Laramie – There’s nothing more frightening to a college football coach than to see an unproven quarterback taking snaps in a season opener.
After watching Jacob Doss throw for 209 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, Wyoming coach Joe Glenn can rest easier. A junior from Lexington, Ky., who saw little playing time as a backup the previous two seasons, Doss ran the offense and picked apart Utah State’s secondary like a wily veteran in Wyoming’s 38-7 victory at War Memorial Stadium.
“You just never know until they turn the lights on,” Glenn said of Doss. “He’s waited a long time. Hats off to him. He’s the winning pitcher.”
A win that was a long time coming. Wyoming finished last season with six consecutive losses.
“We’re 1-0; that losing streak is in the past,” said senior wideout Tyler Holden, who nabbed a 51-yard touchdown pass to begin a 21-point flurry in the fourth quarter.
Doss completed 17-of-26 passes and scrambled out of trouble when he had to. He made one big mistake that resulted in Utah State’s lone score – on a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Antonio Taylor with 2:52 to go in the first half. But Doss shook that off.
“Jacob really had a short memory, which is what a quarterback needs,” senior center Jason Karcher said. “He was so composed. I was surprised he wasn’t jittery. The way he commands the huddle, it looked like he’d had 30 starts.”
Doss, who had attempted just 13 passes as a sophomore and none as a freshman, admitted he had trouble sleeping Friday night.
“But after I got that first completion (a 5-yard flare pass to H-back Wade Betschart on the game’s first play from scrimmage), I told myself, ‘Let’s just play football.’ I told the team that, too.”
Doss got plenty of help. Wyoming sophomore running back Wynel Seldon rushed 18 times for 99 yards, many coming on second and third efforts. He also nabbed Doss’ second touchdown pass, a 13-yarder in the third quarter.
Junior receiver Hoost Marsh caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Doss in the second quarter and completed the Cowboys’ scoring in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard end around.
A crowd of 18,531 watched Wyoming’s defense pitch a “shutout,” considering Utah State’s lone score came on an interception return. The Aggies managed only five first downs.
Utah State quarterback Leon Jackson III never found room to operate. He threw for 74 yards and netted 8 yards rushing on 11 carries.
“We just had to contain him,” Wyoming sophomore linebacker Ward Dobbs said. “We didn’t let him get free.”
Turnovers and a failure to convert in the red zone contributed to Wyoming’s season-ending collapse in 2005. After the first half, Cowboys fans must have wondered if 2006 would be more of the same.
Utah State 0 7 0 0 – 7
Wyoming 3 7 7 21 – 38
First quarter: Wyo – FG Goodman 33, 7:53. Second quarter: Wyo – Marsh 39 pass from Doss (Goodman kick), 8:53. USU – A.Taylor 45 interception return (Hamblin kick), 2:52. Third quarter: Wyo – Seldon 13 pass from Doss (Goodman kick), :24. Fourth quarter: Wyo – Holden 51 pass from Doss (Goodman kick), 13:09. Wyo – Medina 20 interception return (Scott kick), 12:11. Wyo – Marsh 2 run (Scott kick), 7:45. A – 18,531.
USU Wyo
First downs 5 31
Rushes-yards 26-55 51-221
Passing 74 239
Comp-att-int 10-22-1 18-27-1
Return yards 43 71
Punts-avg. 10-35.3 1-47.0
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-2
Penalties-yards 9-79 7-55
Time of possession 24:02 35:58
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Utah St., Cross 11-44, Jackson III 11-8, McDaniel 2-2. Sirstins 2-1. Wyoming, Seldon 18-99, Moore 14-61, Doss 9-29. Brunk 6-15, Sween 1-11, Marsh 3-6.
PASSING – Utah St., Jackson III 10-22-1-74. Wyoming. Doss 17-26-1-209, Sween 1-1-0-30.
RECEIVING – Utah St., K. Robinson 3-41, Pennyman 2-13, Nelson 2-10. Lesue 1-5, Cross 1-5, Sirstins 1-0. Wyoming, Holden 4-71, Ford 4-20. Seldon 3-23, Moore 2-31, Jacobo 2-20, Marsh 1-39, Levy 1-30. Betschart 1-5.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
