Underneath an overcast sky, the Wyoming Cowboys hosted the New Mexico Lobos for the 96th homecoming game of the Cowboys athletic program. While the Cowboys’ defense held the Lobos to only two scores, the offense could not score more than a field goal, ending the game with a Cowboy’s loss of 3-14.
“We need to play clean football,” head coach Craig Bohl said to the media “We’re frustrated. You sense my frustration. I’m not going to let it spill out, but we’ve got to get better. This tape is not going to be a pretty tape to look at.”
The Cowboys, who came into this game 20-point favorites, struggled against the Lobos defense to fall to 4-3 on the season with an 0-3 standing in the Mountain West Conference.
The offense for the Cowboys was led by two quarterbacks in Sean Chambers and Levi Williams. Both passed for 147 passing yards, one interception, and no touchdowns.
“It’s like a broken record,” Bohl said in reference to the struggles on the offensive side of the field.
The three points scored today by Cowboy kicker John Hoyland represent the only three points that the Cowboys have scored in the last ten quarters of football.
Chambers started the game but was benched after completing only one of five passes for four yards and an interception.
“Practice was good. I thought we did a good job this week,” Chambers said to the media. “Everybody was buying in and competing and working hard and executing. We had a good week of preparation.”
Williams was then put in, which gave the offense a momentary spark of momentum. However, after an overall passing performance of three of seven completed for 51 yards, he was pulled in favor of returning Chambers to the field.
“We did execute pretty well in practice and I felt like honestly we were executing pretty well,” Williams said. “We just shot ourselves in the foot.”
The running game for the Cowboys was led by running back Xazavian Vallady and garnered 104 yards of total offense.
The Cowboys’ defense limited the visiting Lobos to 259 yards of total offense with a second-half shutout.
“Defense can always keep you in a game and they kept us in the game for the lion’s share,” Bohl said.
Despite holding the Lobos offense to their fourth-lowest score in the season, the Cowboys lost the turnover battle two to zero. An interception to Lobos cornerback Corey Hightower from Sean Chambers along with a lost fumble by Cowboy receiver Isaiah Neyor.
Lobos quarterback Isaiah Chavez ended the day with 10 of 11 passing for 112 yards and one touchdown. He was supported by a running corps that gathered 146 yards and one touchdown, which Isaiah himself led with 49 yards rushing.
The crowd attendance for the Cowboys started off with a large crowd filling the seats of War Memorial Stadium. However, the crowds dwindled in the second half when temperatures began to drop and the Cowboys stalled offensively.
Chants of “We want Levi” rang through the student section at War Memorial. However, the cheers the Cowboys received when Williams went under center were replaced by boos from some in the entire stadium when the Cowboys went back to the locker room at halftime.
“I want to make a couple statements that sometimes you regret,” Bohl said. “And this is kind of where I’m at.”
The Cowboys now hold last place in the Mountain West Conference division.
They will travel to play San Jose State next week, followed by the 113th Border War between the Cowboys and rivals CSU next week on Nov. 6.
