College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Wyoming season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wyoming Schedule Analysis
– Wyoming Cowboys Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 2-4 overall, 2-4 in Mountain West
Head Coach: Craig Bohl, 8th year, 38-44
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 85
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 76
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 48
Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– The Wyoming offense does what the Wyoming offense does – sort of. It ran well and did a decent job of controlling the clock, but it struggled on third downs, struggled in pass protection, and the passing game wasn’t good enough. With ten starters expected to be back, the production should be stronger.
– The quarterback situation should be a fight through fall camp. Levi Williams failed to hit 50% of his passes with just one touchdown pass and three picks – and he was the only one to come up with a scoring throw.
He’ll have to push past Sean Chambers, the starter two years ago who’s having a rough time staying healthy – he was only able to play one game last year after suffering a knee injury the year before. Everyone is okay, and now it’s about who can rise up and take the gig.
The top three targets are back, and they can make big plays deep – the Cowboys led the Mountain West in yards per completion. However Ayden Eberhardt led the team with just 16 catches and 252 yards, and Isaiah Neyor averaged 31 yards per catch on his eight grabs.
The passing game might be questionable, but …
– The ground game should be a killer. The quarterbacks might struggle to throw, but they can run. The 1-2 running back punch of Xazavian Valladay and Trey Smith was good for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns with over 5.5 yards per carry.
These two will put up all-star caliber numbers behind a solid line with all five starters expected back – guard Logan Haris and center Keegan Cryder are the best of the bunch.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wyoming Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Defense
4. Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense was a killer, and now it might get back 11 starters. The pass rush and pressure behind the were good, the run defense was a wall, and overall the defense finished 16th in the nation and allowed 21 points per game. UW held four of the six teams on the slate to 17 points or fewer. Expect more of the same.
– The linebacking corps got bigger. Leading tackler Chad Muma handed some bulk to get up to 242 pounds for his spot in the middle, coming off a 71-stop all-star season. 227-pound Easton Gibbs might not be all that big but he can move, finishing third on the team with 42 stops. Throw in 230-pound Chuck Hicks, and this group brings the thump with the experience.
– The defensive front is missing the bulk in the interior, but there’s a rotation that works. Muma is the team’s best playmaker in the backfield, but the line has young parts that get off the ball in a hurry – tackles Jordan Bertagnole and Cole Godbout are always active. And the best part? The D that was missing its star ends – Solomon Byrd and Garrett Crall – gets them back.
Now all the pressure has to translate into interceptions. The Cowboys came up with just four, with junior corner CJ Coldon leading the way with two along with 26 tackles. He’s good, but the safeties are the stars. Senior Esaias Gandy was second on the team with 44 tackles in his All-Mountain West season.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wyoming Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Wyoming Cowboys Offensive Player
RB Xazavian Valladay, Jr.
The tall lanky 6-0, 198-pounder has been a big all-around producer for the offense over the last few years. He wasn’t the leading rusher last season, but he wasn’t far off with 550 yards and four touchdowns – with 13 catches for 105 yards – as part of the rotation.
The 2019 First Team All-Mountain West star is a 100-yard machine when he gets a little room to move. No, he won’t be a workhorse with Trey Smith there to help, but he’ll be a dynamic difference-maker again.
2. C Keegan Cryder, Jr.
3. RB Trey Smith, Sr.
4. OG Logan Harris, Sr.
5. PK John Hoyland, Fr.
Best Wyoming Cowboys Defensive Player
LB Chad Muma, Jr.
It could be Solomon Byrd now that the top pass rusher of 2019 is back after opting out last year, but Muma will be the anchor and All-Mountain West heart-and-soul type no matter what.
The 6-3, 242-pound junior led the team with 71 tackles and three sacks with eight tackles for loss. With a loaded line doing the work, he won’t have to get in the backfield as much, but he can if needed.
2. DE Solomon Byrd, Soph.
3. S Esaias Gandy, Sr.
4. LB Easton Gibbs, Fr.
5. DE Garrett Crall, Sr.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wyoming Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Wyoming Cowboys Biggest Key: Offense
Just do SOMETHING with the passing game. This isn’t going to be a high-octane offensive team that bombs away, but it will hit a whole lot of big plays against defenses that load up to try slowing down the run.
The ground attack will carry the team, but the quarterbacks need to get to at least 50% throwing it. It got ugly late – the QBs combined to complete 9-of-38 passes with three picks in the last two games, and the Cowboys had a shot to beat both New Mexico and Boise State.
Don’t throw picks, hit the third down throws, complete around 55% of the passes. Do that, and Wyoming becomes dangerous.
Wyoming Cowboys Biggest Key: Defense
Pick off more passes. It’s nitpicking for a loaded defense that does just about everything right, but a few more interceptions would be nice.
That might come with the defensive ends back and ready to roll after a few of the main men opted out last year – the pass rush will be stronger – and there’s too much experience and talent in the secondary to not take the ball away in bunches.
Again, this is looking for a problem, but the four interceptions in six games were a tad light. The Cowboys have failed to come up with multiple picks in any of the last nine games and 13 of the last 14.
Wyoming Cowboys Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Levi Williams, RFr. and/or Sean Chambers, Soph.
Or freshman Gavin Beerup, or former Utah transfer Jayden Clemons, or anyone who can consistently complete more passes.
To hammer this home, the Cowboys don’t need the next Trevor Lawrence to step in and produce for the passing game, but they do need someone to hit the midrange throws along with the deep balls. Just about everything is in place to be a sleeper in the Mountain West title chase. Now UW just needs these two quarterbacks to be good.
Wyoming Cowboys Key Game To The 2021 Season
at Air Force, Oct. 9
There can’t be any misfires in Mountain West play early on. It’s the opener for the Cowboys with road games at San Jose State and Boise State coming later, and it starts with beating Air Force again.
Wyoming won three in a row in the series before losing in 2019 – they didn’t play last year. Win, and with Fresno State and New Mexico at home to follow, there’s a chance at a hot start.
2020 Wyoming Cowboys Fun Stats
– TD Passes: Opponents 8 – Wyoming 1
– 2nd Half Scoring: Opponents 93 – Wyoming 48
– 4th Down Conversions: Wyoming 6-of-12 (50%) – Opponents 0-for-6 (0%)
NEXT: Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Wyoming Cowboys College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Is this the year it all pays off?
Is this when the style of play under head coach Craig Bohl is able to combine with a team loaded with veterans who know what they’re doing to pull off a Mountain West title?
Bohl turned North Dakota State into an FCS superpower, needed a few years to build up Wyoming, and now the program is consistently good enough to expect winning seasons and bowl appearances every year.
Forget the 2-4 2020 season – the defense was amazing, it was a rough campaign with no flow, and now comes the payoff for what amounted to a building year.
Set The Wyoming Cowboys Regular Season Win Total At … 8
21 starters from 2020 are expected to be back, a few key parts who opted out return, and the schedule works out very, very nicely.
It’s not like Wyoming is pushing the envelope with the non-conference slate – Montana State, at Northern Illinois, Ball State, at UConn – and missing Nevada and San Diego State from the West this year is a big positive.
However, the Boise State and Air Force games are on the road, and there’s a trip to San Jose State, too.
Even so, this should be Bohl’s best UW team yet, there’s not a game on the slate it can’t win, and at the very least, this should be the first time in eight seasons the program gets past the eight-win mark.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Wyoming Schedule Analysis
