Cowboys Lose…….Again

Junior RB Devante Mays rushed for a career-high 176 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries as Utah State bounced back from its first Mountain West loss of the season with a 58-27 victory against Wyoming on Friday night on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.

The win extended the Aggies’ home winning streak to 13. The school record is 17, set from 1959-63.

Sophomore QB Kent Myers completed his first 10 passes of the game and finished 14-of-17 for 246 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns for Utah State (5-3, 4-1 MW), which defeated Wyoming (1-8, 1-4) for the fourth straight time.

Sophomore RB Brian Hill finished with 201 yards rushing and one touchdown on 26 carries for the Cowboys, who lost for the second time in a row.

The Aggies, who were held to just 239 yards in a 48-14 loss at San Diego State last weekend, finished with 592 yards (296 rushing and 296 passing) of total offense against Wyoming, its most since gaining 646 yards against Louisiana Tech in 2012 and the 14th-most in school history.

Wyatt Houston had his best game as an Aggie. The junior TE caught a career-high-tying four passes for a career-best 66 yards and a career-high two touchdowns, the final a 25-yarder with 9:52 left in the game that gave Utah State a 51-21 lead.

Junior LB Nick Vigil led the Aggies’ defensive effort as he recorded 13 tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss. Senior SS Marwin Evans added seven tackles, to go along with a career-high two pass breakups.

The Aggies scored points every time they touched the ball in the first half as Mays scored on touchdown runs of 11 and 2 yards, respectively, while Houston caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Myers. In addition, junior PK Brock Warren booted a 22-yard field goal.

Of Utah State’s 11 offensive possessions on the night, seven ended with a touchdown and one ended with a field goal. The Aggies only punted once on the night.

Utah State capped the first-half scoring when junior LB Brock Carmen blocked a punt, which redshirt freshman FS Jontrell Rocquemore recovered in the end zone to give the hosts a 30-14 lead at the break. It was Rocquemore’s second touchdown of the season as he also returned a fumble 97 yards for a score at Washington on Sept. 19.

Wyoming’s two touchdowns during the first 30 minutes of action came courtesy of a 9-yard pass from redshirt freshman QB Nick Smith to junior WR Jake Maulhardt and a 47-yard run by Hill that pulled the Cowboys within 21-14 with 6:54 left in the second quarter.

Maulhardt finished with four catches for 30 yards and two touchdowns. Smith was 10-of-18 for 83 yards and the two touchdowns.

Utah State also scored on its first possession of the second half when Myers called his own number on a 5-yard touchdown run, making it 37-14 with 10:09 remaining in the third quarter.

Senior WR Brandon Swindall gave the Aggies a 44-21 lead early in the fourth quarter when he hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Myers. Swindall finished with three catches for 50 yards.

Utah State’s final touchdown of the night came on a 34-yard pass from sophomore QB Damion Hobbs to sophomore WR Jaren Colston-Green, making it 58-21 with 6:34 remaining. Colston-Green caught his first two career passes as an Aggie for 50 yards.

Wyoming added a late touchdown when Maulhardt caught an 8-yard pass from Smith with just 16 seconds to go.