2003 Week 7

LOGAN, Utah - Nothing about Wyoming's performance on Saturday could be considered impressive by even the most generous of observers. Nothing, that is, except the outcome. Despite little more than a pedestrian day on offense, the Wyoming Cowboys took advantage of several key mistakes by Utah State to forge a narrow 31 - 28 victory over the Aggies Saturday, their first in four games.

Senior quarterback Casey Bramlet made solid decisions all afternoon, going four quarters without throwing an interception for only the second time this year.

Bramlet was aided in his performance by turnovers on the part of the Aggies, as four different Cowboys stepped in front of errant passes by Utah State quarterback Travis Cox. Although none was returned for more than 26 yards, the offense managed 17 points from the favorable field position.

In his news conference after the game, head coach Joe Glenn was uncharacteristically upbeat.

"I'll tell you right now, I'm not interested in talking about all the things we did wrong today, though there were plenty. There will be time for that this week, in film sessions and on the practice field. Today, I want to congratulate this team on its effort and determination. They need to be commended for never giving up, and for fighting back after giving up some big plays and a lot of points in the second quarter."

Indeed, things were looking bleak at the half for the Cowboys, a team that had not won in over a month. After scoring from 13 yards out to capitalize on Utah State's first turnover, the Cowboys had gone cold.

Fans could feel the game slipping away, as the Aggies scored on three consecutive possessions, first on a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown, then on a deep pass that made the Cowboy secondary look foolish, and finally on a sustained drive that lasted twelve plays and took nearly five minutes. In the end, the only thing that could stop Utah State in the second quarter was the clock, as time expired just as they were moving into scoring position again.

"All of us kind of got caught off guard by that fumble," senior cornerback Roderrick Jackson said after the game.

"We just started playing on our heels after that, and they took advantage of it and scored a couple times. But all of us in the secondary got on the same page at the half. As a team, we decided then and there that we were going to step up and win the game, and that was that."

That it was. Jackson, who combined with fellow defensive backs Jacque Finn, Leonard Jones and Marcial Rosales for 19 of the team's 37 tackles, started the comeback by stepping in front of Travis Cox' first pass of the third quarter, returning it 26 yards to the one yard line. Running back Derek Armah punched it in on one try, and suddenly, the Wyoming sideline came to life. The Cowboys scored the next 17 points to take a ten point lead into the final minutes of the game, and Utah State's comeback bid failed when the offense could muster only one touchdown in their last three possessions.

When asked what he said at half time to elicit such a response from his team, Glenn gave all the credit to his players.

"All I said was that we were playing like we didn't care, that we were letting ourselves get beat. The guys knew it, I knew it. I told them nothing I could say would change that, and if anybody wanted more than two wins this year, it was up to them to make it happen."

They made it happen today. It remains to be seen whether the momentum built here today will carry over to the rest of the season, which continues next week with a home game against BYU. Only time will tell.