What on Earth Happened to Wyoming’s Punt Protection?

LARAMIE -- Google, has there ever been two punts blocked and returned for a touchdown in a college football game?

Why yes, just three weeks ago Lamar accomplished that feat in a 31-7 victory over Texas Southern. On that very same day, Rutgers pulled off that same miracle in a 60-10 rout of Norfolk State.

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Most famously, Auburn stunned in-state rival Alabama in the final minutes of a 17-16 win in the 1972 version of the Iron Bowl.

There's now another instance to add to this exclusive list.

Twice on a hail-covered Saturday night in Laramie, both times in the first half, a UNLV gunner blew around the edge untouched and all but took the football off the right foot of Wyoming punter Bart Edmiston.

Jaden Bradley, all 6-foot-4 of him, got his paw on a punt with 6:29 remaining in the first quarter. Fellow wideout Kayden McGee scooped up the loose change around the 18-yard line and scampered into the end zone.

This duo wasn't done quite yet.

With a little over a minute left in the first half, it was McGee this time racing in off the left edge and fully extending to get both hands on the ball. You'll never guess who was right there to pick it up off the icy turf?

Yes, Bradley.

The Rebels' leading receiver also coasted in for six, crossing the white stripe and celebrating by tossing the ball to the Cowboy fan at the railing. The visitors, who play in the dome in the desert, took a commanding 24-3 lead into the locker room.

"Our special teams were huge tonight and the conditions were tough," UNLV's first-year head coach Dan Mullen said after the 31-17 victory that vaulted the Rebels to a perfect 5-0 on the season. "You have to win with offense, defense and special teams, and our special teams certainly won us the game."

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The Rebels blocked five punts last season, led by wide receiver Ricky White, who was responsible for an FBS-best four of those. Wonder why the Seattle Seahawk was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year in 24?

New coaching staff, same results.

How could this happen?

Jay Sawvel said the kick-to-snap time was way too slow, for one. Wyoming's second-year head coach also added, the direction of the spiral actually took Edmiston into the rush.

"We have to coach that scenario far better, and we've got to do a better job with that," he said. "I spend a lot of time working with the punters and the snapper situation and everything that way, and our location and our mechanics have got to be better and cleaner. That's what cost us on those two."

Sawvel said the operation time on punts in the opener at Akron hovered around 1.9 seconds. Tonight, he added, the block before halftime was timed at 2.14.

"There's your issue," he said. "We gotta be better."

You might have noticed that Wyoming's trio of "personal protectors" barely budged on that play despite the Rebels sending just two outside rushers.

Why aren't those guys stepping over and throwing a block?

"They have internal responsibilities," Sawvel said of the three players who stand directly in front of the punter. "With the one where they bailed out right before the half -- and I do think (Lucas) Samsula could have come out and got it bounced out to the edge -- they have an internal responsibility, too.

"... And that's why I feel for our players. Those two breakdowns really are, that's a big chunk of the game right there, you know? So, we have to get better with it, and we have to address it."

The first block came right after the Rebels' first touchdown drive of the night. Wyoming quarterback Kaden Anderson fumbled on the ensuing drive when a wet ball slipped from his right hand. The visitors quickly turned that into three more points.

It was a night filled with miscues for the Cowboys, none more so than the two special teams touchdowns.

"You know, those two punt blocks really hurt us," said Anderson, who finished this outing completing 25-of-46 throws for 254 yards and a touchdown. He also heaved up a costly pick deep in UNLV territory late in the third quarter. "That's just a frustrating loss. So, we gotta do better."

Tyce Westland the Wyoming defense limited the Rebels to just 255 yards of total offense, including only 102 through the air. Aside from a long scoring drive in the first quarter and another midway through the fourth, that unit forced five straight punts at one point.

The soft-spoken senior agrees, the two gaffs on punt protection were just too costly.

"I mean, it did hurt a lot," said Westland, who finished with three tackles and a sack from the defensive end spot. "I've always heard if you score on defense, score on special teams, it brings the percentage way up for your chance to win.

"So, we kind of just shot ourselves in the foot there."

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