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Wyoming Bold Predictions for the 2021 Season
(Plus one off-the-wall prediction)
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By all reports there is a lot to be optimistic about for the Wyoming Cowboys this year.
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Healthy Quarterback play and 21 out of 22 starters returning have the Cowboys primed to make 2021 the best season in 25 years, and possibly the best season in program history. With the 2021 College Football season just over a week away, here are 4 Bold Predictions for the Wyoming Cowboys.
Wyoming has a top 2 Scoring Offense in the Mountain West
After former Offensive Coordinator Brent Vigen left Wyoming to be the Head Coach at Montana State, Cowboy coach Craig Bohl promised to revamp and re-engineer the Cowboy’s offense with new Offensive Coordinator Tim Polasek. Polasek is a former Quarterback, who as an assistant coach helped helped North Dakota State win four National Titles and helped develop Carson Wentz into a top NFL prospect at quarterback. Polasek will help Sean Chambers improve in the passing game, developing him from a run-first quarterback, to a true dual threat at the position. Under Chambers, the Cowboys have averaged just over 29 points per game, while running the ball on 72 percent of their plays, and passing only 28 percent of the time. Wyoming won’t stray too far away from Craig Bohl’s philosophy of being a hard-nosed run-first football team, but expect the play distribution to shift closer to a 60/40 split for run/pass. It isn’t too hard to imagine the Cowboys scoring an extra 3 points per game with the boost in the passing game. That boost should put the Cowboys as a top 2 offense in the conference.
The Cowboy Defense ranks in the top 10 in the country
One of the biggest staples during the Craig Bohl era at Wyoming has been the defense. Coming into 2021, Wyoming is returning 11 out of 11 starters, including Solomon Byrd, who chose to sit out the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The return of Byrd will only be bolstered by the emergence of Chad Muma, who led the Pokes in tackles for loss last year, as well as leading the conference in tackles per game. With so much returning talent, the Cowboy defense that has ranked in the top 20 in several categories for the past two seasons will improve to top 10.
Wyoming upsets Boise State in Boise
Wyoming is (1-14) all time against Boise State, with the lone win coming in 2016 in Laramie with the Cowboys being led by future first round draft pick and NFL superstar Josh Allen. At the time, Boise State was ranked 13th in the country, and Wyoming pulled off the 30-28 upset with the deciding points being scored via Safety. Wyoming has played tight games with the Broncos in four out of their last five meetings. Wyoming and Boise State will enter this game with the two best records in the Mountain West, and this game will be a matchup of two ranked teams. Sean Chambers will rise to the challenge and give the Cowboys their second win against Boise State in program history, and the first win in Boise, in what will be a game decided by one score, and the best Non-Power-5 game of the 2021 College season.
Wyoming wins its first Conference Championship since 1993
With the win over Boise State, the Cowboys will win the Mountain Division, and will host Nevada for the Conference Championship game in Laramie. The stout Cowboy defense will give Carson Strong all he can handle in a rematch of last season’s opener. Last year’s game went to overtime after Wyoming made a furious comeback from being down 28-6 at halftime, only to have Nevada score the game winning touchdown. The Cowboys get their revenge in a game where they hold Nevada to under 20 points.
Finally, an off-the-wall prediction for the 2021 Season
Wyoming is going to run the table
Yes, you read that right. The 2021 Wyoming Cowboys are going to finish the regular season (13-0), as Mountain West Conference Champions. No team in the Conference is better set up to run the table than Wyoming. As of today, Wyoming is favored to win 10 out of their 12 games with the only two games that the Cowboys not being favored being against San Jose State and Boise State. Wyoming hands both teams their first losses of the season, en route to a birth in the Fiesta Bowl.
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