EAST HARTFORD, Conn., -- Wyoming went back to ol' reliable to pull yet another game out of the fire in what has been a bizarre opening month of the season for Craig Bohl's team.

The Cowboys ran the ball 24 times in the second half on 35 offensive snaps.

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The Huskies received a heavy dose of Xazavian Valladay and Titus Swen, along with a few timely completions from quarterback Sean Chambers, to escape East Hartford with a 24-22 victory.

The offensive line deserves a game ball for this one, but we pick just three stars. Here they are:

 

1st star: Xazavian Valladay - Running back

For the second time this season, Xazavian Valladay eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark. Against UConn, he went for 101 on 22 carries. He also scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving the visitors their first lead of the day. The Illinois native also added three catches for 33 yards to this outing. Valladay has produced at least 100 yards of total offense in the Cowboys last three games. With today's rushing total now tallied up, Valladay has surpassed the 2,500-yard mark in his Wyoming career and now ranks sixth on the all-time list, passing Shaun Wick.

 

2nd star: Solomon Byrd - Defensive end

Someone is getting their legs back under them. Solomon Byrd registered 1.5 sacks against UConn and also finished with six tackles, second most on the day. The California native opted out of the season in 2020 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He finished with six tackles and a sack in last week's win over Ball State and was in the backfield all afternoon in East Hartford. Byrd, still just a sophomore, now has 8.5 sacks in his brief career at Wyoming.

 

3rd star: Esaias Gandy - Safety

Esaias Gandy thought he hauled in his first career interception midway through the first quarter. He did indeed catch the ball, but teammate Ravontae Holt was hit with a roughing the passer penalty that negated it. Early in the fourth, however, Gandy once again snagged a ball off the right arm of Huskies' quarterback Tyler Phommachanh. That one counted. It also put the Cowboys in position to add to their lead. Gandy, an Aurora, Colo., product, tallied three tackles in today's win. He now has 19 on the season.

Just The Facts: Size Doesn't Matter For Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium

Did you know it would take the populations of Gillette (32,857), Laramie (32,381), Rock Springs (23,319), Sheridan (17,844) and Wright (1,200) to create a sellout inside Michigan's famed 107,601-seat Big House, the largest college football stadium in the nation?

For those of you not familiar with the Cowboy State, those are Wyoming's third through sixth most inhabited cities, along with the small mining town in Campbell County.

- Just The Facts: Size Doesn't Matter For Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium

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