Matthew Fabian
Mfabian1@uwyo.edu
For the third straight year, the Wyoming Cowboys lost the Bronze Boot in less than thrilling fashion with a 26-7 loss to the Colorado State Rams.
What happened exactly?
“I think Colorado State did a great job creating turnovers,” head coach Craig Bohl said. “I do think that Colorado State was more physical than we were today.”
For one, large strings of unanswered points plagued the Cowboys once again. By the end of the first quarter, the Colorado State Rams were ahead 17-0. The Cowboys gained exactly one first down and 23 yards of total offense in a nightmarish opening quarter against the team from down south.
“I was pleased with the second half. We did generate a touchdown, but it was a little too late,” Bohl said. “With a game like this, we needed to start well.”
Last year in Fort Collins, the Cowboys trailed 31-3 going into the third quarter before scoring some late, garbage time touchdowns to bring the final to 45-31. This year, the Cowboys managed only one of such scores, a four-yard scamper by Brian Hill at the end of the fourth quarter.
There were some bright spots to come from the game, starting with the consistently great play out of freshmen Andrew Wingard. He generated a turnover for the Cowboys with an interception at 1:51 of the second quarter. It was Wingard’s first career interception.
“This is tough for everyone, fans and guys on the team,” Wingard said. “We’ve faced our share of diversity this season. It’s going to be almost impossible not to come back with fire next week. You have got to come out and still fight.”
The Cowboys now focus their efforts to the San Diego State Aztecs, who boast a 6-3 record with five straight wins, including the likes of Colorado State and Utah State.
Wyoming’s record is a very unceremonious 1-9, with two games to play. Yet, this team still refuses to look towards next season, keeping themselves in the present.
“It’s all about finishing. Not how you start, but how you finish. Then you can take that momentum into the next year,” said senior captain Eddie Yarbrough. “If it was all sunshine and rainbows, everyone would like to play football.”
In the land of sunshine, the Cowboys will find themselves with a daunting task of the Aztecs. Hopefully, they’ll come back with fight. They don’t have much else to play for now.
News and Notes:
• Bohl anticipates Cam Coffman will play against SDSU, he was also cleared to play against CSU. Bohl felt that Coffman would not have been able to make the necessary throws to play, so he sat another week.
• Sophomore running back Brian Hill was held to 65 yards, only the fourth time in his career he has not ran for 100 yards in a game.
• Redshirt freshman Nick Smith threw for a career high of 109 yards against the Rams, on 10-of-21 passing.
• Wyoming caught their fourth interception Saturday, topping their season total of 3 last year.
