Boise State dominated Wyoming on both sides of the ball on Saturday, winning 32-7 against the Pokes. The Cowboys were unable to get their offense mobilized and Boise St handled their defense to put up over 440 yards.
The Cowboys opened up the game with the ball, but quickly punted to the Broncos. Boise State got right to work, scoring the opening touchdown of the game in 5 plays. QB Taylen Green connected with Eric McAlister for a 49 yard touchdown score, and a two point conversion put the Broncos up 8-0.
An Andrew Peasley interception, only his third of the season, set up the Broncos in prime position to score again. However, Jaden Williams forced a fumble at the Wyoming 16 yard line, and the Pokes kept Boise from stretching their lead.
Wyoming was forced to punt, but the Broncos return man muffed the kick, and Wyoming got the ball at the Boise 19 yard line. One play later, Peasley threw a strike to John-Michael Gyllenborg and made the game 8-7, still in favor of Boise.
In the second quarter, the teams battled back and forth, but Wyoming’s offense seemed to struggle. Wyoming only put up 87 yards of offense in the first half, compared to the 236 yards of Boise. Most notably, Harrison Waylee, making his return from injury, was only able to rush for 7 yards in the first two quarters.
As the 2nd quarter went on, Boise put together an impressive 14 play drive, going 77 yards into the endzone for another score, making it 15-7. Despite the offensive disparity between the teams, Wyoming was able to keep it within one score as the teams headed into halftime.
The Broncos were able to keep their momentum through the break, however, and Taylen Green capped off the Broncos opening drive with a 9 yard touchdown scramble. After the score, Wyoming got an opportunity to get their offense mobilized, but the Pokes were forced to punt.
It didn’t take Boise long to capitalize again, and scored their second TD of the half after another long drive, unable to be stopped by the Wyoming defense. After the PAT, they held a 29-7 lead.
Wyoming’s offense continued to struggle against the impressive Boise defense. As the Pokes tried to drive down the field, Andrew Peasley was sacked twice, and the offense was still unable to gain momentum.
With about 8 minutes left in the game, Evan Svaboda stepped in at QB for the Pokes, but wasn’t able to change the tides for the Pokes. Boise tacked on another field goal before the game ended, and Boise was victorious by a margin of 32-7.
Boise nearly put up 4 times as many yards as Wyoming, and the Pokes only surpassed 100 yards of offense on their last drive. Both sides of the ball were dominated by Boise. Wyoming moves to 5-3 with a 2-2 record in the conference. Mountain West Championship hopes certainly take a large hit after this performance. Wyoming is now 1-17 against Boise all time, with one victory coming against the Broncos during the tenure of Josh Allen.
Wyoming looks to push this loss out of their head as they prepare for CSU next Friday. Despite the recent struggles, the Border War gives the Pokes a chance to bounce back and become bowl-eligible. The Rams will travel to Laramie for the matchup, and the Pokes will no doubt be happy to play in the War after their recent road trip.
