LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 12, 2024) – The shorthanded Wyoming Cowboys could not close out a late push by the San Diego State Aztecs in a 27-24 loss on Saturday afternoon inside War Memorial Stadium in Laramie. The Pokes took a lead to open the fourth quarter, but the Aztecs used the passing attack to score the final 10 points of the game as UW falls to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play with SDSU improving to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
 
"The team that makes the least mistakes wins," UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. " And we made critical mistakes too often in all phases of the game. You could go on and on and there's just times that we just didn't finish the play off like we needed to. We made mistakes you can't make to win a game like that.  We did everything we could to win this game, and we did that in a lot of different ways. The players played hard. There's no complaint with the effort they gave. We just made the importune and catastrophic mistakes in certain situations." 
 
The Pokes recorded a season-high 371 yards of total offense in the contest with season-high 190 yards on the ground and 181 yards through the air. The Aztecs added 356 yards of total offense with 254 yards passing and were held to 102 yards on the ground.
 
The Wyoming offense was paced by running back Sam Scott added 94 yards on the ground with his second rushing score of the season. He had a long run of 27 yards. Quarterback Evan Svoboda threw for 181 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. He rushed gained 90 yards on the ground but had a net of 55 yards after being sacked six times. He had a touchdown rush of 51 yards and pass of 70 yards both the longest of the season for the Brown and Gold. Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent tied a career high with two catches with a career-best 84 yards receiving.
 
The Wyoming defense paced by linebacker Shae Suiaunoa with 10 tackles. He has double-digit tackles in back-to-back game but was injured in the second half. Defensive end Sabastian Harsh recorded a career-high four tackles for loss tying a school record. Nickel Malique Singleton added a career-high six tackles along with defensive tackle Dante Drake with five tackles. Wyoming tied a season-high with nine tackles for loss in the game.
The SDSU was led by quarterback Danny O'Neil with 254 passing yards with a touchdown. Running back Marquez Cooper added 87 yards with a score. 
 
SDSU opened up the scoring in the first quarter with a field goal, but Wyoming answered on a flea flicker from Svoboda to Sargent for 70 yards to make it a 7-3 game. After a pick-six by SDSU, Scott found the endzone, but the Aztecs would take a 17-14 lead into the half after a score.
 
Wyoming tacked on a field goal in the third quarter and added a rushing score by Svoboda from 51 yards to open the fourth quarter, but a passing score by SDSU and field goal gave the Aztecs the win.
 
Wyoming returns to action next week heading to San Jose State for a matchup with the Spartans on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT in a contest on the MW Network. 
 
TEAM NOTES
•The Cowboys and Aztecs met for the 39th time on Saturday.
•It marked the first meeting between the two schools since the 2019 season. It was also the first meeting in Laramie since the 2016 Mountain West Championship game.
•The Cowboys are now 19-20 all-time against San Diego State.
•The Cowboys move to 12-8 against the Aztecs in game in Laramie.
•The Cowboys and Aztecs first-year head coach Sean Lewis met for the second time. Lewis coached Kent State against the Cowboys in the 2021 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. UW is 1-1 against Lewis.
 
OFFENSIVE NOTES
•Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent caught a 70-yard touchdown from Svoboda in the first quarter. It was the first touchdown reception of his career.
•Sargent tied a career-high with two catches and added career-high 84 yards receiving.
•Quarterback Evan Svoboda threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Sargent. It was the longest play from scrimmage this season. It was the longest since Andrew Peasley found tight end John Michael Gyllenborg for 89 yards last season against Hawai'i. 
•Svoboda also rushed for a 51-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter for the longest rush of the season for the Cowboys. He added 55 yards on the ground.
•Running back Sam Scott recorded 94 yards on the ground after 97 in Wyoming's last contest against Air Force. He also added his second rushing score of the season.
•He recorded a career-high 20 carries n the night for Wyoming.
•Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg added a team-high four catches for 48 yards. He has four or more catches in three-straight games.
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
•Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa added a tackle for loss on SDSU's opening drive. He added 1.5 in the game and has 4.5 in his last two games
•Suiaunoa added 10 tackles and has double-digit tackles in back-to-back games with 23 in the last two. 
•The Cowboys forced an interception in the second quarter with Connor Shay recording the first of his career. Defensive end Braden Siders tip the quarterback's hand forcing the turnover.
•The Cowboy defense recorded nine tackles for loss in the contest, tying a season-high had against Idaho.
•Nickel Malique Singleton added a career-high six tackles.
•Defensive tackle Dante Drake added a career-high five tackles for the Cowboys.
•Defensive end Sabastian Harsh recorded a career-high four tackles for loss in the game. He tied a school record with his four tackles for loss, which has been done seven other times and not since 2017. 
 
SPECIAL NOTES
•The Cowboys faked a punt in the second quarter with defensive tackle Jayden Williams rushing the ball for 17 yards. 
•Kicker John Hoyland recorded a 42-yard field goal and added three extra points and has 324 points in his career tying Sean Fleming for second in school history.