The Wyoming Cowboys posted the first shut out in a season opener since the 1977 season in a 10-0 win over Akron inside InfoCison Stadium in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday evening. It was also the first shutout since the Pokes shut out since beating Gardner-Webb 27-0 in 2017.

“I know that going into Week 2 we’re going to be a substantially better team than what we were in Week 1. We’re going to learn a lot from this tonight. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We should have been able to put some separation between us a little bit more. ...

“Defensively, that was pretty dag-gone good performance by a collective group of people. We played a number of people defensively. A year ago we weren’t able to do that. We covered well. A year ago we weren’t able to do that. We were more physical. So there’s a lot to build off there.”

The Pokes were led by wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. with eight catches for 190 yards and a score. It was the most yards since Chris McNeil had 219 yards at Idaho in 2012. Running back Sam Scott added a career-high 132 yards rushing on 29 carries. Quarterback Kaden Anderson added 260 yards passing with 19 completions on 36 attempts. He also threw for a score.

Linebacker Brayden Johnson added eight tackles and an interception. Andrew Johnson added a career-high six tackles in the game with Evan Eller and Jones Thomas adding career-highs with five tackles.

The Cowboys opened the scoring in the second quarter with a field goal from Erik Sandvik from 25 yards for the first of his career. The drive was set up by a 49-yard reception from Chris Durr Jr. to put Wyoming inside Zip territory.

Both teams’ defenses would hold a lot of scoring attempts late in the second quarter, but the Pokes would maintain the 3-0 lead into the half.

Durr Jr. added a 35-yard score on a screen pass to give Wyoming a 10-0 lead with four minutes left. The Wyoming defense held strong with the last shutout in an opener coming against Air Force in a 0-0 game in 1977.

The Wyoming offense recorded 426 yards of total offense on the night with 260 yards passing and 166 yards on the ground. UW was 9-of-20 on third down. The Pokes defense held the Zips to 228 yards total with 89 rushing yards allowed on the night. UW held Akron to 3 of 15 on third down after leading the nation last season.

The Cowboys return to action next Saturday hosting Northern Iowa inside the newly remodeled War Memorial Stadium for a 2 p.m. start. The contest will be a Gold Out as fans are encouraged to wear gold.

TEAM NOTES

•The Cowboys and Akron met for the first time on the gridiron on Thursday.

• The Pokes record in season openers stands at: 81-46-2.  The Cowboys are 21-28-1 in road games to begin the season.

UW vs. Non-Conference Opponents in Season Openers 67-29-1. UW’s record vs. Non-Conference Opponents on the Road in Season Openers 16-18-0.

•The Pokes are now 13-6 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference.

•The contest marked the first trip to the State of Ohio since playing at Bowling Green in 2011.

•The contest saw two players on offense make their first starts for the Brown and Gold.

•The contest also saw seven players on defense make their first start for the Cowboys.

•The shutout was the first since doing so to Gardner-Webb in 2017 and first in a season opener since a 0-0 tie against Air Force in 1977.