts blocked for touchdowns, you’re gonna lose,” said Sawvel.
Down 24-3 at half, Wyoming needed a spark, and it seemed like the tides had completely changed in the locker room over the break. Wyoming came out snappy, with DeBlanc capping a 75-yard drive with a 12-yard scamper to close the lead. The defense went to work, and soon, Wyoming had the ball back, in the redzone.
On the brink of making it a one score game in the middle of the third quarter, it appeared like that would be the case, with Sam Scott grabbing an Anderson pass for a 6-yard TD. That play was nullified however, after an illegal block was called on the Pokes. The very next play, the Rebels picked Anderson off, and all the air was knocked out of the Cowboys.
The rest of the game played out, but the Cowboys couldn’t close the gap after that series of unfortunate events. UNLV walked out of Laramie with a 31-17 victory.
“There is a hurting locker room in there right now,” Sawvel said. “I’m hurting for them…they prepared hard, and we did not get the outcome we were looking for.”
Guard and team leader Caden Barnett was frustrated after the loss. He repeated the same phrase 4 times while fielding questions after the game.
“Our core value is discipline,” he said. “We define that as doing our job, and we measure that as understanding and executing plays on and off the field. We got to do that from the beginning and we just didn’t do that tonight.”
Whether it’s finding that discipline or coming out of the gate faster, the Pokes will have a week to figure it out before their next game against San Jose State next weekend. They’ll hope to snap a 3-game skid and win their first conference game when they kickoff at 5:00 pm on Saturday, Oct 11.
