Three Keys To a Wyoming Cowboys Victory vs. SJSU

LARAMIE -- San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo is well aware of the plethora of miscues that derailed the Cowboys last Saturday night in a 31-17 home loss to unbeaten UNLV.

So is Jay Sawvel.

"When you turn the ball over three times -- two of them inside of their 25-yard line -- and have two punts blocked for touchdowns, there's your game," Wyoming's second-year head coach said Monday, accompanied with a shoulder shrug.

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Essentially, the home team committed seven turnovers. They also handed the ball over on downs twice.

The Spartans don't need any additional help.

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Walker Eget is one of the most-efficient passers in the country, connecting on 120-of-194 throws. He's already racked up 1,521 passing yards and nine touchdowns. He's only tossed three interceptions, two of which came in a season-opening loss to Central Michigan. His last one came the following week at seventh-ranked Texas.

Below, you'll read about some reasons for the senior signal caller's early success.

In 2024, he had a big target in Nick Nash, the NCAA's receiving Triple Crown winner. He had the most regular-season catches (104), yards (1,382) and touchdowns (16). He was named a unanimous All-American but was arguably snubbed for the Biletnikoff Trophy, which is awarded to the top wideout in the FBS.

Colorado's Travis Hunter claimed that. He was also crowned the Heisman Trophy winner and was the second overall selection in the NFL Draft.

Eget now has another weapon that should be in the mix for that coveted hardware:

1. WHO'S THE BOSS?

Tyrese Boss has yet to allow a touchdown catch this season.

The redshirt freshman has been on the field for 158 passing attempts, too. Thrown into the fire this fall, the Chino Hills, Calif., product has given up only 13 grabs on 23 targets. Boss has also broken up a pair of passes and tallied 16 tackles, the most out of anyone in this secondary.

His job is about to get a whole lot harder on Saturday night.

The nation's leading receiver, Danny Scudero, will be across the line from him and others. The 5-foot-9 Sacramento State transfer already has 665 yards and has hauled in 40 balls in just five games. The sophomore has found the end zone four times, too.

"The thing about Danny is, he's running by everybody, I mean everybody, we've played," Niumatalolo told reporters on Tuesday. "You know, we've played some good people. I think everybody saw the kind of speed he has. We knew he could run, but when he was running passes some Texas guys, it was like, 'OK, this guy's speed is legit.'"

Four times already this fall, Scudero has eclipsed the 100-yard mark through the air. In that meeting with the Longhorns in Austin, he snagged seven passes for 60 yards.

Can Boss hold his own against Scudero? Can Dainsus Miller and Ian Bell help the cause?

Scudero is the leader of the pack, but Eget has plenty of other downfield options, too. Three Spartan wideouts already have more than 229 receiving yards under their belt. Tight end Jackson Canaan also has 179 yards on 16 grabs.

"They do a really good job with certain concepts to get people open down the field, and things of that nature," Sawvel said. "They test so many different coverage rules of what you do, and so you're going to have to be able to function in multiple ways."

Wyoming features the No. 27 passing defense in the FBS, allowing 177.2 yards per game.

If the Cowboys' backend, which will be playing without starting strong safety Andrew Johnson (concussion protocol), can limit this group and force the visitors to run the football, good things can happen. If not, this could be an unwanted firework show.

2. BRING THE HEAT

New Mexico tallied nine sacks a week prior in an in-state showdown with the Aggies.

That same Lobos' defense failed to get to Eget one time last Friday night.

"The O-line has been playing well. I'm happy for them," SJSU offensive coordinator Craig Stuzmann said, adding the senior signal caller also has one of the fastest triggers in the country. "To go two games and throw the ball like 90 times, or whatever it is, and not to have any sacks, it's a testament to the players."

Actually, that Spartans' front hasn't allowed a single sack since Week 2 at Texas. That unit gave up four in a 38-7 loss to the 'Horns. Eget since hasn't been taken down one time on 109 dropbacks.

That must change inside War Memorial Stadium.

Wyoming has tallied 11 team sacks through five weeks. Nose tackle Ben Florentine leads the way with four of those. That group of pass rushers has also been credited with 73 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That includes nine hits and 53 hurries.

One way to help Boss and the boys on the backend is to live in the offensive backfield.

Easier said than done.

Edge rushers Tyce Westland, Chisolm Ifeanyi, Esaia Bogar and Peter Eyabi need to cause havoc, especially when blitzing against this passing attack will be risky. Tackles Lucas Samsula, Jayden Williams and Aneesh Vyas need to have constant penetration, too.

3. STAY ON SCHEDULE

On 32 first-down snaps last Saturday night against UNLV, Wyoming's offense averaged 4.8 yards. Eleven of those plays produced zero. Three others resulted in a loss.

Believe it or not, that unit did pick up at least nine yards to open a possession eight times. Four alone came on a scoring drive to open the second half. Wideout Deion DeBlanc scampered into the end zone from 12 yards out on a jet sweep.

The Cowboys, once again, struggled mightily on third down. They capped that 31-17 loss just 3-of-13 on that all-important down. Jay Johnson's offense is plummeting in the national rankings, now sitting 104th overall (27-of-68).

During this three-game skid, that conversion rate is just 11-of-38.Oh, by the way, SJSU is ranked No. 35 in the country when it comes to third-down defense (22-of-66).

Against the Rebels, Wyoming needed an average of 7.5 yards to go. It needed at least seven yards on eight of those 13 attempts.

What does it all mean?

Second down was a big, big problem, especially in the first half.

On 13 snaps over the first 30 minutes, the Cowboys averaged just 2.5 yards per play. Seven of those went for no gain. There was also a fumble in there that turned into three more UNLV points.

Ouch.

These stats changed drastically over the final two quarters. On the team's two touchdown drives of the night, there were pickups of 36, 9 and 15, twice, on second down.

Who could forget the questionable pass interference call that wiped a Sam Scott touchdown off the board late in the third? On that possession, Kaden Anderson and Co. had gains of 29, 8 and 28.

The sophomore signal caller would toss a costly interception inside the Rebels' 5-yard line, thwarting a once-promising 10-play, 58-yard drive that would've cut the lead to just seven.

Production must happen on the first two downs of the drive if this team wants to get back to .500 and have any shot at competing in the Mountain West Conference this fall.

"I think that's a lot of it," Johnson said. "It's always, when you get into a situation of third-and-long, very challenging no matter where you're at and you've got to stay on schedule. And when we're getting in that -- that medium to short -- everybody is a lot better in the country at that. So, yeah, we've been very poor and we've got to do a way better job early in downs to stay on the field. Then, obviously, it put us in a situation to convert and keep it on the field."