FRESNO, Calif., – Wyoming’s offense could not find a rhythm throughout a 24-3 loss to Fresno State late Saturday night at rainy Valley Children’s Stadium.
Samuel “Tote” Harris finished with 12 carries for 96 yards, but the passing game struggled. Starting quarterback Kaden Anderson finished 6-for-23 for 64 yards. True freshman Mason Drube of Gillette was 2-for-5 passing for 13 yards in his UW debut.
The Cowboys fell to 4-6 overall and 2-4 Mountain West.
UW finished with 184 yards (107 rushing, 77 passing). Fresno State had 311 yards (216 rushing, 95 passing).
“We didn’t give ourselves a real good chance tonight. We made too many mistakes in critical situations,” UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. “We’ve got to coach better and that’s the bottom line to it.”
The Bulldogs (7-3, 4-2) had a 16-play drive in the third quarter that drained over 8 minutes off the clock, but UW’s defense forced a 27-yard field goal attempt, which Dylan Lynch missed to keep it a one-score game (10-3).
The Pokes were driving after Harris broke loose for runs of 8 and 29 yards, but Anderson threw an interception taking a deep shot.
Johnathan Arcenaux turned the turnover into a 58-yard touchdown run to give Fresno State a commanding 17-3 lead. The Bulldogs tacked on another score on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 2:00 remaining.
Linebackers Evan Eller (nine tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss) and Brayden Johnson (nine tackles) led UW’s valiant defensive effort. Safety Jones Thomas also had nine tackles.
The Bulldogs dominated time of possession, 42:36 to 24:00.
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The Cowboys trailed 10-3 at the intermission after the teams combined for nine punts.
After the Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead, UW answered with an eight-play drive capped with a 41-yard field goal by Erik Sandvik to make the score 7-3 with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Fresno State extended its advantage with a 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in the half.
UW will host Nevada in the home finale next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (noon, Altitude and Mountain West Network).
TEAM NOTES
• The Cowboys and Bulldogs met for the 16th time on Saturday.
• The Cowboys are 6-10 all-time against the Bulldogs.
• The Cowboys are 1-7 all-time against Fresno State in Fresno.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. hauled in a 40 yard reception in the first quarter
• Quarterback Mason Drube recorded his first career snap in the first quarter.
• Running back Samuel Tote Harris recorded 96 yards rushing. He had 450 yards coming into the game for the season, as he went over 500 yards for the season.
• Wide receiver Chris Durr, Jr. recorded a 40-yard reception in the first quarter for his 11th chunk play of the season.
• Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg added five catches for 36 yards.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Defensive end Esaia Bogar recorded a sack in the first quarter for the first of his career.
• Defensive tackle Ben Florentine added a tackle for a loss for the seventh of the season to lead the team. It came on a fourth down in the second quarter.
• Linebacker Evan Eller recorded nine tackles for the night. He entered the game with 286 career tackles and is now five away from 300.
• Safety Jones Thomas added a career-high tackles. His pervious career best was eight coming against UNLV.
• Linebacker Brayden Johnson added nine tackles on the night.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Kicker Erik Sandvik connected on a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter for the sixth field goal of his career.
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
The rules are simple: What was the player’s impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.
This isn’t a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220’s Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.
We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS — only we hope this catalog is fairer.
Don’t agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports – #Top50UWFB
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
– University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players