By David Rogers. LARAMIE, Wyo. — It was special teams, defense and clock management night on Sept. 23 in War Memorial Stadium. In the end, it was special teams and defense that powered host Wyoming to an improbable, come-from-behind win over Appalachian State, 22-19.
In one sense, the fifth time was the charm for the Cowboys. After Mountaineer placekicker Michael Hughes slotted four field goals in the first half and redshirt senior Tyrek Funderburk seemed to put the game away for App State with an 18-yard return of a pass interception in the fourth quarter to put his team ahead, 19-7, things started going remarkably wrong for the Boone boys.
On the first play from scrimmage following Funderbunk’s INT, Wyoming’s junior running back Harrison Waylee broke through the left side and rambled the distance, a 75-yard TD run. Junior placekicker John Hoyland’s successful PAT pulled the Cowboys within a TD, 19-14, the Mountaineers still leading.
App State got the ball back with 11:24 left on the clock and seemed to have two objectives: take as much time off the clock as possible in keeping the Wyoming offense off the field and, in the end, put points on the board. A field goal would put them ahead by eight points, the preferred TD and PAT by 12.
Right on cue, App State quarterback Joey Aguilar orchestrated a 17-play drive that took all but 2:02 off the clock. Facing 4th down and 11 at the Wyoming 29-yard line, the estimated 47-yard kick seemingly well within Hughes’ range, the coaching staff opted for the field goal.
What they got instead was the worst case scenario: a blocked kick by the Cowboys’ Jakorey Hawkins, who followed it up with a “scoop and scoot,” returning the blocked kick 62 yards for a TD — putting Wyoming ahead, 22-19, for the first time since a QB keeper run by senior QB Andrew Peasley gave them a tenuous, 7-6 lead in the second quarter.
With 1:53 remaining, App State had plenty of time to march down for a TD to win or a field goal to tie the game and send it into probably overtime. Again right on cue, in nine plays Aguilar & Co. marched down to the Wyoming 35, for what would have been a challenging, 52 yard field goal attempt. On second and 10, with 18 seconds remaining on the clock and no timeouts, Aguilar aimed a pass to wide receiver Milan Tucker in the end zone, drawing a pass interference penalty against the Cowboys’ defensive back.
Although the Mountaineers had clearly moved to within field goal range with the ball at the 20 yard line, with 10 seconds remaining they had enough time to get either a TD or move the ball just that much closer for a field goal by gaining some insurance yards.
Unfortunately, Aguilar was pressured by the Cowboys’ defensive line and his pass over the middle intended for tight end Eli Wilson came up short — and was intercepted by junior defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole — and immediately downed to preserve Wyoming’s come-from-behind win.
Except for Appalachian State offense’s inability to score touchdowns even upon getting the ball into the red zone, the Mountaineers played brilliantly. The time of possession was as lopsided as a football game could get, with App State controlling the ball for 40:25 vs. just 19:35 for Wyoming.
Give at least some credit to the Cowboys’ kicking team and punter Clayton Stewart. The graduate transfer from Texas State had four punts downed inside the 20, two of them at the Mountaineer 1-yard line to give App State’s offense poor starting field position.
App State won almost every statistical category except turnovers and red zone TDs, which came back to haunt them.
- The Mountaineers more than doubled Wyoming’s offensive production, with 417 yards of net total offense compared to just 208 yards for their hosts.
- App State converted on 10-of-19 third downs, vs. just 3-of-12 for the Cowboys.
- The Boone contingent racked up 17 first downs, vs. just 7 for the Laramie bunch.
- And they ran 90 total offensive plays compared to just 42 for the regular tenants of War Memorial Stadium.
- The Appalachian defense recorded three QB sacks, setting the Cowboys back 28 yards and disrupting those otherwise promising offensive possessions.
- On offense, Aguilar completed 22 of 40 pass attempts for 200 yards while Peasley was just 5-15, for 31 yards.
- As advertised the Mountaineers were successful in controlling the clock largely by running the football. Running back Nate Noel, who entered the game as the nation’s FBS rushing leader, carried the ball 30 times for 107 yards but App State also got good ground game production from a supporting cast that included Kanye Robers (6 carries, 59 yards) and Maquel Haywood, the transfer from Navy (8 carries, 31 yards).
- Aguilar’s 22 pass completions for 200 yards were spread among nine receivers, most notably to WR Kaedin Robinson’s three catches for 51 yards.
- Hughes’ made field goals in the first half included from 25, 28, 20 and 50 yards (the longest of his career).
The Mountaineers next open Sun Belt Conference play at Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 30, before coming home to play Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
