The Wyoming Cowboys earned their sixth win of the 2022 season on Saturday with a 27-20 road victory over the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors, and with that sixth win earned bowl eligibility for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.

Wyoming improved its 2022 record to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference. Hawai’i is now 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain West.

Wyoming Wins Third Consecutive Game

Saturday’s win was the Cowboys’ third consecutive victory, following wins at New Mexico (27-14) on Oct. 8 and at home vs. Utah State (28-14) on Oct. 22.

The Cowboys’ victory on Saturday night was fueled by an outstanding rushing attack and a defense that made numerous key plays at critical moments in the game. UW rushed for 365 yards, which was a season high and marked the second consecutive week the Pokes rushed for over 300 yards. UW rushed for 330 against Utah State a week ago. Wyoming added 76 passing yards for 441 yards of total offense, and the Pokes averaged 7.5 yards per play on 59 total offensive plays.

Against Hawai’i, four different Cowboy running backs contributed. Junior starter Titus Swen carried five times for 14 yards before he was forced out of the game at the end of the first quarter due to injury. Redshirt freshman D.Q. James came in to lead UW with a career high 179 rushing yards. It was the second consecutive week that James rushed for over 100 yards. He had 120 a week ago against Utah State. 

Sophomore Dawaiian McNeely added a career best 81 yards on only four carries, including a 61-yard TD dash in the fourth quarter that gave Wyoming a lead that it would never relinquish. Junior quarterback Andrew Peasley carried 14 times for 71 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns of 35 and four yards, and redshirt freshman Joey Braasch contributed 18 yards on five carries.

While the Rainbow Warrior offense generated 350 yards of total offense, 145 rushing and 205 passing, the Cowboy defense held Hawai’i to only 4.7 yards per play on 75 offensive plays for UH. UW’s defense also stiffened in the red zone multiple times, forcing the Rainbow Warriors into three field-goal attempts — one of 36 yards that was missed, one of 29 yards that was successful and another one that was good from 20 yards out. The Cowboys were able to break up several pass plays at critical times. Sophomore cornerback Cameron Stone broke up three Hawai’i pass attempts. 

Sophomore safety Wyett Ekeler added two pass breakups, and redshirt freshman defensive end Braden Siders tipped another pass at the line of scrimmage. Sophomore linebackers Shae Suiaunoa and Easton Gibbs led the Cowboys in tackles with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Ekeler also added seven tackles.

The last time Wyoming had won in Honolulu was in 1997 by a score of 35-6. Between 1998 and 2012 the two teams did not play due to Wyoming moving to the Mountain West Conference, while Hawai’i remained in the Western Athletic Conference. The series was renewed in 2013 when Hawai’i joined the Mountain West Conference. Hawai’i had won the previous two meetings played on Oahu — 38-28 in 2014 and 17-13 in 2018.

Saturday’s win over Hawai’i marked the fourth time this season that Wyoming came from behind to win a game. The Cowboys trailed Hawai’i 7-0 in the first quarter and 10-0 in the second quarter before scoring 10 points of their own in the second quarter to tie the game at halftime. Wyoming’s first lead of 13-10 didn’t come until midway through the third quarter and UW didn’t take the lead for good until early in the fourth quarter.