How ‘Bout Them Cowboys

41–35 nail-biter victory over UNLV increases win streak to four 

Photo by UW Athletics

In a high-stakes game in Las Vegas on Saturday night, the Cowboys pulled through with a close win over UNLV Rebels, increasing their win streak to four straight games. 

With this win, the Cowboys put themselves alone in second place in the conference at 5–1 and now are in the driver’s seat to claim one of the spots in the Mountain West championship game come December. 

“I’m so proud of this team, proud of this group for how they fight day in, day out,” Coach Jay Sawvel said after what could be considered the biggest win of his career. “When you talk about Wyoming and talk about Wyoming grit, I think that was in play with this team tonight.” 

Grit was necessary to pull the win out. After star Quarterback Tyler Hughes was sidelined for the rest of the contest after the second quarter due to an arm injury, backup Landon Sims took the reins of the offense. Some ups and downs followed, but an electric 351 yards on the ground and a 34-point first half proved to be enough for the Cowboys to squeak out with a victory. 

“It wasn’t pretty tonight but we got it done. I love these guys,” Linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz, who led the Cowboys defense with ten tackles and three sacks, said “Landon knows we back whoever is in that quarterback position. We’re all brothers. Ride for the brand.” 

The fuel behind it all offensively was the ever-dangerous pairing of running backs that Sawvel has in his back pocket. Samuel “Tote” Harris and Markell Holman combined for 33 carries, 238 yards, and two touchdowns (both by Harris). 71 yards rushing from Hughes before the injury led to a historic night on the ground and offensively in general, totaling 483 yards of offense. 

However, on the other side of the ball, UNLV simply refused to go away, and after a quarterback substitution late in the third quarter, the Cowboys defense was on their heels. The Rebels crawled back from down 17 points to being within six and in scoring position late in the fourth quarter. 

With less than two minutes on the clock, down six, UNLV Quarterback Alex Orji fired a pass into the back of the end zone, intercepted by Tyson Shamsid-Deen, his second interception of the game, essentially sealing it for the Cowboys.  

A long breakaway run by Holman and a couple of knees from Sims did the trick, and the Cowboys walked out of Allegiant Stadium with their second road victory of the season. 

With a win on Saturday, the value of this season just continues to climb for Sawvel and his team, and with six wins on the season, they are officially bowl eligible for the first time since 2023. 

If the Cowboys secure yet another victory next weekend against 1–8 UTEP, this would set up a conference schedule finale for the ages at home on Nov. 20th against No. 22 New Mexico. That game would decide who hosts the conference championship game between the two teams on Dec. 4th. 

Final Score: Cowboys 41, Rebels 35.