LARAMIE, Wyoming - What the Cowboys lacked in explosiveness Saturday, they more than made up for in efficiency, as senior quarterback Casey Bramlet completed 74% of his passes and the Cowboys offense scored four times in four possessions in the red zone. Only two Cowboy plays went for more than 20 yards, but short touchdown runs by Kit Bradshaw and C.J. Davis and a pair of two-yard touchdown passes by Bramlet were enough to hold off Big Sky opponent Montana State, 28 - 14.

First year head coach Joe Glenn was pleased with the performance of his team.

"You bet I'm proud of 'em," Glenn quipped when asked after the game. "Casey came out absolutely on fire, and we rode his arm to a big win. I'll have to look at the tape, but from the sideline, this looked like a solid team effort. I think we could have wrapped up a little better on defense, but for the first game of the year, you can't ask for much more than I got out of this team today."

Nowhere was this more true than at middle linebacker, where JC transfer Randy Tscharner, making his first start as a Cowboy, had a huge game. In all, Tscharner managed six tackles, and harassed Montana State quarterback Travis Lulay all afternoon, forcing a fumble on a sack, and pulling in the game sealing interception late in the fourth quarter, enough to garner him Mountain West Player of the Week honors on defense.

"I just kinda had his number, I guess. Coach B (Mike Breske, Defensive Coordinator) called a good game, gave me the chance to get in the backfield a few times. Eventually, I got to him, and when I did, no way was he gonna keep that ball."

Lulay's third quarter fumble was recovered by junior Zach Morris at the 47 of Montana State, giving Bramlet and the Cowboy offense good field position and a chance to regain the lead they had held for most of the game. They did exactly that, on a three yard plunge by Bradshaw, and Wyoming never looked back.

"That fumble was huge. It really took the wind out of their sails," Glenn said. "Montana State had come out at the half and stopped our offense, then drove the length of the field and scored to tie the game at 14. Then they stopped us again, and they looked determined to score another one. Randy really stepped up, gave us that spark the team needed."

Offensively, Bramlet was helped by solid performances from running backs Derek Armah and Bradshaw, wide receivers Jovon Bouknight and Ryan McGuffy, and tight end Marshall Schaap. Bouknight had a particularly good day, his seven catch performance accounting for 69 of his 125 all-purpose yards.

Next up for the Cowboys of Wyoming is a Wild West shootout with the Cowboys of Oklahoma State, next Saturday at high noon in Stillwater, OK.