Turning Point, Unsung Hero and What’s Next For UW Football

LARAMIE -- "Whatever it takes."

Jeff Choate said that was the mantra for his young team this week, heading into a hostile environment in Laramie.

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What it took was running the football, eating clock and weathering the early storm, the second-year head coach told Nevada Sports Net. Jay Sawvel knew that the visitor's ultimate plan was to "take the air out of the ball" on offense.

Choate all but told him his defensive scheme in a pregame meeting on the field, too.

"He's like, '(Your) team's playing their ass off, you just got to be consistent with quarterback play, right?'" Sawvel said during his postgame press conference. "I think he went into this game thinking, if we stop the run and pile a lot of people in there, that we're going to make Wyoming throw the football to beat us."

It all worked almost to perfection.

It was improvisation, though -- from a punter of all people -- that sparked the Wolf Pack's lone touchdown drive of the afternoon.

Jaden DaCosta came flying off the edge on a fourth-down snap inside the 15-yard line. Instead of keeping outside containment, the sophomore safety cruised into the shield of personal blockers, leaving the entire left side of the field wide open.

Bailey Ettridge took full advantage.

The Australian tucked the ball under his arm and took off down the sideline, easily picking up the first down -- and then some. And then some more. Fifteen more, to be exact. That came courtesy of a late hit out of bounds by another Wyoming safety, Justin Taylor.

"That killed," Sawvel added.

It got even worse.

Two plays later, running back Caleb Ramsuer blew right through the teeth of the Cowboy defense, picking up 10 more yards. Yellow flags again littered the field. This time the personal foul belonged to senior edge rusher Tyce Westland.

Wyoming's biggest mistake was saved for last.

After an incompletion on 3rd-and-4 from the Wyoming 12, Choate went the conservative route, sending out placekicker Joe McFadden to simply get points on the board. Just before the snap, Brayden Johnson, who was in a three-point stance on the right side of the line, jumped into the neutral zone, drawing the third whistle of the possession.

Sawvel said the reminder was relayed via the coach-to-player helmet communication with fellow linebacker Evan Eller: "Don't jump. Stay back."

"It's pretty frustrating, just because everything that happened was under our control," Eller said. "It's not just a lack of talent or lack of doing your job, something like that. It's just mental problems."

Starting quarterback Carter Jones, three plays later, reeled in the shotgun snap, looked to his right and fired a perfectly-placed pass where only his 6-foot-3, 258-pound tight end could snag it.

"Carter made one great throw when we needed it at the end of the first half for that touchdown," Choate said, referring to the 8-yard toss to Jett Carpenter.

When you're averaging just 5.6 points per game like the Cowboys have over their previous three outings, sometimes one play is all you need to make. Fortunately for the Wolf Pack, a team that had just two wins prior to Saturday, they made a whole lot more down the stretch.

Wyoming was limited to 220 yards of total offense, including just 68 on the ground. Two field goals were missed, one from 32 yards out by Erik Sandvik and a long ball from Keelan Anderson right before the half.

The Cowboys were 1-for-3 in the red zone and again badly lost the time-of-possession battle, 34:50 to 25:10.

A goal-line stand in the dying seconds cemented this one.

"I've never been this frustrated in my coaching career," a clearly dejected Sawvel said from behind the podium. "I've never been this frustrated, and it's not frustrated with players, it's not frustrated with anybody associated with a team, it's just frustrated that we've not been able to figure out how to get production."

Nevada 13, Wyoming 7

UNSUNG HERO

Evan Eller, who Saturday played his final game inside War Memorial Stadium, again showed why he is the unquestioned leader of this Wyoming defense.

The senior linebacker tallied 10 tackles in the loss. Six of those were of the solo variety. Three times he took a ball carrier down behind the line of scrimmage. He also forced a Chubba Purdy fumble on the play before Carpenter's touchdown. Ramsuer pounced on the loose ball before Eller could scoop it up.

The transfer from the Virginia Military Institute could've played a lesser role last fall and closed out his career. Instead, he asked the coaching staff if he could redshirt, a selfless move that paid off big time for this team.

He wanted more time to make the transition from the safety spot. He wanted to get bigger, faster. He wanted to master the scheme. Eller did just that this fall.

"I'm super grateful for it," he said, referring to his two-year stint in Laramie. I tell some of these guys all the time, I wish I was here for five years with them to just be able to experience the highs and lows. And, really, because I feel like I'm pretty close with them. I hope they'll say the same about me."

With one regular-season game remaining, Eller is the team's second-leading tackler with 58 stops. He also has a pair of sacks, a pass breakup and an interception this fall.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Wyoming's Offense Again Sputters in 13-7 Home Loss

* Rants & Raves: Nevada Edition

* FINAL LIVE FILE: Nevada 13, Wyoming 7

* 'We Wanted to be Wyoming Cowboys Forever'

* GALLERY: Josh Allen Returning to Laramie for Jersey Retirement

* Wyoming Players, Coaches Eager for Josh Allen's Return

* PODCAST: Can Cowpoke Salvage Season?

* Nevada Notebook: Cowboys Still in Search of Offensive Identity

* Why Has Wyoming's Offense Struggled So Mightily This Fall?

* Cornerback Dainsus Miller Has Been a 'Godsend' in Wyoming's Secondary

* Will Landon Sims Attempt to Play Again After Third Knee Injury?

QUOTEABLE

"I'm so honored and blessed to represent this university and this beautiful state. I love you guys. Thank you. God bless, Go Pokes and it will always suck to be a CSU Ram."

-- Former Wyoming QB and reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen speaking to the more than 26,000 in attendance at his jersey retirement ceremony during halftime.

"It took a lot, but we got it done. And, especially, this was an electric atmosphere to start the game, senior day, packed house, tough place to play. You know, they talk a lot about being 'Cowboy Tough.' The Wolf Pack were pretty tough today, too."

-- Nevada head coach Jeff Choate talking about what it meant to him to see his team make winning plays down the stretch, including holding Wyoming out of the end zone at the goal line late in regulation.

"It truly is emotional. Probably after this interview, I will sit down by myself and probably cry a little bit, because that's just how much it means to me. So, yeah, like I said, a lot of emotions rushing through me. A little frustrated, not the way we wanted to go out, but at the end of the day, we just gotta keep on pushing, keep your head up and just keep going."

-- Wyoming tight end Evan Svoboda talking about his feelings after playing his final game in Laramie.

"Just devastated. Devastated is the word."

-- Wyoming running back Sam Scott, fighting back tears, describes his emotions after the last home game of his career. 

"Like I told the players, you know, it's frustrating. I don't want any player to turn on each other or be frustrated with each other. If they got somebody to blame, and to blame that situation on, blame the head coach, because I'm the one that's responsible for it."

-- Jay Sawvel speaking about the final seconds of the game, which included a pass play that resulted in Sam Scott getting tackled in bounds for a loss of four yards, draining almost all the time of the game clock and thwarting any hopes of a victory.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The dangling carrot is now gone. Wyoming, for the second straight season, will be home for the holidays with a bowl appearance now out of the question. The best this program can do is pick up win No. 5 and head into a long offseason filled with more questions than answers. On the offensive side of the ball, anyway. To do that, the Cowboys will need to find a way to win on the islands against a seven-win Hawaii team. These two play for the Paniolo Trophy, bronze hardware that features a cowboy on horseback, chasing down a calf with a lariat. Wyoming leads the all-time series, 17-11, and has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. Kickoff is slated for 9 p.m. Mountain Time and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.