Wyoming couldn't look ahead.

It didn't have time.

The Cowboys needed every last second to dispatch North Dakota State on Saturday, but almost as soon as the final one ticked with Darius Terry jumping on a fumble, UW turned its attention to BYU.

Most of the nation already had, with the No. 14 Cougars delivering a stunningly easy 59-0 beat down of UCLA.

"Already, as soon as the last seconds ticked off the clock, OK, we've got to switch and think about BYU," Cowboys running back Wynel Seldon said. "We've got to start game-planning, and with those guys, we've got to come out focused, we've got to come out ready to control the football and control the clock and just take it to them.

"That's a fundamentally sharp team, they've got an NFL-caliber offense, defense is fundamentally sound, we've just got to maintain our focus."

The Cougars put both on full display over the weekend, and the leader of their vaunted offensive attack might have jumped into the Heisman Trophy race in the process.

Quarterback Max Hall picked apart the Bruins, throwing seven touchdowns in the rout and solidifying BYU's standing as the most likely BCS Buster this season.

That status is obviously subject to change, and the Cowboys would like nothing more than to knock their rival out of the conversation on Saturday.

"Well, they're a tough team," defensive end Mitch Unrein said. "They always are, every year we've played them they're always really tough. We've just got to start game-planning, this win is in the past already.

"We've got to start focusing on BYU. They're a real tough team, they beat up on UCLA but that doesn't matter to us. We don't care who they've beat, who they've lost to, we're going in there to beat them and we're going to prepare as best we can and hopefully get the 'W.'"

That letter was the only thing that mattered to the Cowboys after squeaking past the Bison, who nearly pulled off another significant upset and were on the brink of cranking the dial on coach Joe Glenn's hot seat.

It cooled slightly with a solid second half to climb out of a 13-point hole, and those 30 minutes might have helped UW forge an identity.

The Cowboys were still subpar in the passing game, but for the second time already this season they adjusted their ground attack and pounded the ball downhill to come from behind.

The special teams weren't great, but the coverage units didn't give up a big play and kicker Jake Scott was perfect on three tries, including the game-winner.

Defensively they were as sound as ever, but all three phases had to face character tests against North Dakota State.

They passed, but the next one will be even more difficult - which is why the Cowboys are already cramming.

"We're learning kind of as we go along," Glenn said. "We're a little bit new with some of our kids, but as it worked out we're sitting here smoking big cigars.

"We certainly can polish and get better. We know we're not there yet, but we took a step forward."

Now they can look and see where they're going.

Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@trib.com.

Cowboys Tracker

SATURDAY: Wyoming 16, North Dakota State 13.

RECORDS: Cowboys (2-1, 0-1 Mountain West Conference); Bison (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

UP NEXT: The Cowboys are back in the Bowl Subdivision and the conference on Saturday, hitting the road for the first time at rival BYU.

NUMBERS GAME: BYU quarterback Max Hall had two more passing touchdowns (four) in just more than five minutes against UCLA than the Cowboys have this season.

HE SAID IT: We don't care who they've beat, who they've lost to, we're going in there to beat them and we're going to prepare as best we can and hopefully get the 'W.'" - defensive end Mitch Unrein.