Why Has Wyoming’s Offense Struggled So Mightily This Fall?
LARAMIE -- No, your eyes didn't deceive you.
Kaden Anderson really did complete six of his 23 passing attempts last Saturday night, including just one in the first half, in a 24-3 loss to Fresno State inside a rain-soaked Valley Children's Stadium.
Wyoming's sophomore quarterback totaled 64 yards through the air. Forty of those came on a single first-quarter hookup with wideout Chris Durr Jr. Anderson also threw a costly interception early in the fourth quarter, his 10th of the season:
Jackson Holman tried the double-move at the bottom of the screen. Hard to do when a cornerback is giving that much cushion. Anderson just heaves it up in his direction when the pocket collapses.
It doesn't get much worse than that.
How bad was the visiting offense in this one?
It rolled up a season-low 184 yards, 96 of which came on 12 carries from freshman running back Samuel Harris. The rookie they call "Tote" certainly did his part.
The others? Not so much.
The Cowboys, who were 3-of-15 on third down, picked up nine first downs on the night, matching their penalty total. Those flags cost them 93 yards and erased a first-down run. They never reached the end zone. They had the ball for just 24 minutes. They never once reached the red zone.
Wyoming now sits at No. 126 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 17.8 points per game. That's the worst mark in the Mountain West Conference.
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While it's easy to pin this disastrous outing on the guy under center -- and he again made plenty of mistakes in this one -- it's deeper than that.
Remember after the lopsided loss at San Diego State two weeks ago when Jay Sawvel said he was already thinking about his offseason wish list? He was mainly talking about linebacker Owen Chambliss, cornerback Chris Johnson and safety Dalesean Staley. Wyoming's second year head coach has his eyes on players that look like that when the NCAA Transfer Portal opens Jan. 2.
Sawvel also mentioned the name Jordan Napier. He's a 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore wide receiver. Sure, he has hurt the Cowboys over the previous two seasons, hauling in a 27-yard touchdown in the 2024 victory and adding another one on the ground in the latest meeting.
Impressive? Sure.
But what really caught Sawvel's eye? Toughness. Physicality. Heart.
After Tegen Seeds stepped in front of a Jayden Denegal shovel pass and began to run the other way midway through the second quarter of that 24-7 loss inside Snapdragon Stadium, it was Napier who hauled Wyoming's 306-pound defensive tackle to the ground.
Effort.
That's another trigger word for Sawvel. It might also be the biggest separator between a revamped defense that is one of the nation's best and an veteran-laden offense that has underachieved all year, to put it mildly.
Watch Ben Florentine, an undersized nose guard and former walk-on, get under Fresno State's 6-foot-7, 325-pound left guard Brayden Walton on a 4th-and-1 in the second quarter. The senior blew up this entire play, giving the ball right back to his offense:
Check out linebacker Brayden Johnson lay this lick on Bulldog running back Bryson Donelson:
Here's Johnson again, planting Jake Tarwater, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end who came across the formation to seal the edge. That didn't work:
Johnson, who came to Laramie via Oklahoma Baptist, a Division-II program in his home state of Oklahoma, fits the mold of what Wyoming's coaching staff was in search of last winter. The 248-pound senior lives, breathes and eats football. Sawvel calls him a "gotta-have-it-player" with that ever-present chip on the shoulder.
Florentine is that type of player. Evan Eller, Ethan Stuhlsatz, Desman Hearns and so many other defensive players also fit into that category. So does cornerback Dainsus Miller.
Watch this hustle from the Mercer transfer on this 58-yard touchdown sprint from Johnathan Arceneaux in the fourth quarter:
The senior, No. 20, was on the opposite side of the field. He had no shot of catching the ball carrier. Pure exhaustion, coupled with a back-breaking interception the snap prior, likely led to this dash for six, giving Fresno State a commanding 17-3 lead.
Still, Miller didn't quit.
Here are a couple of examples of what is happening on the other side of the ball.
Watch wide receiver Jaylen Sargent at the top of the screen. Harris ends up blowing through a hole on the left side for a gain of 10. It could've -- probably should've -- led to a bigger play than that if the block is secured:
Sargent isn't the only one getting picked on here. Watch Evan Svoboda on this early fourth-quarter snap. To make matters even worse, Harris just broke off a 29-yard run on the prior play:
The senior tight end, who is lined up in the left slot, maybe didn't expect his less-than-mobile quarterback to keep the ball on this play, but fails to land any type of block down field.
Here's an offensive gaff you can deal with -- for now:
Redshirt freshman Braylon Jenkins, who was making just his fourth-career start at right tackle, needed to get to the next level and get his hands on a linebacker. Freshman Mason Drube, who saw his first action under center, briefly had an opening to turn this one into a chunk play. Instead, he gains a single yard.
Here's a decision you can't live with from a QB who has now played in a year's worth of games:
With the Cowboys lining up just outside the red zone on their opening drive of the night, Anderson attempts a third-down throw to Eric Richardson on the perimeter. A tad more patience and he might have seen Durr gliding all alone over the middle. This is one of many examples of Anderson missing targets down field.
"When we go to replace certain guys after this season, and particularly skill guys, offensively, I think that's always going to be a trait," Sawvel said Monday when asked if he wants to see more desire on that side of the ball. "Look, I think the reason that we're in a much better spot defensively is, you go across the board and you look at that, and there's a group of people that, that's the way they are."
"... Those guys (Florentine, Miller, Eller and others) have all been impactful in this program. And I think that that's something that you can't measure."
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
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