Wyoming came out strong, but that was quickly trampled by the North Texas Mean Green. The same typical problems plagued Wyoming throughout the game.
1st Quarter: Promising Start for Wyoming
The game started out promisingly. Wyoming quarterback Evan Svoboda connected with wide receiver Devin Boddie for a 13-yard gain, followed by a 31-yard dart to tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, which put Wyoming deep in North Texas territory. The Pokes couldn't advance further down the field, so the Cowboys were forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal from kicker John Hoyland, taking an early 3-0 lead.
North Texas responded quickly, with quarterback Chandler Morris leading a strong drive. Morris connected with wide receiver DT Sheffield for a 24-yard gain before finding him again for a 29-yard touchdown, putting the Mean Green ahead 7-3. Wyoming’s following drive faltered after a holding penalty, and the Cowboys were forced to punt. Then UNT had a 40-yard run by Shane Porter, and North Texas capitalized, placing them in Wyoming territory as the first quarter ended with North Texas leading 7-3 and knocking on the door to score again.
2nd Quarter: Offensive Exchanges Heat Up
The Mean Green opened the second quarter near Wyoming’s goal line but were held to a 23-yard field goal thanks to some crucial stops by the Cowboy defense, extending their lead to 10-3. Wyoming’s offense began to build momentum, aided by a face mask penalty on North Texas, but a failed fourth-down conversion at the Mean Green’s 26-yard line stalled the Cowboys’ drive.
North Texas took over on downs and seized the opportunity, adding to their lead with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Morris to Blair Conwright, making the score 17-3. However, Wyoming didn’t back down. Svoboda connected with Sam Scott for a 41-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 17-10. Sam Scott was a bright point throughout the contest.
Just when it seemed Wyoming might claw back into the game, North Texas quickly answered with a 4-yard rushing touchdown from running back Makenzie McGill, widening the gap to 24-10. Wyoming responded with a big 100-yard kickoff return by Tyler King (the first run-back since Cam Stone in 2021 against Utah State), bringing the Cowboys within seven points, 24-17. North Texas tacked on a 45-yard field goal as time expired in the half, giving them a 27-17 lead at the half.
3rd Quarter: North Texas Dominates
The Mean Green struggled early. Wyoming’s defense, led by plays from Connor Shay and Andrew Johnson, forced North Texas to punt after several broken-up passes.
Wyoming’s offense, however, stumbled and fumbled. A bad snap by center Nofoafia Tulafono led to a 10-yard loss, and a subsequent sack of Evan Svoboda ended their drive, resulting in a punt. North Texas capitalized on the good field position, driving down to Wyoming’s 2-yard line with the help of a 26-yard run by Porter and a costly face mask penalty on Wyoming. McGill punched in another touchdown, increasing the lead to 34-17.
The Cowboys’ offense couldn’t seem to find a rhythm. After another punt, North Texas strategicly worked their way downfield, culminating in a 24-yard touchdown run by McGill, his third of the game, extending the Mean Green’s lead to 41-17 by the end of the third quarter.
4th Quarter: Wyoming Struggles to Gain Ground
The fourth quarter saw Wyoming’s offense lack any momentum whatsoever. Sam Scott’s rushing efforts helped push the Cowboys to midfield, but incomplete passes and failed fourth-down conversions kept Wyoming from putting points on the board. Meanwhile, North Texas remained in control, adding a 34-yard field goal with just over two minutes left to stretch their lead to 44-17.
Backup quarterback Kaden Anderson stepped in for Wyoming, but the offense couldn’t spark a comeback. A few short gains and incomplete passes led to a final punt, and North Texas ran out the clock to seal their victory.
The game was challenging, and despite flashes of brilliance, including Tyler King’s 100-yard kickoff return and Scott’s 41-yard touchdown reception, Wyoming could not overcome North Texas’ potent offensive attack, falling 44-17.
Coach Jay Sawvel Reflects on Tough Loss
After the game, Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel was obviously upset when assessing his team's performance.. Sawvel said that the team needs to make critical changes both in mindset and execution moving forward.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff to correct, and really within the program right now, we gotta redefine ourselves in terms of maybe who we wanted to be and what we can best be,” Sawvel said. “Defensively right now, like who we wanted to be is a lot different than what we can be right now, and so we've got a lot of things that we're going to have to address and clean up.”
Sawvel expressed frustration with the defensive side of the ball, particularly the secondary, which struggled against the Mean Green’s aerial attack. “... I’m frustrated with our defense right now, and part of that is the fact that... we’ve got depth issues in the secondary."
The coach didn’t shy away from taking responsibility for the team’s shortcomings. “I’m going to take the blame for everything, like every single thing of what we do and what we’ve done." "We did enough things that just losing teams do, and we’ve got to get it corrected. There’s a lot to get corrected.”
Offensively, Sawvel acknowledged that Wyoming’s current approach wasn’t working, he repeated the word "redefine" several times during his postgame interview. “Right now, we’re subpar, substandard. We’ve got to redefine some things within the program as far as how we’re going to move the ball,” he said, even suggesting that drastic changes could be necessary.
Editor's Note: The postgame press conference recording had a lot of interference, we did our best to quote as accurately as possible.
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