What is True Cost of Competing for a Title at Wyoming?

LARAMIE -- Tom Burman announced last July that Wyoming was indeed opting into the recently resolved House Settlement and would be disbursing $1.5 million of the $2.8 million allotment to Name, Imagine and Likeness agreements.

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Football, the longtime athletics director added, would receive the lion's share of that cash as the university's highest revenue generator.

What number do the Cowboys need to reach to become a championship contender?

"I'll just say it, if we get up to around $2.5 million, we'll win a whole bunch of games, OK? We're not there," Jay Sawvel said Monday during his weekly press conference.

That is the price of doing business in college football these days.

Wyoming's head coach said Boise State, a program that has ruled the Mountain West over the last 14-plus years and will head to the new-look Pac-12 in July, is spending north of $4 million on its roster. San Diego State's Sean Lewis didn't give Sawvel a concrete number when they met earlier this month, he added, but it "wasn't nickels and dimes."

The Broncos and Aztecs are currently atop the conference standings with one week remaining in the regular season.

Sawvel said he isn't blaming Wyoming's current situation on money. He made a Top-10 list of players he wanted to retain last offseason. All but one of those names, believed to be defensive end Sabastian Harsh, who is now at North Carolina State, left via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

He was also able to revamp a defense that in 2024 allowed nearly 411 yards per game, to go along with 28.3 points.

Defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole exhausted his eligibility. So did starting linebackers Shae Suiaunoa and Conner Shay, as well as safeties Isaac White and Wyett Ekeler. Nickelback Wrook Brown transferred. Cornerback Keany Parks and nose tackle Jaden Williams did, too.

Others also found a new home, including edge rushers Ethan Day and Braden Siders.

This current unit, which is now made up of transfers from the likes of Mercer, Oklahoma Baptist, Virginia Military Institute and Lindenwood, among other small schools, is limiting the opposition to just 338 yards and 19.9 points an outing.

Wyoming ranks 23rd in the nation in scoring defense. All of those teams listed above them have at least seven wins.

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Sawvel said offensive upgrades, especially at the skill positions, will be the primary focus once the 2026 recruiting class signs on the dotted line next Wednesday on early signing day.

The Cowboys feature one of the worst scoring offenses in the FBS, averaging just 16.8 points per game. Nevada used to own the worst marks in the league until the Wolf Pack came into War Memorial Stadium last Saturday afternoon and toughed out a 13-7 victory.

Wyoming, four times this fall, has failed to reach double figures on the scoreboard, including in the last three, all losses.

Twice a gaffe at the goal line -- losses at Air Force and to the Wolf Pack -- has cost the Cowboys an opportunity to reach six wins, the magic number to be considered for a postseason berth.

"There's a couple things, in a big way, that we need to get fixed," Sawvel said. "And first and foremost, we got to score points. I'm so pissed that we're not scoring points. We're going to get that addressed."

That, of course, will come at a cost.

"I'm going to start playing Powerball in the offseason, too," he joked. "And if I hit one of those really big ones, we're going to be rolling with guys like Oregon for a couple years."