2005 Week 4

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - As long as they were outside the red zone, the Wyoming Cowboys had little trouble moving the ball. Once they got there, however, it was a different story. The Cowboys managed to move the ball inside the 20 yard line seven times on the afternoon, and only found the end zone twice, both on the ground. The rest of the time, kicker Scott Parker bailed the Cowboys out, converting all four of his field goal attempts, all from inside the 20, as the Cowboys held off a determined Air Force team for a 28 - 22 win.

Neither team was able to find the end zone for most of the first half. The Cowboys opened the scoring with a 34 yard field goal at the 5:12 mark of the first quarter, and extended their lead to six with a 28 yard kick later in the opening period. Air Force responded in kind in the second, from 40 yards out. The Cowboys answered with an impressive drive that stalled at the nine yard line, and Parker kicked his third field goal, making it 9 - 3 with 2:08 remaining in the half. Air Force finally found the end zone on a two yard dive and the Falcons took a one point lead into the break.

Wyoming took the kickoff and drove the length of the field, scoring on a seven yard scamper by Connor. The Cowboys went for two and got it, giving them a 17 - 10 lead. The Falcons took the ensuing kickoff to the house, but missed the extra point, making it 17 - 16. A motivated Air Force defense forced a three and out, and the Falcons scored quickly on a 65 yard bomb. The two point conversion failed, making it 22 - 17 Air Force with 4:54 remaining in the third.

Both defenses stiffened, but Wyoming took their first possession of the fourth quarter and drove the length of the field to take the lead for good. Parker tacked on his fourth field goal as time expired to seal the win for Wyoming.

After the game, head coach Joe Glenn spoke with reporters.

"I'm impressed with the heart of this team. We had chances early to get a big lead and we didn't take advantage, and then we gave up a couple huge plays, plays that could have demoralized us. Some teams would've thrown in the towel after that kickoff return, or that long touchdown, but we kept fighting, kept scrapping.

"Ken didn't have a great day, but even though he never found the end zone, he kept moving us down field, both with his arm, and his feet. Terrence never broke the big one, but he kept pounding out the yards, 2, 3, 4 of them at a time. Same with Johnny. Air Force kept him pretty well bottled up, but he fought for every yard.

"This was a great team win, a great way to start conference play, and a great demonstration of how far the character of this team has come the last two plus years."

Next week, the Cowboys of Wyoming are at home to face the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in a rematch of their thrilling shootout in 2003. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30.