Sept 23, 2001
Final Stats
Wyoming 43, Utah St. 42
By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer
LOGAN, Utah - All week, Wyoming coach Vic Koenning was careful not to say too much to his players about the eight cross country and track runners who died in an auto accident last weekend.
Just before kickoff, offensive coordinator Rusty Burns spilled it. He told the Cowboys it was OK to dedicate their game against Utah State to the memory of their friends who died last Sunday.
Wyoming responded. Casey Bramlet threw for 422 yards and two touchdowns and Jarvis Wallum kicked five field goals as the Cowboys beat Utah State 43-42 Saturday night.
"The pain will always be there, but this helps a lot," Bramlet said. "We were playing for them."
In the locker room, Burns told the Cowboys (2-1) to "represent the spirit of these eight young men," according to Koenning.
"I hadn't used that in a way of motivation but Rusty did," Koenning said. "If they wanted to make a statement about these guys and their families, well that's a pretty strong statement."
As the Aggies (0-3) walked off the field, Koenning addressed his team at midfield. Then the Cowboys broke the huddle and did a cheer for about 1,000 vocal fans in the corner of Romney Stadium.
"The first couple of days this week, it was hard to concentrate on football," said Bramlet, who was 22-of-38 without an interception. "We started hard, everyone started concentrating and doing what we had to do."
Wyoming took a 43-36 lead on Derek Armah's 8-yard run with 4:10 to play. Utah State's Jose Fuentes worked the clock and threw his fourth TD pass, an 18-yarder to Chris Stallworth, with 25 seconds remaining.
However, the Aggies were penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration when Stallworth removed his helmet. Dane Kidman's PAT kick from 35 yards was blocked by Scottie Vines, touching off a celebration on the Wyoming sideline.
"I'm not going to blame the officials," Utah State coach Mick Dennehy said. "Rules state you cannot take your helmet off and celebrate. That's exactly what we did. We continue to find ways to shoot ourselves in the foot."
Two Wyoming assistants rushed onto the field to welcome Vines with hugs.
"It was hard getting ready for the game, with eight players dying, but we knew we had to come out and win for them," Vines said.
The Cowboys and Aggies took the field together before kickoff in a memorial not only for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but also for the eight Wyoming runners.
Both teams wore decals of American flags on their helmets to memorialize the attack victims, as well as another showing a winged foot and No. 8 in honor of the fallen Wyoming athletes.
The loss spoiled an outstanding night by Utah State's Emmett White, who gained 274 yards on 32 carries and rushed for two TDs. He also caught five passes for 38 yards and another score.
Last season, White set an NCAA single-game record with 578 all-purpose yards, and he hurt the Cowboys all night. He scored Utah State's first points on a 48-yard run two minutes after kickoff and added two third-quarter TDs.
The Aggies had everything in control with 57 seconds remaining in the third quarter, leading 36-25 after White's 3-yard run.
But the Cowboys came right back, with Bramlet throwing to Malcom Floyd on an 80-yard TD with 4 seconds left in the third quarter. Floyd broke from Utah State's Derrek Shank and went untouched to pull Wyoming to 36-33.
"We just didn't make any plays on defense," Dennehy said.
Wallum kicked his fifth field goal, this one from 33 yards, to tie it with 7:38 remaining. The Cowboys had seized the momentum, and they were just getting warmed up.
On Wyoming's next possession, Bramlet went deep to Brock Ralph, who stretched to make the catch for a 47-yard gain to Utah State's 8. On the next play, Armah broke through the left side for a touchdown.
The Wyoming bench erupted in joy, with many players throwing their arms into the air and jumping up and down. Others hugged leaping assistant coaches as the small Wyoming cheering section celebrated.
