Turnovers Continue to Plague Sophomore Signal Caller

SAN DIEGO, Calif., -- Kaden Anderson looked comfortable a week ago, completing nearly 68% of his passes, including a pair of touchdown tosses in a lopsided win over rival Colorado State.

He maneuvered smoothly in the pocket. He surveyed the field. Most importantly, the sophomore signal caller didn't commit a single turnover.

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That all changed on Saturday night inside Snapdragon Stadium.

Why?

"He wasn't playing against the same people," Jay Sawvel said postgame, just minutes after his starter wrapped up a three-interception outing in a 24-7 loss against San Diego State. "But, he's got to be better. He's got to be a lot better."

Wyoming's second-year head coach, of course, is referring to an Aztec defense that, entering this meeting, was allowing just 10 points per game, good enough for second in the nation in that all-important category.

Led by the likes of Trey White, Owen Chambliss and Chris Johnson, that unit has already pitched three shutouts and held Northern Illinois to only a field goal.

SDSU now sits atop the Mountain West standings thanks to this six-game win streak. Come Monday morning, Sean Lewis' team could even crack the Top 25.

Sawvel and Co., on the other hand, are left searching for answers, especially at the most important position on the field, with just three games remaining in the regular season. If this team is hoping for a fourth, it will need to win at least two of those.

Anderson completed just 12-of-24 throws for a season-low 93 yards.

One of those connections came on a 3rd-and-2 on the opening drive of the night, a perfect over-the-shoulder toss to wideout Michael Fitzgerald, who picked up 27 yards on the pitch and catch.

He again hooked up with the 6-foot-6 Central Missouri transfer for 15 yards on the final play of the first quarter.

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Turns out, those would be the only two explosive plays -- more than 15 yards -- from this offense all night long.

The Southlake, Texas product was pressured 14 times, including 10 hurries, a hit and three sacks. White was responsible for two of those from his defensive end spot. Ryan Henderson's QB takedown came on a 3rd-and-9 inside the Aztecs' 30-yard line. Erik Sandvik followed that up with his second missed field-goal attempt of the night. Both came from 50 yards out. That one would've cut the lead to seven.

"The whole thing bogged down when we took a sack in a situation," Sawvel said. "We can't take a sack there."

Wyoming also averaged just 2.5 yards per carry in the run game. That equated to 35 attempts, 89 yards. Starter, and San Diego product, Samuel Harris was limited to just 20 yards on nine attempts. Terron Kellman picked up 19 on 11 carries.

"Absolutely," tight end John Michael Gyllenborg said when asked if this Aztecs' defense was as advertised. "They were physical, disciplined and sound. Unfortunately, we just couldn't put a drive together after that first drive, and it's really frustrating."

Wyoming marched 75 yards on eight plays on its initial possession. Landon Sims found a crease on the left side of the line and cruised 37 yards down to the SDSU 5-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, the back-up signal caller rolled to his right, finding running back Sam Scott in the flat for the touchdown.

It appeared the visitors came looking for a fight.

In reality, they simply woke up the beast.

Anderson tossed two interceptions in the second quarter and misfired on 5-of-7 attempts in the frame. Two of his giveaways over the first 30 minutes led to 10 Aztec points.

To make matters even worse, Sims, who has been inserted in the lineup for certain "packages" over the last two weeks, was rudely dumped to the turf just before halftime. The sophomore immediately reached for his twice surgically repaired left knee as he writhed in pain.

"I believe so," Sawvel said when asked if Sims suffered another torn ACL. "... Right off the bat, I mean, I know he's going to be out an extended period of time ... He's now going to be out for the season."

Anderson has now thrown nine interceptions in the same number of starts this fall. He's added three fumbles. He finished with a grade of 41.7 in this outing, according to Pro Football Focus. His NFL passer rating: 20.3.

The rushing stats aren't pretty, either.

Anderson, who himself has suffered two ACL tears, has minus-38 yards on 34 attempts. Thirteen sacks have aided in that dismal number, but his best performance came in the opener at Akron where he scampered for 20 yards on four carries.

How can Anderson get this thing back on track?

"He's going to have to be a lot better," Sawvel said, bluntly. "I mean, he's gonna have to get it turned around ... There were some mistakes made, particularly in the first half. That's part of quarterbacking. He's going to have to learn from that and minimize those."

Gyllenborg said he spoke with Anderson in the locker room after the loss. The main topic: time.

A lack thereof.

"We've got a lot of seniors, a lot of guys who are done. He fully understands that, and he's like one of us," the senior said. "He has that urgency that those older guys have. You know, he's our guy. I mean, I love him. We all do."

Gage Brook is believed to be next in line in the QB pecking order. The 6-foot-4, 231-pound sophomore from Fort Collins has yet to appear in a game during his two-plus seasons with the program.

Mason Drube, Wyoming's top prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, is also waiting in the wings. The Gillette native turned down offers from Michigan State, Boston College, Washington State and others to play for his home-state team.

The plan was to redshirt him this fall.

Plans change.

"We're going to look at a lot of things," Sawvel said when asked if Drube's debut is on the horizon. "I think that, you know, we're not done looking at all the layers and levels of this program. Look, we've got three games to go, but the expectation is that we've got four games. We've got to be able to put ourselves in that spot, right? But in order to do it, still, you're going to have to play in a space where you make less mistakes than your opponent.

"Credit to them. They forced some of those mistakes."

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