How soon can Craig Bohl find Power Five success? Photo Credit: Miles Englehart
The 2017 season has been rough for the Wyoming Cowboys so far when playing a ‘Power Five’ opponent which are schools that play in the SEC, Big 10, Pac 12, ACC or Big 12 conferences. Iowa and Oregon have both physically punished the Cowboys in lopsided losses this season. The last Power Five regular season victory for Wyoming was during the 2008 season under head coach Joe Glenn in a road win at Tennessee. Since then Wyoming has played and lost to:
- Colorado, 2009
- Texas, 2010 and 2012
- Nebraska, 2011, 2013 and 2016
- Oregon, 2014 and 2017
- Michigan State, 2014
- Washington State, 2015
- Iowa, 2017
Success will come someday for the Pokes just by playing the odds. The more games you play against power schools the better chance you have to win at some point, thanks to the aggressive scheduling policy under Athletic Director Tom Burman. Since taking over as AD in October of 2006 Burman has done a solid job in scheduling games against Power Five schools. Often using the one for one or two for one model Burman has got name programs to come to Laramie which is no small task. Future Power Five opponents on Wyoming’s schedule include:
- 2018 Washington State (H)
- 2018 Mizzou (A)
- 2019 Mizzou (H)
- 2020 Texas Tech (A)
- 2020 Utah (H)
- 2021 Clemson (A)
- 2022 Illinois (A)
- 2023 Texas Tech (H)
- 2024 Arizona State (A)
- 2025 Utah (A)
With four home games against Power Five schools in the next six years, it’s just a matter of time before the stars align and Wyoming has a team capable of winning such a game. The Cowboys may want to back off of playing two Power Five schools in the same season though. It could have a negative impact on the 2017 season which wouldn’t bode well for the 2018 season where Wyoming will play both Washington State and Missouri in non-conference play.
Big crowds keep coming to Laramie for these high-profile games and they keep going home disappointed. If Wyoming wants to keep these fans interested in the program against the powers of college football they will have to win one of these games at some point. If this doesn’t happen, the fan base may lose interest and the apathy we have seen in years past will set in. When that success comes is anyone’s guess but it will not be due to a lack of chances for the Cowboys.