Three stars of the game: Pokes vs. Spartans

LARAMIE -- When Isaiah Neyor entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in late December, he took his team-leading 44 receptions, 878 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns with him.

Ayden Eberhardt's eligibility ran out. Gunner Gentry was coming off a major knee injury.

You could say there were some rather large holes left in the Cowboys' receiving corps.

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Who would step up?

Joshua Cobbs returned. He caught 25 passes for 245 yards and a score in 2021. Wyatt Wieland was back, too. He had just four grabs to his credit, but those all came last November. In other words, momentum was building -- one would hope. Alex Brown is the only other Wyoming wideout with a career catch under his belt.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS FROM 7220SPORTS:

* Turning point, unsung hero and what's next for UW football

* Tuck's Takes: Spartans take Pokes to the woodshed in 33-16 setback

* Behind the numbers: Wyoming vs. SJSU

* Rants & Raves: San Jose State Edition

* Wyoming falls to San Jose State, 33-16

Those three names listed above have become Andrew Peasley's main targets this fall. You can throw Will Pelissier in the mix, too. All have flashed, but arguably no pass catcher has been as impressive through six games as our No. 1 star of Saturday night's 33-16 loss to San Jose State.

1st star: Wyatt Wieland - Wide receiver

The "Wyatt Wieland" drive finally landed the Cowboys in the end zone Saturday night.

The junior receiver from Colorado Springs returned a San Jose State kick for 22 yards. Wieland got blasted out of bounds near the boundary, drawing a yellow hanky and tacking on 15 more yards. That offensive possession began at the Spartans' 49-yard line.

After a five-yard rush for Titus Swen and an incomplete pass, Wieland hauled in a 7-yard pass from Andrew Peasley on third down. He snagged the next throw, too. That was a 38-yard lob that the former walk-on slid to grab in the brown-and-gold paint to cut SJSU's lead to 12-10.

Wieland, who came into this season with just four catches for 60 yards, already has 13 grabs for 177 yards this fall. Last week at BYU, he scored his first-career touchdown. That came on a 4-yard jet sweep.

2nd star: Jordan Bertagnole - Defensive tackle

This feature should be renamed Jordan Bertagnole and the other two stars of the game.

For the second consecutive week, and the third time in the Cowboys first six games, the former walk-on from Casper has landed on this list. Against SJSU, Bertagnole tallied just five tackles. One of those was hammering Chevan Cordeiro for a 10-yard sack. The ball also popped loose on the hit but it was recovered by a Spartan lineman.

The 6-foot-4, 283-pound sophomore was also credited with a pair of quarterback hurries in the loss.

Bertagnole is the Cowboys fifth-leading tackler with 27 stops. He has two sacks to his name to go along with a pair of forced fumbles.

3rd star: Parker Christensen - Tight end

Three weeks, three touchdowns courtesy of a Wyoming tight end.

That's music to the ears, huh?

Those first two scoring grabs belong to Treyton Welch, who found the end zone against BYU and Air Force. The third was a 13-yard grab by Sheridan native Parker Christensen. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound sophomore outraced a SJSU linebacker down the east sideline of War Memorial Stadium and hauled in a perfectly placed pass from Peasley with 9:42 remaining in the third quarter.

It was Christensen's first-career touchdown.

He now has 14 catches for 129 yards on the season.

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