2006 Week 1

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia - Before the season began, football experts predicted that the University of Wyoming and West Virginia University would be closely matched opponents, ranking the two schools the 53rd and 54th best programs in the country, respectively. The experts turned out to be right, as Wyoming won the closely matched battle by outscoring the Mountaineers 35 - 31 in the first ever meeting between the two schools.

The Cowboys and the Mountaineers matched each other blow for blow both in the running game and in the time of possession. Both teams carried the ball for exactly 160 yards, Wyoming on 39 carries, and West Virginia on 38, and Wyoming held the ball for a mere 36 seconds longer than the Mountaineers did.

The teams even completed a similar number of passes, with 18 completions for Wyoming, and 17 for West Viginia. The difference in the game was the yardage gained through the air, where the Cowboys, led by preseason All-American quarterback Kenneth Wingate and speedy wide receiver Andre Kirkpatrick, outgained the Mountaineers 348 yards to 223.

While Wingate was a solid 18 of 34, Kirkpatrick made him look better than that all afternoon, routinely turning ten yard passes into 30 and 40 yard gains. He finished with 206 yards on just six catches with three touchdowns. More than half of those yards came after the catch, including a 15 yard slant on the Cowboys' first offensive play that Kirkpatrick turned into an 80 yard touchdown. Kirkpatrick also contributed 102 return yards to finish with 308 all-purpose yards. The performance was enough to earn the speedy sophomore Mountain West Player of the Week honors on offense.

"It was just a matchup thing," Kirkpatrick said after the game. "I had a step on the guy they had covering me, and so when they blitzed, there was lots of open field for me to run in."

Head coach Joe Glenn agreed. "We knew coming into the game that with his speed, Andre was going to give us a big mismatch when West Virginia ran their man offense, and we were right," Glenn told reporters in his news conference.

"We were fortunate to have some success with it early on, and I think that really gave us a lot of momentum and confidence for the rest of the game."

The Cowboys continue a tough non-league schedule next week when the Huskers of Nebraska visit Laramie.