November 2, 2021 |
Every Wyoming football fan knows week it is: Border War week. And the Cowboys will need to put it altogether to recapture the Bronze Boot on Saturday. Through much of the season, the Wyoming defense shined brightly and the offense sputtered. In Saturday’s loss to San Jose State, the roles reversed. Coach Bohl said he had seen glimpses of what the O line could do the week before, but they took a big step forward on Saturday.
The inside game of establishing the line scrimmage allowed the other parts of the offense to click, especially the tailback runs. Xavian Valladay racked up a season-high 172 yards with an average of nearly eight yards per carry. Titus Swen rushed for 47 yards. Even quarterback Levi Williams picked up 35 yards on the ground. The “O” line also gave Williams the space to execute most explosive play the offense has dialed up in some time—a 54 yard touchdown pass at the 5:18 mark of the second quarter.
Coach Bohl said the offense played well. The defense had troubles. They came up short, he said, with uncharacteristic miscues.
Spartan quarterback Nick Nash ran for 112 yards, and two running backs added a combined total of 130 on top of that. Buttoning up the run defense will be a priority this week.
A big concern for Wyoming is the season ending injury to Ayden Eberhardt that occurred during their final possession with about 1-minute remaining in the game. Here was the sideline report from Reese Monaco
Here’s how the coach summed up the bad news yesterday.
That means adjustments will be made in both the receiving and the punt return portions of the game. The 2021 season rides on Saturday’s game. That’s how important the Border War is. The season can be lost, but recapturing the Bronze Boot on Saturday will make the pain disappear.
Photo: Jim O’Reilly/Bigfoot 99.
