Tuck’s Take: True Test Awaits This Stingy Wyoming Defense

LARAMIE -- "Did you think that was a late hit?"

The nearby officials certainly thought Evan Eller was late to the party, flagging the senior linebacker for a personal foul. To make matters worse, the yellow hanky flew on a 3rd-and-10.

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Instead of punting from near midfield, Northern Iowa running back Harrison Bey-Buie was gliding into the Tetons inside the north end zone five snaps later.

That second-quarter score was the first of the season against a stingy new-look Wyoming defense that pitched a shutout in the opener at Akron and kept the Panthers off the board over the first 21:35 of Saturday's contest.

The call itself? Questionable -- at best.

Eller barely touched running back Bill Jackson, who was initially dumped on the play by Dainsus Miller. It also appeared he couldn't hold up, already committed to assisting on the stop.

Though that one was the biggie on that 11-play, 90-yard drive, the flag-fest was already well underway.

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Instead of a three-yard loss and a potential 3rd-and-10 upcoming for Matthew Schecklman and Co. earlier in the possession, the visitors were bailed out by a holding call on defensive tackle Jayden Williams. Miller, a transfer from Mercer, was found guilty of pass interference inside the brown-and-gold paint just before Bey-Buie barreled in.

"I'm on double-secret probation until Nov. 1," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said with a grin before his postgame press conference got underway. He's referring to the public reprimand he received from the Mountain West last October after calling the officiating "Horse s---."

His team was penalized 13 times -- seven against the offense and six more times on defense -- on Saturday afternoon inside War Memorial Stadium. That's a loss of 115 yards.

To be fair, Northern Iowa wasn't unscathed. Matt Stepsis' squad drew nine flags for 70 yards.

Why all the griping after a dominating 31-7 victory? This could've -- maybe should've -- been another blanking to start the 2025 campaign.

"I'm really happy with what we've been doing defensively," Sawvel said after his defense limited the Panthers to just 65 yards of total offense over the final two quarters. "And we've got a lot of room for growth."

That's a scary thought.

Just how good has that unit been?

On 47 rushing attempts, the Cowboys have allowed 148 yards. That's an average of just over three yards per carry. The longest run of the year so far came courtesy of Akron running back Marquese Williams. That was for a grand total of 14 yards.

Explosive plays were a major issue for this defense a season ago.

In the '24 opener, Arizona State finished with 14 of those. That means throws of more than 15 and runs of 10 yards or more. Idaho finished with seven in that September upset in Laramie. BYU and North Texas combined for 22 in back-to-back blowouts.

That equated to an 0-4 mark in non-conference play.

So far this year? Wyoming has allowed just 10, only three of which happened Saturday against the Panthers.

"When you are an underdog, there are going to be plays that you need to make," Stepsis said postgame. "Sometimes those plays are hard. Maybe I got to stretch out a little bit further to make a great catch. We didn't make any of those on offense.

"... It's hard to do against a talented team."

There has so far been only three trips inside the Cowboys' red zone. Two of those have culminated in a back-breaking interception. Fifteen. That's the number of sacks tallied last fall. Through the first eight quarters of this season it stands at six.

How did a group with nine new starters gel this quickly?

"We put in a lot of time together, as far as, like, talking about communication, whether that's in the locker room, that's up in the training table, eating meals together or if it's a walk-through that goes until 9 p.m. during fall camp, we're just all on the same page and we're confident together," said Eller, who made up for his gaff with an interception at his own goal line late in the third. "We know what we have to do. We have to have good eyes, good leverage, good effort, good physicality, and we should play well.

"With new faces here, guys are going to doubt us."

I think the secret is out.

Not only have the Cowboys been dominant against the run, this youthful secondary has also been less than generous, allowing just 246 yards through the air over the first two weeks. Ben Finley and Scheklman have combined to complete just 31-of-64 throws and zero touchdowns. That duo has also tossed three picks, two coming from the right arm of the latter.

The Cowboys finished with just six interceptions last year.

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Raise your hand if you were familiar with the names Markie Grant, Tyrese Boss or Desman Hearns before this season? Ian Bell? Tyson Deen? Miller? How about safeties like Jaden DaCosta, Jones Thomas or Justin Taylor?

Liar.

What has been the biggest difference?

"We talk a lot more and our connection that we have as a group is just making it so much easier to move on the field," said Boss, a redshirt freshman who already has 10 tackles and two pass breakups under his belt. "So, I mean, us holding both teams to a low-scoring game, that's something that we have a goal to do every time."

While no one is anointing this defense quite yet -- we all know who's on deck -- this start to the season has been nothing short of masterful.

How good will Akron and Northern Iowa be when the dust settles?

The Zips were skunked again today in Lincoln. The Panthers still have dates with FCS powers No. 3 South Dakota State, No. 4 South Dakota, No. 20 Southern Illinois, No. 6 Illinois State and defending national champion and top-ranked North Dakota State.

The road gets much tougher for the Cowboys, too.

"We're going to get tested, you know, obviously, at an extreme level a week from now," Sawvel said, speaking of No. 25 Utah and its all-world signal caller Devon Dampier. "I've been really happy with not just how we're playing up front, but where we're fitting in the second and third levels, too.

"... Right now, we're playing pretty good team defense. We're getting off blocks and tackling very well. When you do those types of things, good things happen."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players