Texas Tech, who came into the game rated No. 24 in the nation in the Coaches Poll, was defeated by Wyoming on Saturday night in Laramie in one of the most exciting victories in the history of the team when the Cowboys scored the winning two-point conversion in the second overtime.
“That’s a cowboy-tough win,” UW head coach Craig Bohl said postgame. “Andrew Peasley, he’s as tough as boot leather. Hats off to Texas Tech. Coach McGuire is doing a great job. He’s a perfect fit. Both he and I knew it would be a tight ballgame. I’m really proud of our football team.
I think our maturity showed because we did not start fast. Every checkpoint I talked about in the pregame meal about what we needed to do, it’s 17-0 and I thought, “Did these guys even listen to that?”
There was certainly an amount of frustration, but the players worked through those mistakes and good things started to happen. Texas Tech is ranked, and they deserved to be ranked. We beat a good football team tonight. We have passionate fans.
They were on pins and needles because they bleed brown and gold. It was neat to see our players enjoy all the fans on the field.”
On a fourth and seven play from the Texas Tech 11-yard line in the second overtime, the Cowboys scored the game-winning touchdown. The Red Raiders were blitzing when Cowboy quarterback Andrew Peasley calmly connected with tight end John Michael Gyllenborg through the middle for the score to tie the game at 33-33. Texas Tech’s two-point attempt was already blocked by the Cowboy defense in the second OT.
Sam Scott, a sophomore running back, was the Cowboys’ next option. Scott received the ball from Peasley and raced through the defense and into the end zone to give the Cowboys a 35-33 victory.
Since the 2016 season, the Pokes hadn’t defeated a Top 25 team before. On November 19 of that year, at Laramie, Wyoming defeated San Diego State by a score of 34-33. At the time, the Aztecs were rated 25th in the Coaches poll and 24th in the Associated Press poll. The Cowboys defeated Boise State on Oct. 29 of the 2016 campaign by a final score of 30-28. At the time, the Broncos were rated 13th in both national polls.
“This is the type of team we have,” Bohl said. “And that started back after the bowl game. You don’t come up with these kind of wins without great chemistry because what occurs when you don’t have great maturity or great chemistry and you’re down like that, I’ve seen some ugly things get said on the sidelines and finger points. Guys were certainly upset, but they were encouraging one another.”
With just 41 seconds left in regulation, Texas Tech forced overtime when place-kicker Gino Garcia connected on a 27-yard field goal to tie the score at 20-20, finishing off a 13-play, 69-yard drive that took 2:58. Wyoming held on a third and eight from the Wyoming 12-yard line, forcing TTU into the field-goal try. With only 41 seconds left in regulation after the subsequent kickoff, the Cowboys ran two plays to end the game.
Texas Tech decided to start the first overtime on defense. On a second and seven at the Tech 22, Cowboy QB Peasley ran for 10 yards to give UW a first down.
The ball was subsequently placed at the five-yard line for the Red Raiders after he made throws of two and five yards to running backs Scott and D.Q. James, respectively. From there, Peasley grasped it and ran up the middle while dodging tacklers to score. John Hoyland, a place kicker for the Cowboys, stepped in to kick the extra point, giving Wyoming a 27-20 lead.
In the first overtime, Tyler Shough, the quarterback for Texas Tech, was heavily relied upon. On the first three plays of the series, Shough carried the ball. He moved the ball to the Wyoming seven-yard line on three carries of four, seven, and seven yards each.
Backing up On second down three, Tahj Brooks ran for one yard, then on third and two, he carried the ball into the end zone from six yards away. Garcia added the extra point to level the score at 27-27 before the second overtime period began.
Wyoming started the second overtime period on defense. A completion of 10 yards by running back Brooks on third down gave Texas Tech a first down at the Wyoming 15 after the UW defense kept the Red Raiders to no yards on their opening two plays. Shough’s 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerand Brandley followed a run for no gain, giving Tech the lead once again at 33-27.
The Cowboy defense stepped up on what would turn out to be a crucial play and stopped Texas Tech from scoring a two-point conversion.
The TD pass from Peasley to Gyllenborg and the two-point run by Scott followed, giving the Cowboys their second overtime heroics and a 1-0 start to the season.
With their victory on Saturday, Wyoming defeated a team from an independent five-conference in Laramie for the fourth time since 2004. In addition, UW triumphed over Missouri (37-31) in 2019, Virginia (23-3) in 2007, and Ole Miss (37-32) in Laramie in 2004. The victories against Virginia and Missouri for Wyoming both came in those seasons’ opening games, just as Saturday’s victory over Texas Tech.
