2020g3: Nevada @ Wyoming
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- This Wyoming-Nevada conference matchup has resulted in an extremely consistent score line recently. Over the previous three years, with Wyoming winning all of them, the final scores have been 30-28 (2018), 33-28 (2019), and 31-28 (2020). I can take a wild guess as to how many points the Wolf Pack will put up in 2021...
Wyoming's offense has been sputtering this season, and was nearly shut out entirely in the 1st half. The various recurring problems with this unit have been really, really bad run blocking, awful pass blocking--both guards, Joshua Moore and Kurtis McCann, are turnstyles as was feared in preseason, and senior QB Chandler Garrett has flirted with being benched at times. Due in part to yet another slow start from the QB, Wyoming's first three drives of the game went: turnover-on-downs, missed 34-yard FG, and 3-and-out. However, the Pokes would somehow find themselves on the scoreboard first after freshman kicker Joe Bennett banged a FG through with 2:44 remaining before halftime.
Nevada's offense was equally bad in the early going. Their first three drives included a pair of 3-and-outs and a punt. It was only after they fell behind 3-0 that they engineered a lightning speed TD drive as HB Jaxson Kincaide waltzed in from seven yards out. It was a 7-3 Nevada lead at the half.
Both squads would come out of the half throwing haymakers. The Pokes scored on a pair of drives, punctuated with 1-yard TD plunges, to pull ahead 17-7. Nevada returned the favor with Kincaide's 2nd TD run at the :11 mark of the 3rd quarter, then again on a 72-yard TD pass from Andy Kenney to Daniel McKenzie about a minute later. 21-17 Nevada.
Speaking of the Nevada quarterback, Kenney came off as a boom-or-bust type. The redshirt sophomore, scrambling-style QB from Edinburg, TX would go long stretches getting nothing done. He also threw a pair of interceptions, one to free safety Alijah Halliburton and the other to CB2 Tyler Hall. On the other hand, he had a knack for shredding the Wyoming secondary with big gainers. Along with the 72-yard TD pass referenced above, Kenney connected on 41-, 40-, and 31-yard passes (of course mostly on 3rd and long). All in all, he completed 16/24 (66%) for 276 yards with a TD and two INTs (160.3 QB rating)--a whopping 11.5 YPA. Kenney also scrambled for 41 yards on eight attempts (5.1 YPC).
After Nevada had taken its 21-17 lead, the teams would trade TDs for the rest of the game. Wyoming retook the lead on a 1-yard Mike Green II TD run, his 2nd of the game. Then, Nevada went up 28-24 when backup HB Marcus Jones found paydirt. All of this was just filler so that the game could end in that 30-ish to 28 final score range.
As was prophesied, Wyoming would score best and last. Garrett found tight end Alec Stewart between a pair of Nevada defenders for a 9-yard TD pass with 1:55 remaining. Twas a spectacular one handed catch on a ball thrown significantly behind the cutting Stewart. He latched on, as a Mackey winner is expected to do, and gloriously absorbed the hit in the endzone.
Although a much needed win after getting rekt by Techt last week, Wyoming looks like a different team than the plucky upstart of recent years. The secondary was carved up, which isn't surprising, but the blocking has been exceptionally bad. The line allowed 11 tackles-for-loss against Nevada and is still searching for a breakout, dominating performance or, really, any consistency to speak of.
Chandler Garrett connects with Alec Stewart for "The Catch."
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- This Wyoming-Nevada conference matchup has resulted in an extremely consistent score line recently. Over the previous three years, with Wyoming winning all of them, the final scores have been 30-28 (2018), 33-28 (2019), and 31-28 (2020). I can take a wild guess as to how many points the Wolf Pack will put up in 2021...Wyoming's offense has been sputtering this season, and was nearly shut out entirely in the 1st half. The various recurring problems with this unit have been really, really bad run blocking, awful pass blocking--both guards, Joshua Moore and Kurtis McCann, are turnstyles as was feared in preseason, and senior QB Chandler Garrett has flirted with being benched at times. Due in part to yet another slow start from the QB, Wyoming's first three drives of the game went: turnover-on-downs, missed 34-yard FG, and 3-and-out. However, the Pokes would somehow find themselves on the scoreboard first after freshman kicker Joe Bennett banged a FG through with 2:44 remaining before halftime.
Nevada's offense was equally bad in the early going. Their first three drives included a pair of 3-and-outs and a punt. It was only after they fell behind 3-0 that they engineered a lightning speed TD drive as HB Jaxson Kincaide waltzed in from seven yards out. It was a 7-3 Nevada lead at the half.
Both squads would come out of the half throwing haymakers. The Pokes scored on a pair of drives, punctuated with 1-yard TD plunges, to pull ahead 17-7. Nevada returned the favor with Kincaide's 2nd TD run at the :11 mark of the 3rd quarter, then again on a 72-yard TD pass from Andy Kenney to Daniel McKenzie about a minute later. 21-17 Nevada.
Speaking of the Nevada quarterback, Kenney came off as a boom-or-bust type. The redshirt sophomore, scrambling-style QB from Edinburg, TX would go long stretches getting nothing done. He also threw a pair of interceptions, one to free safety Alijah Halliburton and the other to CB2 Tyler Hall. On the other hand, he had a knack for shredding the Wyoming secondary with big gainers. Along with the 72-yard TD pass referenced above, Kenney connected on 41-, 40-, and 31-yard passes (of course mostly on 3rd and long). All in all, he completed 16/24 (66%) for 276 yards with a TD and two INTs (160.3 QB rating)--a whopping 11.5 YPA. Kenney also scrambled for 41 yards on eight attempts (5.1 YPC).After Nevada had taken its 21-17 lead, the teams would trade TDs for the rest of the game. Wyoming retook the lead on a 1-yard Mike Green II TD run, his 2nd of the game. Then, Nevada went up 28-24 when backup HB Marcus Jones found paydirt. All of this was just filler so that the game could end in that 30-ish to 28 final score range.
As was prophesied, Wyoming would score best and last. Garrett found tight end Alec Stewart between a pair of Nevada defenders for a 9-yard TD pass with 1:55 remaining. Twas a spectacular one handed catch on a ball thrown significantly behind the cutting Stewart. He latched on, as a Mackey winner is expected to do, and gloriously absorbed the hit in the endzone.
Although a much needed win after getting rekt by Techt last week, Wyoming looks like a different team than the plucky upstart of recent years. The secondary was carved up, which isn't surprising, but the blocking has been exceptionally bad. The line allowed 11 tackles-for-loss against Nevada and is still searching for a breakout, dominating performance or, really, any consistency to speak of.
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- In one of the more meh non-conference matchups on the docket this season, Wyoming beat the brakes off of the Ball State Cardinals. The 51-28 contest was not as close as the score suggests.
Ball State was hamstrung for most of the game (until the comeback code kicked in late). They recorded only 75 yards of offense in the 1st half. The Cardinals' offense didn't score a TD until just 3:23 remained in the 3rd quarter. Then they got a tipped, shoe-string interception and a pair of touchdown drives in the 4th quarter to make it look slightly more respectable. Interestingly, one of the Ball State touchdowns came on freshman backup QB Andrew Mills' only pass of the game. Mills finished with a nifty 480.4 rating; he also carried once for 20 yards after starter Drew Plitt left with a minor injury. The Cardinals' mere 265 yards of total offense is the 2nd lowest output allowed by a Craig Bohl-coached Wyoming team (Boise State was held to 99 yards last season).
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- This game will likely go down as the single worst loss of the Craig Bohl era. Wyoming has been beaten more thoroughly (see the Oregon game of a few years ago, the bowl game against Arizona last year, or even Texas Tech earlier this season for more lopsided contests), but never have they seemingly given one away quite like this.
And so, likely with big game skill activated or whatever sorcery the SJSU coaching staff had at its disposal, the Spartans marched down the field in short order--a 40-second TD drive--scoring on Jamar Williams' 7-yard romp followed by a 2-point conversion. Surprisingly, the ensuing kickoff went deep with SJSU still trailing by a touchdown and 2:40 remaining...
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- That was close. After the bitter defeat last weak in San Jose, the Pokes came up against the edge of the knife once again--this time at home against the hated Colorado State Rams. It took a game-winning FG with :53 remaining, but Wyoming defeated their nemesis in the BORDER WAR rivalry and avoided a losing streak in the process. The Pokes have beaten CSU three years running.
When Colorado State wasn't fumbling, missing field goals, or committing penalties, they were truly electric on offense. Redshirt junior QB Jerome Ross, advertised as a dual threat but more of a pocket passer, was extremely effective. He completed 29/36 (80%) for 378 yards and three TDs (196.2 QB rating). Amongst his favorite targets were tight end Jacob Carter (five catches for 75 yards), wide receiver Matt Hughes (five catches for 83 yards and a TD), and wide receiver Derrick Harris (two catches for 88 yards and two TDs). Ross continued a long string of bonkers quarterback performances against this beleaguered Wyoming pass defense.
LOGAN, Utah -- Another rivalry game (Bridger's Battle!) and another exceptionally close game. 
The 2nd half was a topsy-turvy affair. Utah State got the opening drive and scored on a 16-yard TD pass. Wyoming punched back with a 27-yard pass from Garrett to J.C. McCrary. The Aggies responded with a 34-yard field goal to make it 27-21 in their favor at the end of the third quarter.
BOISE, Idaho -- Wyoming's offense came alive and Chandler Garrett had an incredible game, but they were let down by their defense. Ultimately Boise State held on for a 44-42 win--a win that'll probably decide the Mountain Division champ.
When figuring out what went wrong for Wyoming's defense, the answer was everything. They couldn't cover. They gave up chunk rushing plays--four plays of 20+ yards on the ground. Boise State halfback Dustin Cummings rushed 23 times for 135 yards (5.8 YPC) and the team went over 300 yards on the ground. Wyoming created no pressure on the QB, got zero sacks, and created zero turnovers. Wyoming middle linebacker Cedric Farmer had a busy game with 14 tackles and three tackles-for-loss, but it was almost like 11-on-10 out there.
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- After a series of brutally close games--the previous three were decided by a sum total of five points--Wyoming put Air Force to bed early in a dominating 27-0 win in the steppes and the snow.
Once again, the Wyoming run game was nothing great, but they rushed 50 times and played keep away from Air Force. Weldon Adler was a workhorse who carried 31 times for 118 yards (3.8 YPC). Mike Green II spelled him with 16 carries for 51 yards (3.1 YPC).
HONOLULU, Hawai'i -- The Hawai'ians at Manoa were treated to a vintage performance of Thriller starring Michael Jackson.
Despite the fireworks, and the game being off the mainland, and the recent history of Wyoming getting roasted by robo QBs, the Pokes eventually found their footing. By quarter, one can observe Wyoming's defense starting to become effective--28 points allowed in the 1st quarter, 17 in the 2nd quarter, just seven points in the 3rd quarter, and nada in the 4th. Somehow, after getting their faces melted off in the 1st half, the Pokes held Hawai'i's final five possessions to: punt, punt, lost fumble, punt, turnover on downs. It was almost like two completely different games.
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