Wyoming Outmatched by Oregon, Shows Offensive Promise
Wyoming lost their opener, as expected, to an Oregon team that was simply more talented on both sides of the ball. The Wyoming coaches wanted to schedule a tough OOC slate in order to give their team ample preparation for Mountain West play, and Oregon proved to be too great of a challenge for the Cowboys to overcome. However, they showed plenty of promise, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
The Cowboys lost the toss and ended up starting with the ball, but managed a quick score and 7-0 lead after a long touchdown pass to tight end Josh Harshman. Oregon followed up with consecutive scores on their first two drives to take control of the game, a control which they wouldn't give up for the remainder of the contest.
Despite an awful second quarter in which the Ducks scored 14 unanswered points, the Cowboys were able to bounce back and keep up with the Ducks for the rest of the game, being outscored only 25-23 in the second half.
The main positives for the Cowboys came on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense was not able to stop a high-powered Oregon attack, but the Cowboys offense kept up as best as they could. They struggled to get much going in the running game and even turned to Senior Nico Evans at halfback in the second half to give them a spark, but redshirt Freshman Tyler Vander Waal looked fantastic, throwing for well over 300 yards in his first collegiate game.
This game gave the Cowboys exactly what they wanted. They played an opponent who was much better than them but competed in a way that should sufficiently compare them to compete in their own conference. They will have a much easier game next week at home against FAU before challenging themselves once again on the road vs. a ranked Michigan State team.
One interesting tidbit about the game is that Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl called the offensive plays rather than new offensive coordinator Joshua Morgan. Bohl said that Morgan was instrumental in the preparation for the game, but that he wanted to ease him into his new position. Bohl said that Morgan will call plays next week against FAU and should keep that role for the rest of the season.