Behind the Numbers: Wyoming's Unsung Heroes Wore No. 8

LARAMIE -- The unsung heroes Saturday -- in Wyoming's case -- might have been two players you've never heard of: Matteus Ioane and Tama Uiliata.

Doesn't ring a bell?

It should.

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With 3:45 remaining in the third quarter and Hawaii fresh off a fruitless 17-play, 74-yard drive that chewed more than nine minutes off the game clock, the Cowboys were about to hand the ball right back to Micah Alejado and Co.

Not only was this a missed opportunity to seize all the momentum, Bart Edmiston would be punting from his own end zone.

As the ball left his right foot, yellow hankies fell. What transpired next is still hard to believe.

"They have a guy (on the field) that's No. 8," Jay Sawvel said postgame, following the 27-10 victory over the Rainbow Warriors. "They put a returner back there -- he was No. 8."

The visitors were flagged for "illegal formation" on that 4th-and-1 snap. The free five yards sent the Cowboys on what would turn out to be a game-clinching possession.

"It was a mistake," the third-year head coach continued. "We took advantage of it."

Again facing a 3rd-and-long, Tyler Hughes stood tall in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield, before firing arguably his most-impressive throw of the day near the home sideline. It appeared that dart was headed for Jake Wilson. If so, it was going to be an overthrow.

It wasn't.

Slot receiver Deion DeBlanc was five yards behind the big tight end. The Houston native showed unbelievable concentration as the ball whizzed by Wilson's hands. He snatched it just before it skipped off the turf inside War Memorial Stadium for a 26-yard completion.

On the final play of the third frame, Wilson also showed off his athleticism, reaching back for a 7-yard pass that was low and outside as he was falling to the ground. That also came on a third-down opportunity.

Wyoming wasted little time putting a punctuation mark on that 99-yard drive.

Markell Holman, doing his best Earl Campbell impression, slipped a would-be tackler -- losing the bottom half of his white under shirt in the process -- before following his blocks through the hole. He then veered to the right and outracing the Hawaii secondary to the pylon.

The senior from Philadelphia crossed the white stripe from 18 yards out, giving the Cowboys a commanding 20-3 advantage.

Adversity has struck hard and often this fall for Sawvel's team. A weakness has been its collective response.

Not on Saturday.

"There wasn't any dip. There weren't any valleys in this game," he added. "I think we all learned a lot about each other this week, and now we have to go back to work next week and try to get better."

Mahalo, No. 8's.

Here are some other stats from Wyoming's Homecoming win over the 'Bows:

That's the number of explosive plays the Cowboys gave up to the high-flying Hawaiians, including five on the ground. Two those -- a 13-and-20-yard scamper -- came early in the fourth quarter with the visitors trailing by 17. Hawaii entered this one, averaging 270 passing yards an outing. Micah Alejado and crew only got to 226 on 44 attempts Saturday in Laramie.

That's the number of explosives the Cowboys rolled up on Homecoming. Music to fans' ears: seven of those came via the rush. Samuel "Tote" Harris broke off a 31-yard jaunt, his longest of the season, and added an 18-yard touchdown late in regulation. Markell Holman matched that, with an 18-yard dash to the end zone to start that final frame. Jake Wilson, Kyle Frendt, Eric Richardson, DeBlanc and Harris all hauled in a pass of 15 yards or more.

.500

Not only is Wyoming now even in the standings at 2-2 overall, it also converted 6-of-12 third-down opportunities, including two crucial hookups on that 99-yard drive that ate up the final five-plus minutes of the third quarter. The Cowboys are now ranked No. 91 in the nation on this all-important down (17-of-45).

Christian Taylor's offense went 3-and-out just one time against Hawaii. That came just ahead of the half. Three drives reached 11 plays and three more hit seven. Refer to that stat above if you're wondering what changed.

5-for-5

After an abysmal start to the season when it comes to red-zone offense, Wyoming finished Saturday 5-for-5 in that category. The team still ranks No. 105 in the country, converting just 12-of-15 opportunities inside the opponents' 20-yard line. All 27 of the Cowboys' points -- a season high, by the way -- came in the red zone.

That's the number of plays the home team ran from scrimmage on Saturday. Despite third-down success, Taylor said he'd still like to see that number somewhere around 70 an outing. Wyoming averaged 6.3 yards per play.

100%

That's Erik Sandvik's field-goal percentage after drilling all five of his opportunities through four weeks. He was 2-for-2 against Hawaii, with a pair of chip-shots from 28 and 23 yards out, respectively. The Colorado product is also 8-for-8 on point-after attempts.

130

Samuel "Tote" Harris finished with this many yards from scrimmage, 94 of which came on the ground. The sophomore running back also caught four passes for 36 yards to lead the team. Harris also found the end zone on an 18-yard sprint late in regulation, sealing the lopsided win.

That's the offensive output from Harris' running mate, Markell Holman. The senior rushed for al 87 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

That's the number of giveaways the Cowboys had Saturday. It's the first clean sheet of the season for this offense, which has eight turnovers already. Wyoming also didn't force a single takeaway, leaving it at a minus-6.

17-of-23

Tyler Hughes had a nice bounce-back performance, completing 74% of his throws. He also finished with 204 passing yards, a season high. Most importantly, you guessed it, he didn't commit a single turnover for the first time this year.

The defense tallied that many quarterback sacks, including the first of Jayden Williams' career in the second quarter. That sparked a turning point in that game. Edge rusher Esaia Bogar and linebacker Gary Rutherford also finished with a sack.

Jones Thomas led all tacklers with seven. six of those were solo stops. The junior safety also added a team-high three pass breakups and registered half-a-tackle-for-loss.

20,999

On a sun-splashed fall afternoon on the high plains, this many fans crammed into War Memorial Stadium.

4-0, 1-0

The Cowboys (2-2, 1-0) will travel to Fargo Saturday to take on new conference foe North Dakota State. The unbeaten Bison are led by Wyoming's former offensive coordinator Tim Polasek. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time and the game will be televised on The CW.

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