2004 Week 12

LARAMIE, Wyoming - Wyoming played excellent team football for three quarters Saturday, jumping out to a 35 - 14 lead, and then weathered a 21 point fourth quarter by Utah to eek out a 42 - 35 win in a game dominated by big plays.

Wyoming scored first, on a six yard scamper by freshman tailback Johnny Connor on the opening drive of the game. Utah answered with a short run of their own, one made possible by a converted fake punt that went for 27 yards to the six yard line.

From there, quarterback Kenneth Wingate and wideout Jovon Bouknight took over. For the game, Wingate was 28 of 42 for 447 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions. Wingate also carried the ball nine times for twenty nine yards and two scores, making him both the leading passer and the leading rusher in the game for Wyoming. Bouknight, for his part, caught 15 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, in the process setting the school record for most receiving yards in a game.

With Wyoming up 35 - 14 late in the third quarter, Utah put together a long drive that culminated in a one yard run on the first play of the final period. The score gave the Utes momentum, and they scored twice more in the quarter, the last one coming on a 70 yard punt return for a touchdown with 2:31 remaining in the game.

Wyoming, however, wasn't finished, and Wingate connected with Bouknight from 13 yards out with 18 seconds remaining for the game winning touchdown.

Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn spoke with reporters after the game about Wingate's back to back touchdown runs.

"We've been practicing the option the last couple weeks in practice, and the coaches felt good about Ken's execution this week. Especially considering how much we've struggled to run the ball this year, we decided to try it out a couple times this game. Obviously, Kenneth made the right decisions on the field, and it worked out well for us. It certainly caught Utah by surprise."

With the win, Wyoming moves to 6 - 4 on the year. The Cowboys finish out the season on the road, next week at New Mexico, and the week after at UNLV.