Laramie, WY (Sports Network) - Terrance Owens threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns as the Toledo Rockets held off the Wyoming Cowboys, 34-31, in a non-conference thriller at War Memorial Stadium.
Bernard Reedy caught six passes for 111 yards and two scores and David Fluellen rushed for 109 yards on 22 carries for Toledo (1-1), which bounced back from an overtime loss to Arizona last week. Along with his impressive game through the air Owens, who hit on 25-of-41, also racked up 74 yards on the ground.
Brett Smith completed 20-of-28 pass attempts for 339 yards and a pair of touchdowns but was intercepted twice for Wyoming (0-2). Smith also rushed for 62 yards and Dominic Rufran had 102 yards on only three receptions.
Wyoming took an early lead as a 38-yard scoring strike from Smith to Rufran gave the Cowboys a 7-0 advantage less than two minutes into the opening quarter.
Jeremiah Detmer knocked through a 28-yard field goal to bring Toledo's deficit to 7-3 midway through the first quarter.
Wyoming extended its lead to 14-3 before the quarter was over with another Smith touchdown pass, this one being a 19-yard toss to Jalen Claiborne.
Toledo finally found the end zone in the second quarter, scoring on a 35-yard pass from Owens to Reedy. The score capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive for the Rockets.
Owens connected with Cassius McDowell for a 13-yard passing score on Toledo's next drive to give the Rockets their first lead of the game, 17-14.
That lead didn't last however, as Stuart Williams added a pair of field goals (23 and 42 yards) before halftime, giving the Cowboys a 20-17 lead after two quarters.
On its first drive of the second half, Toledo regained the lead, going up 24-20 on 35-yard hook up between Owens and Reedy. Detmer then connected on a 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter, giving the Rockets a 27-20 lead going into the final quarter.
Five seconds into the fourth quarter, Wyoming got a 26-yard field goal off the foot of Williams to pull within four, 27-23.
Toledo took a double-digit lead, 34-23, on a four-yard touchdown pass from Owens to James Green midway through the quarter but Wyoming would not go down quietly.
The Cowboys scored on a three-yard touchdown reception by Riley Lange and added a two-point conversion to pull within a field goal, 34-31.
After forcing a punt from Toledo, Wyoming got the ball back at its own 15-yard line with 2:05 remaining, but it turned the ball over on downs. Toledo then took over and ran out the clock to escape with the win.
The Pokes converted a mere 3-of-12 on third-down attempts and controlled the ball for just 4:30 in the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
