Behind the Numbers: Gyllenborg Up To Old Tricks in 31-7 Win

LARAMIE -- John Michael Gyllenborg is his own toughest critic.

He wasn't thrilled with his opening-night performance, snagging just three passes for 19 yards. He was also Wyoming's lowest-rated run blocker at 38.8, according to Pro Football Focus.

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"Personally, I don't think I played up to the standard I wanted to last week -- and even today," the Kansas product said Saturday afternoon, just minutes after the Cowboys knocked off visiting Northern Iowa, 31-7. "There was a lot that I felt like I left out there."

Akron paid plenty of attention to the 6-foot-5, 251-pound tight end, Wyoming's second-year head coach Jay Sawvel said, opening the door for wideout Chris Durr Jr., who hauled in 146 yards worth of passes, including a dagger late in the fourth quarter.

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The sophomore speedster plucked the bubble screen from Kaden Anderson out in the right flat, planted his foot in the ground and sprinted 35 yards into the end zone inside InfoCision Stadium, finally putting the finishing touches on a 10-0 victory.

"J-Mike Gyllenborg has got to be more involved in certain things," Sawvel said, adding he has a call list of plays intended for him and Durr. "... The other night, some of the things that were on the Chris Durr list were kind of hitting, and, you know, doing better for us than some of the other things."

Gyllenborg may have been a "decoy" in the Rubber City, but in the Cowboys' home opener he was Anderson's top target, grabbing quick throws -- all of his yards came after the catch -- and making plays with his legs.

He was the top-rated offensive player Saturday, per PFF, carrying a grade of 88.3.

Late in the second quarter, he found a soft spot in the zone and began frantically flailing his arms near the goal line. Anderson found him for the six-yard touchdown pass, giving Wyoming a 14-7 lead.

His final stats line: five catches, 65 yards.

Gyllenborg was on the field for 16 run plays on Saturday. His rating rocketed up to 56.7 as the Cowboys galloped for 229 yards on 33 attempts (Wyoming was credited with 189 rushing yards due to minus-40 yards in sacks). That's an average of nearly seven yards per rush.

"Whatever is asked of me, I want to do it to the best of my ability," Gyllenborg said. "I think something that will come along with this offense getting better, moving forward is, you know, pushing the ball downfield. You know, getting the ball in playmakers' hands and doing stuff after the catch.

"Our running backs have been great, and all that sort of stuff, but I think we're going to be looking to improve in all areas of the offense."

Here are some other PFF Grades from the Cowboys' win over Northern Iowa:

64.7

Before Kaden Anderson was forced to the sideline -- and eventually to the hospital for further testing -- late in the third quarter of Saturday's victory, he earned that rating above. The sophomore signal caller, whose status for next week's game against Utah is still unknown, completed 17-of-23 throws (70.8%) for 167 yards and two touchdowns. One of those was a picture-perfect 21-yard over-the-shoulder heave to Durr in the north end zone inside War Memorial Stadium. Where Anderson got dinged, fair or not, was for the fumble that occurred when he took that direct shot to the midsection from an untouched cornerback blitz. He was also sacked another time for a loss of 15 yards.

83.1

That is Landon Sims' final grade. Anderson's back-up was on the field for 18 snaps, leading four offensive drives to close out this win. He completed all three of his throws, including a 10-yard strike on a roll out to his left, for 23 yards. He added eight more on the ground and wasn't sacked one time.

6

That's how many times both Gyllenborg and Durr were targeted against the Panthers. The latter hauled in four of those for 54 yards and a score. Gyllenborg, of course, finished with five grabs for 59 yards and a touchdown.

82.8

Samuel "Tote" Harris was the highest-ranked running back in this one, rushing for 61 yards, 31 of which came after contact, on eight attempts. The rookie from the San Antonio area also showed off his speed in the fourth quarter, darting through the line and into the end zone from 18 yards out. He finished with two "explosive plays" -- a run of 10 yards or more. Only Terron Kellman and Sam Scott were better with three. The latter added an 18-yard score of his own. In fact, 49 of Scott's 58 yards also came after contact. That will happen when you are tipping the scales at nearly 230. For Harris, who is 40 pounds lighter, this is an encouraging sign.

87.2

Nate Geiger had a big bounce-back game Saturday, going from a pass-blocking grade of 57.2 on 35 snaps at Akron to a team-best 87.2 on 25 dropbacks against Northern Iowa. The sophomore left tackle didn't allow a sack, a hurry or a hit. His bookend, right tackle Rex Johnsen, saw the most-dramatic drop from Week 1 to 2. He landed a solid score of 82 against the Zips, keeping Anderson clean all night. Edge rusher Owen Ostroski wasn't as kind, finishing his day with two tackles and that 15-yard sack. Johnsen also allowed two hurries. His grade dropped to 41.2.

80.4

Give it up for tight end Justin Erb. The senior tight end from Wakefield, Neb., was the best run blocker for the Cowboys against UNI, capping his day with a score of 80.4. It was an Erb block, sealing the linebacker, that sprung Harris' 18-yard dash to the end zone in the fourth quarter. Erb also caught his first-career pass in this one. That went for nine yards.

91.2

There goes that man again. After leading the Cowboys' to that 10-0 win at Akron with an overall PFF grade of 90.3 -- the best mark on the defense -- Brayden Johnson once again was at the top of the leaderboard in Week 2. The senior linebacker, who spent the previous three seasons at Oklahoma Baptist, landed a 91.2 against the Panthers, finishing with six tackles on 36 defensive snaps. He shared the load this week (a lopsided score allows for those types of things), seeing his play count nearly cut in half. Fellow linebackers Enoch Sibomana (90.5) and Evan Eller (81.2) were No. 2 and 3, respectively. The latter picked off a Matthew Schecklman pass at the goal line with just 0:32 remaining in the third quarter.

28

Last Thursday night in Ohio, 22 players got on the field for snaps against the Zips. That showed the depth of this new-look unit, which features nine new starters. With the gap growing on the scoreboard Saturday against the Panthers, 28 saw action, including Wyoming natives and defensive tackles Cody Crawford (Casper) and Tegen Seeds (Douglas). True freshman cornerback Tyson Deen, nickel corner Caleb Merritt, defensive end Kevin Sjogren and safety David Leonard also saw minutes. That's always a best-case scenario when facing an FCS opponent.

13

That's the number of sacks (2 - Ben Florentine and Andrew Johnson), hits (1 - Chisom Ifeanyi) and hurries (10) the Cowboys' pass rush finished with on 29 dropbacks. That is a big dip from the 22 this unit had in Akron, which included four sacks, six hits and a dozen hurries.

2

That's the number of missed tackles Wyoming had in the win over UNI, seven less than in the Week-1 shutout. Edge rusher Esaia Bogar, who saw his first action Saturday and is playing with a large cast on his right hand due to offseason surgery, was credited with one whiff. Safety Jaden DaCosta was the other culprit. He made up for that, though, blocking a punt late in the first half that turned into another three points just before the buzzer.

73.3

Desman Hearns was the Cowboys' best cover man in the secondary on Saturday, allowing just one catch on two targets. The junior nickelback only allowed three yards after the catch and snagged an easy interception off the right arm of Scheklman on the Panthers' initial drive of the third quarter. Only Brayden Johnson (78.6) and Sibomana (75.4) were better in coverage.

91.6

As previously mentioned, DaCosta blocked a punt, the first time that has happened in this program since Ryan Marquez pulled that off against Tulsa back in 2022. The Portland State transfer was on the field for 15 special-teams snaps -- two on kick return, five on kickoff coverage and eight on punt return. UNI had one punt return for nine yards and a pair of kickoff returns for 48 yards, with a long of 28.

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