At the beginning of the college football season, I was naive and optimistic about my great love, the Wyoming Cowboys. I declared it pivotal they come out strong and win against big opponents, Wazzou and Mizzou. My disappointment has since been drown in beers and moscow mules over the last few Saturdays. If my Pokes pull off wins in the final four games of the season, they may in fact make it to a bowl game. I have high hopes with bottles of wine in my pantry. I’ve seen them play well this season, so I know they can pull out wins. Unfortunately, I’ve also watched them play poorly, which causes some stress.
Like I said earlier this season, Wyoming coming out strong and maybe even pulling out wins against Wazzou and Mizzou would definitely set the tone moving forward in the season. In both games, the Pokes looked strong in the first half and then lost it. Not completely unexpected, but what was unexpected was almost losing to Wofford. Excuse me, powerhouse of football Wofford? I broke out the wine early on that one. This is a team that can hold their own against power five teams, yet somehow can barely catch the win over Wofford. Confidence, it makes or breaks teams and I think that those two big games had them shook and not necessarily ready when playing Wofford. My outside spectator opinion was they were distracted and I would guess still preoccupied by those prior two games. They were so big and defining for the season, to come home and play a team like Wofford probably was some mental block for many of the players. A block that probably carried over from non-conference play to starting conference play with one of the tougher opponents in the Mountain West, Boise State.
A few years ago the Cowboys knocked off Boise in Laramie, it was a game I won’t forget (it was super cold). That was the season that people were starting to pay attention to Josh Allen a little more. So of course, I thought maybe they’ll do it again but it would be a little messier (as the offense this season isn’t quite on the level it has been in years past). The Boise State game resulted in Boise tearing apart Wyoming. The Pokes had a chance to bounce back when they traveling to Hawai’i to take on the Rainbow Warriors, and on that terrible night the Pokes took another L, one that easily could have been their win. The rest of conference play has since gone down hill from there, tragically. Seriously, the beginning of the season is so important for the confidence moving forward through the season. The Pokes have come close to pulling some of the games off, it’s not like they’re getting blown out every game they play. They hang in there with most teams and put up some points. They haven’t managed to find their flow. I thoroughly believe that Hawai’i and Utah State could have been wins, but everyone says their team really just needed one more quarter. My team needed one more quarter for both of those games and they would be 4-4 instead of 2-6. Alas, they didn’t get that one more quarter and took some Ls. As disheartening as losses are, I feel good about the team moving forward.
Wyoming’s season can easily result in a bowl game, they just need to earn wins again Colorado State, San Jose State, Air Force, and New Mexico. Some may doubt my optimism, which is a fair reaction to what I’m saying when I say Wyoming can win four times in the next five weeks. That’s five weeks of Craig Bohl maybe having different starting quarterbacks. One day at a time, it’s the most realistic way to overcome any obstacle. Bohl knows what he’s doing and the team is taking things one game at a time.
I’ve heard defense wins championships, which is true when the offense can gain some points. The Wyoming offense has seen better times. They’re young and awkward, just like you in middle school. I trust the process and understand that it’s been a rebuilding year for the offense. Next year I won’t be surprised to see the Cowboys look a little stronger on offense and maintain a strong defense. Depending on how the final four games of the season go, we’ll see where Bohl concentrates his efforts during Spring Ball. Powder River.