2009 Week 1

Iowa transfer Leroy Williams had 225 yards passing and 2 TD and Sophomore WR Travis Burkhalter had 330 all-purpose yards and 2 TD to lead Wyoming past #11 UCLA to open the 2009 season.

Using a three quarterback system to start the game, Coach T finally decided on Williams as he had the hot hand and eventually led the team to victory.

JR QB Leroy Williams:
"I just wanted to make the most of the opportunities I had in the game and I did. Coach let me get into a rhythm as the game went along and the receivers made some great catches and we came out on top. To get a win like this is great. I think this showed that Wyoming is becoming a football school."

Coach T:
"Coming in we had three guys that gave us three different dimensions at the QB position. As it turned out, Leroy was the one that gave this talented UCLA defense the most problems so we decided to stick with him and he made some big plays for us tonight."

Finishing 11-15 for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns, Williams made the most of his chances and had a memorable debut as a Wyoming Cowboy.

Also coming up big for the Pokes was Sophomore WR/KR Travis Burkhalter. Travis finished with 330 total yards: 136 receiving, 98 on kick returns, and 96 on punt returns. Speaking of punt returns, it was Burkhalter's 78 yard punt return with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game that gave Wyoming their first lead of the night, and gave them the much needed momentum.

Coach T.:
"After that return, you could just see the air go out of them. When they got back on the field, their offense just wasn't clicking anymore. Of course our defense did a great job on the final two drives keeping their receivers from hurting us, but yeah, I think that return really took the wind out of their sails."

Sophomore Junior College transfer Jeff Pino led the Cowboys in rushing. UCLA's big defense had trouble corralling the 5'7" HB and he finished with 34 yards and one TD on only 3 carries

Coach T:
"That's what Jeff can do for us. We knew when he came in in the spring that he was an electric player. We just have to find more ways to get him the ball. He's a tough little son-of-a-gun to catch."

Defensively, the Cowboys were led by MLB stud Tom Merriman who returns for his second season with the Cowboys. He finished with 8 tackles, 4 for loss, and 2 QB sacks. Also having a good showing were Freshmen Tyler Rogers, a DE who had 2 sacks, and LB James Richardson who had 5 tackles and three blocked extra points, a record for Wyoming.

Coach T on recruiting class:
"We really did a great job finding guys that could come in and contribute right away. James and Tyler certainly had big games, but so did (LB) James Rice and Dave (Guidry,DE). They may not have had the numbers, but their presence was certainly felt. Another freshman getting some playing time was Ronald Holden, Rivals #15 overall recruit. The 6'5 232 lb receiver finished with 40 yards receiving.