Colorado State Notebook: Sawvel Looking For Border War ‘Jolt’

LARAMIE -- Jay Sawvel knew something needed to change.

Fresh off a three-point loss at Air Force, one in which his offense scored on just three of its nine possessions and turned the ball over twice, including a back-breaking interception at the goal line in the fourth quarter, Wyoming's second-year head coach  Sunday scheduled a meeting with his offensive coordinator.

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There was an ultimatum: Leave with a clean break or stay here, lose your title and play-calling duties.

Jay Johnson chose the latter. He will now serve as an offensive analyst. Wide receiver coach and UW Hall of Famer Jovon Bouknight has been elevated and will take the reins of an offense that averages just 20 points per game.

That doesn't even tell the entire story.

Air Force, entering Saturday, statistically featured the worst defense in the nation, allowing 40 points and 500 yards of total offense per outing. UNLV (110th), San Jose State (104th) and Akron (101st) aren't much better.

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* LIVE FILE: Air Force 24, Wyoming 21

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* Wyoming to Debut Coal-Inspired Black Uniforms in Border War

Sawvel said he is looking for a boost for this offense, adding the talent and experience on that side of the ball simply aren't meeting expectations. Will that change now with Bouknight in the driver's seat? Time will tell.

The human element of this conclusion was found plastered all over Sawvel's face.

"These are difficult, difficult decisions, because, you know, Jay Johnson is a great person. He's a very, very good football coach," he continued. "He has recruited quarterbacks very, very well here. I mean, there's a reason Mason Drube is here -- and he had other opportunities. It wasn't just solely because he's from the state of Wyoming. And there's a reason that the current quarterback commit (Taylor Hasselbeck)is coming here and everything that way. He was a piece to all that.

"... None of this was enjoyable, at all. This was not something I was looking forward to. I just felt like, at this time, we needed to do something to give ourselves a jolt, offensively."

Sawvel himself has been in Johnson's seat.

Back in 2018, then a defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, he was handed his walking papers four games into the season. Head coach Dave Clawson, like Sawvel said on Monday, admitted this decision wasn't of the knee-jerk variety.

The Demon Deacons were fresh off back-to-back blowout losses to Boston College and No. 8 Notre Dame. Sawvel's defense allowed 97 points in that time frame, plummeting to the 114th in the FBS rankings.

"Sometimes these don't work," Sawvel said of mid-season changes, adding that Wake Forest defense gave up 160 more points in the next four games en route to a 6-6 campaign. "You know, it's not just because you change something that it works, OK?"

Wyoming will host Border War rival Colorado State Saturday night in Laramie. The visitors made a change of their own on Sunday, dismissing head coach Jay Norvell, who leaves Fort Collins with an overall record of 18-26 in parts of four seasons.

Sawvel expects a rejuvenated offense from his group. When it comes to preparing for a CSU squad led by interim head coach Tyson Summers, that's a tad more murky.

"What you don't fully know is, is the philosophy or how free-flowing that a team could be in a certain situation," he said. "I've seen it happen where, you know, all of a sudden teams have thrown out like three fake punts in a game and stuff like that. I mean, you just don't know."

Here are some additional news and notes from Sawvel's meeting with the media:

* Wyoming is running short on defensive tackles. Sawvel announced Monday that Cody Crawford and Aneesh Vyas will miss extended time with various injuries. That duo joins Caleb Robinson and Dante Drake, who both suffered a torn Achilles tendon prior to fall camp. Freshman Henry Rehberg is also out for the season. Sheridan's Alex Haswell is still making his way back from a knee injury. Ben Florentine, Jayden Williams and Lucas Samsula will continue to man the trenches. Who's left?  Rookie Gabriel Ikechukwu could see playing time. So could Douglas product Tegen Seeds. Sawvel said in camp there could be a scenario where edge rusher Brayden "Larry" Wilson slides into the middle, too.

* John Michael Gyllenborg made his much-anticipated return to the field last Saturday in Colorado Springs. That lasted all of eight plays, including being the main target on Evan Svoboda's costly interception in the end zone. What was initially a right thigh bruise is now a lingering hamstring injury. He left in the first quarter of a Week-3 home loss to Utah and missed the next three games. What is his status for Saturday? "You know, we'll just have to see. I'm taking it day by day," the senior tight end said on Monday. "I felt pretty good last week, and you know, it was just bothering me a lot (on Saturday). So, we'll see how this week progresses. I'm going to do everything I can get out there, just know that." Gyllenborg missed last year's Border War in Fort Collins with a collarbone/ shoulder injury.

* Are constant substitutions at the skill positions hampering this offense? "That's something we're talking about," Sawvel said. On seemingly every snap, new tight ends and wide receivers are running onto the field. That can't help quarterback Kaden Anderson get into any kind of rhythm, right? "Hopefully we can get back in a space where we got a little less of that," he added. "A big part of that would be, OK, when Gyllenborg is back full time, you hope you just leave him out there, you know? I mean, so that's one less guy that you're moving in and out. I think that's a big piece of it, too."

* Sundance Wicks said last winter with so many transfers it's hard to sometimes relay the message about how important the Border War really is. Wyoming's basketball team dropped both meetings against the Rams. With 50-plus new faces on this football roster, including freshmen, does Sawvel have that same issue? "No," he said, shaking his head before the question was even finished. "That won't be a challenge."

* Braylon Jenkins made his first-career start last Saturday against the Falcons. The redshirt freshman lined up for 67 snaps at the right tackle spot. The Iowan said he wasn't too familiar with the rivalry with CSU when he arrived on campus back in 2024. It didn't take too long, he added, to be "indoctrinator." What is this staff doing to make sure the "hate" flows this week? "They are showing videos in meetings to get us in the right mindset for a game like this," he said. "... It was just the worst feeling, seeing them just run right by you and celebrate and grab the boot. So, yeah, we can't let that happen this year." The Cowboys fell inside Canvas Stadium 24-10 last November.

* Wyoming (3-4, 1-2) and CSU (2-5, 1-2) will meet Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Cowboys have won seven of the last nine meetings against their Border War rivals. This is the 117th meeting between these two and the last as conference foes. The Rams will compete in the new-look Pac-12 Conference, beginning next season. CSU has a slight edge in the overall series, 60-51-5.

* The Roaring Repeater Podcast will air again this Tuesday with Cody Tucker and Jared Newland behind the mic inside our Cheyenne studios. Make sure to watch our social media feed, where we'll be asking you, the fans, for any questions you may have before the home opener. Here is last week's episode.

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