Behind the numbers

SAN DIEGO — In this new series we will examine a few numbers that stand out from the game we just witnessed. That was a 26-22 loss to San Diego State Saturday night in front of 28,000-plus at cavernous SDCCU Stadium.

Sometimes they won’t be fun ones. Other times, you will be downright giddy.

So, let’s get started.

1
The loss to the Aztecs is the first Mountain West Conference loss of the season for the Cowboys. Last season, Wyoming finished 4-4 in league play.

19
These two old WAC rivals have now played each other 38 times. Now, the series is all even at 19-19 overall. The Aztecs have prevailed in the past two, including the 2017 Mountain West Championship game in Laramie.

206
That's the amount of yards the Cowboys gave up through the air Saturday night, a far cry from their 328 per game average, which ranks them 127th out of 130 FBS teams.

5
Wyoming has trailed in the first quarter in five of its six games this season. The only time the Cowboys took the lead first was in a 24-21 loss at Tulsa.

4
Craig Bohl's Cowboys have turned the ball over just four times this season. Two of those happened in San Diego when Austin Conway fumbled a punt in the third and Sean Chambers threw a deep pass into the arms of Luq Barcoo to effectively end the game.

2
Entering Saturday night's tilt at SDCCU Stadium, the Aztecs had only allowed two rushing touchdowns on the season. Wyoming added two more to the pile. Chambers had both in the first half, giving the Pokes a 14-6 lead at the break.

2
And speaking of the Cowboys redshirt freshman quarterback, Chambers has now scored two rushing touchdowns in three straight games, dating back to the loss against the Golden Hurricane.

6
Logan Wilson, Wyoming's three-time team captain and starting linebacker, finished the night with seven tackles. Those tallies moved him into a tie with Gabe Knapton (368) for sixth overall on the program's all-time list.

0
Wyoming failed to land a takeaway for just the second time this season. The other time came in a 21-16 home win over FCS Idaho.

70
That's how many yards in penalties the Pokes amassed against the Aztecs, effectively leading to 13 points for the home team.

54
San Diego State surrenders that many rushing yards on average per outing, making them the top run-stopping defense in the nation. Wyoming pounded out 157 yards on the ground Saturday night, by far the most SDSU has allowed this season.

5
SDSU head coach Rocky Long coached in Laramie for that many seasons from 1981-85. Long served as a defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Cowboys under head coach Al Kincaid.

• This week’s Behind the Numbers feature is brought to you by AARP Wyoming, and speaking of numbers, The U.S. Census Bureau is currently recruiting for 500,000 temporary  2020 Census Jobs across the country. Thousands will be hired to support their communities and get paid while doing it. Apply online at 2020census.gov/jobs