Cowboys Blowout Bulldogs Behind Hill’s Record Game, 45-17

Brian Hill accounted for 387 total yards of offense and two touchdowns, as the Wyoming Cowboys blitzed the Fresno State Bulldogs 45-17 Saturday night.

Hill set school and Mountain West conference records with his total offensive output. He scored on runs of 32 and 66-yards in the first half. Hill ran for 281 yards and caught three passes for 106 yards.

His total yardage broke the previous UW single-game record of 327 yards set by James Loving in 1987. It also broke the MW record from 2011.

Wyoming (4-5, 2-3) trailed 7-0 before they scored 21 straight points. Hill’s 32-yard scoring scamper tied it at 7-7 in the first quarter. Then Colby Kirkegaard connected with Jake Maulhardt on a 16-yard t-d pass, which gave UW the lead for good. Hill added his 66-yard scoring burst for a 21-7 edge.

The Bulldogs got a field goal that trimmed the Cowboys lead to 21-10 at half.

The Pokes scored the next 24 points on a pair of t-d run by Josh Tapscott, a Kirkegaard to Jacob Hollister 66-yard pass and a Stuart Williams field goal. It all added up to a 45-10 lead with 3:57 left in the game.

Fresno State added a meaningless score late for the final tally of 45-17.

Wyoming was impressive on offense. They amassed 694 yards. The Cowboys were 10-of-15 on third down and held the ball for nearly 37 minutes of the game. Kirkegaard threw for 320 yards, while Tapscott added 78 on the ground.

The UW defense held Fresno State to 316 yards. Tyran Finley snagged the first two interceptions of the season for the Pokes defense. Eddie Yarbrough added six tackles, which included a sack and two tackles for loss.

The victory snapped a four-game losing skid for Wyoming. They also earned their first ever win at Fresno State and their first conference road win since last year at Air Force.

The Cowboys will return home for their next game against Utah State on Friday night, November 7. Kick-off is at 6 p.m.