The Cowboys took care of business last week against Texas State 45-10 to run their record to 3-2. This week is off and they will prepare for Utah State next week.
Last week the Cowboys were 17-point favorites when we did our panel and the Cowboys were able to cover for the first time in 4 tries.
|
|
Straight Up | Against the Spread |
|
Robert Gagliardi |
5-0 | 2-2 |
|
Brandon Foster |
5-0 | 3-1 |
|
Brad Reed |
4-1 |
1-3 |
| Chad Smith | 5-0 |
3-1 |
| Connor Cunningham | 4-1 |
0-3 |
| Wyoming Cowboys | 3-2 |
1-3 |
Robert Gagliardi, Wyosports.net
What are your thoughts on the Texas State game?
Probably the most complete team win of the season with touchdowns scored on offense, defense and special teams. The offense wasn’t great, although it threw and caught the ball much better than previous weeks.
Who was your MVP last week? DT Youhanna Ghaifan
Ghaifan had nine tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble. Ghaifan had 33 tackles in 14 games last season. He has 33 through five games this season.
Poke Pick through 5 games: QB Josh Allen
I honestly can’t think of one individual, although let’s face it, if Wyoming doesn’t have QB Josh Allen it isn’t 3-2. It might be 1-4 or 0-5. This may be cheating, but I am going with the defense as the MVP as the entire group has played much better so far, and 12 turnovers forced has helped a lot.
What has been the most pleasant surprise to this point? What needs to get better?
The defense and explosiveness on kickoff and punt returns have been my biggest surprises. The lack of offensive consistency across the board is the biggest thing that much improve, especially being able to run the football.
Wyoming is 3-2 through the first 5 games as they gear up for the heart of their schedule. Where do you see the Cowboys finishing?
Wyoming can still contend for the Mountain Division title, but the offense must improve and the defense and special teams must — at very least — keep up the pace they’ve started. Even the Cowboys do that, a third or fourth place finish in the division is possible because the other divisional teams are solid. Each game will be a dog fight. The third or fourth place team in this league could have seven or eight wins. Right now, I see a second or third-place finish for UW behind Colorado State, and at least as of now, New Mexico. Never thought I’d not list Boise State in the top two, although that could still happen.
Brandon Foster, Casper Star-Tribune
What are your thoughts on the Texas State game?
A 45-10 win is obviously a nice step forward but the offense still has some room to grow. They scored just three of those touchdowns and the run game never got going.
Who was your MVP last week? DT Youhanna Ghaifan
Two sacks, four TFLs, forced fumble. It speaks for itself.
Poke Pick through 5 games: DT Youhanna Ghaifan
I have to say Youhanna for this one as well. The defensive line has been the biggest bright spot this year, in my opinion, and YoYo has been at the center of it.
What has been the most pleasant surprise to this point? What needs to get better?
The most pleasant surprise to me has definitely been Tyler Hall. I thought the Pokes’ game return game would take a step back with D.J. May leaving and that hasn’t been the case so far. Trey Woods has been a big surprise, too, but the offense as a whole needs to continue to improve if this team is going to contend for a division title.
Wyoming is 3-2 through the first 5 games as they gear up for the heart of their schedule. Where do you see the Cowboys finishing?
I think Wyoming should win its last two games pretty easily. The five before then are the issue. Wyoming’s defense should get it to a bowl. I’ll say seven wins.
Brad Reed, Wyonation.com
What are your thoughts on the Texas State game?
Dominant win against a team they should dominate at home. Texas State was not a good team, and once the Pokes figured out their quarterback it as all downhill from there. The Bobcat kicker did the Pokes some favors by missing a couple of field goals, killed any momentum that Bobcats had. Defense really stepped up, including Youhanna Ghaifan who was a monster in the backfield all afternoon. Good to see the defense just taking over games, we’ve been waiting for it for a long time. Offense will figure itself out at some point.
Who was your MVP last week? DT Youhanna Ghaifan
Ghaifan just wrecked the TSU backfield all day. A couple sacks, four tackles for loss. Just a monster.
Poke Pick through 5 games: Andrew Wingard
He’s up to his usual antics, racking up tackles and stats. He’s all over the field. The heart of the defense.
What has been the most pleasant surprise to this point? What needs to get better?
The defense has obviously been a pleasant surprise so far. After years of being ranked 75+ plus, or even 100+ it’s nice to see some consistency from this group. They’re finally being coached very well. What a great hire Craig Bohl made by reaching out to Scottie Hazelton, coming off of a stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags were no slouches on defense. Cooper Rothe has been a nice surprise this year too, underrated thus far. What needs to get better? The offensive backfield. Running the football has been very difficult so far. Hard to replace a talent like Brian Hill, hopefully Trey Woods is the key to getting back on track.
Wyoming is 3-2 through the first 5 games as they gear up for the heart of their schedule. Where do you see the Cowboys finishing?
The Cowboys being 3-2 isn’t a huge surprise right now. At the start of the season, if you were being honest with yourself, saw the Cowboys right here after five games. Some of us had high hopes for beating Iowa on the road, or Oregon at home, but realistically, are the Cowboys there yet? Not quite. But it’s a work in progress. Three more wins isn’t out of the question for Wyoming, but it’s not going to be easy because the hard part of the schedule is coming up. Beating Boise on the road would be nice, but that’s still going to be a difficult game. Should be a fun ride to bowl eligibility.
Chad Smith, Wyonation.com
What are your thoughts on the Texas State game?
It was a complete team victory with the offense, defense and special teams chipping in on the scoring. Josh Allen and the passing game woke up a bit too. It was good to see.
Who was your MVP last week?
No MVP can be picked, the entire team gets a game ball.
Poke Pick through 5 games: Andrew Wingard
What has been the most pleasant surprise to this point? What needs to get better?
The defense is the most pleasant surprise by far. I knew they would improve but nobody would have guessed at what we have seen so far a very solid organized unit. The Wyoming running game needs to get better to help out Josh Allen and to keep the defense fresh.
Wyoming is 3-2 through the first 5 games as they gear up for the heart of their schedule. Where do you see the Cowboys finishing?
It’s hard to say where Wyoming will finish. The defense is good enough to keep the Cowboys in most games but I am still very concerned about the offense. A best-case finish would be 6-2 in the final games and a worse case would be 3-5. Four or five wins is most likely to get the Pokes to seven or eight wins and a bowl game.
Connor Cunningham, Wyonation.com
What are your thoughts on the Texas State game?
It was a fun game and Wyoming got contributions and touchdowns in all 3 phases of the game. Texas State is a really bad football team and it was nice to see the Pokes do what they should. Hopefully this should provide some confidence as they get ready for the rest of MW play.
Who was your MVP last week? WR CJ Johnson
Everyone is going to go with Ghaifan, so for the sake of discussion I’ll choose Johnson. It was nice to see the sophomore WR look like what most expected and finish the day with 2 touchdown grabs.
Poke Pick through 5 games: DT Youhanna Ghaifan
I will take Ghaifan here. I think this could be Wingard, but we knew what Wingard would be and do, so he gets the LeBron treatment where being the best year and year old doesn’t always get you MVP’s. Ghaifan has made a huge difference and give the D that 4th guy that can dominate a football game to go along with Wingard, Logan Wilson, and Carl Granderson.
What has been the most pleasant surprise to this point? What needs to get better?
My answer is the same for both questions. The lack of offense and inability for guys to step up consistently has been the biggest surprise and it needs to get a lot better.
Wyoming is 3-2 through the first 5 games as they gear up for the heart of their schedule. Where do you see the Cowboys finishing?
Wyoming’s record is exactly what I expected it to be, but they haven’t always looked like the football team I expected them to be. I see them being heavy favorites against Fresno and San Jose State, so we will chalk those up as W’s. I think they are definitely good enough to go out and get 2 out of 4 against their other opponents (@Utah State, @ Boise, New Mexico, and CSU). I expect them to go 7-5 but am very hopeful for 8-4.