LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Brett Smith passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in leading Wyoming past Colorado State 45-31 Saturday.
Wyoming (2-7, 1-4 Mountain West) snapped a four-game losing streak and won its fourth straight over the Rams (2-7, 1-4). It is the Cowboys' longest win streak in the more than 100-game series between the two schools since they won seven in a row from 1967-73.
The game also marked the return of Wyoming coach Dave Christensen, who was suspended for the previous game against Boise State because of his conduct after a loss to Air Force on Oct. 13 when he berated Falcons coach Troy Calhoun.
Smith completed 18 of 31 passes for 228 yards. He had TD passes of 26 yards to Chris McNeill, 16 yards to Brandon Miller, 9 yards to Robert Herron and 3 yards to Dominic Rufran.
His scoring passes to McNeill and Miller occurred in the first quarter that saw the Cowboys jump out to a 21-7 lead. Defensive back Blair Burns returned an interception 99 yards -- second longest in school history -- for Wyoming's other score in the quarter. The Rams never seriously challenged after falling behind 42-17 after the third quarter despite gaining 512 yards in total offense.
The Cowboys defense picked off two CSU passes and forced another turnover on a fumble.
Shaun Wick contributed 98 yards rushing on 25 carries, while Brandon Miller added 89 yards on 18 rushes. The Cowboys finished with 468 yards total offense and no turnovers.
Colorado State was led by Donnell Alexander, who rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Connor Smith, who completed 13 of 23 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Smith's scoring passes covered 75 yards to Thomas Coffman and 36 yards to Kivon Cartwright.
The TD pass to Coffman was the longest offensive play by CSU since 2008.
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| Scoring Summary |
| WYO | Chris McNeill 26 yd pass from Brett Smith (Stuart Williams kick) |
| COLOST | Thomas Coffman 75 yd pass from Conner Smith (Jared Roberts kick) |
| WYO | Brandon Miller 16 yd pass from Brett Smith (Stuart Williams kick) |
| WYO | Blair Burns 99 yd interception return (Stuart Williams kick) |
| WYO | Robert Herron 9 yd pass from Brett Smith (Stuart Williams kick) |
| COLOST | Donnell Alexander 11 yd run (Jared Roberts kick) |
| COLOST | Jared Roberts 30 yd FG |
| WYO | Brett Smith 5 yd run (Stuart Williams kick) |
| WYO | Dominic Rufran 3 yd pass from Brett Smith (Stuart Williams kick) |
| WYO | Stuart Williams 31 yd FG |
| COLOST | Kivon Cartwright 31 yd pass from Conner Smith (Jared Roberts kick) |
| COLOST | Joe Brown 3 yd run (Jared Roberts kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| COLOST | WYO | |
| First Downs | 21 | 32 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 2-10 | 15-20 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 58-512 | 91-468 |
| Rushes-Yds | 26-125 | 57-228 |
| Passing Yds | 387 | 240 |
| Kick Return Yds | 58 | 31 |
| Punt Return Yds | 0 | 29 |
| Passes | 16-32-2 | 20-34-0 |
| Punts | 4-190 | 2-87 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yds | 10-76 | 5-50 |
| Time of Poss. | 24:24 | 35:36 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| COLOST: Donnell Alexander 20-114, Joe Brown 3-18, Garrett Grayson 1-2, Charles Lovett 1--2, Conner Smith 1--7 |
| WYO: Shaun Wick 25-98, Brandon Miller 18-89, Brett Smith 8-27, Jason Thompson 3-11, Robert Herron 1-5, Team 2--2 |
| PASSING |
| COLOST: Conner Smith 13-23-326-1, Garrett Grayson 3-9-61-1 |
| WYO: Brett Smith 19-32-235-0, Jason Thompson 1-2-5-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| COLOST: Thomas Coffman 4-146, Kivon Cartwright 3-67, Marquise Law 3-59, Donnell Alexander 3-23, Joe Hansley 2-27, Charles Lovett 1-65 |
| WYO: Chris McNeill 6-56, Brandon Miller 5-59, Jalen Claiborne 3-59, Trey Norman 3-44, Shaun Wick 1-10, Robert Herron 1-9, Dominic Rufran 1-3 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Colorado State | 6th Mountain West | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Wyoming | 6th Mountain West | 3-5 | 4-8 |
