LARAMIE — The Wyoming wind didn’t whip away the Cowboys’ woes. Instead, turnovers burned the Cowboys as they took a 40-7 loss to No. 14 Utah in front of a homecoming crowd of 17,123.
Wyoming (2-5, 0-4 Mountain West) lost its fourth straight game, but managed to avoid being shutout for the third time in four games. The Cowboys have been outscored 131-10 in conference play, and 153-23 in the past four games.
The revolving-door quarterback controversy was supposed to stop after the loss to Bowling Green, but the Cowboys again played four quarterbacks against the Utes.
“It is a horrible, reoccurring nightmare,” Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said. “The quarterback carousel is crazy. Teams are good enough without helping them out. We are beating ourselves. When you help them out, you are going to lose 40-7.”
With a bye week before the Cowboys next game, Oct. 25 at TCU, Glenn said the search for a starting quarterback is back to square one.
Karsten Sween threw three interceptions before Dax Crum got the call, but only for a three-and-out series. Ian Hetrick saw time intermittently during Sween’s and Chris Stutzreim’s runs. Crum was replaced by Stutzreim, who finished the game. The four were a combined 10-of-23 passing for 68 yards.
Stutzreim did what the Wyoming coaches have been asking all along: led the offense, scored and protected the ball. Connecting with Devin Moore for 45 yards in a fourth-quarter drive, Stutzreim completed a an 18-yard pass to Greg Bolling for the Cowboys first score in seven quarters.
“We come out every week saying we have to start fast,” Bolling said. “It doesn’t really matter if you end fast, unless the game is close.”
Sween’s troubles started on his second pass, when Utah defensive end Paul Kruger tipped his pass up to defensive back Sean Smith, who returned for a 25-yard touchdown. Smith notched a second interception, a one-handed grab of Sween’s pass to Brandon Stewart in the endzone. Sween finished 8-of-18 for 52 yards.
Even as the Cowboys were able to stay turnover-free in a three-and-out possession 10 minutes into the second quarter, Utah’s Aiona Key charged up the middle to block Austin McCoy’s punt from the 5-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown and a 19-0 lead.
No. 9 BYU 21, N. Mexico 3
PROVO, Utah — Max Hall threw for three touchdowns and the Cougars survived their lowest-scoring game of the season to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 straight.
BYU (6-0, 2-0) remained unbeaten at the halfway point of the season, but needed Hall’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie with 3:05 left in the game to seal it.
New Mexico (3-4, 1-2) held the Cougars scoreless in the opening quarter and scored before BYU, both firsts for the season. The Lobos also had a touchdown called back on a penalty midway through the fourth quarter when BYU was up only 14-3, then New Mexico failed to convert on a fourth-and-21.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
