BYU with one of their most embarrassing losses in MBB school history losing to a mid Summit League South Dakota (not State) team at home with a first year head coach.

Go USA baby, its the knockout round

Anyone know why he's out vs GCU today?

Assume he'll play.

Bohl gets a G5 backup within the Conference.

Flo rightfully pointed out in another thread that I was harping on the losses despite the fact that we have had significant injuries. Instead of just the results, I wanted to delve into what I see as some of the issues and whether or not we should be concerned long term. A few thoughts:

1. Roster Composition - I think this is the biggest component that I got wrong when evaluating the roster prior to the season. There are actually a lot of issues here:

- Post depth - In hindsight this is just a major miss by the staff. Easy to say of course, it's not like big men grow on trees, but even before the season I remember mentioning in a post and I think others did as well that Ike was the one player we couldn't afford an injury to. Not only because he is one of the big 2, but because we didn't have anyone to back him up. One of the biggest differences between us and the teams having success in the MWC right now is picking up a big man from the transfer portal. New Mexico got Udeze from Wichita State and he is averaging 18 ppg and absolutely filled their one big gap from last year (post play). Likewise, USU picked up Dan Akin from Cal Baptist (originally played under Odom at UMBC) and he is averaged 12/9 and likewise filled in what was their biggest weakness last year (paint presence). Another example is Sage Tolbert at SJSU (11/8 this year from the Temple transfer). If the Pokes had been able to pick up a player like one of these we might be having a totally different discussion. My complaint on this, is that not only was Ike the most difficult to replace, he was the most likely to have to be replaced due to injury considering his high usage and previous injury history. Major miss on the part of the staff IMO.

- Play making - Linder completed one of the finest coaching jobs in the country last year by figuring out how to craft an effective offense without a traditional creator off the dribble. Through Ike post-ups and Maldo dribble downs they created a difficult to defend package. Even with Ike though, we expected teams to adjust and we needed to get more off the bounce juice. Ethan Anderson has helped in that regard and I do think EA was a good pick-up, but we needed more. This is a roster with way too many players of similar types (mid-size wing types best suited for hitting open perimeter shots). While I do like both Max and Jake, I think we probably erred in bringing in guys that were similar to what we already had in abundance on the roster.

- Defense - Not enough quick-twitch athletes on this team.


2. Fake Depth - Due to the playmaking issues noted above, we actually play very slow (341st in the country, Shyatt like). In theory, with a team of lot of good players but not a lot of great players (with the great players hurt), you can take advantage by playing fast and rotating people out, but we because we lack the playmaking ability to play in space or in transition we can't take advantage of that. Negates whatever benefit we have in having 6 different wing guys that can shoot.

3. Turnovers - Again with the playmaking comparison, but dear god we turn the ball over a lot for a team that plays slow. We are 322nd in "non-steal TO's" which include things like traveling, shot clock violations, moving screens (so many of these), offensive fouls, etc. It's all a function of the lack of playmaking options as it is so hard for us on every offensive possession.


Other than getting Maldo and Ike back, what else can be done. A couple of thoughts:

1. Give Reynolds the keys and live with the mistakes - His TO rate is atrocious and he makes some legitimately bad decisions, but he is the only player making anything happen right now. Let him grow on the job. We aren't getting a NCAA bid or even a NIT bid at this point. We need to figure out how to build the strongest possible support group for when Ike returns and I think Reynolds can be a legit impact player. He is still a relatively inexperienced player, but he is improving. Mostly, I just like the attitude. This team needs a Josh Adams (well, every team needs that but you know what I am saying) and Reynolds is the closest thing we have.

2. Unleash JO - I would like to see some action drawn up to get JO back to the basket touches and more cuts to the rim. I will admit my bias as a huge fan of JO, but he is too talented overall to play like Hunter Thompson. Some of this falls on him, but I think we need to put him in a position to be successful.




It will be interesting to see how things unfold when Maldo gets back. He had kind of a rough start, but he played well in the Virgin Islands. I was at the Drake game (didn't get there in time for the Howard game) and he was peak Maldo in the second half of that game (sat out much of the first half with foul trouble). Devries is a future pro, but his Dad had to pull him off of Maldo otherwise he was going to foul out trying to guard Maldo in the paint. As long as Maldo comes back and his himself, he will force other teams to commit additional defenders, this will open up opportunities. I would love to see Reynolds, Oden, and Max be aggressive in taking advantage of that.

I am taking the Bulldogs by 12 today. They looked very primed to take the MTN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP today. The way they throttled the Cowboys looked like that team was on a mission.

P.S. I saw we may or will play Houston in a Bowl Game. I am not sure that is a good idea the way we are playing. Swen is gone and Peasely, well i won't say anything more.

Go Pokes, Grand Canyon out of Phoenix today, time to win, and not get a tour de court by their team.

So for everyone wanting to fire Bohl, can we just check what really happened this year? Bohl took the 3rd youngest team in all of FBS, one that lost 15 major contributors from last year, most of which would have been gone had Covid not happened anyways. He took that young team that literally had to hang out a help wanted sign for a QB, and all the a$$hole did was get us 2nd place in our division, a 7-5 record after going against the #1 defense in the country in our first game, and having us more competitive against BYU and BSU than we have been in the MWC era (save for the safety game). And then he has the audacity to hold every player to the same level of accountability. Off with his head!!!

That’s what you all sound like. This is arguably the second best season of his tenure here, and doing it with by far the least experienced team. You could run him off and we bring in another Dimel, who uses Bohl’s players and maybe has a better offensive scheme, but the everything else falls down.

It truly feels like we are in some mirror universe. Maybe I see it way differently, but this is exactly the type of team I would hope we start with, improve at a couple of spots, get more seasoning on our young players and a real upside for the future. Bohl seemed more open to change this year, did some different things that I haven’t seen him do in the previous 8 seasons, and he seemed to be having more fun than we have seen in a long while. All that seems good to me, but maybe I’m looking at this too rationally.

For fun guess the bowl and opponent.

Make 1 to 3 guesses. If you work in the athletic department and already have some clues then you aren’t playing fair.

Here’s mine:

1. New Mexico versus New Mexico State
2. Arizona versus Miami OH
3. Frisco versus Rice

There is always hope for another game and opponent like Houston or Kansas but the chances of that are why I made my picks.

Ian McGrew is no longer with the Cowboys. No reason given,

4 MW teams in bottom 12

Loved him as a kid

oh well...

Not certain as to the validity of the "rumor" that has Bohl stepping down and retiring following the upcoming bowl game - but if true - I'm sure there is more that goes into this besides purely coaching football.

I mentioned that during the game the other night in Fresno, Bohl's body language looked...off? I was kind of kidding when I wrote that Bohl almost looked resigned and as though he was throwing in the towel.

There was something else that struck me as I saw Bohl on the sidelines the other night, and that is, he did not look well. Am I alone in this observation? Physically he just looked...I'll use the word again; off. The man is 64 years old, he works unending hours, he unfortunately got vaxxed a while back, he's got a wife and family, and the last thing I think any of us want is to see anyone undergoing health issues as the result of their work.

Perhaps his family is concerned, he's had a tremendous coaching career, he has years in front of him, and if he does retire I'll wish him nothing but the very best moving ahead.

Craig Bohl has been an asset to Wyoming football during the last 9 years and he'll forever be remembered as a more than positive ambassador for everything Wyoming.

The lack of a championship(s) was never for a lack of trying - and the man always has had the right intentions.

I have a feeling that whenever Bohl does retire many people will recall his years in Laramie fondly as time moves along.

Laramie, Wyo. (Dec. 1, 2022) – Ted Hendricks and the Ted Hendricks Foundation have announced its final watch list for the 2022 Ted Hendricks Award, which honors the top defensive end in college football. Among the 37 players nationally who were named to the list was Wyoming sophomore defensive end DeVonne Harris.



Harris is in his first year as a starter for the Cowboys. He earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference honors this season in voting by MW head coaches and media members. Harris leads Wyoming in sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (13.0). The sophomore also leads all UW defensive linemen in tackles this season, with 50, including 27 solo tackles, and has six quarterback hurries, one pass break-up and returned one fumble for 44 yards versus Boise State.



He ranked No. 7 in the Mountain West and No. 34 in the FBS in sacks, averaging 0.67 per game. In MW conference games only, Harris ranked No. 3 in the MW in tackles for loss (1.38 per game) and ranked No. 4 in sacks (0.88 per game). His season high in sacks was 3.0 versus Utah State, which ties for the fourth best single-game performance in the MW this season. Harris recorded a season high nine tackles vs. Boise State, had seven vs. Utah State, six at Illinois and five at Colorado State. He is the sack leader of a Wyoming defensive unit that ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West and No. 21 in the nation in sacks, averaging 2.83 per game.



The Ted Hendricks Award is named in honor of college football’s first three-time first-team All-American. On-field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities, contributions to school and community and academic preparedness are some of the criteria used to determine the Award’s recipient each year.



Members of the national media, head coaches, professional scouts and former winners are included on the Award’s selection committee.



Candidates may represent any class (Freshman through Senior) as well as any four-year NCAA accredited school. The candidate’s primary position must be Defensive End.



This year’s recipient is planned to be announced on Dec. 7. Last year’s winner was Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan.

TJH

CBS- Boca Raton Bowl v. Houston

Laramie, Wyo. (Nov. 29, 2022) -- The Mountain West Conference announced its 2022 All-Mountain West football teams on Tuesday and seven Wyoming Cowboys earned First Team and Honorable Mention honors. The team was selected in voting by the 12 Mountain West head coaches and media members covering the league.



For the fourth consecutive season, Wyoming has a linebacker on the All-Mountain West First Team. This season it is sophomore middle linebacker Easton Gibbs. He follows in the footsteps of former Cowboy linebackers Logan Wilson, who was named First Team All-MW in 2019, and Chad Muma, who was named First Team All-Conference in 2020 and '21. Gibbs finished the 2022 regular season averaging 9.2 tackles per game to rank No. 3 in the Mountain West and No. 23 in the nation. This is Gibbs first All-Mountain West Conference honor of his career.



Place-kicker John Hoyland earned First Team honors this season for the first time after being a Second Team All-MW selection two seasons ago in 2020. Hoyland ranks No. 1 in the Mountain West in made field goals this season, averaging 1.67 per game, and he ranks No. 9 in the country in that category. He becomes the second Cowboy place-kicker in the last five years to earn First Team All-Mountain West honors, following Cooper Rothe, who earned First Team honors in 2018 and was named the MW Special Teams Player of the Year.



Five Cowboys received Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition this season. Those five include three juniors in: quarterback Andrew Peasley, punter Clayton Stewart and tight end Treyton Welch. Two Wyoming sophomores also earned Honorable Mention honors in: defensive end DeVonne Harris and cornerback Cam Stone.



First Team Selections

Easton Gibbs not only ranked No. 3 in the conference and 23rd nationally in tackles this season, at 9.2 tackles per game, but he recorded the first 100-tackle season of his career, with 111. He became only the 61st Cowboy in the 126-year history of Cowboy Football to record 100 tackles in a single season. Gibbs' 111 tackles ties him for the 29th best single-season tackle total in school history with former UW safety Marcus Epps, who had 111 tackles in 2016. He will be able to add to that total in Wyoming's bowl appearance later this year. He posted double figures in tackles in five games this season. Gibbs also ranked third on the Cowboy team in tackles for loss, with 8.0. He added 2.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries, one pass break-up and one fumble recovery on the season. His fumble recovery was made in the end zone for a touchdown in a 40-37 double overtime win over Tulsa.



John Hoyland made 20 of 23 field goals (87.0 percent) in 2022. In addition to leading the Mountain West and ranking No. 9 in the nation in field goals made, his 20 field goals tied the Wyoming single-season school record. He is tied with former Cowboys Cory Wedel, who made 20 field goals in 1996, and J.D. Wallum, who made 20 in 2001. Hoyland's field-goal percentage of 87.0 percent was No. 2 in the MW and No. 22 nationally. He made three field goals of over 50 yards this season -- 51, 53 and 55. His 55-yarder is tied for the fourth longest in the FBS this season and is the longest in the Mountain West this year. Hoyland was named a Semifinalist for the 2022 Lou Groza Award. He was named a 2022 PFF (Pro Football Focus) Second Team Mid-Season All-American. Hoyland was selected the MW Special Teams Player of the Week three times this season.



Honorable Mention Selections



DeVonne Harris led Wyoming in sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (13.0) this season. He ranked No. 7 in the Mountain West and No. 34 in the FBS in sacks, averaging 0.67 per game. In MW conference games only, Harris ranked No. 3 in tackles for loss (1.38 per game) and ranked No. 4 in sacks (0.88 per game). His season high in sacks was 3.0 versus Utah State, which ties for the fourth best single-game performance in the MW this season. For the season, he also has six quarterback hurries, one pass breakup and one fumble return, which he returned for 44 yards vs. Boise State. Harris recorded a season high nine tackles vs. Boise State, had seven vs. Utah State, six at Illinois and five at Colorado State. He is the sack leader of a Wyoming defensive unit that ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West and No. 21 in the nation in sacks, averaging 2.83 per game



Andrew Peasley led Wyoming to a 7-5 overall record and a 5-3 Mountain West Conference mark. He was voted one of only four team captains by his teammates in his first season as a Cowboy after transferring from Utah State. Peasley was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week for his performance vs. Tulsa, throwing for 256 yards and 2 TDs and rushing for 45 yards to account for 301 yards of total offense. He started 11 of 12 games this season, but was forced to miss the entire Boise State game due to injury and missed the final three quarters of the game at Colorado State due to injury. The junior guided the Cowboys to five come-from-behind victories this season. He also led the Pokes to four wins decided by seven points or less this season. He completed 126 of 245 passes for 1,388 yards and nine touchdowns. Peasley has also rushed for 330 yards and two more TDs and led Wyoming with 1,718 yards of total offense.



Clayton Stewart ranked No. 3 in the Mountain West and No. 27 in the nation in punting, averaging 43.97 yards per punt. He placed 19 of 66 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and forced 21 fair catches by opponents. Stewart recorded 17 punts of over 50 yards on the season, with his long punt this season going for 67 yards which was the second longest in the MW this season. Stewart punted 66 times for 2,902 yards. His best games were: 46.6 yard average at Colorado State (5 punts), 47.8 average vs. Tulsa (5 punts), 48.5 average vs. Northern Colorado (4 punts), 51.5 average vs. Air Force (4 punts), 51.8 average against San Jose State (6 punts).



Cam Stone ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West in passes defended, with 12, including two interceptions and 10 pass breakups. In conference games only, Stone ranked No. 4 in the Mountain West in passes defended, with nine, including one interception and eight pass breakups. Stone led Wyoming in interceptions (2) and pass breakups (10). One of his two interceptions was a "Pick Six" that sealed Wyoming's 27-14 road win at New Mexico. Stone returned the interception 38 yards for Wyoming's final touchdown of the game. His other interception came against Northern Colorado. Stone has 35 total tackles, including 23 solo stops, 1.0 TFL, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble this season. From his cornerback position, Stone had six games of four or more tackles this season, including: five vs. Tulsa, four at Fresno State, four at Illinois, four at New Mexico, four vs. Utah State and four at Colorado State



Treyton Welch was the only Mountain West tight end to rank in the Top 10 in the MW in TD receptions this season, with four TDs. He tied for No. 7 in the Mountain West in TD receptions, with four total. Welch received an "A" grade from PFF (Pro Football Focus) for the 2022 season. He caught 17 passes for 217 yards, averaging 12.8 yards per reception. His best game of the season was at New Mexico where he caught four passes for 87 yards. Welch caught three passes for 39 yards vs. Utah State and caught two passes in three other games (at BYU, vs. SJSU and at Hawai'i). His TD receptions this season have gone for: 14 yards vs. Air Force, 19 yards at BYU, 29 yards at New Mexico and 47 yards at New Mexico. Welch was part of a Cowboy offense that ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West and No. 23 in the FBS in fewest tackles for loss allowed, giving up only 4.33 TFLs per game. He was also part of a Wyoming offense that ranked No. 3 in the MW and No. 25 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed, giving up only 1.25 sacks per game.



2022 Wyoming All-Mountain West Conference Honorees
First Team

Easton Gibbs, Linebacker, 6-2, 230, So., Temecula, Calif.

John Hoyland, Place-kicker, 5-10, 180, So., Broomfield, Colo.



Honorable Mention

DeVonne Harris, Defensive End, 6-4, 225, So., Big Lake, Minn. (Big Lake)

Andrew Peasley, Quarterback, 6-2, 210, Jr., La Grande, Ore. (Utah State)

Clayton Stewart, Punter, 6-1, 220, Jr., Flower Mound, Texas (Texas State)

Cam Stone, Cornerback, 5-10, 188, So., Angleton, Texas (Angleton)

Treyton Welch, Tight End, 6-3, 242, Jr., Buffalo, Minn. (Buffalo)

Pokes have a game in SLC vs Santa Clara Wednesday. Be interesting to see how they come out and play.
GO POKES

I've read that a few times in other threads; my reply is who couldn't build a foundation (of some kind) in nine seasons?

It's been pretty easy for us fans to grasp at strands of optimism given our situation. But what exactly is being (or can be) built on the "foundation" Bohl has put in place?

I can agree Bohl established a foundation of tough physical football. The injures prove it.

I'd prefer a foundation built on winning big games occasionally, a foundation similar to one Dennis Erickson established in just one season, that Paul Roach built upon; one that featured exciting offenses that put up huge numbers--and won games. Not many schools who care about winning would ever permit this present kind of foundation to take hold.

If some folks on here squint their eyes and really concentrate, and I mean bear down like you're making a first pass at a good knot with a size 22 dry fly in the morning after four cups of coffee, they might find it in themselves to hold two ideas in their heads and accept both are true at the same time.

1. Bohl did his best coaching job of his Wyoming tenure this season, and this young team overachieved.

2. Bohl has had nearly a decade and still isn't .500. It's time for him to go.

Bohl earned his money in 2022. He has also failed at the mission he was hired to complete.

It's hard, but try it!

Eligible teams - 79

5-6 teams remaining are:

1. Buffalo playing a makeup with Akron.
2. New Mexico State hoping to get a game.

Teams with 6 wins ineligible:

1. Appalachian State 6-6 with 2 FCS wins.
2. Jane Madison 8-3 moving from FCS to FBS not eligible this year but more worthy than a number of eligible teams.

Army is 5-6 with the Navy game coming up but they have also played 2 FCS games.

The only known game scheduled that can produce a 6 win team is the Buffalo game.

That means the final count will be as low as 79 and as high as 81 if nmsu gets a FBS game and wins as well as Buffalo.

Therefore unless any exceptions are made for Army, App State and James Madison there will be up to 5 teams with 5-7 records playing in bowl games. That gets into another set of rules and qualifications.

Despite any misgivings about this program, the fact is that we are ahead of over 50 other FBS teams and qualified by playing the game and not gaining access through some back door. Who knows how this might place teams in bowls and maybe we find ourselves in a bowl outside of the usual 4 we are contracted to be placed. Best bets appear to be any bowl involving the CUSA where they don’t have the extra teams.

This program is a joke. If Craig Bohl can’t decide to make offense any type of priority after 9 years, this shit it has to end. It’s ridiculous. Craig Bohl only managed 8 wins twice with JOSH ALLEN leading his team. That’s his ceiling! HE SUCKS! Even if he hits his ceiling of 8 wins next year, he might get to 500 overall. He’s a sham. A fraud. A thief. He won’t change. Move on. F this.