November 10, 2023 |
In sports, Wyoming head football coach Craig Bohl spent the first part of this past Sunday’s Raiders-Giants football game freaking out.
The game was played inside Allegiant Stadium. Coach Bohl was scoping out the stadium, gaining intel on the site. The skipper immediately panicked. The NFL teams were playing on natural turf. Grass.
Call the equipment crew. Change of plans. The coach had been told that tonight’s Wyoming-UNLV game would be played on an artificial surface. The coach was told to relax. Everything was under control. That’s how they roll in Sin City.
The UNLV Rebels prefer to play on a synthetic surface. The Raiders, who are charged with running the domed play palace, like to play on a natural grass surface.
Allegiant Stadium workers can install different retractable fields in the venue because they sit on two levels of trays that are 48 inches apart. The Raiders grass field can be removed from the stadium so that it receives sunlight. High-tech.
Allegiant Stadium also runs on 100% renewable energy. They made the conversion last month in time for the Monday Night Football game between the Raiders and Packers.
Wyoming better have some renewable power in it own system tonight. The Cowboys are looking for their first road win. They played at Texas, Air Force and Boise State like the juice in their batteries ran out before the fourth quarter in each matchup.
Coach Bohl sized up the Rebels team that UNLV Head Coach Barry Odom has put together in his first season as head coach.
Bohl and Odom know each other. They’re friends off the field. They texted each other this week, the Wyoming skipper said Wednesday night. Coach Bohl has much respect for his counterpart tonight.
Wyoming quarterback Andrew Peasley will have to deliver a season-best performance tonight. In last weekend’s win over Colorado State, Peasley finished 15-of-22 for 140 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He added 49 more yards with his feet.
In a matchup between two evenly matched teams, kicker John Hoyland may be a difference maker. The indoor arena may help Hoyland overcome his rough outings over the last month, including going one-for-three on field goal attempts last week against the Rams.
Rebels kicker, Jose Pizano, leads the conference in scoring at 10.4 points per game going into this weekend, which could be the result of playing inside a plush indoor stadium.
The big conference showdown is tonight with the season riding on the line. We’ll be on the air at 7 p.m. tonight with the kickoff set for 8:45 p.m. Late night with the Cowboys here on Bigfoot 99. Go Pokes!
