Hawaii Coach Questions Wyoming’s Physicality. Pokes Answer

LARAMIE -- "They aren't your typical physical Wyoming offense."

That was the sentiment from a Hawaii coach ahead of kickoff last Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium. Asking to remain anonymous, he was referring to the film the staff consumed throughout the week.

It wasn't exactly an earth-shattering take, either.

During Craig Bohl's decade-long stint on the sidelines in Laramie, the Cowboys were known for 1,000-yard running backs and out-muscling the opponent at the line of scrimmage.

Who would "spit the bit" first, the veteran head coach used to famously say.

Wyoming, through three games, was averaging 153 yards per game on the ground. That's 4.8 yards an attempt. Bad? No. Great? No.

That same Hawaii coach said the pre-snap deception was a new wrinkle that hasn't been a staple of this program in years past. Same goes for pulling linemen and option pitches.

Christian Taylor said that was coming with him to the high plains when he accepted the offensive coordinator gig last December. Along with being unpredictable and "dressing" up the offense in a number of ways, a core concept, he added, is to dominate in the blocking department.

"When people go against us -- and people watch us -- they're going to feel us play," Taylor said last January. "No. 1, I want people to see and feel the physicality, the toughness and grit that we're going to play with."

Sounds like that wasn't the case at 1:04 p.m. last Saturday. Roughly four hours later, the visiting coaches might have had a change of heart.

Samuel Harris rushed for a team-best 94 yards on just 11 carries. The speedster they call "Tote" also added 36 more yards through the air. Markell Holman also gashed the Rainbow Warriors for 87 yards on 15 attempts. He found the end zone twice, including slipping past a would-be tackler before outracing the secondary from 18 yards out on the first snap of the fourth quarter.

Harris also added an 18-yard score to seal the 27-10 victory with just 1:46 remaining in regulation.

Tyler Hughes, who completed 17-of-24 pass attempts for 204 yards, also had a 15-yard scamper.

The rushing yards per game have steadily gone up game after game for the Cowboys. Harris, he confirmed last Saturday, no longer has a barking hamstring. That has helped. Holman sustained a rib injury in the season opener. That's now in the rear-view mirror, too.

When Wyoming lines up inside the Fargodome next Saturday, left guard Kalvin Janssen will be making his fifth-career start. So will Giovanni Panozzo on the right side. Chandler Donaway had seamlessly slid in at center for Jason Maciejczak, who was lost for the season after tearing his ACL in Week 2. This will be Donaway's third FBS start.

Right tackle Braylon Jenkins doesn't yet have a full season under his belt. The reserves -- Josiah Petaia, Caleb Hall and Johnathan Bush -- are also still getting their feet wet.

"They're working hard and they're fighting -- and it's a fun group to coach," said Joe Tripodi, Wyoming's offensive line coach. "You know, I think there's been some good and there's been some not so good. We've got to keep getting better, and you know, in today's time, you don't have time, so we're trying to accelerate that process."

Janssen, on 33 run plays last Saturday, was the team's best blocker, according to Pro Football Focus. Panozzo and Donaway weren't far behind as far as grading goes.

Sawvel said left tackle Rex Johnsen might have been the best performer of them all.

On Holman's 1-yard plunge into the end zone in the second quarter against Hawaii, it was Janssen that pulled into the A-Gap on the right side and pushed his man seven yards back into the Tetons.

Panozzo and Hall teamed up to open the hole for Harris' fourth-quarter jaunt. The latter, wearing the No. 93 with no name plate, has been inserted in "jumbo packages," meaning six linemen on the field to go along with two tight ends. He has to declare himself eligible with officials and can also go downfield.

Hall, with some help from Janssen and tight ends Landon Pace and Jake Wilson, sprung Holman on his long scoring run.

"We're not where we need to be with everything yet, but we're getting there," Jay Sawvel said on Monday. "There's a process to it, right? ... Whatever you got to do to score, that's the biggest thing."

The third-year head coach, when told what the Hawaii staff member said, even busted out some snark during his weekly press conference.

"That's all good," he said. "You could call them back and see what they think."

Wyoming and North Dakota State are slated to kickoff in Fargo at 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time in what is now being called the "Battle of the Basins." The game will be televised on The CW.

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