Polasek Shares Favorite Memory, Biggest Regret From Wyoming Stint

LAS VEGAS, Nev., -- Gun Roger Pro 52 Knights Kill 76 Poke.

The official name of the play call is long and confusing. What those six words and four numbers led to, though, was instant and pure gratification.

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Andrew Peasley, standing five feet behind his center, surveyed the defense before barking out his cadence and extending both arms in front of him. The game was on the line, the scenario leaving Wyoming facing a 4th-and-7 from the Texas Tech 11-yard line in double overtime.

Two receivers to his left and a duo of tight ends off the right side of the line of scrimmage, the senior quarterback knew he needed to get rid of the ball fast with the visitors threatening to bring a flurry of rushers.

The snap came. So did that inevitable blitz.

Peasley could barely make a two-step drop and struggled to feel the laces of the ball before unleashing a strike over the middle to his 6-foot-5 safety valve. John Michael Gyllenborg snagged the throw off the back of his left hip and cruised into the end zone.

With the score tied at 33-all, the Cowboys went for the kill shot.

Running back Sam Scott, patiently waiting for a block to develop off the left side, slipped through a crease and scampered into the Tetons untouched for the 2-point conversion, sending War Memorial Stadium and a capacity crowd into a frenzy.

"Texas Tech is my favorite memory," Tim Polasek said with a grin last week at Mountain West Media Days, reliving that gutsy finish and eventual upset. "No. 1, just the fact they sold all the Miller Lite products that they had for the year during the rain delay."

Polasek, who is now entering his third season as the head coach at North Dakota State, one of three new programs entering the conference this fall. Before he accepted the gig in Fargo, the 46-year-old spent three years as Craig Bohl's offensive coordinator in Laramie, reuniting with his top mentor in his chosen profession.

The Wyoming-Texas Tech football game, which was scheduled to kickoff at 5:30 p.m., is currently in a lightning delay./ Cody Tucker photo

Polasek recalled hustling outside to get pizza during a lengthy lightning delay ahead of kickoff. Before heading back up to the press box high above Jonah Field, he even took a moment to soak up the surroundings. The sun poked through the gray, lingering storm clouds. A full, vibrant rainbow appeared to hover perfectly over the stadium.

"The sky was just unbelievable, right?" he said in his Wisconsin accent.

There was zero doubt, with the game on the line, who the top target on his unit would be, Polasek recalled telling the CBS television personalities during an interview earlier in the week.

"Gyllenborg is getting it," he said. "And that's how it all went down."

The second part of the initial question was also blunt: What is your biggest regret at Wyoming?

Transparent, Polasek said that answer is a simple one, too: A lack of consistent success.

Amassing nearly 26 points per game while rolling up more than 374 yards in the process in 2021 sounds great on the surface. Dig a little deeper and you'll see a stagnant offense that failed to reach at least 22 points in seven outings, including a 17-0 blanking at home against Fresno State. They managed just a field goal the following week in a 14-3 setback to lowly New Mexico.

A 52-point outburst in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl certainly helped. The Cowboys also put 50 on the board in a come-from-behind victory at Northern Illinois and 45 the following Saturday against visiting Ball State.

Sean Chambers and Levi Williams combined to throw 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing just over 50% of their throws.

Year 2 somehow got even worse.

With Chambers and Williams out of the picture via the NCAA Transfer Portal, Peasley, a Utah State transfer, took the reins of Polasek's offense. The Cowboys reached the 30-point mark just twice all year while averaging 21.4 points per game. The starting QB tossed just 10 touchdown passes and was picked off nine times. Jayden Clemons, making his first and only start in a Wyoming uniform, threw three interceptions in a gut-wrenching overtime loss to Boise State.

Again, the guys under center completed around 50% of their attempts.

"I wish that we would've got better, offensively, faster," Polasek said in Las Vegas. "I'm not sure that all that stuff was in my total control with what happened (injuries) with Sean and the quarterback situation and Andrew coming from the system that he came from."

Despite the dysfunction through those first two years, Wyoming found itself in the postseason in all three seasons under Polasek's leadership.

Peasley found his groove in 2023, throwing 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also found the end zone with his legs seven more times as the Cowboys snuck out a nine-win campaign and sent Bohl into retirement with a last-second field goal to knock off Toledo in the Arizona Bowl.

Harrison Waylee nearly hit the 1,000-yard mark on the ground. Four deep threats -- Wyatt Wieland, Ayir Asante, Gyllenborg and Treyton Welch -- all finished with at least 300 yards receiving and two scores.

It also appeared the future under center in Laramie was settled for the following year. Evan Svoboda seamlessly stepped in for Peasley in Tucson and led the team on an 11-play, 61-yard game-winning drive that culminated with a 24-yard chip-shot field goal off the right foot of John Hoyland.

Svonoda also made a spot start, his first at the FBS level, against No. 4 Texas in mid-September. He completed 17-of-28 throws for 136 yards and helped forced a 10-10 tie, heading into the fourth quarter in Austin.

"Man, if we could've got on that improvement the way Andrew was rocking and rolling in '23, I think it would have been pretty special to see that system all come together," Polasek said. "Up front, offensively, we had it on the right trajectory.

"So, that would be my biggest regret is just not identifying what the quarterbacks could and couldn't do. I couldn't help them enough."

Jay Sawvel, the defensive coordinator of those teams, was named the 33rd head coach in Wyoming football history on Dec. 6. Eleven days later, Polasek was introduced in Fargo.

The Cowboys and Bison will meet Oct. 3 as conference foes for the first time. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. inside the Fargodome.

Sawvel said he is excited to have NDSU in the league but joked that he wished his squad didn't have to head there first. Polasek said he's looking forward to coaching against friends like UW tight ends coach Shannon Moore, offensive line coach Joe Tripodi, defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl and, of course, Sawvel.

"It's exciting," he added. "I think there is a chance, and let's get that out of the way, for a natural type of rivalry. It fits, regionally. I mean, it just fits."

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