Turning point, unsung hero and what’s next for UW football

LARAMIE -- Wyoming just couldn't capitalize.

Coming off arguably its best offensive possession of the season, one that saw Evan Svoboda complete 5-of-6 throws for 60 yards before plunging into the end zone from two yards out, the Cowboys' defense forced a quick 3-and-out.

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The capacity crowd inside War Memorial Stadium was at full throat. It appeared momentum was finally wearing brown and gold.

"There are some spots in this game where I felt like we showed some real promise, especially that drive there," senior wideout Will Pelissier said postgame. "I was talking to Alex (Brown) on the sideline, I thought that was one of the more well put together drives I've had since I've been here."

Trailing hated rival BYU by just a touchdown, the home team was about to not only get the ball back late in the first half, the drive would start at the 33-yard line.

Time to pounce, right?

Wrong.

DJ Jones, who struggled mightily in this one, was held to minus-4 rushing yards on the first two carries. He finished the night with 14 yards on the ground on 17 carries. Then came a third-down pass that was nowhere in the vicinity of the senior running back. It didn't help matters that the snap wasn't on target, which has become an ongoing theme for starting center Nofofia Tulafono.

The Cowboys offense held onto the ball for all of 1:22, leaving plenty of time for Jake Retzlaff and the Cougars to go back to work.

They did.

Chase Roberts caught back-to-back passes all alone in the middle of the Wyoming secondary, racking up 43 of his game-high 129 yards on the night. Retzlaff picked up seven more yards on the ground before Will Ferrin tacked on a 49-yard field goal with just 0:45 to go in the quarter.

"It was really frustrating because that's part of where you say, 'OK, what do we have to do to get better? One thing we have to do (is have) continual execution," Sawvel said. "That's something that's been a hard thing for us right now. Play after play after play is the execution part, and we can't afford that against that defense."

The 17 points was plenty, but for good measure, BYU's Keelan Marion returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards to the Tetons.

The rout, as they say, was on.

"It's frustrating," Sawvel said. "I wanted to win this game more than anybody. I wanted to win this game for the fans. I wanted to win this game for the state of Wyoming. We were going to have to play great football in order to win this game -- and we didn't do it."

Wyoming is now an uninspiring 0-3 on the season. The last time that happened came all the way back in 2015, Craig Bohl's second year on the sidelines.

BYU 34, Wyoming 14

UNSUNG HERO

Tight end Clay Nanke hauled in a 24-yard rope from Svoboda on the first snap of that 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the second quarter.

Who?

The transfer from Denver spent the previous three seasons at, wait for it, Colorado State. Sawvel said he saw a few bright spots on the offensive side of the ball on a night that unit amassed just 217 total yards. Nanke was the first player Wyoming's rookie head coach mentioned.

"Clay Nanke shows up and makes a really nice play," Sawvel said. "Clay runs very well. He's 6-foot-6 and can catch the ball very well. That's somebody that we can use."

Projected starter John Michael Gyllenborg did play tonight after missing the first two games of the season with a high-ankle sprain. He was on a pitch count. Sawvel said he didn't really go full-speed in practice until last Thursday.

Gyllenborg wasn't targeted in this one.

Wyoming's tight ends, before tonight, have accounted for just three catches. Those were all hauled in by Nick Miles. With Nanke now in the fold, maybe this much-maligned offense has found another viable weapon.

QUOTABLE

"We got to get more moving up front and that starts with me. I mean, the standard that has been set for me -- by some of you guys and myself -- I did not meet today. I haven't met it the past couple of games. So that starts with me getting that push up front."

-- Wyoming's right guard Jack Walsh after the Cowboys rushed for just 77 yards on 33 attempts in the loss to BYU

"Everybody's still good with everybody. There's no ill will or anything like that. So, you know, they were a good team. When you come out and you play a good team on Saturday night, you have to bring your best. We didn't. We weren't able to do that."

-- Junior edge rusher Sabastian Harsh when asked about the vibe of the locker room after this 0-3 start

"As a native Wyoming kid, that's one I really wanted. That's one I've been looking at on the schedule for three-plus years now. But, you know, it hurts. It really does. But there's nothing we can do except recover now and try and bounce back against North Texas. That just starts with getting in the film room and having a good week of practice."

-- Senior wide receiver Will Pelissier on losing to a rival that hasn't played inside this stadium since 2009

"We let ourselves down in all three phases of being able to win that game. There was a pathway to win it -- it was a narrow pathway -- and we didn't find it. That's what it is."

-- Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel, adding the Cowboys would need to play a near-perfect game to knock off the Cougars

WHAT'S NEXT?

Wyoming will put a bow on the non-conference slate next Saturday at North Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Mountain Time in Denton and the game will be broadcast on ESPN-Plus. The Cowboys and Mean Green have never met on the football field. UNT, which is a member of the American Athletic Conference, enters this one at 2-1 overall. Texas Tech hammered the Mean Green, 66-21, today in Lubbock. That was a 52-0 contest at halftime.