Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Wyoming Cowboys season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Wyoming Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 6-6 overall, 4-4 in Mountain West
Head Coach: Craig Bohl, 6th year, 28-35
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WYOMING OFFENSE
– The 2016 Wyoming offense exploded for 503 points. Two years later, the program struggled to get to 248, going on a seven game run without scoring more than 19 points, before things started to work late against the weaker teams on the schedule. Any improvement starts with a better passing game.
– The offense didn’t explode with Josh Allen at the helm in 2017, and the passing game was among the least-efficient in America when he was off being a Buffalo Bill. The quarterbacks combined to hit 49% of their passes with just eight touchdowns and four picks – it was a weeeee bit conservative.
Tyler Vander Wall is back after starting early on as a freshman, but the gig is almost certainly going to go to redshirt freshman Sean Chambers, a 6-3, 218 pounder who was the more effective of the two last year and in spring ball.
– The top two yardage receivers are gone, but Raghib Ismail – yes, his son – is back along with leading pass catcher Austin Conway. There’s a massive infusion of options from the latest recruiting class, and 6-2 senior CJ Johnson will is a part of the big, physical group that now needs the ball more – and needs to do more with it when there’s a chance.
– The passing attack might have been an issue, but the running game was solid, averaging close to 200 yards per game behind a line that was terrific at keeping defenses out of the backfield.
Three starters are back up front, but leading rusher Nico Evans is done after his 1,325-yard season. Second-leading rusher Xazavian Valladay is back after averaging 5.6 yards per carry in his freshman season, but it’s a very, very thin group of backs.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WYOMING DEFENSE
– The defense wasn’t quite the killer it was expected to be and probably should’ve been, but it still managed to finish 19th in the country and allowed just 22 points per game. Eight of the top 12 tacklers are back, but the secondary loses tackling machines Andrew Wingard and Marcus Epps.
Alijah Halliburton finished fourth on the team with with 61 tackles, but the rest of the safeties are relatively inexperienced. Antonio Hull is back at one corner, and Tyler Hall is getting a shot on the other side after mostly working as a 190-pound hybrid linebacker.
– Leading tackler Logan Wilson is back in the middle of the linebacking corps after making 103 stops in an all-star season. 248-pound senior Cassh Maluia is bringing a little thump again after generating 46 tackles.
The depth isn’t there, though – it’ll take a bit to get the right parts in place – and the hope will be for sophomore Keyon Blankenbaker to go from being a decent corner who made 29 tackles, to a Nickel defender who’ll step in for Tyler Hall.
– The pass rush was lacking, and now the line has to replace all-star Carl Granderson on the outside and starting NT Sidney Malauulu on the nose. There’s not a lot of bulk inside with the tackles all checking in under 280 pounds, but there should be a decent rotation on the ends around veteran Garrett Crall on one side.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP WYOMING PLAYERS
Best Wyoming Offensive Player
PK Cooper Rothe, Sr.
Someone on the offense will rise up and become an all-star – possibly RB Xazavian Valladay in place of First Team All-MWC performer Nico Evans – but for what he brings to the team, Rothe deserves credit for being one of the nation’s top returning kickers.
He connected on 15 of his 16 field goal attempts for a team with an anemic offense that needed points in any way possible. Ten of his field goals came inside the 40, but he has 40+ range.
2. WR/PR Austin Conway, Jr.
3. RB Xazavian Valladay, Soph.
4. QB Sean Chambers, RFr.
5. C Keegan Cryder, Soph.
Best Wyoming Defensive Player
LB Logan Wilson, Sr.
With 316 tackles in his first three seasons, and with two interceptions, two sacks, and 11 tackles for loss to go along with his 103 tackles last season, Wilson is the main man in the middle of the defense. The 6-2, 250-pounder came up with double-digit stops in six games on the way to All-Mountain West recognition. Be stunned if he doesn’t allow past 100 stops again.
2. CB Tyler Hall, Sr.
3. LB Cassh Maluia, Sr.
4. DE Garrett Crall, Jr.
5. DT Ravontae Holt, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Wyoming Offense
The passing game just can’t be putrid. The Cowboys threw two touchdown passes against Wofford. They threw two against Colorado State and against Air Force, too. They threw two against everyone else, finishing with just eight touchdown passes on the year.
The passing attack was able to complete 50% or fewer of its passes seven times, and 23 times in the five years under head coach Craig Bohl. The big yards don’t have to be there, but the offense changes if the O can connect on 60% or more of the throws. More on that in a moment.
Biggest Key To The Wyoming Defense
What happened to the pass rush? The Cowboys came up with 33 sacks two years ago, but the anemic pass rush of 2014 and 2015 returned with just 19 sacks, and 12 of them coming in three games. The defense was still good, and the lack of big plays behind the line weren’t a killer, but double up the production and it should be enough to overcome the offensive issues.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Sean Chambers, RFr.
Even when Josh Allen was under center, the passing game wasn’t all that efficient. He threw way too many interceptions for an offense that hasn’t finished with a 60+% passing season since 2013. That’s where Chambers comes in, after hitting 15 of his 25 attempts – 60% – last season.
He doesn’t need to be a first round draft pick like Allen, but as long as he’s able to connect enough to keep the chains moving, and if he’s able to keep the interceptions to a minimum, he’ll be doing his job.
Key Game To The Wyoming Season
Nevada, Oct. 26
It’s an interdivisional conference game, but it’s also one of the team’s tougher games of the Mountain West seasons. It comes right before getting a week off to prepare for a brutal finishing kick of three road games in four weeks, and it’s a home game. With dates at San Diego State, Boise State, Utah State and Air Force, the Cowboys are in big trouble if they lose this.
– Wyoming Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Wyoming Fun Stats
– Wyoming 1st Quarter Scoring: 44 – 4th Quarter Scoring 82
– 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 11-of-16 (69%) – Wyoming 4-of-12 (33%)
– Interceptions Thrown: Opponents 10 – Wyoming 4
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. WYOMING WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
The offense can’t and won’t be any worse.
There aren’t any established skill stars, and the line is just okay, but after a miserable season with scores tough to come by, this year’s team should make a few adjustments and be a bit better through the air and finally come up with a little bit of explosion.
The defense loses just enough key parts to be annoying, but it should still be among the four best in the Mountain West thanks to a great-tackling group of defensive backs, and a thumping linebacking corps with the upside to be special.
Now the offense has to hold up its end of the bargain.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 6
The biggest overall problem is the improvements throughout the rest of the Mountain West. Out of the last two seasons and 13 regular season wins, only one came against a team that finished with a winning record.
UNLV is a must-win home game, but the Rebels should be better. Colorado State will be stronger, and New Mexico – if it can keep a quarterback healthy – might have the right offense to give the Cowboys problems.
Assume at least three losses among the four dates against Missouri, at San Diego State, at Boise State and at Utah State, and be scared of Air Force and Nevada, too.
The Cowboys will get to six wins on defense and the running game – again – but they’ll fall just short in just enough tight battles to need a late rally to go bowling.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
