San Jose State Notebook: Wyoming Staff ‘Puzzled’ By Slow Starts

LARAMIE -- Why has this Wyoming offense struggled so mightily in the first halves of games this fall?

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That's a question I posed to Jay Sawvel after Saturday night's hail-covered home loss to UNLV.

"I'm puzzled by it, in a sense," Wyoming's second-year head coach said, in part, after the 31-17 setback, one in which that unit turned the ball over three times -- twice just outside the red zone -- and handed the ball over on downs on two more instances.

There were also four punts. All of them were nearly blocked. A pair, as you know, were, and promptly returned for touchdowns.

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* What on Earth Happened to Wyoming's Punt Protection?

* Cowboys Suffer Hail of a Letdown in 31-17 Loss to Unbeaten Rebels

* Rants and Raves: UNLV Edition

* LIVE FILE: UNLV 31, Wyoming 17

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* Know Wyoming's Foe: UNLV Rebels

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After giving Sawvel a chance to watch the film, I asked a similar question: Is anything glaring? His team has just 26 combined points over the first two quarters of five games, 17 of which came in a victory over Northern Iowa.

"We're looking at every level of it, right? Is it a player thing? The players know, after a couple games, we're saying, 'Hey, we need to start fast. We need to start fast,'" he said. "So, they want to start fast, and sometimes, I think, you get out of character, out of rhythm, or some people press because they're wanting to start fast."

Sawvel said the offensive staff is also digging into the scheme and what they are asking the players to do early in games. Is the defense giving different looks that weren't anticipated? Everything is on the table.

"We need to get going, offensively," he continued. "We can't be sitting with, you know, three point first halves and things of that nature, and we all know that. That's something that we've got to get addressed and corrected."

Sawvel admitted he's puzzled, offensive coordinator Jay Johnson said he "doesn't have an answer."

"We got to keep working at it, because we have opportunities there," he added. "We've got to fine tune things and make sure we, as coaches, are putting them in a good spot to be successful. And then the players got to execute it."

In a 37-20 road loss at Colorado, Wyoming stumbled through one of those three-point halves only to come out of the locker room and march 75 yards on just four plays. Quarterback Kaden Anderson connected with Eric Richardson on a 41-yard touchdown pass to finally get the visitors in the end zone.

The Cowboys would add two more scoring drives on their final four possessions of the night.

Improvement.

This offense essentially did the same exact thing last Saturday night, rolling up 75 yards on five snaps. A 36-yard screen pass to Sam Scott lit the spark. Wideout Deion DeBlanc took a jet sweep around the right side and scampered 12 yards into the end zone three plays later.

Also like in the contest in Boulder, Anderson and Co. put together an efficient, double-digit play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

What gives?

"I think it's a little bit of everything, at times," Johnson continued. "You know, if it's my play call or, you know, a couple of the film examples you saw, if those are handled a little bit differently and the execution is where it needs to be, then does that completely influence what's next? I think it all kind of comes into play, you know, and then also a little bit, when you get in the games, at the beginning of the game, sometimes it's a little bit of figuring out the match and what their plan is, too, because, you know, they change a little bit, too, and as they prepare and all that. So, I think it's a little bit of all of that."

Insert shrug emoji.

Here are some other news and notes from Sawvel's Monday press conference:

* Will John Michael Gyllenborg finally return to the field this Saturday evening against visiting San Jose State? Great question. If Sawvel knows, he isn't saying. The senior tight end has been dealing with a nagging right thigh and has been sidelined over the last 11 quarters. "I don't have any percentage of availability on him right now," he said. "We'll just kind of have to see, in that situation."

* Chris Durr Jr., Wyoming's leading receiver with 297 yards on 25 receptions, didn't play in the second half against UNLV. Sawvel said he suffered an "upper-body" injury. Will he be green-lighted against the Spartans?  "Durr, I think, will be OK, but we'll see," he said. "You know, I saw him in the weight room a little bit ago and he said he felt OK. But, you know, sometimes what players tell you, and what really happens when they start moving around and getting bumped, is a little bit different." Safety Andrew Johnson status is still unclear. He has been in concussion protocol since Saturday night. Samuel Harris was also injured against UNLV. Sawvel said the rookie running back will "be fine."

* Jake Wilson will not play this fall. The sophomore tight end has had a bad run of luck this year, beginning when doctors found a cyst in his knee. After that operation, an infection developed. Now, Sawvel said, he's undergone an operation to have scar tissue removed. Wilson will receive a medical redshirt.

* Why haven't we seen more of Sam Scott? After carrying the ball 29 times for 132 yards in the opener at Akron, the senior running back has just 31 attempts for 136 rushing yards over the last four outings. Harris has been the first back on the field in each outing. Scott has also provided a big boost to the passing game, snagging six balls for 93 yards. A touchdown grab last Saturday was wiped off the board thanks to an offensive pass interference call. "Sam Scott did do a good job the other night," Sawvel said. "I think Sam has a big role in our offense, regardless of whether he starts the game or doesn't, or anything that way ...  The other night he kind of got the hot hand going for us a little bit, and so we need to keep going with that."

* You are probably still thinking to yourself: How in the world did the Cowboys give up two touchdowns on blocked punts against the Rebels? Sawvel's analysis of what transpired on those botched attempts didn't change over the weekend. Read about that right HERE.

* Want to hear from the horse's mouth the state of this Cowboys' offense? Jay Johnson Monday sat down with 7220sports.com for a Q&A. You can read that right HERE.

* Kaden Anderson asked the fanbase Saturday night to keep the faith in him. He said he comes from a powerhouse high school -- Southlake Carroll -- that isn't used to losing. The sophomore signal caller said he was pissed off and promised to "get better." Does his head coach believe that can still happen? "Kaden is doing a good job, right? And there's a lot there that I think that Kaden will do a much better job of," Sawvel said. "Can Kaden be better than what he's been in a lot of situations? Yes. Kaden will be the first one to tell you that. Do we all have 100% faith in Kaden? Yes." You can read all about the young QB and his early struggles right HERE.

* Jake Davies struggled mightily in his first start of the season, earning a Pro Football Focus grade of 30.8, nearly 10 points lower than the next teammate. He earned a 9.9 (out of 100) in the pass-blocking category, allowing a team-worst six QB hurries from the right tackle spot. "Jake's got to improve. Jake's got to get better," Sawvel said. "Jake's better than he was a year ago, you know, and again, it's one of those things in the offensive line, at times, when you lose a guy, the next guy up, we got to have him ready to go. We got to do certain things to help him in situations. You know, our next people behind him are younger than him -- and he's a redshirt sophomore." Nate Geiger, the team's starting left tackle, suffered a season-ending ACL tear against Colorado. Davies replaced him in Boulder, promptly giving up a pressure and a sack -- that went for a safety -- in just 24 pass-blocking snaps. Rex Johnsen moved from right tackle to left before the UNLV game.

* San Jose State enters Saturday night's contest winners of two of its last three outings, including a 35-28 home victory over New Mexico last Friday night. Quarterback Walker Eget is completing nearly 62% of his throws and already has 1,521 yards through the air. Danny Scudero is responsible for 665 of those. He leads the nation in receiving yards after five weeks "It's a challenge. It's a big, big challenge," Sawvel said. "They're very, very good offensively. They have a very good system. They understand the system really well. We're going to have to play very well."

* San Jose State (2-3, 1-0) and Wyoming (2-3, 0-1) will meet Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Spartans have won six of the last seven meetings against the Cowboys and the overall series is all tied up at 7-7.

* The Roaring Repeater Podcast will air again this Tuesday with Cody Tucker and Jared Newland behind the mic inside our Cheyenne studios. Make sure to watch our social media feed, where we'll be asking you, the fans, for any questions you may have before the home opener. Here is last week's episode.

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