Wyoming Beats Air Force 28-14 as Tyler Hughes, Defense Force Three Fumbles

Before this one, Air Force running back Owen Allen told reporters in Colorado Springs he was looking forward to celebrating the Falcons' first road win in the series since 2012. Wyoming heard about it. Wyoming did not forget about it.

Fifty seconds into Friday night's game at War Memorial Stadium, Tyler Hughes was standing in the end zone. By the end of the night, Wyoming had a 28-14 win, a three-game winning streak and a share of the conversation at the top of the Mountain West. Air Force had three lost fumbles to think about.

The Cowboys improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in league play after starting the season 2-3. Air Force falls to 5-2 and 3-2, with its four-game winning streak snapped. The two teams came in tied for second in the conference standings, and only one of them leaves that way.

Fifty seconds to set the tone

Wyoming wore special Cowboys and Coal uniforms under the lights, and offensive coordinator Christian Taylor's opening script did the rest. On the second snap of the game, Hughes burst through a huge hole and went 68 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest touchdown run by a Wyoming player since 2023.

Air Force, a team that had not lost a fumble all season, then put the ball on the ground on its very first series. Evan Medders coughed it up, and defensive end Esaia Bogar recovered.

The Pokes did not cash that one in. Erik Sandvik missed his first field goal of the season, and Air Force answered with what Air Force does: a 14-play, 60-yard drive that took 8:03 off the clock and ended with a 37-yard Carter Cremascoli field goal.

Wyoming responded with an 11-play, 75-yard march. Hughes started it with a 33-yard run, kept it alive with an 8-yard completion to Eric Richardson on fourth-and-5, and finished it with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Wilson with 8:40 left in the half. Cremascoli hit from 46 to make it 14-6.

The hook-and-lateral

Then came the play of the night. Facing third-and-goal from the 12 with under a minute left in the half, Hughes hit Richardson, who pitched it to Samuel "Tote" Harris, who carried it the rest of the way into the end zone with 38 seconds left. Wyoming led 21-6 at the break.

Hughes admitted he was not sure about the call at first.

"When Coach Taylor buzzed in and said that was the call, I was like, 'You sure?'" Hughes said. "But I'm super confident in Coach Taylor. Those guys, E-Rich and Tote, executed it. That's not an easy play to do."

At halftime, Hughes had 109 passing yards, 109 rushing yards and a hand in all three touchdowns.

Air Force grinds back

The Falcons came out of the locker room and did their thing. They opened the third quarter with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that burned 8:07, and Medders capped it with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Grant Wayne. Medders then ran in the two-point conversion, and suddenly it was 21-14.

Medders would not finish the game, though. He left at the end of the third quarter with an injury, and Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said afterward it was not a fracture. Before leaving, Medders led the Falcons with 115 rushing yards on 21 carries and completed 3 of 4 passes for 27 yards and the touchdown.

With Wyoming going three-and-out and Air Force controlling the ball, the momentum had swung hard toward the visitors.

Three fumbles, one collapse

Air Force put together another 15-play drive, this one aimed at tying the game. Third-string quarterback Josh Johnson got the Falcons deep into Wyoming territory, and then linebacker Gary Rutherford knocked the ball loose. Bogar recovered again, this time inside the Wyoming 15, with 12:09 left.

The Pokes went three-and-out again. Air Force came right back, and Johnson converted a fourth-and-2 near midfield. But defensive tackle Ja'Quan Redfern jarred the ball loose, and freshman linebacker Steven Perez pounced on it with 8:20 to play.

To put that in perspective, Air Force had gone 554 consecutive plays without a fumble, dating back to last season. On Friday night, the Falcons lost three.

"We really never gave up and just kept that dog mentality," said linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz, who made 11 tackles. "There's definitely times out there where we were gassed, but you just have to keep that foot on the pedal."

Hughes then delivered the dagger. He broke a series of tackles behind the line of scrimmage and wriggled 15 yards down to the 1. Markell Holman punched it in on the next play with 3:04 left, and it was 28-14.

"I have not seen the run yet, but it felt pretty sick," Hughes said. "I was selling out for the team and understanding the moment that we were in and the play that we needed."

Hughes and Perez carry the night

Hughes finished 10-of-17 passing for 113 yards and two touchdowns, according to the official box score, and ran 12 times for 146 yards and a score. He accounted for 259 of Wyoming's 301 total yards. The reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week made a strong case for an encore.

Perez was everywhere on the other side of the ball. The freshman linebacker racked up 17 tackles, 10 of them solo, and recovered the final fumble. He also had a pointed answer for Allen's pregame comments.

"I don't like how you're going to come into our crib and try to disrespect us," Perez said. "We're not going to let that slide."

The stats that tell two stories

On paper, Air Force won this game. The Falcons ran 78 plays to Wyoming's 41, outgained the Cowboys 387-301, rushed for 304 yards, piled up 23 first downs to 13, and held the ball for 37:45. Gage LaDue, Rocco Conti, Allen and Howard Fisher IV all chipped in on the ground behind Medders.

But the Falcons lost the turnover battle 3-0, and two of those fumbles came on drives that could have tied the game. Wyoming's defense bent for most of the night but rarely broke when it mattered. The full numbers are in Wyoming's official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

Wyoming is now 4-1 in the Mountain West with three conference games left and squarely in the title chase. Head coach Jay Sawvel was so pleased he told the players they could celebrate for 48 hours instead of the usual 24, and gave his staff the weekend off. The Cowboys have a bye before heading to UNLV on Nov. 7 at Allegiant Stadium. Wyoming's game recap (opens in a new tab) has more from a big night in Laramie.

Air Force had no time to sulk. Next on the schedule was a home game against UConn on Oct. 31, then a trip to Army on Nov. 7, and the health of Medders became the biggest question in Colorado Springs.

After the game, the two teams joined together on the field for the third verse of "The U.S. Air Force Song" before Wyoming's players sang "Cowboy Joe" with the home crowd. Bruising rivalry, real respect.

The last word

Sawvel said his team never lost faith when it was 2-3.

"Nobody in this building ever abandoned ship," Sawvel said. "We all had belief that we could become a good football team."

Then he added the line that every coach on a winning streak should say. "We're not perfect yet. We have a lot of work still to do."

Maybe so. But a team that can win while running 41 plays has figured out something about finishing.

Sources: Wyoming Athletics recap, box score and Pokes Insider, The Associated Press, Stars and Stripes and We Are The Mighty. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Wyoming Athletics/Jim Devine.