Turning Point, Unsung Hero and What’s Next for UW Football?

LARAMIE -- Oh, joy, another 4th-and-short.

Already 2-for-2 on the night, third-string quarterback Josh Johnson lined up in the shotgun, needing just two yards to extend a fourth-quarter, potential game-tying drive. With 8:25 remaining in regulation, the 6-foot-2 junior from the Big Easy reeled in the snap and followed a pancake block from his right guard, gliding through that cavity and picking up more than enough yardage.

There was one problem, though: He lost the football.

Air Force entered this game with a more-than-impressive streak of 554 straight run plays without losing a fumble. For Johnson, who was stripped by defensive tackle Ja'Quan Redfern, it was his second of the night. For the Falcons' offense, as a whole, that completed the hat trick.

Linebacker Steven Perez, who led all tacklers Friday night with 17, pounced on the loose change at Air Force's 49-yard line.

Wyoming failed to take advantage of the two prior gifts inside a blacked-out War Memorial Stadium. And with back-to-back 1-yard gains to begin this possession, it looked like another opportunity wasted.

Then came the yellow hanky.

These cadets, who had been flagged just eight times over the previous three games -- all wins -- committed eight infractions in Laramie, none bigger than the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty levied against Dallas Daley on that short gain by quarterback Tyler Hughes.

Jay Sawvel said his senior quarterback urged the decision makers on the home sideline to put the ball in his hands in crunch time. It wasn't a tough decision to wholeheartedly agree, either, the third-year head coach added from behind the postgame podium.

Hughes was coming off a 183-yard rushing performance six days ago in a rout of Northern Illinois. He also crossed the white stripe four times in that 41-23 win, easily earning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honors. He picked up right where he left off Friday night, cruising through the Birds' defense on the second snap of the game for a 68-yard sprint to the Tetons.

"Look, he's a special talent," Sawvel said, bluntly. "I know that it took us a couple games to kind of get some things going, but I think people see that he's a special player and a really good leader."

What happened on the seventh play of that eventual dagger of that game-clinching drive, though, was deemed short of the goal line, but featured nothing short of wizardry.

The designed QB run appeared to be headed right. Hughes instead cut to the middle where he was rudely met by near 300-pound interior lineman Jayden Oquendo, who tossed him backward like a ragdoll. The Georgia product, to the surprise of everyone, didn't lose his balance.

The next would-be tackle came from linebacker Isaac Hubert. The senior seemed to have Hughes wrapped up in the backfield for a big loss. A slight elbow check from left tackle Rex Johnsen freed his signal caller just enough to escape.

The chase was on.

Hughes, who led the Cowboys in rushing with 146 yards on just 12 attempts, slipped through a pair of arm tackles before being ridden down by defensive back Max Mustell near the goal line.

"I have not seen the run yet, but it felt pretty sick. It felt pretty cool," Hughes said with a laugh. "(It was) just selling out for the team and understanding the moment that we were in and the play that we needed. My number was called, and I just wanted to make a play for the team to seal the game."

Markell Holman, all 214 pounds of him, bullied his way into the end zone on the ensuing snap, giving Wyoming a commanding 14-point lead with only 3:04 remaining on the game clock.

The Cowboys, who have now won three consecutive games, move to 4-1 overall in the conference standings, tied for second place in the loss column with North Dakota State. Meaningful football in November is back in business on the high plains.

"Our players, our assistant coaches: nobody in this building ever abandoned ship," Sawvel added. "We all had a belief that we could become a good football team."

Wyoming 28, Air Force 14

UNSUNG HERO

The entire Cowboy defense gets a game ball right here.

Yes, there were some sketchy times, watching the Falcons' triple-option attack go to work, but to give up just 14 points to that machine is a gem.

Perez led the way with 17 tackles. Fellow linebackers Gary Rutherford and Stuhlsatz combined for 23 more. Esaia Bogar registered a sack, a rare thing against that team. Cade Brook tallied one, too.

Air Force ran 78 plays on offense, including 25 in the third quarter. Wyoming's offense was on the field for just three total plays in that 15-minute frame. The visitors, not surprisingly, owned time of possession, 37:45 to 22:15.

They were held to nearly 40 yards under their rushing average and 17 under their scoring average.

The Cowboys also came out a plus-3 in turnover margin, thanks to three gifts on the ground. Two of those came from Johnson, who replaced an injured Evan Medders in the fourth quarter.

"We just couldn't get them off the field," Sawvel said. "These weren't big plays, but it was like death by 10,000 cuts. It's just like four yards, three yards, six yards, 4th-and-1. It's just brutal sometimes in that space. But we kept hacking away at it, kept playing, kept playing hard.

"Look, I'm so proud of our players and the whole thing that way because they just fought. They just fought, and everybody in our program just fought, and that's the result that we got."

QUOTEABLE

"So, obviously, it's very amazing playing on Fridays because we get to celebrate on Saturday and Sunday extra longer. So, that's what I'd like to say, because I don't like how you're going to come into our crib and try to disrespect us. We're not going to let that slide."

-- Wyoming linebacker Steven Perez responding to comments earlier in the week from Air Force running back Owen Allen, who said he likes playing on Friday so the Falcons will have "plenty of time to celebrate the weekend after the victory."

"It means the world to me. I just want to give this state and everybody in this building, the best Tyler Hughes that there could be. I just just want to win. That's the goal. However it looks, how dirty it may look, how great it may look sometimes, just got a will to win."

-- Wyoming QB Tyler Hughes on what it means to him to lead this team to a 4-1 record in Mountain West play, making the final four games of this 2026 campaign of the highest importance. 

"I told our coaches, I'm coming in to work out on Sunday and if I see anybody in this building Saturday or Sunday, I'm firing them. So, I want our coaches to get a little break, too. So, good night for the Cowboys."

-- Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel, referring to playing four games in a 20-span. And maybe that remark was a slight shot at Border War rivals Colorado State? Rams' head coach Jim Mora last week was praising his interim defensive coordinator Kenny McClendon for "sleeping at the team facility" over the previous two weeks.

"It means a lot, you know? We can't let it get to our head or anything, but we've got to keep doing what we've been doing, keep stacking days, and overall, you know, just stay together. I feel like that's one thing we've really emphasized since some of our bad games, and so far, you know, it's working out."

-- Wyoming linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz on not throwing in the towel despite a slow start to the season.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Cowboys (5-3, 4-1) have been at it for eight straight weeks -- not to mention a full month of fall camp -- and now head into a much-needed bye week before the November stretch run, which includes back-to-back road games at UNLV (4-3, 2-1) and UTEP (1-6, 0-3) following the break. Players and assistant coaches have the weekend off and only Sawvel will speak to the media next Monday in Laramie.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* So Much For That Relaxing Weekend, Eh, Owen?

* Hughes, Pokes Win Third Straight, Knock Off Air Force, 28-14

* Final Live File: Wyoming 28, Air Force 14

* Air Force Players Embracing Role of 'Villain'

* Wyoming's Potential MVP Friday Night Could Be a Guy Who Won't Play

* Sims Finds End Zone Less Than a Year After Third Torn ACL

* Wyoming Cowboys in the NFL: Week 6

* Know Wyoming's Foe: Air Force Falcons

* Air Force Notebook: 'In This Program, It's a Rivalry'

* Hughes Named MW Player of Week After 4-TD Performance

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players