LARAMIE, Wyo. — War Memorial Stadium — home of the Wyoming football team — is not actually located on Sacks Avenue. It just seemed that way to Utah on Saturday.
After being the only team in the country to not have allowed a single sack, the Utes seemingly gave up a season's worth in one game against the Cowboys. Wyoming defenders treated the Ute blockers like turnstiles, bursting through the offensive line and running backs to drop U. quarterback Brett Ratliff six times in a 31-15 rout.
Putting an end to Utah's streak surprisingly was not a major source of celebration and conversation after the Pokes' second win in a row.
Cowboy coach Joe Glenn put a musical spin and humorous note on the question: "Somebody said they had no sacks. They must not have had a saxophone."
But the Utes still managed to hit plenty of sour notes, totaling a mere 144 yards of offense. Ratliff went backward for 49 yards while getting sacked.
Linebacker Ward Dobbs led Wyoming's sack party with two, including the first allowed by Utah this year. That one came four minutes into the game and caused Ratliff to lose the ball on the Wyoming 11. The Cowboys recovered, scored a TD moments later to go up 10-0 and, well, the blowout was on. Another sack-and-fumble set up Wyoming's late second-quarter TD and 24-0 halftime lead.
Safety John Wendling, noseguard Jake Mayes, defensive end Aaron Robbins and linebacker Sean Claffey also participated in Wyoming's sack-a-thon.
"Utah hadn't given up a sack and we had three in the first half. Those guys were going after it," said Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween, who was 17-for-24 with 202 yards and a touchdown in carrying the Cowboys to the victory.
Ending that streak and putting an end to Utah's six-game winning streak against Wyoming were a couple of the Cowboys' top priorities Saturday.
"On defense, our main goal was to break up Utah's sack-free season," Mayes said.
"We knew they hadn't given up a sack," Dobbs added. "I think that gave us a little extra push."
Along with stockpiling the sacks, the Wyoming defense kept Utah's offense off-balance all game with outstanding attacks up front and strong deep coverage. Ranked No. 1 in the country in pass defense, the Pokes only allowed Ratliff to throw for 111 yards on 16-of-31. They also picked him off two times, including a 42-yard touchdown interception return by cornerback Julius Stinson. Utah was even worse on the run, picking up just 33 rushing yards for a grand total of 144 yards of offense to Wyoming's 302 yards.
"Relentless is the word," Glenn said of his defense's continual pressure on Utah's front line. "They couldn't run on us. They couldn't throw on us. When you're the offensive coordinator on the other side, that's a long day in the box."
"Our front seven is amazing," Stinson said. "I don't think anyone can block them."
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