Nope, these Pokes don’t fear December —mainly because they’re rarely playing come this time of year.
This time, Wyoming was here for the New Mexico Bowl, but the team straglled 11 points behind favored Fresno State (8-4 overall) in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys, however, fought back, closing a 28-17 fourth-quarter deficit, in which they needed a touchdown, two point conversion and late-game field goal to stage the improbable.
These Pokes got a touchdown, the two-point conversion and field goal — plus an additional touchdown in the second overtime of Saturday’s game, giving them a 35-28 at University Stadium.
The Pokes’ quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, who was named offensive MVP at the conclusion of the game, completed a 13-yard touchdown pass, his third of the game, to wide receiver David Leonard, helping the Cowboys win their first bowl in five years. Carta-Samules completed 10 of 16 passes and ran for 67 yards.
A delirious horde of fans, dressed in mustard yellow and brown gear, paraded onto the field as their team celebrated its first bowl win since the Pokes defeated UCLA 24-21 in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl.
Cowboys’ head coach Dave Christensen became the second Wyoming head coach to lead his team to win a bowl game in his first year at the post.
“First of all, it was another typical game by the Wyoming Cowboys — kept everybody in their seats, took it late into the fourth quarter, into double overtime,” Christensen said. “Being behind is nothing new for this team. Four of our games were fourth-quarter comebacks.”
All of it was inconceivable, the purest account of unscripted drama put on display at the New Mexico Bowl.
Late in the first overtime, a pivotal overtime goal line stand was rendered meaningless, all because Pokes’ kicker Ian Watts shanked a game-winning, 40-yard wide left in the first overtime.
However, the Pokes didn’t let the miss affect them. They scored on their first possession of the second overtime and then held the Bulldogs scoreless on their possession to clinch the win.
There could be a plethora of subheadlines to describe Saturday’s game, which also featured a tailback tango.
Wyoming’s tailback Alvester Alexander knifed through both slender and gaping crevasses in the Bulldogs’ defense on the way to his first career 100-yard game.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs’ Ryan Matthews, who entered Saturday’s game as the nation’s leading rusher, churned out 144 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. But he was stuffed on four consecutive carries from the 1-yard line in the first overtime.
“I think it was a heck of a football game,” said Fresno State’s head coach Pat Hill. “If you can’t put it in from the 1-yard line, you have to give a lot of credit to the defensive standby.”
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Though he had 19 less carries, Alexander was far more productive, on average, than Matthews. Alexander racked up 137 yards and a touchdown.
“We knew that was going to be a critical part of our success — the ability to keep the football, move the chains and not go three-and-out,” Christensen said.
But no matter how much success Wyoming had on the ground, they still had miles more to make up in the fourth quarter.
And the Pokes were graced with some miscues by Fresno State. After a Samuels-to-Leonard touchdown pass pulled the Pokes to 28-25, the Bulldogs got good field position thanks to a healthy kickoff return which put them at their own 47-yard line.
From there, the Bulldogs seemed content milking the clock.
But a costly fumble by Matthews — who was originally ruled to be down before the ball escaped — gave the surging Cowboys the opportunity they needed.
“It was just natural,” said Mitch Urein, who was named defensive MVP and put together a six-tackle, two-sack performance, including stripping Matthews of the ball. “I just saw the ball and got my hand on it. It rolled away from him and was right on my chest and I was like, ‘I can’t believe that just happened.’ I got up and was showing the refs, and they didn’t even believe me, like, ‘No way. No way.” I was like, ‘You need to take a look at this.’”
Christensen said he was worried that the refs weren’t going to take a look at the play upstairs.
“I saw it on the board, and the ball was coming out,” he said. “They’re sitting there letting them line up. Of course I have no challenges left, so I was going to challenge the guy physically if they didn’t stop the play.”
The referees did, indeed, take another look, overturning the previous call and giving life to the Pokes.
And Carta-Samuels didn’t disappoint, as he positioned the Pokes in place to tie the game. Watts didn’t let the team down either.
Set up by a 17-play, 54-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes on the clock, Watts sent home a 37-yard field goal to tie the contest with 20 seconds left in the game, setting up the dramatic overtime finish.
“I thought our kids just did a tremendous job of showing discipline the entire game — never giving up,” Christensen said. “It was a tremendous game and a great victory for the Wyoming Cowboys.”
