Las Vegas Bowl
2004
Wyoming 24
UCLA 21
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Wyoming Cowboys simply refused to lose another
bowl game. Corey Bramlet drilled a 12-yard touchdown pass to John
Wadkowski with 57 seconds left Thursday night to give Wyoming its first
bowl win in 38 years, a 24-21 victory over favored UCLA in the Las Vegas
Bowl.
"I couldn't be happier for our whole team, and I think it is a shot of
spirit for our whole state," second-year Wyoming Joe Glenn said. After
beating Florida State in the 1966 Sun Bowl, the Cowboys lost their next
six bowls and hadn't even been invited to one since 1993. Glenn said a
letter from Tom Frazier, a friend of his, helped inspire the Cowboys.
"Since 1966, we hadn't won a bowl game, and the captain of that team
(Frazier) wrote our team a great letter," Glenn said. "He said that
there's nothing like standing on the field looking at the scoreboard,
walking away as a senior and winning a bowl game in your last year.
Bramlet finished 20-of-34 for 307 yards and two touchdowns. He took the
Cowboys 72 yards to the winning score on a drive that began with 4:02
remaining, after UCLA's Justin Medlock missed a 45-yard field goal.
Bramlet kept the final drive alive with a quarterback sneak on a
fourth-and-1 at the UCLA 27. A pass-interference call against UCLA
cornerback Matt Clark moved the ball to the 12, and Bramlet found
Wadkowski open across the middle.
Jovon Bouknight had five catches for 107 yards and threw a touchdown
pass for Wyoming (7-5). Trailing 21-10, the Cowboys closed within four
points on a trick play early in the fourth quarter, with Bouknight
throwing a 22-yard scoring pass to J.J. Raterink off a reverse.
Bramlet rallied the Cowboys after UCLA reserve quarterback David Koral
threw two touchdown passes to put the Bruins ahead. Koral, a junior
college transfer who hadn't thrown a pass for UCLA, took over when Drew
Olson went down with a sprained left knee 4:47 before halftime and the
Bruins trailing 10-7.
Koral's second college pass went for a 17-yard touchdown to Craig Bragg
with 1:50 left in the half, then he connected on a 25-yarder to Bragg
midway though the third quarter to build the lead to 21-10. Maurice Drew
ran for 126 yards on 25 carries for UCLA.
The Bruins (6-6) beat New Mexico 27-13 in the 2002 Las Vegas Bowl, the
only win in their last five bowl appearances. Koral finished 7-of-12 for
89 yards and the two touchdowns. Olson, who was 6-of-12 for 96 yards and
one TD, twisted his knee on a sack by John Flora.
Wyoming took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter before the favored Bruins
began to come back. UCLA closed the gap to 10-7 in the second quarter on
Olson's 29-yard scoring pass to Junior Taylor. Koral, who had appeared
in two games and taken only five snaps for UCLA, put the Bruins up 14-10
with his first TD pass to Bragg. Bragg later made a spectacular leaping
grab and got his feet down just inbounds in the end zone for the
third-quarter TD that gave the Bruins an 11-point lead.
The Cowboys jumped out to their 10-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass
from Bramlet to Tyler Holden, set up when Zach Morris recovered a fumble
by UCLA's Chris Markey at the UCLA 29. Deric Yaussi's 39-yard field goal
got the Cowboys on the board with 5:57 left in the opening quarter.
Junior Taylor celebrates scoring quarter touchdown
Tyler Holden scores a touchdown past UCLA's Justin Seiber during first half
Attendance: 27,784
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
WYO- FG Yaussi 39
WYO- Holden 10 yd pass from Bramlett (Yaussi kick)
Second Quarter
UCLA- Taylor 29 yd pass from Olson (Medlock kick)
UCLA- Bragg 17 yd pass from Koral (Medlock kick)
Third Quarter
UCLA- Bragg 25 yd pass from Koral (Medlock kick)
Fourth Quarter
WYO- Raterink 22 yd pass from bouknight (Yuassi kick)
WYO- Wadkowski 12 yd pass from Bramlet (Yuassi kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
WYO- Harris 13-27, Davis 1-16, Harrison 5-16, Bouknight 1-13
UCLA, Drew 25-126, Markey 5-20
Passing
WYO- Bramlet 20-34-307
UCLA, Olson 6-12-96, Koral 7-12-89.
Receiving
WYO- Bouknight 5-107, Holden 4-115, Pleasant 4-51,Wadkowski 2-20
UCLA- Bragg 7-95, Lewis 2-41, Markey 2-14, Taylor 1-29
