LARAMIE – Josh Allen will be back in town for the first time since his Pro Day in 2018.
 
Wyoming, coming off back-to-back losses at San Diego State and Fresno State, is preparing to play well in front of the reigning NFL most valuable player and a loyal fan base that will pack War Memorial Stadium to see Allen's No. 17 retired at halftime against Nevada.
 
The Cowboys (4-6 overall, 2-4 Mountain West) host the Wolf Pack (2-8, 1-5) at noon on Saturday (Altitude and MW Network).
 
"What he's done for our university, what he's done for our program can't be calculated," UW head coach Jay Sawvel said of Allen.
 
The University of Wyoming was the official sponsor of Buffalo's home game vs. Tampa Bay on Sunday. Allen passed for three touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns to lead the Bills to a 44-32 victory over the Buccaneers.
 
Only three times in NFL history, including the postseason, has a quarterback had three passing and three rushing touchdowns. Allen has done it twice, and Otto Graham did it in 1954.
 
"There's no need to overthink it. I mean, he's unreal at everything he does," Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir told ESPN after Allen's performance. "The best player in the league by far, and he's going to show that every game day."
 
The Cowboys' struggling offense started putting in the work Monday to turn things around after finishing with only nine first downs and 184 total yards in the 24-3 loss at Fresno State.
 
Starting quarterback Kaden Anderson was 6-for-23 passing for 64 yards with an interception and true freshman Mason Drube finished 2-for-5 passing for 13 yards in his debut as the backup.
 
"(Anderson) gives us a chance to be successful. We have to help him, too," Sawvel said. "Mason belongs. That was my takeaway. It wasn't like when he went out on the field you felt there was any kind of fear factor or anything that way. As far as his role in the offense, it's something we'll continue to work through and work on."
 
Samuel "Tote" Harris led the offense with 102 yards rushing on 12 carries. Establishing a more consistent ground game this week will help take some of the pressure of the quarterbacks.
 
Defensively, the Pokes held Fresno State to 10 points until the fourth quarter. Safety Thomas Jones finished with 12 tackles and linebacker Brayden Johnson added 10 tackles to lead the unit.
 
Nevada snapped its 16-game MW losing streak with a dominant 55-10 victory over San Jose State last Saturday at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nev.
 
The Wolf Pack played well in all three phases with quarterback Carter Jones passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns and Caleb Ramseur rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown to lead the offense.
 
Nakian Jackson set the tone defensively by returning an interception for a 66-yard touchdown, and Nevada finished with five turnovers that led to 24 points. Ky Woods also returned a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown.
 
"It's a credit to them how they played the San Jose State game. They punched a hole in them, and they did it right from the start," Sawvel said. "It wasn't something like they were going out there with a lack of confidence or a lack of direction and some things happened. They came out right from the start like we're going to win this game, and you better be ready to play."
 
Before Allen's ceremony at halftime, UW will honor the program's seniors as they take the field for the final time at War Memorial Stadium.
 
Emotions will be high on Saturday. The Cowboys hope that will include a postgame victory celebration in their locker room.
 
"It's definitely good timing for us to have Josh Allen here," center Jack Walsh said. "It's very important. It's going to be a sold-out crowd; everybody is coming for this. It's a really cool ordeal that's happening on our senior day of all games. That's really important to us to get out to a good start and have a good game."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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