No. 20 Utah Too Much For Cowboys in 31-6 Victory

LARAMIE -- The Cowboy defense gave No. 20 Utah all it could handle in the first half, but the high-powered attack of the Utes was too much for the Cowboys in a 31-6 loss on Saturday evening inside War Memorial Stadium, the first meeting between the longtime rivals since the 2010 season.

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“Give credit to Utah,” UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. “They have a good football team, and they outplayed us tonight. The markings and the windows we had to win that game; we didn’t achieve a lot of those. I thought our effort was tremendous. I thought we played very hard. But there’s a lot of things from an execution standpoint that we need to improve on. I think we have a chance to be pretty good, but we have a lot of things we need to get better at.”

The Cowboy defense forced three field-goal misses in the first half with a blocked field goal in the frame, as UW now has two on the season.

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Wyoming also forced a fumble in the contest. Linebacker Evan Eller recorded 12 tackles for the highest in his Cowboy career. Safety Andrew Johnson also added a dozen stops and a fumble recovery. Nickel Desman Hearns added eight tackles along with safety Jones Thomas.

Wyoming’s offense struggled against the stout Utah defense with 229 yards of total offense. Freshman running back Samuel Harris added a career-high 68 yards on the ground and added three catches for 37 yards. Running back Terron Kellman added 45 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. added five catches for 40 yards.

The Utes would get on the board first with a field goal on their opening drive. The Pokes defense would then hold Utah scoreless the remainder of the half. The defense forced two missed field goals and blocked another and forced a fumble deep in UW’s territory for a 3-0 lead at the half.

Utah would drive down the field on their opening drive of the second half and make it a 10-0 contest. The Utes added a tally in the third quarter for a 17-0 lead. It was a 19-play drive for Utah that lasted over seven minutes and later added another score.

"Weird game," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said in his postgame press conference. "There was very similar yardage in the first and second half, but very different results. We just weren't finishing drives in the first half.

"I've got a lot of respect for that Wyoming team. They are tough players, well-coached and they gave us everything they have. Hats off to them. I really think they have a bright future."

Kellman would put the Cowboys on the board with a 15-yard rush on an eight-play, 75-yard drive. Harris led the way with some big plays out of the backfield. Utah added a score late and made it a 31-6 final score.

Utah recorded 541 yards of total offense on the night, as Utah ranks in the top 10 in the nation in scoring offense, as they also lead the nation in third-down conversions. Quarterback Devon Dampier recorded 230 yards passing and rushed for 86 yards. Ryan Davis added 10 catches for 91 yards in the contest.

The Cowboys hit the road next week heading south to take on Colorado on Saturday evening at 8:15 p.m. in a contest on ESPN.

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