LARAMIE, Wyo.  – The Texas State football team jumped out to an early lead, but Wyoming took advantage of some critical turnovers and handed the Bobcats a 45-10 loss in TXST's final non-conference game on Saturday afternoon.
 
Late in the first frame, Stephan Johnson forced a fumble on Texas State's own 28-yard line.  A.J. Krawczyk scooped up the ball and rumbled down the sideline before he was finally stopped at the Wyoming 33-yard line.  Six plays later, freshman kicker Foster Hilborn, making his collegiate debut, connected on a 21-yard field goal, giving the Bobcats a 3-0 lead with just under 14 minutes left in the first half.
 
The Cowboys answered on their next drive covering 75 yards on eight plays.  The drive concluded when Josh Allen completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Johnson.  Cooper Rothe's extra point gave Wyoming a 7-3 lead.
 
The next offensive snap for Texas State resulted in a pick-six for Rico Gafford.  The wide receiver slipped on the play, giving Gafford an easy play and 37 yards later the Cowboys extended their lead to 14-3.
 
Texas State pulled to within 14-10 when Anthony D. Taylor tipped a 20-yard punt by Wyoming's Tim Zaleski to give the Bobcats possession at Wyoming's 35-yard line. The Bobcats moved down the field as Damian Williams completed three passes on the drive. The third completion was a five-yard touchdown pass to Elijah King. Hilborn added the extra-point.
 
However, Wyoming scored on the ensuing kickoff when Tyler Hall returned James Sherman's kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and Rothe added an extra point to extend the Cowboys' lead to 21-10.
 
On their next possession, the Cowboys drove down the field 60 yards on three plays for their fourth touchdown of the game. First, Allen ran for six yards. He completed a 39-yard pass to Avante' Cox to Texas State's 15-yard line. The Cowboys scored when Allen hit Johnson for the second time, this one for a 15-yard score. Rothe kicked the extra point to make the score 28-10.
 
Wyoming scored the final points in the first half when Rothe added a 28-yard field goal to make the score 31-10 at halftime.
 
Texas State came out in the second half and held the Cowboys on three and out when Bryan London and A.J. Krawczyk stopped Trey Woods for no gain on a third-and-one play. But, on Texas State's next possession Wyoming's Logan Wilson took the ball out of Williams' hand when he was rolling out for a pass.  Wilson returned the ball 18 yards for a Wyoming touchdown. Rothe's extra point made the score 38-10.
 
The Cowboys drove 79 yards in 10 plays on their next possession that resulted in Allen completing an eight-yard pass to Austin Conway across the middle for a touchdown. Rothe added an extra point to increase the lead to 45-10.
 
Willie Jones III came into the game with 3:29 left the third quarter and led the Bobcats down to Wyoming's 25-yard line. But, Hilborn's 42-yard field goal attempt was short.

Texas State will be back home next Saturday, Oct. 7, at Bobcat Stadium against Sun Belt Conference foe ULM with kickoff slated for 2 p.m.