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Wyoming Football Midseason Report
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Can the Cowboys salvage the season and return to a bowl game?
The Wyoming Cowboys entered the 2018 season with hopes of competing for a division and conference championship. Through the first 6 games, they have looked nothing like a team with championship aspirations. An offense that has struggled to do anything offensively has added pressure on a defense that went from being one of the nation’s best units a season ago to a middle of the pack group today. At 2-4, the Cowboys would need to win out and receive considerable help in order to return to a conference championship game for the second time in 3 years.
The new goal for the Cowboys should be to gain bowl eligibility. After 2 more tough weeks with games at Fresno State and home against Utah State, Wyoming finishes with Colorado State, San Jose State, Air Force and New Mexico. A 6-6 season is not out of the picture but the team will have a lot of pressure if they enter the home stretch at 2-6. Splitting one of the next 2 games is a must if Wyoming plans on returning to a bowl for a third consecutive season.
Biggest Check
The Wyoming defense as a whole has disappointed but more specifically the defensive line. A group led by Carl Granderson and Youhanna Ghaifan should be completely dominating games but that just hasn’t been the case through the first half of the season other than the Week 0 game against a bad New Mexico State team.
Wyoming’s inability to create turnovers combined with their inability to get off the field on 3rd downs has put the team in a compromised position. If the front 4 can get back to causing the havoc they caused last season, the Cowboys should improve in both categories.
Biggest Surprise
RB Nico Evans has been huge for the Cowboys this season. As the number 1 back for the first time in his career, he is currently 1st in the MW and 14th in the country in rushing with 612 total rushing yards. He is the only running back in the top 15 with fewer than 5 games played. For an offense that has struggled all season, it’s good to see a senior who has worked hard and stayed with the program even as he sat at the bottom of the depth chart most of his career take full advantage of his opportunity.
Final Prediction for Season
At Fresno State – Loss
Utah State – Loss
At Colorado State -Win
San Jose State -Win
Air Force -Win
At New Mexico – Loss
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