Wyoming coach Joe Tiller says the Cowboys game against Air Force had a little bit of everything.
"There certainly was great drama," he said. "Both teams moved the football, but neither team performed in the red zone like they are capable. That's a credit to both defenses."Wyoming (4-0, 2-0 Western Athletic Conference) had just slightly more luck in the red zone - inside the opponent's 20 - than Air Force (2-1, 2-1). The Cowboys converted one of their two touchdowns and all three field goals, including a game-winning 19-yarder with 36 seconds left to lift Wyoming past the Falcons 22-19 on Saturday.
Wyoming's final drive was kept alive by David Saraf's 15-yard third-down reception up the middle to the 10-yard line. Cornerback Lee Vaughn assured the victory with a last-second interception of Beau Morgan's pass at the Wyoming 39.
Wedel's game-winner redeemed an otherwise poor kicking game for him. He hit 29- and 31-yard field goals, but missed attempts of 34 and 39.
Air Force (2-1, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference) fared no better in its kicking game despite switching kickers. Dallas Thompson saw a 43-yard field goal fade wide right with 4:54 left in the game. Ty Barbery missed another 42-yard field goal and an extra point in the first half for the Falcons.
"We can't trade touchdowns for field goals," DeBerry said. "When we gt the ball in the red zone, by gosh, we got to score touchdowns."
Wyoming came from behind for the third time this season. Morgan's scored from 4 yards out early in the fourth quarter to put Air Force ahead 19-16. Wyoming had stopped a fourth-and-goal attempt on that drive only to see it called back because of a holding penalty.
"This team believes in itself," Tiller said. "It believes it can win no matter what the circumstances. It has great resolve."
Colorado St. 35, UNLV 16
At Fort Collins, Colo., Moses Moreno passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Colorado State opened defense of its Western Athletic Conference title by holding off UNLV.
Running backs Calvin Branch and Damon Washington each exceeded 100 yards and scored a touchdown for the Rams, who managed to overcome five turnovers and crippling penalties.
The Rams (2-2) were clinging to a 21-16 lead when freshman safety Kevin McDougal stripped Omar Love on a completion at the CSU 26-yard line and teammate Eric Olson recovered with 9:44 remaining.
On the ensuing drive, Washington had a 20-yard run and Branch a 19-yarder, and Moreno sneaked over from the 1 for a 28-16 lead with 8:08 left.
UNLV (0-4 overall, 0-2 in the WAC) then marched to the CSU 31 before giving up the ball on downs, and Moreno completed a 31-yard pass to Jeremy Calhoun before hitting tight end Justin Shull on a 3-yard TD pass with 41 seconds left.
Branch rushed for 121 yards on 17 carries, and Washington had 117 on 19 attempts.
Kansas State 34, Rice 7
At Houston, Matt Kavanaugh tied his own school record with four touchdown passes - three of them to wide receiver Jimmy Dean - as No. 16 Kansas State rolled past Rice.
The Wildcats (4-0) took a quick 14-0 lead, let Rice (1-2) score early in the second half and then erupted for three unanswered touchdowns to put the Owls away.
Kansas State needed just four plays to go 80 yards following the opening kickoff, the last 23 coming with Kavanaugh, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 232 yards, tossing to a streaking Dean slanting over the middle and into the end zone.
Navy 19, Southern Methodist 17
At Annapolis, Md., Tom Vanderhorst kicked a 38-yard field goal on the final play night to give Navy a victory over Southern Methodist.
Vanderhorst, who had lost his job to freshman Tim Shubzda during fall practice, got the call after Shubzda missed from 36 and 37 yards earlier in the game.
The last-second kick gave Navy a 2-0 record, its best start since 1988, when the Middies defeated a pair of I-AA opponents to start the season. Both of this year's wins came over I-A foes, the first time Navy has opened with two I-A wins since 1974.
Vanderhorst's kick foiled a fourth-quarter comeback by SMU (2-2). Ramon Flanigan, sacked six times in the first three quarters, engineered two long scoring drives to rally the Mustangs, who had trailed 16-0 in the first half.
San Jose St. 26, UTEP 25
At San Jose, Calif., Carl Dean's 19-yard touchdown pass to Windrell Hayes with 1:03 left completed a wild fourth quarter as San Jose State came back to beat Texas-El Paso.
UTEP's Javier Sanchez recovered Damon Bowers' fumbled punt in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:46 left, and the Miners (1-2, 0-1 Western Athletic Conference) got two extra points on Leonard Lilja's pass to Cedric Johnson for a 25-19 lead.
But the Spartans (1-3, 1-1) drove 77 yards for the winning score in nine plays. Dean completed six of eight passes during the drive.
Tulsa 27, No. 19 Iowa 20
At Tulsa, Okla., John Fitzgerald completed 22 of 38 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown as Tulsa upset No. 19 Iowa 27-20 on Saturday night to snap a six-game losing streak.
Tulsa (1-2) came from behind to pull out its first victory over a ranked opponent since beating No. 15 Texas A&M in 1991.
The Tulsa defense held Iowa (2-1) twice within the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. The game ended on an incomplete pass by Iowa's Matt Sherman at midfield.
Tulsa outgained Iowa 464 yards to 365 in total offense.
Fitzgerald, who made his first start of the season after going 5-for-19 for 111 yards in Tulsa's previous two games, threw for one touchdown and sparked the offense to rally from a 17-10 deficit.