LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboys secured their first win of the season, defeating the Air Force Falcons 31-19 during Homecoming at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie on Saturday night. The Cowboys’ strong second-half performance saw them score 24 points, amassing 278 yards of offense while controlling the ball for almost 22 minutes.

“I’m really happy for our team. I’m really proud of our players,” Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said. “For where we are at right now, we couldn’t have asked for a better time for an open date. We needed to get a game to go into the open date. The way they have practiced, continued to fight, and continued to improve, we’ll come back two weeks from now and be a better football team than we were today.”

The Cowboys (1-4 overall, 1-0 in the Mountain West) recorded a season-high 361 yards of total offense, including 188 yards through the air and 173 on the ground. Wyoming’s defense held Air Force to 320 total yards, limiting the Falcons to only 103 yards in the second half.

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Wyoming jumped to an early lead with a rushing touchdown by running back Sam Scott—his first of the season. Despite trailing 13-7 at halftime, the Cowboys responded in the third quarter, scoring twice on rushing touchdowns by quarterback Evan Svoboda and wide receiver Tyler King. Svoboda was efficient, completing 8-of-9 passes in the quarter. Wyoming added 10 more points in the fourth quarter, with John Hoyland connecting on a field goal and Svoboda rushing for another touchdown, sealing the game with a late defensive stop.

Svoboda led the offense, completing 15-of-21 passes for a career-high 165 yards, while also rushing for a season-high 70 yards and scoring twice on the ground. Scott recorded a career-high 97 rushing yards on 19 carries. Wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. set career-highs with three catches for 71 yards, including a 32-yard reception.

On defense, linebacker Shae Suiaunoa paced the Cowboys with a career-high 13 tackles, including three tackles for loss, the most by a Wyoming player since Braden Siders’ performance in the 2022 Arizona Bowl. Nose tackle Ben Florentine added a career-high seven tackles, six of which came in the first half. Defensive end Tyce Westland also tied his career-high with five tackles.

Special teams played a key role, with kicker John Hoyland adding to his school record by nailing his 62nd career field goal, while also contributing four extra points, bringing his career total to 318 points, third all-time at Wyoming. Punter Jack Culbreath added a season-long 62-yard punt, with two landing inside the 20-yard line.

The Cowboys opened Mountain West play with a win, improving their all-time conference opener record to 14-12, including 10-6 in Laramie. It also marked Wyoming’s 99th Homecoming game, where the Cowboys improved to 50-46-3 overall and 45-27-2 at War Memorial Stadium.

Saturday’s win was the first for Sawvel as head coach of the Cowboys. He is the first Wyoming head coach since Paul Roach to earn his first win against Air Force, echoing the milestone set by Craig Bohl, who also earned his first Mountain West victory against the Falcons in 2014.

Wyoming now heads into a bye week before hosting San Diego State at War Memorial Stadium on October 12. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. as the Cowboys look to continue building momentum.

Check out our video below of the Wyoming fans singing the final moments of the game away moments before the final kneel-down by the Cowboys to win the game.