Wyoming holds off Idaho’s upset bid behind pair of Trey Smith touchdowns

LARAMIE, Wyo. – Trey Smith rushed for 152 yards and two scores, including an 80-yard dash early in the fourth quarter that gave Wyoming the breathing room it needed en route to a 21-16 nonconference win over Idaho on Saturday, the Cowboys’ seventh straight victory dating to last season.

It was the first 100-yard game for Smith, a graduate transfer from Louisville. On his second touchdown, he bounced off a defender at the line, shook a would-be ankle tackler a few yards downfield, regained his balance, then won a footrace down the right sideline.

The TD put Wyoming up 21-13, but Cade Coffey’s third field goal for Idaho, from 24 yards, trimmed the lead to 21-16 with 7:20 to go. The Cowboys’ Solomon Byrd sacked Mason Petrino to stuff the Vandals’ next drive, and Smith rushed for a pair of first downs to allow the Cowboys to run out the clock.

Austin Conway’s 45-yard punt return led to a 10-yard TD run by Smith late in the first half, putting the Cowboys up 14-10. Conway caught the Vandals’ coverage team by surprise by scooping up the ball just as it appeared it would roll dead.

“In the first half, the offense kept the ball the whole half. In the second half, there were times the defense played well,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said in a team release. “The offense needs to get touchdowns. We got the ball in the redzone three times and came away with field goals. You can’t settle for three points, you need to score touchdowns.”

Roshaun Johnson’s 15-yard TD run gave Idaho (1-2) a 10-0 lead after its first two possessions. Raghib Ismail Jr.’s 12-yard run for Wyoming (3-0) cut Idaho’s lead to 10-7.