Know Wyoming’s Foe: SJSU Spartans

LARAMIE -- Jay Sawvel was blunt in his assessment of last Saturday night's loss to unbeaten UNLV.

"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 with a shoulder shrug, referring to a 31-17 setback inside a hail-covered War Memorial Stadium.

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There was also a pair of turnovers on downs and a pass interference call that took seven points off the board when all the momentum was on the home sideline.

That was Ken Niumatalolo's takeaway, too.

"They had every opportunity to win last week," San Jose State's head coach said Tuesday during his weekly press conference, adding how rare it is to even have a single punt blocked in a game, let alone two that turned into immediate points.

"It's going to be a tough, hard-nosed team because of Jay and kind of who he is as a coach," Niumatalolo continued. "... So, yeah, it's going to be a battle."

Another week, another top-ranked offense paying a visit to the high plains.

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While the Spartans are a scrappy bunch themselves, it's skill that has been on display early in the season. Walker Eget has already thrown for 1,521 yards and nine touchdowns.

Wyoming, as a team, has found the end zone just 10 times all year.

The 6-foot-3, 233-pound senior is also completing nearly 62% of his passes. In a 35-28 home victory over New Mexico last Friday night, Eget carved up New Mexico's secondary to the tune of 334 yards and three touchdowns. He was 26-of-30 on the night, earning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honors.

"I thought we played really, really well on offense, as sharp as Walker has looked in a long time," Niumatalolo said. "I thought we played a complete game, offensively, as far as running, throwing the football and running the ball on our terms."

That was no fluke, either.

A week prior, Eget connected on 36 passes for 473 yards and three scores in a 30-29 road loss up the road in Palo Alto. He has also been protecting the ball since throwing three interceptions over the first two weeks. He hasn't been sacked since, either.

"He's a very good quarterback," Sawvel said. "And they've also got, you know, a couple of really good receivers.

It's more than a couple.

Danny Scudero is currently leading the nation with 665 yards on 40 catches. The Sacramento State transfer is averaging 16.6 yards per catch and has crossed the goal line four times.

Did we mention he is only 5-foot-9?

"Obviously, he has great ball skill," Sawvel added. "OK, so that's first and foremost. Second thing is, he's very, very good at route running. He's very difficult in the fact that he has a lot of movement at certain route-break points. He'll dip a head and shoulder, and he can do some things to get a defensive back off balance. He can dip a head and shoulder out when he's breaking back in, and he's got a lot of movement, a lot of wiggle, those types of things that can create issues for defensive backs. They do a good job in their system of making sure that they can free him up to certain things."

Kyri Shoels has hauled in 30 balls for 350 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Leland Smith has 16 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Even tight end Jackson Canaan has got in on the act, snatching 16 passes for 179 yards.

Benny Boyd told his defensive backs in the opening practice of the fall "they're blaming you," referring to being the weak link in Wyoming's defense.

That hasn't necessarily been the case this fall.

Led by redshirt freshman cornerback Tyrese Boss, the Cowboys are limiting opponents to just 177.2 passing yards per game. The only reason it's that high is a 304-yard passing night from Colorado's Kaidon Salter.

Wyoming is ranked 27th in the country in this category out of 134 FBS programs.

Sawvel said the goal is to keep Walker and Co. to under six yards an attempt. That should likely limit another 400-yard outing. He also said his secondary needs to defend the deep ball and tackle well in space.

Aside from a rough night in Boulder, that has happened.

"They do a really good job with certain concepts to get people open down the field, and things of that nature," Sawvel continued. "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."

SJSU will also be without running backs Jabari Bates (injury) and Floyd Chalk (left the team).

Watch it fly.

Kickoff Saturday is slated for 5 p.m. inside War Memorial Stadium and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Meet the Spartans:

* Head coach: Ken Niumatalolo (2nd year) 9-9 overall record, 4-4 in MW play

* Offensive coordinator: Craig Stutzmann (2nd year); Defensive coordinator: Derrick Odum (9th year)

* Record in 2024: 7-6 overall, 3-4 in Mountain West Conference

* Offense in 2025: Average 26.8 ppg, 417.4 ypg (113.2 rush, 304.2 pass)

* Defense in 2025: Allow 28 ppg, 421.6 ypg (131.2 rush, 290.4pass)

* Key Returners/ Newcomers - Offense in 2025: Walker Eget (QB - 120-194, 1,521 yds, 9 TD, 3 INT; 13 rush, 17 yds), Lamar Racliffe (RB - 27 rush, 95 yds), Steve Chavez-Soto (RB - 14 rush, 71 yds, 2 TD), Danny Scudero (WR - 40 catch, 665 yds, 4 TD), Kyri Shoels (WR - 30 catch, 350 yds, 2 TD), Leland Smith (WR - 16 catch, 229 yds, 2 TD), Jackson Canaan (TE - 16 catch, 179 yds)

* Key Returners - Defense in 2025: Jordan Pollard (LB - 38 tackles, 0.5 sack, 2 PBU, FR), Taniela Latu (DB - 31 tackles, sack, 2 PBU, FF), Jalen Apalit-Williams (DB - 26 tackles, 2 PBU, INT, FR), Noah McNeal-Franklin (LB - 25 tackles, PBU), Jaylen Thomas (DB - 25 tackles, 5 PBU), Jalen Bainer (CB - 22 tackles, sack, PBU, 2 INT), Isiah Revis (DB - 21 tackles, PBU, )

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players