Second half offensive and defensive struggles doomed the Cowboys as Hawaii beat Wyoming 38-28 in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday Oct. 11 night.
“It was a hard fought game,” said Bohl. “Hawaii played one of their better games. We are disappointed is the loss.”
Wyoming took a 21-10 lead into the halftime, but could not slow the Rainbow Warriors down in the second half. Hawaii, led by their back-up quarterback sophomore Ikaika Woolsey, who replaced injured Hawaii starter senior Taylor Graham, outscored the Cowboys 28-7 in the second half. Hawaii committed two second half turnovers and if it were not for those the scoring differential could have been a lot more.
Wyoming jumped out to an early 14-0 lead when senior linebacker Devyn Harris scooped up a fumble and ran it back 78 yards for touchdown with 9:35 to play in the first quarter.
Both teams were very evenly matched in the first half as both teams gained 229 total yards. Wyoming turned the only turnover in the half into seven points, but the Cowboys’ fortunes changed in the second half.
Hawaii racked up 513 total yards for the game in a very balanced attack. They threw the ball for 281 yards while running for 232 yards.
Wyoming, on the other hand, was not very effective in relation to Hawaii. The Cowboys gained 322 total yards, 221 that came via the air attack and 101 yards came on the ground.
Colby Kirkegaard, redshirt senior quarterback, played mistake free for the majority of the game. He went 19-for-30 for the game for 221 yards, but two fourth quarter interceptions ruined the Cowboys.
Shaun Wick, junior running back, eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season. He carried the ball 24 times for 124 yards. DJ May, redshirt sophomore running back, suffered an apparent arm injury on a kickoff coverage and as a result played sparingly.
Jalen Claiborne, senior wide receiver, led all receivers with six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Dominic Rufran extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 43 as he caught four passes for 39 yards. May also had a touchdown catch on a simple screen pass.
Wyoming got banged up this past weekend. May, as alluded to before, suffered an arm injury that kept him out for some time. Darren White, senior safety, sustained a leg injury in the first half that put him on crutches and unavailable to play. Robert Priester, freshman cornerback, was shaken up on a big hit in the second half that forced him sit for a while before coming returning to the game.
Wyoming was already dealing with injuries coming into this game as their second appendectomy on the offensive line forced Bohl to start freshman Ryan Cummings at left tackle.
“[Cummings] played really well,” said Bohl. “He competed really hard and we will build on this performance.”
Wyoming was also uncharacteristically hurt by penalties. They were flagged five times for 40 yards.
Wyoming was undone by the same issues that plagued the team a couple weeks ago at Michigan State and most of last year under Dave Christensen. Wyoming missed countless tackles, blew several pass coverages and could not get off the field on third down, especially in the second half.
“We had a couple busted coverages, we need to covert better on third downs and we need to tackle better,” said Bohl.
This loss has extended Wyoming’s road losing streak to seven games dating back to last season.
The Cowboys next game will be Saturday Oct. 18 at 2:00 p.m. in War Memorial Stadium against the sSan Jose State Spartans, Wyoming’s homecoming game.
“We have our hands full [with San Jose State],” said Bohl. “We are excited about the chance to play at home again.”
