Monday, OCTOBER 13, 2025 |
Photo – Football on grass – Bigfoot99 file photo
Down 28-14 at halftime on Saturday night, the Wyoming Cowboys roared back in Laramie with three unanswered fourth quarter touchdowns in an improbable 35-28 win over San Jose State.
Wyoming needed a win, in the worst way, after three straight losses including a home defeat in the conference opener.
The Cowboys trailed most of the way Saturday night but scored a pair of clutch touchdowns in the fourth period for a miraculous finish.
At the two-minute mark, Charlie Coenen hauled in a Kaden Anderson pass and ran for a 45-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28 apiece.
The Cowboys had moved to within striking distance earlier in the fourth quarter. Wyoming pulled within a touchdown at the 8:52 mark when senior linebacker Brayden Johnson picked off a Trojan pass, tipped by teammate Evan Eller.
War Memorial Stadium had been quiet most of the night. The atmosphere turned electric in the fourth quarter.
The energy was real and Wyoming still had a game to win. The Cowboy quarterback gutted out the relentless San Jose State pressure. Anderson finished the night with 304 yards passing, going 23 of 39 with two touchdowns and two picks.
As the fourth quarter wound down with a minute-13 to go, the score tied at 28, Wyoming mounted one final drive for at least a walk-off field goal.
Tote Harris caught a screen pass and ran for a 52-yard play to the San Jose State 28. Then, within makeable field goal range and the clock with 51 seconds remaining, open backfield, Anderson handed the snap to Terron Kellman, who got bottled up at the line of scrimmage, spun right, then spun left and found open field in front of him for the touchdown run.
Then the job came down to the Wyoming defense to stop the Spartans.
Inconceivable and improbable sums it up. The Cowboys, down by two touchdowns at the half, dug deep down the stretch, pitched a shutout in the second half and found a way to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out the win at home.
Cowboys Head Coach Jay Sawvel summed up the win this way:
With the win, Wyoming improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The Cowboys are on the road to Colorado Springs this Saturday to take on Air Force. Kickoff is set for 1:30.
Elsewhere, in the Mountain West this weekend:
Colorado State picked up its first Mountain West win of the 2025 season with a 49-21 thumping of Fresno State on Friday night. The Rams jumped out to a 21-point first-quarter lead and never allowed Fresno State to threaten a comeback.
UNLV and Air Force battled each other until the end, in a wild fourth quarter, not unlike the Wyoming-San Jose State game. UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who burned Wyoming a week earlier, threw for 361 yards and ran for a 19-yard touchdown with 36 seconds remaining to give the Rebels their sixth straight win, 51-48.
Boise State beat New Mexico 41-25.
San Diego State beat Nevada 44-10.
Hawaii, at home, beat Utah State 44-26.
