The University of Wyoming is no stranger to Power Four opponents on opening day. The Cowboys have punched above their weight three times during their season openers over the past 17 years, including wins over Virginia of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2007, Missouri of the Southeastern Conference in 2019 and Texas Tech of the Big 12 last fall. While the Cowboys open their season against another Power Four opponent in Arizona State this weekend, they won’t have the luxury of playing in front of the home crowd at War Memorial Stadium like they did against the Cavaliers, Tigers and Red Raiders.
The Sun Devils are coming off their worst two-year stretch on the football field since 1947, but they’re still favored by Las Vegas to win outright. The Cowboys head to the desert as 6.5-point underdogs with a new head coach, a new quarterback and a pair of new coordinators.
Here are five keys for the Cowboys to return to Laramie with a 1-0 record. 1. Start fast Jay Sawvel has been intentional about getting his team off to a fast start in practice throughout his first fall camp as UW’s head coach.
Getting into a rhythm early in Tempe on both sides of the ball would help offset the presence of Arizona State’s rowdy home crowd. “It’s always important to start out fast and then being able to maintain that,” Cowboys quarterback Evan Svoboda said. “So, I think it’s huge to strike first and then keep that (momentum) throughout the whole game.
” The Cowboys will look to do the opposite of what they did in the season opener last year. UW surrendered an early 17-0 lead to Texas Tech less than 11 minutes into the game. “That was a terrible start last year,” Sawvel said with a laugh.
“...
It’s critical to not dig yourself that type of hole. ..
. That’s not the plan. We need to do a lot better than that.
“...
We want to be a better starting team coming out of the gates all year. That’s something that I want to make sure that we do a better job of. So, hopefully we can obviously do a better job of that Saturday night.
” Added wide receiver Will Pelissier: “It really boils down to having full confidence in our preparation. To do that, we just have to try and be perfect (during practice) this week and try to get out any of the kinks we have. Hopefully, by Saturday, we’ll be a well-oiled machine out there.
” 2. Establish the run The Cowboys will be without All-Mountain West honorable mention Harrison Waylee against the Sun Devils following an arthroscopic surgery on the running back’s left knee earlier this month. Dawaiian McNeely is also questionable to make a return after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last fall camp.
North Carolina transfer D.J. Jones will lead the Cowboys’ backfield, followed by returners Sam Scott and Jamari Ferrell.
While it’s still unclear how first-year offensive coordinator Jay Johnson will divvy up the workload, he has full confidence in any running back he puts out onto the field. “It’s what you would call a great problem to have,” Johnson said earlier this month. “.
.. Those guys all have some different skill sets that can really benefit our team, so I’m excited to kind of see where that group ends up because there’s a bunch of talented guys.
” Since 2019, the Cowboys are 0-14 in games they were held under 130 yards on the ground, according to Anthony Totri of PHNX Sun Devils. 3. Get to the QB Svoboda will make his second career start for the Cowboys on Saturday, making him more experienced than Arizona State’s new quarterback.
Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt — who has never started a game in college — was named the starter following the Sun Devils’ fall camp. Johnson, who was Michigan State’s offensive coordinator from 2020-23, recruited Leavitt to the Spartans out of high school. “I recruited Sam, and I think the world of him and his family,” Johnson said.
“He came from Oregon, and he’s very talented. One of the things about Sam is he has very good athleticism, he’s really an unbelievable competitor, and (he has a strong) ability to learn. “He was a young player when I was with him, and his ability to learn and grasp different schemes and grasp them very quickly and then to go be able to see them and apply it, I thought that was very good for a new player at his age.
I thought he did very well.” The Cowboys will need to take advantage of Leavitt’s inexperience by getting to the quarterback in the pass rush. The Sun Devils were tied for 93rd in the country last season at 2.
5 sacks allowed per game, and UW has the depth on the defensive line to surpass that number Saturday night. 4. Win on third downs It’ll be anyone’s guess how the Cowboys decide to run their new offensive playbook against the Sun Devils.
UW’s history of keeping the ball out of its opponent’s hands could still be an avenue for success, and that formula relies on moving the sticks on offense and earning stops on the other end. Arizona State’s offense was 117th in the country with a 31.8% third down conversion rate last fall.
UW was slightly better at 87th (36.8%), and the Cowboys will need to win in those margins with appropriate play-calling in third down situations. The Cowboys’ defense struggled on third downs last year, ranking 111th with a 44.
5% success rate for opposing offenses. The Sun Devils’ defense was 88th at 41%. As with any game, winning the turnover battle is crucial for success, but especially on the road as an underdog against a Power 4 opponent.
Arizona State was the fourth-worst team in the country in turnover margin last season, finishing 127th at -0.92. The Cowboys were on the opposite side of the spectrum, tying for fifth in the country at +0.
85. With two inexperienced quarterbacks taking over the full-time jobs for their respective teams this weekend, the offense with the fewest turnovers has a strong chance of walking away from Mountain America Stadium with the win. The Cowboys and Sun Devils kick off at 8:30 p.
m. Saturday in Tempe on FS1. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.
.
