2006 Week 7

RENO, Nevada - The story of Wyoming football all year has been the offense, especially the high flying passing game. While it is difficult to say that the passing game struggled against Nevada today (the Cowboys completed 18 of 30 passes for 270 yards), they did have a hard time finding the end zone, settling for one touchdown and four field goals in five trips, meaning that the performance turned in by the defense was that much more important to the hard fought 34 - 21 victory over Nevada Saturday.

Five Nevada drives ended with a turnover, as Wyoming starting cornerbacks Javon Jordan and C.J. Rollins combined for four interceptions and a forced fumble deep in Wyoming terrirory. The Wolfpack were hurt by several poor decisions on the part of backup quarterback Alan Moore, but both Jordan and Rollins made athletic plays to hang on to the ball. Jordan turned in an especially impressive performance, finishing with a team-high five tackles, three interceptions, one pass deflection, and the forced fumble. The fumble came on the Cowboys' two yard line, ending what was almost certainly a scoring drive for Nevada.

"I haven't seen a defensive performance like that in a long, long time, if ever," head coach Joe Glenn said. "Obviously, Nevada thought they had a mismatch against our freshman cornerback, and tried to exploit it today. There was a mismatch alright, but it wasn't the mismatch they wanted. Javon really stepped up today and played like a veteran. We were excited to get him last spring, and he showed you why today."

Jordan was as surprised as anyone by his three interceptions.

"I've never done anything like that," an exuberant Jordan told reporters. "Not in high school, not in Pee-Wee football, not even in a pickup game. I mean, who has three interceptions in one game? Usually you get one or two, and they stop throwing at you. But they just kept coming at me, and coach has said if I'm comfortable making a jump on the ball, then to go for it. I just wish I could have taken one back, but that receiver of theirs lays a pretty good hit."

Wyoming had a 21 - 14 lead at the end of the third, but the game was still very much in doubt, as the Cowboys' starting quarterback Kenneth Wingate had just left the game after a hard hit on an option keeper and did not return. Redshirt freshman Ryan Cochran replaced him, and the Cowboys kicked a field goal two plays later. Nevada answered with a touchdown to pull within 24 - 21, but Cochran led the Cowboys down the field on a long drive that culminated in a 28 yard touchdown strike to fellow redshirt freshman Raheem Wesley. Though he completed only two of his seven passes on the day, Cochran was impressively poised, at one point scrambling for a sixteen yard gain on third and ten from the Cowboys' 47 yard line.

"We have a lot of talent, a lot of pretty young talent on this team," Glenn said. "This staff has done an incredible job getting quality kids to come to Laramie and buy into the system we're developing here. As a coach, there is nothing more rewarding, and I'm especially thrilled to see the level of support we've gotten from the community.

Fan support is definitely up since Glenn took over at Wyoming. In three home games this season, the Cowboys are averaging almost 32,000 spectators, more than double the approximately 15,000 that was typical just three seasons ago. The Cowboys are 5 -1 on the year, and travel to Provo next week to face a struggling BYU team that is 0 -7 so far this year.