Tag: Wyoming Cowboys

ASU Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) carries the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on October 7, 2023.

Arizona State kicks off first Big 12 season vs. Wyoming

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Arizona State struggled through consecutive 3-9 seasons before entering its first season in the Big 12.

The Sun Devils will look to get this campaign off to a good start when they play host to Wyoming on Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz.

Kenny Dillingham resided over the second three-win season in his first campaign. The Arizona State coach wants to see improvement everywhere in the program.

“We want to get better,” he said. “We want to grow every single day. There’s not a win total. There’s not a goal like that. It’s just be the very best we can be at everything we do.”

The Sun Devils took a lot of severe hits last season. Fresno State of the Mountain West pounded them 29-0 and they lost Pac-12 games by 52 points to Utah and 36 apiece to Oregon and Arizona.

Promising quarterback Jaden Rashada opened the season as the starter but sustained a knee injury and played in just three games. He then underwent thumb surgery on his throwing hand and missed spring drills.

Then in late April, Rashada transferred to Georgia.

Before the departure, Sam Leavitt had transferred in from Michigan State. Leavitt outdueled Jeff Sims — a former starter at Georgia Tech and Nebraska — for the starting gig despite throwing just 23 collegiate passes.

Arizona State will look to take pressure off Leavitt by depending on Cam Skattebo, who rushed for 788 yards and nine touchdowns last season.

Defensively, free safety Shamari Simmons is back after leading the Sun Devils with 73 tackles last season.

Arizona State and Wyoming are playing for the first time since 1977 when both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Sun Devils hold a 9-6 edge in a series that began in 1951.

The Cowboys went 9-4 last season under now-retired coach Craig Bohl. One of their victories was over Texas Tech of the Big 12.

Wyoming promoted defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel to head coach. Sawvel said he’s unsure what to make of the Sun Devils.

“Opening games are really hard when you don’t know how people are going to use their players,” Sawvel said. “And that’s in traditional opening games. Now you add all the transfer elements to it.”

Quarterback Evan Svoboda, who started one game last season, is now the main man. He once starred at Red Mountain High in Mesa, Ariz., which is located approximately 20 miles east of the site of Saturday’s game in the Phoenix suburbs.

“If Evan Svoboda plays the way we hope that he can and that his potential could allow, we could become extremely good,” Sawvel said

Linebacker Shea Suiaunoa is Wyoming’s top defender. He ranked second on the squad with 93 tackles last season.

–Field Level Media

Nov 3, 2023; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Wyoming Cowboys head coach Craig Bohl against the Colorado State Rams during the fourth quarter at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

In Craig Bohl’s finale, Wyoming takes on Toledo in Arizona Bowl

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Wyoming will mark the end of an era when it squares off against Toledo on Saturday afternoon in the Arizona Bowl in Tucson.

The contest will mark the final game for veteran Wyoming coach Craig Bohl, who will retire at the end of the season. Bohl, 65, has spent 42 years on the sidelines, including the past 10 as the Cowboys’ head coach.

After the bowl game, Jay Sawvel will take over as Wyoming’s next coach. Sawvel has been the team’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach since 2020.

“I always joke with all of our support people around here,” Bohl said, deflecting questions about his legacy. “I say, ‘You put your hand in a bucket of water, take it out, and that’s how long you’re going to be missed.”

Bohl and his Mountain West team are serious when it comes to the season finale for Wyoming (8-4), which is making its third straight bowl appearance, including its second consecutive in the Arizona Bowl.

Toledo, meanwhile, is eager to show what it can do in front of a national audience. The Rockets are 11-2, including 8-0 in the Mid-American Conference.

A major reason for Toledo’s success this season has been the play of quarterback Dequan Finn, who passed for 2,657 yards and 22 touchdowns along with rushing for 563 yards and seven scores. But Finn announced earlier this month that he is transferring to Baylor for his final season of eligibility, and he will not play for the Rockets in the bowl game.

In place of Finn, backup quarterback Tucker Gleason will start. Gleason has completed 14 of 21 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns in spot duty this season, and he has completed 50.7 percent of his passes for 1,152 yards and 12 touchdowns, with three interceptions, in his collegiate career.

“We wish (Finn) nothing but the best of luck,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said. “He’s won a lot of football games for us here. He’s done a lot for this program, he’s done a lot for this institution. Give him a lot of credit — he had a tremendous season.

“We turn our focus to Tucker Gleason starting this football game and building a plan around him to go play very, very well in the game,” Candle added. “Tucker’s a guy that has got a lot of great respect in our locker room, and he’s somebody the guys will definitely rally around and go play very well for. We’re excited about the opportunities for Tucker.”

Toledo also lost top running back Peny Boone to the transfer portal this week. Boone racked up 1,400 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns this season and reportedly is drawing interest from Florida State, Kentucky and Louisville.

Wyoming is led on offense by quarterback Andrew Peasley, who has thrown for 1,823 yards and 20 touchdowns, with five interceptions, this season. The team’s top rusher is Harrison Waylee, who has run for 856 yards and five touchdowns and has averaged 5.9 yards per carry.

This will be the third all-time meeting between the programs. Wyoming won the first matchup 20-15 in 2010, and Toledo won the second matchup 34-31 in 2012.

–Field Level Media

Nov 18, 2023; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Wyoming Cowboys head coach Craig Bohl leads his team onto the field before the game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

Wyoming coach Craig Bohl to retire after Arizona Bowl

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Wyoming coach Craig Bohl announced Wednesday that he will retire following the team’s game against Toledo in the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 30.

Also on Wednesday, the school announced that it promoted defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel to replace Bohl after the Cowboys (8-4) square off against the Rockets (11-2) in Tucson, Ariz.

Bohl, 65, won three straight FCS national championships (2011-13) at North Dakota State and led Wyoming to six bowl appearances. He has guided the Cowboys to a 60-60 record during 10 seasons with the team. Among his star players at Wyoming was current Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

“Being the head football coach of the Wyoming Cowboys has been a privilege,” Bohl said. “I felt like now was the time for me step away and entrust the program to new leadership. I want to thank all the young men who have worn the Brown and Gold over the past 10 years for their dedication and for their passion in representing this football program, this university and this state. Many thanks to all the assistant coaches and staff who have helped build Wyoming football into a consistently winning program over this past decade.”

Sawvel has spent the past four seasons as the school’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach.

“I’m excited and honored to be the next head football coach at the University of Wyoming,” Sawvel said. “I have loved working and learning under head coach Craig Bohl for the last four years. The infrastructure Coach Bohl has put into this program makes me very excited to be the next leader of this program.”

–Field Level Media

Dec 30, 2022; Tucson, AZ, USA; Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Andrew Peasley (6) runs the ball against Ohio Bobcats safety Tariq Drake (11) and cornerback Austin Brawley (21) in the first half of the 2022 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Ohio edges Wyoming in Arizona Bowl

Posted on | by Field Level Media

CJ Harris’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Foster gave Ohio a 30-27 overtime win Friday over Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl at Tucson, Ariz.

Harris, who completed 20 of 33 attempts for 184 yards and two touchdowns, found Foster in the back of the end zone over defender Shae Suiaunoa. It was Foster’s first catch of the game.

Wyoming’s opening possession in overtime ended with John Hoyland’s 29-yard field goal after the Cowboys stalled following Andrew Peasley’s 13-yard pass to Ryan Marquez.

Sieh Bangura rushed for 138 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown for Ohio (10-4).

The Bobcats reached 10 wins in a season for the first time since finishing 10-4 in 2011.

Jordon Vaughn, who did not play in a game during the regular season, rushed for two touchdowns including a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left in regulation that put Wyoming (7-6) ahead 24-21.

Vaughn, the starter at running back after the Cowboys’ top four rushers were not in uniform, also scored on a 17-yard run in the first possession of the game.

Wyoming’s leading rusher Titus Swen (1,039 yards rushing) was dismissed from the team for violating an undisclosed team policy. Backups Dawaiian McNeely (356 yards) and DQ James (346) are injured and Joseph Braasch (91) entered the transfer portal.

Vaughn, a redshirt freshman, finished with 67 yards on 16 carries.

His 5-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left capped a six-play, 75-yard drive after Wyoming had only 17 yards of total offense previously in the second half.

Ohio’s Nathanial Vakos made his third field goal of the game, a 45-yarder, with four seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

–Field Level Media

Sep 16, 2022; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Andrew Peasley (6) runs against the Air Force during the fourth quarter at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

Confident Wyoming ready for challenge against No. 19 BYU

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Wyoming coach Craig Bohl described his squad as an “emerging football team” after the Cowboys upset Air Force 17-14 on Sept. 16 in their Mountain West Conference opener.

Beating old rival BYU on Saturday night in Provo, Utah, would not only lend credence to Bohl’s thoughts but also give the 19th-ranked Cougars consecutive losses.

It will be the second time the programs have met since BYU left the Mountain West 11 years ago to go the independent route.

The Cougars (2-1) were ranked No. 12 after an overtime win against then-No. 9 Baylor on Sept. 10, but they had no answer for Oregon last week in a 41-20 rout that wasn’t too close. The Ducks established a 38-7 third-quarter lead in Eugene, Ore., and never looked back.

“I didn’t have this team ready, so that’s on me,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “We’ve got to figure out how to start better and faster. It seemed like we just dug ourselves too much of a hole to climb out.”

The same Oregon team that got manhandled 49-3 to start the year against then-No. 3 Georgia rattled off scores on its first six possessions against BYU, bagging five touchdowns and mixing in a field goal.

The Ducks gained 439 yards, splitting them almost equally between running (212) and passing (227). Meanwhile, BYU rushed for 61 yards, abandoning the running game as the margin grew larger.

Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, although most of those totals came with the game long decided. Hall was more concerned with the inability to convert a fourth down on the Cougars’ initial possession, leading to Oregon’s first score.

“You hate to give up opportunities on fourth down. It’s a turnover,” Hall said. “It’s just as devastating as throwing an interception or fumbling the ball to us. We rely a lot on converting fourth downs to give our defense a break.”

Wyoming’s game plan figures to be a simple one: Turn Titus Swen loose at the BYU front seven. Swen supplied 102 rushing yards and the game-winning score in the win over Air Force, running through three defenders for a 5-yard touchdown with 6:06 left.

Equally as impressive was the Cowboys’ response after forcing a punt from the Falcons’ vaunted triple-option attack: They chewed up the game’s final five minutes, earning three first downs and improving to 3-1. Wyoming’s lone setback was a season-opening 38-6 loss at Illinois.

“We are a young football team in a lot of spots and a lot of those guys are growing up fast,” Bohl said. “I really think our coaching staff did a great job composing a game plan and the players went out and executed it.”

Swen has 316 rushing yards and four touchdowns through four games, while quarterback Andrew Peasley bounced back from a 5-of-20, 30-yard effort at Illinois to hit 57 of 83 attempts for 562 yards over the past three games.

The Cougars own a 45-30-3 lead in the series, including a 24-21 victory in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl.

–Field Level Media