Saturdays contest with the Wyoming Cowboys will mark the 75th meeting between the two schools. Back in 1922 was the first matchup with the Cougars pulling out a tight victory 7-0. The university originally opened its doors back in 1886 and have been ranked by the NY Times as one of the best educational buys in the nation. Some of the famous alumni include: Jerry Buss (Lakers owner), Curt Gowdy, Jay Novacek, Theo Ratliff, and Casey Bramlett. With the loss at CSU last year the Cowboys finished 5-7 closing a third straight season without any postseason action. On the other hand Wyoming did step up and play big with noticeable victories over Virginia and TCU. The cowboys last win in "happy valley" was a close call (29 to 27) back in 1987 (wow has it really been that long?).
Folks lets face it and call it like it is. The deck is likely stacked against the Cowboys coming into town and leaving with a victory unless some unforeseen act of nature occurs. This is a mismatch in the making. According to some the jerseys in blue are favored by 28 and a half. CBSsportsline has Wyoming ranked at 86 while USAtoday's Sagarin rating is 90 for the cowboys. The offense for BYU is ranked 5th nationally while the cowboys average 92.3 yards good for a 114th ranking. By all means there is no question I hope this doesn't turn into a "bird" watch (for those who recall the Cowboy/yewts match and friendly greeting from last year) with the strong possibility of this getting ugly and fast. Definately a golden opportunity for the Cougar backups to get some valuable experience.
At quarterback this is the tale of two paths. Hall, well he's unquestionably on the up as a Heisman candidate. On the other hand JC transfer Dax Crum (former walk on at Arizona State) and first year OC Bob Cole have both struggled early on with getting the offense into a groove or much of a gear in the new scheme. With the 3 games Crum is averaging just over 90 yards per game with more INTs than TDs. By comparison Hall is averaging 366 yards per game. In fact Max in last game has more than tripled Crum's TDs in all 3 games combined.
In the backfield the thunder and lightning combo of Devin Moore (has been clocked at 4.31 seconds) and Wynel Seldon didn't exactly send out consistent storm warnings last year. In fact the Cowboys only had a 9 yard outing against the Cougs in their home finale. Moore is second in the conference and is averaging 99 yards rushing a game thus far (with nearly 5 yards a clip average). He can bust it long as well (44 is his best so far) who has a offensive line that averages 297 to open the holes.
Wideouts David Leonard(6.4/185 SO) and Donate Morgan (5.11/185 JR) will be worked with by former cowboy receiver Jovon Bouknight who was hired as a overqualified grad assistant. Leonard showed promise as a freshman while Morgan is a transfer (St Joseph's College IN) and the fastest player on the team. He provides that possible home run threat it lacked last season when they opted for the quicker throws and shorter routes.
The Cowboys strength is clearly on the defensive line. Big John Fletcher (6.1/310) is coming off a breakout year piling up 10.5 sacks as a sophomore (ranking him 11th nationally). Fletcher was named to the Outland Trophy watch list. Mitch Unrein(6.4/270) is the other half of Wyoming's formidable junior duo up front on defense. Unrein had mentioned about the Cougars "Well they're a tough team. They always are, every year we've played them they're always really tough. 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". Linebacker Ward Dobbs led the team with 98 tackles last year (ranks as Wyoming's 9th all time best) but a pair of offseason surgeries kept him out of spring ball.
If Wyoming can clean up the turnover woes they have a chance to be successful. Although maybe not against the Cougs. The Cowboys have only won five games on the road in the last three years. There are just too many questions yet to be answered for the Wyoming in yet another transition year.
3 comments:
Tuck, this one is going to be a bloodbath.
The only concern BYU fans like us might have about this game is a possible let down after the near-perfect play we experienced against UCLA last Saturday. Fortunately, though, we have a tough coaching staff that is quick to point out areas of improvement to keep these guys grounded. I don't fear a let down at all.
...from the Cougs, anyway.
Wyoming has simply been dismal on offense. Even if their defense has the game of their lives and holds BYU to, say, 20 points, Wyoming just doesn't have the horses to get the ball in the end zone. Their season scoring total, I believe, is 40. BYU scored 59 in one game.
My prediction: BYU 49, Wyoming 10
Completely agree with you. I just hope it doesn't turn into a "Bird" watch again. This will be ugly no way around it. Cowboys honestly might as keep the starters at home while learn the forward pass. I don't fear a letdown. Both coaches n players understand to constant need to improve. There are just too many good teams out there they may yet to play against.
Clearly BYU is the better team coming into this game - - If BYU executes they will win - - Yet we know anything can happen in college football - - We did fumble four times in the Northern Iowa game.... anything can happen - - Yet I can not see Hall & Co. dropping the ball on this one - - Throw this into the fact that BYU does not lose at home - - BYU wins
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