The expected result in this game was a Wyoming loss, but Wyoming is able to hang around in this game and give the Nebraska Cornhuskers a scare. Yes, Nebraska won by 24 points, but this was not a blowout, however Wyoming made Nebraska work for their points.
Heres is the Nebraska drive chart and only two drives were quick strikes.
What really turned the tide in this game was the start of the second half. Nebraska received the ball and only up 14-7, but on the kickoff Tim Marlowe returned the ball 24 yards and then Wyoming had a personal foul by DeAndre Jones to put the ball on the Wyoming 41 yard line. Then Nebraska scored on four plays for a touchdown and with that score it seemed that the game was over.
Penalties were the issue in this game, prior to that personal foul which ultimately gave way to the Nebraska win, in the first half Wyoming had a personal foul on Chris McNeill when Wyoming put the ball in Nebraska territory. On the day Wyoming had seven penalties for 70 yards with three personal fouls.
Wyoming put up a good fight and on offense quarterback Brett Smith was able to use his legs to keep plays alive and move the chains at times. On the day Smith went 17-for-33 for 166 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. At times he did look better than his counterpart Taylor Martinez.
The main difference in this game was the Nebraska running game which had 333 yards on the day and four touchdowns. The lead back for Nebraska was Rex Burkhead who had 170 yards, two scores and averaged 11.7 yards per carry.
Wyoming did try to hold the ball and control the clock to keep the Nebraska offense off the field, and that worked for the first half. even though Wyoming was using ball control as a tactic they were not completely conservative. They went for a fake punt that ultimately failed and they tried to go down field at times and one should have been caught was a 40-yard pass to Mazi Ogbonna that went right through his fingers.
The way that Wyoming was able to hang around with Nebraska for a half in this game should give Wyoming fans some optimism heading into the bye week and conference play. Looking around the Mountain West both UNLV and New Mexico lost to FCS opponents.
Here are highlights and post game interview videos:
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