It seemed almost guaranteed the Wyoming Cowboy football team would extend their losing streak to a four game slide after heading into the fourth quarter of their contest against San José State.
That was until senior linebacker Evan Eller got his fingers on a pass by the Spartans’ backup quarterback, Xavier Ward, ricocheting the pass off the back of one of his linemen’s head and into the waiting arms of teammate Brayden Johnson–who took the football back for a massive defensive touchdown that would spark an eventual comeback win off the back of 21 unanswered fourth quarter points.
“We were happy to get a win the other night, there were some great moments of what we had [but] there’s a lot of things that we’ve got to get substantially better at,” head coach Jay Sawvel said.
For the win 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BCYHCNsRPz
— Wyoming Cowboy Football (@wyo_football) October 12, 2025
That miraculous victory stopped the bleeding of a three game losing streak and earned Sawvel and the Cowboys their first Mountain West conference win. The Cowboys now have a big opportunity to mark another victory in the win column at the road at Air Force, a team that currently sits at 1-5 and is so far winless in league play through four tries.
Get to Know Air Force
The Falcon offense and defense have so far looked as polar opposites this season. Their offense ranks amongst the best in the nation and is the top scoring offense in the Mountain West while also leading the league in total offense as well.
The Falcons rank 10th nationally in total offense at 490.3 yards per game, most in part due to the play of their starting quarterback, Liam Szarka. Szarka has already attempted more passes than any quarterback did total in the past two years at Air Force, completing 63.4 percent of his balls for 1,025 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Falcons’ rushing attack has also been efficient–as it usually is in their unique triple option offense–headlined again by Szarka who has rushed for 584 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Running backs Owen Allen and Dylan Carson, as well as wide receiver Cade Harris have all rushed for over 200 yards as well.
Extreme defensive deficiency is the main component of the Falcons’ lackluster 1-5 overall record, as they feature the worst defense in the Mountain West, sitting dead last in overall defense in the league and the nation.
Their offense can only make up for so much.
The Falcons currently allow a staggering 496.7 yards per contest and give up right around 40 points per game.
For reference, the Cowboys have the second best scoring defense in the league, giving up just a little less than half of the points the Falcons do a night, around 22.3.
If the Cowboy defense can contain the Falcons’ electric offensive assault, then they should have a good chance to find their second straight conference win.
Defense Continues to Impress
While the Cowboy offense and special teams have shown blatant inconsistencies throughout the course of this season, the defense has easily stood out as one of the main reasons the Cowboys have smoothed out their record at 3-3.
Ranking 55th nationally and fifth in the conference in total defense, this stout defensive unit has come up with several game winning plays throughout the season. From timely interception, big time sacks to even just solid form tackling, this group has been the brightest spot of the season thus far.
.@wyo_football just LASSOED the ball 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/piJPWNq6pY
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2025
Their resilience was on full display this last weekend against the Spartans, as the Spartan offense was burning the Cowboy defense in the opening half of play–amassing 212 yards of offense in the opening quarter of play. The Cowboy defense, after their first quarter struggles, didn’t allow over 100 yards in any other quarter, as the Spartans finished with only 383 total offensive yards after the dust had settled. The Spartans were also held scoreless throughout the entire second half after scoring 28 points in the opening two frames of play.
“When you’ve been a defensive coordinator for a period of time, that type of game is going to happen where things just kind of go crazy right away,” Sawvel said. “But, if you stabilize it, then you put yourself in a position to win the game.
“I was really happy with what we did defensively.”
Offensive Depth Finally Showing
For much of the non-conference portion of the season, the Cowboys struggled to involve many of their notable playmakers in the offense.
Receiving leaders from a year ago such as Jaylen Sargent and John Michael Gyllenborg struggled to involve themselves early on in the season. Young and transfer talent that looked to carve a big role this season, such as Michael Fitzgerald or Eric Richardson weren’t having much of an effect.
That has all seemed to quell in Mountain West play, as 10 or more players have finished with a reception in each of the Cowboys’ two conference tilts.
“I think that’s a positive, I think it speaks to the quarterback also being able to distribute the ball to different places and being able to have an idea of where his reads are,” Sawvel said.
“We need some guys to continue to step up and go forward with it.”
