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

LARAMIE -- One team finished.

The other lost its fourth one-possession game.

Spencer Danielson called it "championship football." Jay Sawvel simply sighed.

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Boise State, the 12th-ranked team in the land, clinched a berth in the Mountain West championship game tonight after edging out a scrappy Wyoming squad, 17-13. It's the seventh time that's happened in the last eight seasons.

An 8-play, 75-yard fourth-quarter drive, culminating in a Jambres Dubar plunge past the white stripe from two yards out, also keeps the Broncos in prime position to crash the 12-team College Football Playoff Party. They'll likely host a game on The Blue, too -- after a bye.

"I'm proud of all of our players," Sawvel said postgame. "They fought their ass off tonight."

They sure did.

Before that season-saving possession from the visitors, Wyoming led this one 13-10 with 9:03 remaining in regulation. John Hoyland booted through a 35-yard field goal after a drive stalled inside the Broncos' 20.

Defense put the visitors on upset alert in the first place. That battered unit would again be relied upon to get this two-win team over the finish line.

It didn't happen.

A guy who very well could be hoisting the Heisman Trophy next month is a major reason for that.

Ashton Jeanty hit the left edge for a gain of 15 on the second snap of the drive. The junior, who eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark Saturday night, took the next handoff straight up the gut for 20. He would add 18 more yards on two carries, setting the Broncos up at the 2-yard line.

He did all of that damage on a bum ankle, suffered early in the third quarter.

"It’s a group effort to get that done and Ashton Jeanty would say the same," Danielson said. "I’m proud of him and I’m proud of hitting that accomplishment on our team."

Jeanty capped his night with 169 yards on just 19 attempts, 61 of which came on a first-quarter dash to the end zone.

"We've had good stretches this year on defense, but we haven't really put it all together through four quarters," said linebacker Connor Shay, who finished the night with a team-high seven tackles and a pass breakup. "That's what we emphasized and we wanted to do. We started fast, but we left, you know, some things out there. That last drive in the fourth quarter where they scored, we wish we could have had that one back. But all in all, I'm proud of our defense and the way we played."

Wyoming's offense took the field with 4:52 remaining. An eternity, considering Sawvel and Co. had one timeout and the newly implemented two-minute warning at their disposal.

Led by quarterback Evan Svoboda, who was forced under center in place of starter Kaden Anderson, who was lost for the night with a concussion just before the half, completed 3-of-6 passes for just 10 yards. An illegal-shift penalty and a sack on 4th-and-9 all but ended any hope of the improbable.

That group would get one last chance with 14 ticks to go. Three long incompletions later and Boise State was celebrating its 17th victory over the Cowboys in 18 tries.

"We left a little bit on the table," said Svoboda, who connected on 6-of-13 passes for 87 yards over the final two quarters. "You know, we've got to come up with some completions. That's on me. I've got to give my playmakers a chance."

A turnover on downs inside the Broncos' 10 early in the second quarter thwarted hopes. A missed 53-yard field goal didn't help matters, either. Burning two early timeouts in the second half also came back to haunt. So did a 4-for-14 night in the third-down conversion department.

A tad more air under a 63-yard completion from Svoboda to Justin Stevenson was likely a touchdown.

"We're going to go back and look at the video, and there's going to be four or five little scenarios," Sawvel said. "It's like, get this ball at the right spot, get this route the right way, protect it just a touch longer and we're going to have a play here. You know, look, that's where you're at when you don't win this type of game."

No. 12 Boise State 17, Wyoming 13

UNSUNG HERO

Playing in his final home game as a Cowboy, cornerback Tyrecus Davis saved one of his best performances of the year for last.

The 5-foot-10 -- on a good day -- 188-pound Texan broke up two passes and tallied five tackles, including dumping Jeanty in a one-on-one situation on the edge, forcing the first of five Boise State punts.

"I thought Tyrecus had a good game tonight," Sawvel said. "I thought he played really well."

Davis helped limit Maddux Madsen to just 168 yards passing. The sophomore quarterback completed only 14-26 throws and for the first time this season didn't throw at least one touchdown in a game.

Davis now has 35 tackles, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble to his credit this fall.

QUOTABLE

"It's definitely surreal. Walking off the field at the end of that game, it definitely hit me. It didn't really feel real. But, you know, we still got one more game, and we're going to give it our all on that one."

-- Wyoming linebacker Connor Shay talking about the emotion of playing one final game inside War Memorial Stadium

"I couldn't be more proud of the guys in that locker room. They busted their butts tonight, you know, offensively, defensively ... I think we did an awesome job tonight. Even Sawvel, as soon as he came in (the locker room), that's the first thing he mentioned. He's super proud of us. I'm more than proud of each and everybody."

-- Wyoming's back-up quarterback Evan Svoboda on playing with the playoff-bound Broncos

"Going into this game, we knew that this opponent was going to be really good and, obviously, they had a Heisman contender. But coach Sawvel, before this game, leading up to this game, this whole week, he was stressing that we have to have belief in ourselves. You know, we can't go out onto the field thinking we already lost or else that's what's going to happen."

-- Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent talking about how nobody outside the locker room believed Wyoming could hang with the visiting Broncos

"I've talked to a couple coaches before games this year and one of the things they say is people don't give a crap about football here. That's not the case at Wyoming -- and I love every fan. They're all going to be shooting daggers at me again tonight, and that's fine. It's part of it. There'll be a time that I'll be able to throw a few back. It's not tonight, though."

-- Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel on the more than 18,000 in attendance Saturday night inside War Memorial Stadium

"We respect Wyoming a ton -- their coaches, their players, how they recruit, how they do their business. We knew this would be a battle tonight and it was."

-- Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson, who also mentioned past trips to Laramie that included a loss in 2016 and one-possession victories in 2020, 2022 and now '24.

"We just knew that we’re a resilient team that’s never going to give up. We continue to know that we have a chance no matter what goes on throughout the game. If we continue to play all four quarters like we practice, we’ll be good. If we play with a high intensity and just continue to support everybody around us, we’ll be alright. We always have that confidence at the end of the game because we practice for stuff like this."

-- Bronco receiver Latrell Caples on fighting through late adversity over the last three weeks

WHAT'S NEXT?

Wyoming will cap this mostly forgettable 2024 campaign next Saturday at Washington State. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on The CW. The Cougars were upset Saturday at Oregon State, falling to the Beavers, 41-38. That's the second-consecutive loss for a team that once upon a time also had playoff aspirations. New Mexico dashed those dreams two weeks ago. Wazzu, who is coached by Jake Dickert, a former defensive coach in Laramie from 2017-19, owns a 5-2 advantage over the Cowboys in the all-time series.