I am often accused of being a Bohl apologist on here and probably rightfully so, but last night (in my mind) was one of the biggest wins in Bohl’s tenure as head coach.

No matter what kind of team Hawaii has, going there and winning is a major win. So many factors make it a tough place to play…the travel, the sleepy crowd, the time change, etc. It’s easy to get up for the Border War, Boise State, and all the “Big” games. No matter what you tell the players about not overlooking teams like Hawaii, these are college kids and it’s tough to get them “up” for games like last night.

This time, throw in all the injuries we had during the game and this thing could have gone sideways in a hurry. Despite all the adversity, Bohl and company found a way to pull out a huge W. Our depth and grit showed out last night and that is a credit to the staff.

One more thing. If we are going to give Bohl hell for not winning more with Josh Allen, Andrew Wingard, Logan Wilson, Marcus Epps, and all the rest of the NFL talent of that time, we have to give equal credit to him winning this season with probably zero (or very little) NFL talent. We have already passed the Vegas number of 5 total wins on the season. It has to work both ways right?

I know, I know…it’s Year 9 and I should expect more than this…if I am happy with 6 wins, I shouldn’t even support the program…the MW sucks right now…blah, blah, blah!

Onto the Border War! Lets kick their ass AGAIN and sell out War Memorial for when Boise comes to town!!

GO POKES!!!

Laramie, Wyo. (Nov. 1, 2022) – University of Wyoming redshirt freshman running back D.Q. James from Lancaster, Texas, has been selected to this week’s Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Weekly Honorable Mention list as announced by the Tyler (Texas) Chamber and SPORTTyler.



James rushed for a personal best 179 yards last Saturday in a 27-20 win at Hawai’i. James averaged 12.8 yards per carry on 14 carries and had a long run of 74 yards in the game. He played his high school football at Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Texas. James was one of nine players in the nation named to this week’s Honorable Mention list.



Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn was named The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week. Vaughn rushed 22 times for 158 yards and one touchdown and added four catches for 18 yards and a one-yard touchdown reception to help lead Kansas State to a 48-0 win over No. 9 Oklahoma State last weekend.



The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who exhibits the enduring characteristics that define former University of Texas running back Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community, and tenacity; specifically tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals. The award honors the legacy of Texas legend Campbell and recognizes his home community of Tyler, Texas.



In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: born in Texas and/or graduated from a Texas High School and/or played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year Division I Texas college.



More information about the Award may be found at: www.earlcampbellaward.com/.



The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award was first established in 2012. Previous winners include: Bryce Petty, Baylor, QB (2013); Trevone Boykin, TCU, QB (2014); Greg Ward, Jr., Houston, QB (2015); D’Onta Foreman, Texas, RB (2016); Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma, QB (2017); Kyler Murray, Oklahoma, QB (2018); J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State, RB (2019); Kyle Trask, Florida, QB (2020); and Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky, QB (2021).

Important dates for this year’s Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award are:

Preseason Watch List Announcement: August 9, 2022

Semifinalists Announcement: November 17, 2022

Finalists Announcement: December 13, 2022

Banquet/Winner Announcement: January 11, 2023

We were beaten by that prior Hawaii QB a few weeks ago. Things are different for the Bows in 2022-that QB guy is gone. Different evolving and maturing Cowboy team along with the staff adjusting.

The Pokes look forward to having another bye coming up after the game. Pokes are favored by 10.5. I like their chances even more. Hawaii is not a good team.

Pokes get some sun in and toast the Rainbow guys:

UW: 31
Hawaii: 13

The team clearly improving every game. I have not heard any updates on Titus's Injury. Anyone?
Go Pokes.

Coaching Hot seat

.

Aztecs beat Utah State in a 22 round PK marathon to advance to the MW semifinals. The 2 teams were 0-0 after the OT periods ended. In the other first round game, San Jose beat Colorado College 1-0

Including offensive POY and Coach of the year

Jake Haener is starting at QB.

Go Pokes!!

American (1):
Houston- @SMU, Temple, @E. Carolina, Tulsa- at least 2 wins
ACC (3):
Florida St- @Miami, @ Syracuse, Louisiana, Florida- most likely 1, probable 2 wins
Louisville- James Madison, @Clemson, NC St, @ Kentucky - have to beat JMU this Saturday because the next 3 are going to be a struggle
Duke- @BC, Va Tech, @ Pgh, Wake Forest- I think they get at least 1 win but no gimmes
Big 12 (4):
Baylor- @OU, Kansas St, TCU, @Texas- not a very easy schedule- maybe 1-2 wins but I can see 4 losses
Kansas- Ok St, @Texas Tech, Texas, K. St- Tx Tech best chance to get to 6, small chance beating any of the other 3
Oklahoma- Baylor, @West Virginia, Ok St, @TX Tech- 2 for sure
Texas- @Kansas St, TCU, @ Kansas, Baylor- most likely 1 win but hard to see many more than that
Big Ten (2):
Minnesota- @Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa, @Wisconsin- should win at least 1 and could win all 4
Purdue- Iowa, @Illinois, Northwestern, @Indiana- 1 or 2 wins at best (the last 2)
C-USA (2):
North Texas- FIU, @UAB, Rice- gets at least 1 win
W. Kentucky- (has a 13th game because played @Hawaii)- @Charlotte, Rice, Auburn, @ FAU needs 2 wins win and will probably get them
Independents (1):
Notre Dame- Clemson, Navy, BC, @USC - gets at least 2
MAC (3):
Buffalo- @Ohio, @C. Mich, Akron, Kent St- should get to at least 6 wins
Eastern Michigan-@Akron, @Kent St, Central Michigan- Akron already has 8 losses so should get to at least 6 wins
Ohio- Buffalo, @Miami OH), @Ball St, Bowling Green- Buffalo is the only winning team on that schedule
Mountain West (2):
AF- Army (at a neutral site), NM, Sheep, @SDSU- if can't win at least 1 game then doesn't deserve to go bowling
San Jose- Sheep, @SDSU, @Utah St, Hawaii, NM ST???- again if can't win 1 game out of this group (they postponed the NMSU game- hope they don't need it)
Pac 12 (0):
SEC (4):
Arkansas- Liberty, LSU, Ole Miss, @Missouri- should win 1-2
Kentucky- @Missouri, Vandy, Georgia, Louisville- at least 2
Miss. St- Auburn, Georgia, E. Tenn, @Ole Miss- at least 2 wins
S. Carolina- @Vandy, @Fla, Tennessee, @Clemson- needs to win this Saturday because the other 3 will be tough
Sun Belt (3):
App. St-@Coastal Carolina, @Marshall, Old Dominion, @Ga. Southern- I see at least 2 wins
Ga. Southern- S. Alabama, @Louisiana, Marshall, App. St- no losing teams in that group, could be a struggle
So. Miss- Ga. State, Coastal Carolina, S. Alabama, ULM- best chance are the first and last games

25 eligible teams with 5 wins, 2 games this week pit 5 win teams against each other: Buffalo @ Ohio (TUE), Baylor @ OU (SAT),

Big expectations in Buffalo this year as Josh has legitimately become a consensus Top 3 QB in the NFL and arguably the second most valuable piece (have to give it to Mahomes for now) on any roster with his combination of talent, production, and age. A really incredible story and even as a Bronco fan I am glad the Broncos passed on him because Buffalo is the perfect fit in so many ways.

What brought this to mind is a podcast series that The Athletic recent put out going through the injury shortened career of Andrew Luck. It's a really interesting series, but the main thing that stuck with me was how Luck, with his Linebacker-esque physique, would take shots in and out of the pocket rather than sliding or throwing the ball away. Obviously it draws parallels to Allen.

It is really critical IMO that Allen reduces the amounts of hits he takes in the regular season. Playoffs are the playoffs and with everything on the line you have to utilize all your weapons including Allen running over defenders, but the Bills need to protect Allen in the regular season and Josh needs to protect himself.

It's obviously a fine line, because you can't turn Allen into Manning or Brady because it takes away some of his value, but particularly on downfield scrambles he is going to have to avoid taking hits and get out of bounds.

Alright you Bohl naysayers…..

I hear that Crow goes down better with Tabasco………

Go Pokes!!!!!!!!!!

3 games pit five win teams against each other. James Madison is not eligible this year

Need 84 teams

Eligible - 36

With the potential to get to 6+:
5 - 26
4 - 27
3 - 24
2 - 9

7 or more losses - 9

With most teams at 8 games played there are some at 9. If I counted correctly there are 5 teams at 5-4 and 4 teams at 4-5 of the teams with 3 games remaining.

The group most likely to impact the number of eligibles are the 4 win teams.

Next weekend could be very defining as to how many 4 win teams get to 5 and with 25 of the 26 5 win teams as Aggie pointed out playing the numbers will become easier to forecast.

As we witnessed with the MWC games at Hawaii and SJSU, some of the bottom teams are starting to play a little better, teams that were promising early on have suffered key injuries and simply put some teams are getting worn out. In my opinion as much as I want to see Wyoming kick the sheep, the 2nd bye week is beneficial especially after coming off a road trip where the team was playing on Sunday morning Laramie time.

I am still forecasting right around 84 eligible teams with a range of 83-87. Next week I will start counting by conference and the numbers of teams needed to fill contracted bowls to determine where the at-large options might exist which may lead to a better payout and an opponent not from the MAC.

Fri- E. Carolina @ The Whiners
Sat: Illinois @ Huskers
Sheep @ Boise
SDSU @ Fresno
SMU @ Tulsa
Nevada @SJSU

Hard enough on the road to win anyway. A lot didn’t go the Pokes way but they stuck it out! First time this Poke fan actually watched Wyoming win at Hawaii!

Didn’t like the soft defense on that last Hawaii TD up two scores because you know an onside is coming and that almost went sideways! I am exhausted hopefully Titus Swen will be okay!

Good win Pokes! Time for bed!

Go Pokes!

Don’t think he had a catch last night.

Did he get into the game or is he hurt?

Three and out for both teams so far.

With Swen hurt (presumably), McNeely only having one hand, and the Passing game being a total non-factor, James really stepped up and had some great runs. Not just the long runs, but a number of other runs that gained critical first downs. Impressed with him so far. He isn’t very big, but he runs pretty hard and obviously has good quickness and cutting ability.

This is the way to watch UW vs Hawaii game Saturday night. It’s the cheesy Hawaii announcers. This will be a tough game as Pokes never seem to play well on the Island. Go Pokes

Will do.

Let’s go Pokes!
You know what to do!

Go Pokes!