MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The Wyoming Cowboys could not overcome a slow start Saturday, falling 24-10 to Central Michigan in a rainy game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Cowboys trailed 17-0 at halftime before putting together a stronger second half, but two fourth-quarter interceptions ended Wyoming’s comeback hopes as the Cowboys dropped to 1-2 on the season.
Central Michigan improved to 2-1 after rushing for 339 yards compared with 162 for Wyoming. The Chippewas ran 43 plays for 246 yards in the first half, including 214 rushing yards, while Wyoming had 20 plays for 113 yards. The Cowboys finished with 342 total yards in the second half but could not turn that production into enough points.
“I don’t think there was a lack of preparation or a lack of energy to play. What we didn’t do is respond to adversity when we got to that in a certain point in the first half the way we needed to,” Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said. “We’ve got challenges that we’ve got to work through right now a little bit within not getting down in certain phases of the game. That’s been frustrating because I think that by and large, there’s maturity on the team, but our leadership, it’s got to be better. It can’t be us coming in at halftime and getting changed. It can’t be us coming in during a lightning delay and getting changed. We’ve got to be able to change it while we’re on the field.”
Central Michigan opened the scoring with a pair of long drives. Angel Flores capped an 11-play, 80-yard possession with a 25-yard touchdown pass, then finished a 17-play, 90-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with two seconds remaining in the second quarter to give the Chippewas a 17-0 halftime lead. Flores rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Wyoming had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard late in the first half when Tyler Hughes connected with Kyle Frendt for a 39-yard gain to move the Cowboys into the red zone. The drive ended, however, when Eric Richardson was stopped short of the line to gain on fourth-and-4 at the Central Michigan 10-yard line.
The Cowboys finally broke through with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter when Erik Sandvik converted a 37-yard field goal to make it 17-3. Central Michigan answered when Brock Townsend broke loose for a 38-yard touchdown run, extending the Chippewas’ lead to 24-3.
Wyoming responded on the opening play of the fourth quarter. Markell Holman scored on a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 24-10 and give the Cowboys an opportunity to make the game interesting.
The Cowboys moved the ball in the second half, but two interceptions in the fourth quarter prevented Wyoming from closing the gap. Central Michigan was able to protect its lead the rest of the way and hand Wyoming its second loss of the season.
“I thought we fought hard in the second half. I thought we were much better in the second half,” Sawvel said. “But we also made a couple of critical mistakes in the second half that keep us from being in a position where we had a chance to win the game.”
Frendt led Wyoming with four catches for 95 yards, while Hughes rushed for 78 yards. Linebackers Gary Rutherford and Dash Bauman led the defensive effort with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
The loss also continued a difficult stretch in nonconference play during Sawvel’s tenure. In his third season as Wyoming’s head coach, Sawvel is now 8-19 overall, including a 4-11 record in Mountain West play and a 4-8 mark in nonconference games. Two of Wyoming’s four nonconference victories and one loss under Sawvel came against FCS opponents, leaving the Cowboys 2-7 against FBS opponents in nonconference play during his tenure.
Wyoming now turns its attention to Mountain West play. The Cowboys will host Hawaii next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will be televised by The CW.
