Laramie — An explosive first half by Wyoming’s offense and a smothering Cowboy defense fueled a 42-9 victory for the Wyoming Cowboys over Hawai’i in the final home game of the 2023 season. Wyoming scored five touchdowns on its first six possessions of the first half, while the Poke defense shutout the Rainbow Warriors in the first half to build a 35-0 halftime lead.

Wyoming’s five first-half scoring drives included numerous big plays as the Cowboys’ scoring drives consisted of three plays for 75 yards, one play for 89 yards, six plays for 69 yards, four plays for 66 yards and three plays for 39 yards.

The Pokes improved their record to 7-4 on the season and 4-3 in the Mountain West Conference. Hawai’i’s record now stands at 4-8 overall and 2-5 in the Mountain West.

Coach Craig Bohl was asked after the game how special this day was for his team and for the seniors, who were playing in their final home game.

“It was really special and we’re really pleased with how we came out,” said Bohl.  “It was going to be important for us to start fast, and we certainly did that.  Our passing game was explosive, and we came up with some big plays on defense. 

“Hawai’i is a prideful football team.  We knew that they would fight, but the first half I think really secured this victory.”

Cowboy quarterback Andrew Peasley played a near flawless game against Hawai’i, completing 14 of 17 passes (82.4 %) for 319 yards and three touchdown passes. Both his 82.4 completion percentage and his 319 passing yards were career highs for Peasley during his Wyoming playing career. 

“I certainly am (excited).  He played gutty last week (at UNLV), but he was displeased with his performance in that game.  He’s a winner, and I thought he played great today.”

Wyoming completed a perfect 7-0 home record with Saturday’s win over Hawai’i. It is the first time in War Memorial Stadium history that the Cowboys won seven home games in a single season. Wyoming fans also set a new War Memorial Stadium single-season attendance record this season. With a crowd of 18,233, the 2023 season attendance total finished at 162,144, breaking the previous record of 149,625 set in a seven-game home season in 1990.

“It means a lot — credit our fans,” said Bohl. “I think we have a phenomenal home-game atmosphere, and particularly the students. That’s one of the things that is great about college football and one of the things that is great about the state of Wyoming.”

The 42 points scored by Wyoming were the most this season and the most that UW has scored since the 2021 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl when the Cowboys scored 52 points in a 52-38 win over Kent State. The Pokes previous high this season was 35 in a 35-33 double overtime win over then #24 Texas Tech and a 35-26 home win over New Mexico.

The Cowboy defense also held Hawai’i to only nine points, which is a season low allowed to an opponent. The previous season low for a UW opponent was 15 points by Colorado State in a 24-15 Wyoming win. The last time Wyoming held an opponent to under 10 points was the 2020 season, when UW held Hawai’i to seven points in a 31-7 Wyoming home win.