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Wyoming vs Hawaii: Keys To A Cowboy Victory
Cowboys want to keep on winning.
Contact/Follow @adamwyo & @MWCwire
Who gets the Paniolo Trophy trophy
WEEK 13: Wyoming Cowboys (6-5, 2-5 Mountain West) vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (5-7, 2-5 Mountain West)
WHEN: Saturday, November 27 — 12:00 PM PT/1:00 PM MT
WHERE: War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, WY
Weather: Sunny, high of 46 degrees
TV: Spectrum Hawaii
STREAMING: Team1 Sports app
RADIO: The Wyoming broadcast can be found in and around Laramie on 1290 AM (KOWB). The Hawaii broadcast can be found in and around Honolulu on ESPN 1420 AM and 92.7 FM.
SERIES RECORD: Wyoming leads the all-time series 15-10. In the last meeting on October 30, 2020, the Cowboys defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 31-7, in Laramie.
In what will be the final game of the season, the Wyoming Cowboys will play the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday in Laramie, bowl status, the paniolo trophy, and senior night are all at stake when the teams enter the friendly confines of War Memorial Stadium.
Wyoming is coming off a huge upset victory last week in Logan against Mountain West leader Utah State. It was, barring the CSU game, the most complete match thus far this season. The Cowboys dominated in all aspects of the game, beating the heavily favored Aggies 44-17 in a game that greatly helped their bowl odds.
Saturday should go to helping the Cowboys bowl chances. Luckily, odds from the sportsbooks listed at Sports Betting Dime all indicate that they are heavy 10.5-point favorites this weekend. Not one site on the list will say that Hawaii are the favorites. It will be a surprise if Wyoming does not win this weekend. A win puts them at 7-5 on the season, and one more win over bowl eligibility, but in a year with so many quality MWC teams it may not be enough for the Cowboys to squeak out a bowl bid. Wyoming’s recent success might have come too late, with only two conference victories things are looking tough for a talented team.
Wyoming needs a victory to ensure that they stay in the bowl hunt, but to win they need to follow these keys to secure that needed 7-5 record:
Keys
1. Engage the receivers
Last week saw the emergence of a new facet to the 2021 offensive approach. No longer were the Cowboys playing their usual run-only attack, but instead were throwing the ball around.
The teams emergent leader in receptions, Isaiah Neyor, was a frequent target of a more poised, and accurate, Levi Williams, but a new name rose up in the game to make big plays as well.
Freshmen receiver Joshua Cobb came up big for the pokes, taking up 76 yards and a touchdown. His, along with Neyor’s, success in opening up the passing game allowed for the teams running backs to have more open running lanes, which helped the pokes run over a depleted, and tired Aggie defense.
If the Cowboys want to repeat what they did last week, they need to throw the ball early and often. Set the tone of the game and not get lost in the repetitive, and predictable offense they have had in earlier games this season.
2. The running back tandem that just won’t stop
Running backs Titus Swen and Xazavian Valladay ran all over the Utah State defense a week ago, they finished the game with 169 and 145 yards rushing respectively.
Both players complement each others rushing style, Swen is a workhorse that keeps moving the pile after contact, whereas Valladay is elusive and deadly in the open field. If Wyoming can spread the defense out, and not allow them to stack the box, I look for the Cowboys rushers to have another big game in front of the last home crowd of the season.
Also, look for Valladay to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season, he currently has 942 yards rushing on the year. If he posts 1,000 yards this season it will be the second time for the Matteson, Illinois product, he will join Brian Hill, Ryan Christopherson, and Dabby Dawson as the only other pokes to have accomplished the feat twice in their collegiate careers.
Final Thoughts
The Cowboys are playing this weekend with many things on the line, and the team will have a lot of reasons to get excited. After the disappointment that was last season they don’t want to miss bowls in consecutive seasons, and sweeping the three trophy games this season would be nice, but for that to happen the team needs to win.
It’s senior night in Laramie, the weather is supposed to be a beautiful fall day, and they’re playing a team that is not acclimated to the rocky mountain west and elevation. I think that the Cowboys have more than enough factors to say the game swings in their favor.
Final score Wyoming 35- Hawaii 10
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