Making the Grade: Hughes ‘Steps Up’ Late in 21-13 Win

LARAMIE -- Mentality.

That, Tyler Hughes, said is what changed over the final 12:25 of regulation Saturday afternoon inside War Memorial Stadium.

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"It was just, you got to have it," the graduate transfer from William and Mary said bluntly. "When the moment came up, I knew that I needed to step up and do more than what I was doing."

The 6-foot, 214-pound Georgia product completed 18-of-26 throws for 149 yards. Eight of those connections and 68 of those yards came in the fourth quarter, just after the teams reemerged from their respective locker room after a nearly 40 minute lightning delay.

So did two touchdown tosses.

Trailing by six with 3:44 remaining in regulation, Hughes lofted up a perfect ball into the corner of the northeast end zone where Charlie Coenen ran under it for a 15-yard score. That capped an impressive 14-play, 82-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the game clock.

On the ensuing possession, Hughes fired a pass over the middle from 18 yards out. Tight end Kyle Frendt stretched out and hauled in the catch, giving Wyoming a 21-13 lead.

"I mean, we just showed up and made plays," Hughes said. "The plays started hitting, and we finished the game out how we were supposed to."

Hughes was responsible for four turnovers in a lackluster season-opening loss at rival Colorado State. Three of those were interceptions, arguably none directly his fault. A strip-sack sealed the deal for the Rams, who rushed across the field after the final tick came off the clock, grabbing the coveted Bronze Boot.

Jay Sawvel said his team, particularly the offense, was in a "weird rhythm" over the first three quarters of Saturday's victory over Northern Colorado, a winless FCS program from Greeley. He pointed to costly penalties from his most-tenured offensive lineman Rex Johnsen. He said the running game wasn't consistent enough. The passing wasn't much better, amassing just 81 yards over the first 45-plus minutes.

Wyoming's third-year head coach said he told his team, coming out of the unexpected break, they would get a stop on defense and score two touchdowns, scraping out an ugly win.

That's exactly what happened.

"We're about to go on the field, offensively, and the first thing that I told them, I called everybody up, offensively, and it was like, "I've seen this offense play well. I saw it in the spring. I see it in a fall camp. It's time to f------ do it,'" he admitted. "That was really what the message was. And they did it, so that was a good thing."

Hughes capped a mostly forgettable debut at CSU with an overall offensive grade of 52.9, according to Pro Football Focus. He upped that number by 15.7 on Saturday. As far as his passing goes, that score vaulted up 16.6.

Not throwing the ball to the other team always helps.

"Give the quarterback a lot of credit on that," UNC head coach Ed Lamb said. "We got them behind the chains once or twice, and they were able to keep the drive going by converting passes against tough, tight man-to-man coverage."

Let's check out some other PFF grades from a game that was too close for comfort:

* Welcome back, Chandler Donaway. On 48 snaps from the guard spot, the senior led all offensive linemen with an overall grade of 84. The East Texas A&M transfer, who missed the first game -- and weeks of training camp as he was back home dealing with a personal matter -- didn't allow a single pressure, let alone a QB hit or sack. Right tackle Braylon Jenkins did give up a "hurry" but graded out at 83.4 in 61 plays. He bounced back in a big way from a 70.8-point performance in Fort Collins.

* Esaia Bogar was again a disruptive force for the Cowboys on Saturday, tallying a sack, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He was the second-highest graded defender at 85.2.

* Jones Thomas had a rough opener. The Fort Collins product was credited with giving up a game-changing 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter at CSU and committed a cardinal sin in the following frame: roughing the punter. The junior changed that narrative in a big way with the Bears in town, picking off two passes, including high-pointing a throw late in the fourth quarter that set the Cowboys up for a second touchdown to seal the win. He graded out at 91.1. Thomas allowed just one catch on three throws in his direction. That was a 20-yard hookup from Kenny Lueth to Garrett Harstad. Thomas also registered five solo tackles and broke up a pass.

* Kendall Griffin was on the perimeter for 13 pass plays against UNC. The rookie allowed three catches on as many attempts, amounting to 58 passing yards. He finished with a team-low score of 45.1. Ian Bell wasn't much better Saturday, giving up two grabs for 54 yards, one of those being a 45-yard touchdown toss to Marcus Mozer down the visiting sideline with just 25 seconds remaining in the first half.

* Steven Perez was Wyoming's best run defender, finishing his outing with six tackles, 1.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and half-a-sack. The linebacker from California was on the field for 12 run plays. Four of his tackles came there. He also saw his first extended playing time, filling in for an ineffective Gary Rutherford on the weak-side.

* If it wasn't for what could've been a very costly fumble early in the fourth quarter, Markell Holman graded out as the team's best rusher and receiver in the win over UNC. The 214-pound Western Illinois transfer caught all five passes thrown in his direction, capping the outing with 27 yards (PFF-84.1). He also rushed for 80 yards on 11 attempts (70.8). The Cowboy defense gave up a grand total of three yards over the final 12:25, getting Holman off the hook for a fumble just before the lightning delay.

(Special teams grades were not available at press time)

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