Boise State Broncos vs Wyoming Cowboys Match Player Stats On Oct 29, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Oct 29, 2016

Nose tackle Chase Appleby forced a fumble from quarterback Brett Rypien that bounced out of the end zone for a tie-breaking safety with 1:25 left in the game Saturday night, lifting Wyoming to a 30-28 Mountain West Conference upset of No. 13 Boise State at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo.

In falling to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference, the Broncos dropped a game behind the upstart Cowboys (6-2, 4-0) in the Mountain Division. What's more, Boise State hurt its chances of representing the Group of Five in a major bowl game on New Year's Eve.

It was the fourth straight win for Wyoming and its first in 11 tries against the Broncos. They had won their previous five visits to Laramie by an average of 30.8 points.

Wyoming tied the game at 28 with 6:42 remaining on Josh Allen's 27-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Tanner Gentry and a 2-point conversion as Allen found Jake Maulhardt in the back of the end zone.

Boise State upped its lead to 28-20 at the 10:50 mark with one of its classic trick plays -- wide receiver Thomas Sperbeck appearing to run right on a reverse before pulling up and hitting Rypien with a 33-yard scoring strike.

After the teams had two empty possessions apiece, each turning the ball over in the other's territory once, Boise State took a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard run by Jeremy McNichols with 3:12 left in the first quarter.

McNichols made it 14-0 with a 2-yard burst at the 11:51 mark of the second quarter, capping a 99-yard drive that started after the Broncos stuffed Wyoming's Brian Hill for no gain on fourth-and-goal at the 1.

The Cowboys bounced back with the first of two touchdown passes from Allen to Jacob Hollister, a 19-yarder in which Hollister ran down the middle against a coverage bust for an easy score with 9:10 left in the half.

Boise State upped the lead to 21-7 when Alex Mattison peeled off a 16-yard touchdown run at the 6:26 mark, but Wyoming scored twice in a 56-second span late in the half. Cooper Rothe converted a 40-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining, and the Cowboys cashed in an interception two plays later on Allen's 28-yard connection with Hollister.

NOTES: Boise State's No. 13 ranking entering the game is its highest since 2011, when it ended the season at No. 8. ... Wyoming RB Brian Hill's 289 rushing yards at Nevada last week were the second-highest total in FBS this year, earning him Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week. ... The Broncos are playing five non-Saturday games this year, the fourth straight year they've done that.