Wyoming got back to its winning ways on Saturday by defeating Big Sky Conference opponent UC-Davis in Laramie. The Cowboys were coming off of a pretty rough week at Nebraska where they saw a seven point deficit turn into 35 point deficit in just one quarter. The Pokes were looking to put that game past them and right the boat. Last year the Cowboys were defeated by another Big Sky opponent, North Dakota. This year the Pokes want to make sure that they didn’t look past their FCS opponent and come out with a win. The Cowboys won in a big way today, 45-22 over the Aggies. Here are today’s three outstanding players of the game.
Third Star: Ethan Wood, Punter
Ethan Wood is a bit of an unsung hero in this game, but his contribution to the game was important. Wood punted the ball four times today, three of them landing inside the 20 yard line. Of those three punts inside of the 20, one of them landed inside the five yard line. His punts today allowed the Cowboy defense to be in good position and force the Aggies into difficult field positions. By pinning them deep the Cowboy offense often started their drives in a good position to score.
Second Star: Carl Granderson, Defensive End
Carl Granderson lived in the UC-Davis backfield this afternoon. Granderson constantly harassed UC-Davis quarterback Ben Scott, and eventually knocking him out of the game late in the fourth quarter. Granderson recorded four tackles, two and a half tackles for loss and one sack. Carl Granderson now has a sack in each of the three games he’s played in this season. The Cowboys have not had a defensive end record sacks in three consecutive games since 1986 when that was accomplished by Jeff Knapton. Granderson made his presence known early in this game and was relentless throughout the game. He is also credited with a forced fumble.
First Star: Brian Hill, Running Back
Brian Hill moved up to number three on the career rushing list against UC-Davis. He sits at 2808 yards for his Cowboy career and isn’t done yet. Today he passed Marques Brigham and Wynel Seldon. Today on 25 carries he gained 208 yards and had two touchdowns. Hill said after the game that “mad that I only got 20 yards on my first carry today.” That’s the quote of a man who runs angry. Today Brian Hill ran angry. With his 208 yards rushing today he recorded his sixth 200 yard game of his career, first of this season.
The Cowboys will be on the road next week to take on Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The game will be televised on Friday night on CBS Sports Network.