LARAMIE -- Jay Sawvel received a slap on the wrist from the Mountain West Conference Sunday for some colorful language directed at officials during his postgame press conference.

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"I've seen that call not be made multiple times, because he didn't impede the receiver coming back to the ball," Sawvel said, referring to a pass interference call on safety Wyett Ekeler early in the fourth quarter of a 27-25 home loss to Utah State. "So, you know, to be in that type of situation, yeah, I regret that. You know, I thought it was pretty quick hair trigger, too.

"...  I'd say I'm a horse s---head coach. And I've said I think we've had some horse s--- officiating. So, there you go."

A nearby side judge, who was all out of flags after the initial call, tossed his hat in the sky before relaying to the white hat that Sawvel was being hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Those two yellow hankies -- worth 15 yards each -- left the Aggies sitting at the Wyoming 37-yard line. Spencer Petras connected with wide receiver Josh Sterzer on a 10-yard seam route three plays later to give the visitors a 24-22 lead with 11:58 remaining in regulation.

The conference emailed out a public reprimand and plastered it all over social media.

Less than 48 hours later, I asked the rookie head coach if it was equally as frustrating watching the film and if he earned some validation.

He wasn't touching that one with a 10-foot pole.

"I already got my issue, my reprimand," Sawvel said. "Officials don't cause wins or losses. They don't. So, I'm not going to say, you know, anything else that way. We had the ball three times that we had to kick field goals inside the 15-yard line. And there's your game. We had plenty of opportunities to score points, make plays and do those things at that time."

TK King will likely miss Saturday's game at New Mexico as he goes through concussion protocol.

Wyoming's speedy wideout was struck in the head as he cruised down field on a jet sweep midway through the fourth. DJ Graham dished out the punishment at the Aggies' 26-yard line, leaving King lying on the ground motionless. During the process of the hit, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound sophomore fumbled the ball.

No flags flew. Utah State took over at its own 47.

"The play in question was reviewed for all elements of targeting and did not meet the requirements for Rule 9-1-3," a statement from head official Cal McNeill read. "The offensive player was a runner, not a defenseless player. In that situation, in order for it to be targeting, it would have to have been leading with the crown of the helmet."

There were plenty of other questionable calls to choose from in this one:

* Tyrecus Davis pass interference on a 3rd-and-9 in the second quarter.

* Jaylen Sargent block in the back with the Cowboys set up at the 2-yard line early in the third quarter.

* Keany Parks was hit well after the whistle and even shoved into the Utah State kicking net on the sideline late in the second quarter. The flag was picked up.

* JD Drew, a USU defensive back, was also flagged for a pass interference on Wyoming wideout Will Pelissier on the first drive of the second half.

Here are some other takeaways from Sawvel's weekly press conference:

* It's official: Kaden Anderson will be the Cowboys starting quarterback at New Mexico, replacing Evan Svoboda. You can read all about that decision right HERE.

* Alex Brown's college career has come to an end. The sixth-year wide receiver was rolled up on early in the first quarter of Saturday night's loss to Utah State. He suffered a broken left fibula, per Sawvel. You can read all about that right HERE.

* There's other news on the injury front, too. Edge rusher Braden Siders (undisclosed), along with King, have been ruled out in Albuquerque. Safety Isaac White (foot/ ankle) and defensive end Sabastian Harsh (knee) are both questionable.

* As always, Sawvel said he likes the psyche of this group despite this dismal overall record. "We've got work to do, and we've got to get better and try to eliminate the couple plays that are keeping us back in certain situations right now," he said. "You know, we're back to work. Our players are back to work. They've got a good mindset and a good attitude, but we're frustrated. We've lost home games here by two, three and four points. So, that's obviously something that we're frustrated with."

* Should Sawvel have called his final timeout to save clock? He didn't, instead choosing to "ice" redshirt freshman kicker Tanner Cragun, who was 0-for-1 on the season from that distance. He made it -- and then some. "I would have tried to call timeout with 28 seconds left on the clock," he said. "That would have been when it would have got set and the field goal would have made it 24 seconds by the time it went through. We might have had a chance to get two plays off to see if we could get something in that regard there. So, you know, in that regard, I would handle that differently going forward."

* Harrison Waylee will make his 2024 debut against the Lobos. Sawvel said the senior running back could've played last Saturday, but instead erred on the side of caution. Waylee suffered a knee injury late in fall camp that cost him the first two months of the season. He decided not to rush back and will instead redshirt this season, which will allow the Iowa product to play in four games. You can read about his decision right HERE. "We will never tackle Harrison Waylee with a University of Wyoming player the rest of the time that he's here," Sawvel joked. "He's only going to get tackled in games."

* Wyoming (1-7, 1-3) and New Mexico (3-5, 2-2) are slated to kickoff Saturday at 2 p.m. Mountain Time inside University Stadium in Albuquerque. The game will be televised on TruTV.

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