Terry lifts Wyoming past Weber St., 29-22

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP)—Darius Terry rushed for two touchdowns in Wyoming’s new no-huddle, spread offense to beat Weber State 29-22 Saturday and give former Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen his first win as head coach of the Cowboys.

Christensen, who was hired last winter to rejuvenate an anemic Cowboy offense, didn’t disappoint as Wyoming easily exceeded its 2008 per-game production for points scored and total yards.

The Cowboys (1-0) more than doubled last year’s 12.7 average points per game — worst among the 119 major college teams—and their 434 yards of total offense against Weber State surpassed the team’s 296 yards in 2008.

Wyoming receiver David Leonard, who had seven catches for 87 yards, said he had a “great time” with the up-tempo offense.

“I think it wore down the defense quite a bit,” he said.

Christensen said he was pleased with the win but thought the offense could have put more points on the board. Wyoming failed to convert on two possessions that started deep in Weber State territory in the third quarter.

“That’s a little disheartening, but we’ll work on that; we’ll improve,” Christensen said.

Christensen’s new offensive scheme paid off immediately as Wyoming marched 88 yards in eight plays and scored on its first possession on freshman Alvester Alexander’s 44-yard touchdown run. It was Alexander’s first collegiate carry.

Terry, who had 99 rushing yards and two receptions for 15 yards, scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter and a 1-yard run in the third.

Austin McCoy added three field goals—two from 25 yards and one from 22— to complete Wyoming’s scoring.

Christensen rotated his quarterback position between junior college transfer Robert Benjamin and freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels. Carta-Samuels completed eight of 17 passes for 101 yards, while Benjamin was eight of 14 for 87 yards.

Weber State (0-1), expected to be one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, was led by Cameron Higgins, who passed for 322 yards and three TDs—36 yards to Tim Toone, 4 yards to Cody Nakamura and 13 yards to Joe Collins. But Higgins also threw five interceptions, with freshman safety Shamiel Gary picking off three passes for Wyoming.

“They were a lot more disciplined than we were and didn’t make the kind of mistakes we did,” Weber State coach Ron McBride said.

The Wildcats are now 3-41 against teams in the upper division.