Terron Kellman. Photo from gowyo.com
LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboys scored 21 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes to rally past San Jose State, 35–28, on Saturday evening inside War Memorial Stadium. Wyoming scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes to improve to 3–3 overall and 1–1 in Mountain West Conference play.
“It was a great fight from our team for 60 minutes,” Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said. “It was pretty ugly for 47 of it, and then pretty beautiful for 13 of it. The credit goes to the players. We got to the sideline after that second touchdown, and it felt like if we were going to win the game.”
Quarterback Kaden Anderson led the comeback with 304 passing yards, including a 45-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Charlie Coenen that tied the game at 28–28 with 2:44 remaining. On the next drive, Anderson connected with running back Samuel “Tote” Harris for 52 yards to set up a 28-yard touchdown run by Terron Kellman that gave Wyoming the lead for good. The Cowboys’ defense then held the Spartans scoreless on their final possession to seal the victory.
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Wyoming outgained San Jose State 411–383, passing for 304 yards and rushing for 107. The Cowboys held the Spartans to just 43 rushing yards.
Anderson completed 23 of 39 passes for two touchdowns and found 11 different receivers. Harris carried nine times for 47 yards and caught two passes for 58 yards. Tight end Evan Svoboda added a career-high four receptions, while four other Cowboys had three catches each.
Wyoming’s defense produced a season-high nine tackles for loss, giving the Cowboys 17 over their last two games. Defensive back Desman Hearns led the team with a career-high eight tackles and a key pass breakup on third down to force a punt that set up the game-winning drive. Linebacker Evan Eller added seven tackles, while linebackers Brayden Johnson and Enock Sibomana and defensive end Tyce Westland each contributed six.
San Jose State struck first on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Walker Eget to Danny Scudero on the game’s opening drive. Wyoming answered quickly when freshman Deion DeBlanc returned a punt for a touchdown to tie the game at 7–7.
The Spartans regained the lead with a 72-yard touchdown connection between Eget and Scudero, then extended it to 21–7 early in the second quarter with another Scudero touchdown reception.
Wyoming cut the deficit to 21–14 on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to wide receiver Michael Fitzgerald, marking Fitzgerald’s first score as a Cowboy. However, San Jose State returned the ensuing kickoff inside the 5-yard line and pushed its lead back to 28–14 shortly after.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, as both offenses struggled to capitalize on turnovers. Wyoming’s defense forced a key strip sack to prevent further damage after a muffed punt.
The Cowboys’ comeback began early in the fourth quarter when linebacker Brayden Johnson intercepted a tipped pass from Eller and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown, making it 28–21. Wyoming’s defense continued to hold firm, allowing the offense to complete the comeback with two late touchdowns.
Scudero finished with 10 receptions for 180 yards and four touchdowns for the Spartans, becoming the first opposing player to record four touchdown receptions against Wyoming since Hawai‘i’s Chris Gant in 2012. Eget completed 23 of 37 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter.
Wyoming travels to Air Force next Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.