Turning point, unsung hero and what’s next for UW football

LARAMIE -- We've all seen this movie before.

It's a horror flick.

Wyoming gives up a touchdown only to shoot itself in the foot with a miscue on offense. Tonight, once again, that came in the form of an off-target shotgun snap. Evan Svoboda was forced to pounce on Nofoafia Tulafono's errant underhand heave. That recovery came 13 yards behind the original line of scrimmage.

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That exact scenario has played out a handful of times during this forgettable 0-4 start.

Air Force, a team that's notorious for chewing up clock and rolling up yardage in a maddening fashion, went on one of its trademark drives. John Busha and Co. ran the option attack to perfection. The Falcons' QB added a 24-yard pass to Cade Harris.

Keeping with the tradition of bonehead mistakes, defensive end Tyce Westland was flagged for roughing the passer. Tack on 15 more yards.

Rookie head coach Jay Sawvel said last week his team is getting "buried" in the middle eight. That means the final four minutes of the first half and the initial four minutes of the third quarter. Matthew Dapore added to that, hammering home a 27-yard field goal to give the visitors a 13-7 lead at the half.

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Wyoming, at that moment, had been outscored 30-7 in that timeframe. The only points this season came on a 103-yard kick return by TK King in last Saturday's loss at North Texas.

To make matters even worse, Sawvel's Cowboys had been outscored 52-0 in the third quarter.

This was surely going to be another frustrating loss, right?

Wrong.

Svoboda connected on consecutive throws of 32 and 33 to Chris Durr Jr. and John Michael Gyllenborg, respectively, on the opening drive of the second half. The junior signal caller added a short 4-yard hookup with Justin Stevenson that had the Cowboys setting up shop at the Air Force goal line.

The third-down snap, a Svoboda keeper, didn't work. Adding to the drama, starting left guard Wes King was injured on the play. He left the field on a cart.

Sawvel said he never second guessed leaving his offense on the field.

"It's time to go, you know? I mean, we needed to get a touchdown there," he said postgame. "A field goal? OK. That had been all right, but I just felt like that would have been self-defeating a little bit. Plus, it was also, OK, if they stop us at the 1-yard-line, let's go play defense."

That could wait.

Svoboda bullied his way past the white stripe, following a road-grading block from Sam Scott. That confidence-building seven-play, 76-yard possession took nearly three minutes off the clock.

More importantly, it gave the Cowboys their first second-half lead of the season.

It was one they wouldn't relinquish, adding another long scoring drive on the ensuing possession -- this one rolling up 94 yards on 11 snaps -- that was capped with a 3-yard jaunt into the end zone by King.

Wyoming's much-maligned offense held onto the ball for 21:31 in the second half, taking a page out of Troy Calhoun's playbook.

"Just being able to get in the end zone time after time after time, and just being relentless and having the ball, played into our favor," said Scott, who rushed for 97 yards on 19 carries and scored from eight yards out in the first quarter. "We flipped the script on that, for sure."

"It was awesome," added Gyllenborg, who hauled in four passes for a season-high 70 yards, including snagging a 13-yard bullet from Svoboda on the sideline to convert a 3rd-and-8. "The O-line and Sam and Evan, you know, they ran and ran and just kept on running. It was awesome to watch. That's what won us the game."

That unit managed just 83 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes. That included zero passing yards in the first quarter and minus-7 on the ground in the following frame.

That changed in a big way in the second half.

Jay Johnson's offense totaled 278 yards, 136 via the rush and 142 through the air. Svoboda put this one to bed with a 17-yard gallop into the Tetons with 2:13 remaining in regulation.

"We played Cowboy football tonight," Sawvel said. "We stayed in it the whole time."

Wyoming 31, Air Force 19

UNSUNG HERO

Facing a 3rd-and-4 at their own 31, Svoboda was forced to leave the field after his helmet came off. Clinging to a 24-19 lead with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Kaden Anderson entered the game.

Pick up the first down, drain clock. Don't and you're giving the ball back to an offense that just found the end zone after Aiden Calvert got loose from 37 yards out.

What play do you call in this situation? "Memphis."

The redshirt freshman quarterback calmly stood in the face of pressure and delivered a strike to Durr, who patiently waited for his wall of blockers to get in position. The rookie turned that simple screen into a 23-yard gain.

The Cowboys would drop the dagger seven snaps later on Svoboda's run.

"That's awesome," Svoboda said of his fellow QB's big play in crunch time. "For him to come in and step up and, you know, stand in the pocket and make that play and take a hit, that's unbelievable. He's a great kid. He's a great player. He's a stud."

Sawvel said that Johnson, the Cowboys' first-year offensive coordinator, was adamant about that play call, no matter who was under center.

"It was huge. It was a great call, too," Sawvel added. "... We were setting the screen up for Chris and, I mean, he caught it and ran after the catch. He's a really good player."

Anderson, the 6-foot-4, 221-pound Southlake, Texas product, has appeared in all four games this season. He's completed 8-of-11 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. That was another hookup with Durr in the dying seconds of the opener at Arizona State.

QUOTABLE

"In the first half, that was the best half of football we have played. That was not enough. This is college football and it's a 60-minute game. That is what we have to do. Our leverage has to be better and, the other part is, we missed some tackles and we didn't handle the quarterback running game well."

-- Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun after the 31-19 loss to Wyoming. The Falcons have not won in Laramie since 2012. That's now five straight losses inside War Memorial Stadium

"It feels great. I think everyone feels pretty good right now. I was already in a good mood from the (Kansas City) Royals making the postseason yesterday. You know, we knew coming into this game, I think everyone kind of knew, like, this is a big one. We need to win this -- and we did. We played the best game of the season. That guy right over there, Evan, played his b---- off. And, you know, it was fun. It's really fun playing football, competitively, and, you know, winning."

-- Wyoming tight end John Michael Gyllenborg on his emotions following the Cowboys first win of the season

"It was a great experience to be able to just get to the end and come out with a W. I missed that, I really did. And we're now five games in, but we finally got one in, so hopefully we can keep it going."

-- Wyoming running back Sam Scott on what it was like to celebrate in the locker room and sing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" in front of the fans again

"Yeah, I mean, last year that was a tough loss. That really motivated us. Even during the offseason, we had that score up on the board. So we were thinking about this game for a long time. We knew it was a big game. It's a rivalry game, for us, and we were going to come out hot no matter what."

-- Wyoming linebacker Connor Shay on whether or not posting last year's score -- a 34-27 setback in Colorado Springs -- on the Jumbotron paid off in this win

WHAT'S NEXT?

It's the bye week. According to Sawvel, it couldn't have come at a better time, too. This Wyoming roster is depleted, to say the least. King went down tonight with what appears to be a serious injury. Back-up right guard Rex Johnsen was already starting in place of a banged up Jack Walsh (shoulder). Senior center and team captain, Tulafono, also laid on the turf in pain late in the fourth, holding his right leg. He did come back in the game, but the extent of that injury is unknown. Wide receiver Alex Brown also limped off. The Cowboys played this one tonight without the services of: Safety Wyett Ekeler (thumbs), defensive end DeVonne Harris (elbow), running backs DJ Jones (personal), Dawaiian McNeely (knee-out for season) and Harrison Waylee (knee). Wideout/ returner Caleb Cooley (ankle) also didn't play. Neither did wide receiver Devin Boddie Jr (lower body), fullback Caleb Driskill (thumb) and offensive linemen Luke Sandy (knee) and Nate Geiger (knee). Safety Andrew Johnson will have surgery this week to repair a broken thumb on his right hand. Looking ahead to Game No. 6, San Diego State comes to town for the first time since 2016. The Aztecs are currently 1-3 after dropping a 22-21 decision Saturday at Central Michigan. Sean Lewis' team will host Hawaii next weekend.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players