Wyoming after having a 24-14 lead had to come from behind in the fourth to pull out the 30-28 victory. The Cowboys were able to get the win as they scored 17 straight points from the second through third quarter, and that was the key for Wyoming to win this game.
This was a big win for Wyoming and new head coach Dave Christensen; not because of the opponent but because of the travel and early start. Also, the Pokes actually played only one quarterback which was true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels.
After a 1-2 start Wyoming is half way to bowl eligibility with a 3-2 record. The quarterback play was the key in this game because Carta-Samules was the only one to play and did a decent job with He threw for 229 yards with a pick, but Carta-Samuels also ran for another 69 yards. That pick was returned for a score which had Wyoming worried early on.
The time of possession is what helped Wyoming pull this win out with nearly a ten minute advantage. The running game helped with this by the entire Poke running game combining for 198 yards. Only three players ran the ball the quarterback was all ready mentioned, and the other two backs were Brandon Stewart who had 79 yards on eight carries, and then Alvester Alexander who had only 50 yards, but three scores.
The final stud for Wyoming was WR David Leonard who had 13 catches for 97 yards and was twice as many over any other Wyoming wide receiver.
A few oddities in this game was that Wyoming who last year was terrible in turnover margin was minus one on the day, and penalties were bad for both teams with Wyoming comitting 12 for 125 yards and FAU also had 12 but for 93 yards. This game was fairly even throughout in terms of total yards. The Wyoming defense which is typically kown for being good -- especially their secondary was just all right. The key for the Wyoming defense was their ability to stop FAU on third downs with a 2-9 converison rate.
Florida Atlantic did have a chance with 4:29 left in the game for a field goal, but the Wyoming defense stopped the Owls. Their last drive was only five plays for 23 and the last play on the drive was fourth-and-3 at the Wyoming 47-yard line, Rusty Smith's pass was batted down by Mike Neuhaus to seal the win.
Wyoming now has a legit chance to get to a bowl game they still play New Mexico which is next week at home, then San Diego State on the road, plus if they can get one upset over either Air Force or Colorado State --both road games-- then Wyoming will get to the six coveted wins and a possible bowl birth.