HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The Paniolo Trophy tasks me. It tasks me, and I shall have it. I'll chase it round the Moons of Nibia and round the Antares Maelstrom and round Perdition's flames before I give it up! [Coach Bohl paraphrasing Khan Noonien Singh]. Last year's loss to Hawai'i, I avenge thee.
The Hawai'i offensive attack was pretty relentless even with breaking in a new starting QB this season. In place of last year's graduated starting QB Michael Jackson, the Rainbow Warriors are playing 81-OVR Terry Washington (SR). And it doesn't really matter who it is, Air Raid sirens are going off. Hawai'i managed 313 yards of total offense in the first half on just 4:42 T.O.P. They didn't even run the ball until the 2nd quarter, and naturally their first rush broke for an 81-yard TD littered with broken tackles. The Warriors also hit on a 49-yard TD pass right before halftime. And, let's not even mention the 16 points they added in the final three minutes of the game to try and obliterate Wyoming's defensive stats.
| Matchup Preview | Mountain West Conference Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| #5 Wyoming Cowboys (9-1, 6-1) | Idaho Vandals (7-3, 5-2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MOSCOW, Idaho -- As a neutral observer there's not much more you could ask from a college football game. A little bit of bad blood as Idaho was aiming for a 3rd consecutive win over conference rival Wyoming. A trip to the MWC championship game on the line in this de facto division championship game. An ESPN Classic score of 2075 and a contest that was not decided until four overtimes had been played.2020: 35/46 (76%) | 551 yards | 5 TD | 2 INT | 203.8 RAT | 56 rush yards 2021: 39/54 (72%) | 514 yards | 6 TD | 1 INT | 185.1 RAT | 39 rush yards 2022: 36/53 (67%) | 461 yards | 5 TD | 2 INT | 164.5 RAT | 104 rush yards | 2 rush TD
So, yeah, Darrin Green was knocked out of this one with a sprained pectoral and the ol' graybeard Brooks was in for better or worse. And it got a little worse, because then oft-injured HB Kelvin Mack Jr. left the game with an injury of his own. DB Woody Hale (rJR) left with a bruised ankle, too. Add all this to the still-missing/questionable starting SS and MLB and the Pokes felt like a M.A.S.H. unit fighting for its life. While the Pokes were adjusting to all the injuries, Idaho was nice enough to put up a quick ten points to re-take a 27-17 lead. Roach hit star WR Keith Reynolds on a 48-yard TD pass to answer the Wyoming 48-yard TD pass apparently, and sophomore kicker Adam Garrison made a 23-yard field goal. For all the high octane, Idaho's Achilles' heel in this game was that if they were in close, they had serious problems punching it in for the touchdown.
But this ball contest was still far from over. Idaho got the ball back and immediately started getting chunks. And gifts. The Vandals converted one set of downs on an off-screen USER roughing the passer penalty, which was difficult to stomach. They got into Wyoming territory and on 3rd-and-2 with ten seconds left, launched a hail mary pass that was....deflected and fell to the turf. So, on 4th-and-2 with :02 left, they launched another hail mary that was....caught by Keith Reynolds for a 34-yard TD between four Wyoming defenders. Reynolds just barely crossed the goal line with the ball tucked away in his chicken wing and defenders yanking him down. Reynolds ended up with seven catches for 136 yards and two TDs.
Needing a stop, Wyoming's defense immediately failed in that regard as Idaho's first play of triple overtime was a 25-yard TD pass from Roach to Mirvil. And, strangely enough, the Idaho coaching staff must've liked Coach Bohl's earlier playcall because they tried something similar with Roach and the Idaho QB was tripped up and fell to the turf at the six-inch line, barely coming up short on the two-point conversion attempt. So, still no decision in a 57-57 game, we are heading for the decisive OT #4.
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| Brigham Young Cougars (4-7, 4-4) | #5 Wyoming Cowboys (10-1, 7-1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LARAMIE, Wyo. -- With the Mountain Division already wrapped up after last week's epic win over Idaho, there was no rest for the weary. Four-win BYU played rival Wyoming very tough and it took an improbable late comeback for Coach Bohl's squad to emerge with a 44-38 (OT) win.
Coming out of the break, both teams would trade touchdowns. BYU struck with 6:28 to play in the 3rd when QB Paris Hamby (rJR) hooked up with All-MWC wideout Nick Jones (rSR). Jones came into this ballgame with 77 receptions for 1268 yards and 12 TDs. WYO answered with Green's 2nd TD pass of the game, this time a ten-yard pass to WR Cedric Weaver (rSO). BYU would add a short field goal to make it a 27-21 Mormon lead heading into the 4th quarter.
So here we go. A seven-point deficit, about one minute to play, and no timeouts. And before you know it, completion, scramble, completion, completion, scramble, completion. Wyoming is at BYU's 9-yard-line and Green sees a crack and takes off for six. With :10 left, Wyoming had fully erased the ten-point BYU lead from 200 seconds ago. 38-38 and headed to overtime. Again. In the process, Green put up another impressive day at the office: 25/42 (59%), 367 passing yards, 3 TD, 2 INT, 26 carries for 120 yards (4.6 YPC) with 2 rushing TDs. And all this despite being sacked five times, leaving the game for just two plays in the middle of the 4th quarter with a strained tricep.
| Mountain West Conference Championship Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| #13 Hawaii Warriors (10-2, 7-2 Away) | #6 Wyoming Cowboys (11-1, 8-1 Home) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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