Wyoming Football: Good, Bad and Ugly of 2025
LARAMIE -- Hindsight is an amazing thing.
Jay Sawvel said last week he regrets not hiring Christian Taylor to become his offensive coordinator when he landed the head job at Wyoming in 2024.
The two chatted about the playcalling gig, but, in the end, Sawvel went with Jay Johnson, who had a bevy of experience at a number of Power-4 stops like Georgia, Colorado and Michigan State.
Johnson's tenure on the high plains was a rocky one, again carrying on the unwanted tradition of ineffective execution and poor results. Rock bottom came last October in the form of an embarrassing 24-21 road loss to Front Range rival Air Force.
The Falcons, uncharacteristically, featured one of the nation's worst defenses. The visitors managed just 409 yards of total offense, including just 211 through the air. The final straw happened near the goal line early in the fourth quarter with a chance to salt that one away.
Instead of pounding the ball three straight times from 3-yard line, Johnson, with no interference from Sawvel, trotted his back-up tight end to take a shotgun snap. Surely Evan Svoboda was going to tuck the ball and run, right? After all, he was the Cowboys' starter the previous season, sporting a completion percentage of just 49.1 to go along with five touchdown tosses and eight interceptions.
Nope.
Svoboda attempted to heave a pass in the direction of his running mate John Michael Gyllenborg. Safety Roger Jones Jr. wasn't fooled, reeling in the wobbler and falling into the end zone. Instead of Wyoming taking a commanding 21-14 lead with less than nine minutes remaining, Air Force marched 80 yards on eight plays, culminating in a 9-yard touchdown jaunt courtesy of Kade Frew.
That drive took 4:03 off the clock. Short, by Troy Calhoun's standards.
Kaden Anderson, Wyoming's starting signal caller, would throw a pick on the ensuing possession and the Falcons would boot through the eventual game-winning field goal from 40 yards out.
Johnson was demoted to an analyst role the following day, replaced by wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight.
The offense responded with a 28-point outburst in a rout of Border War rival Colorado State two weeks later.
It was a mirage.
Wyoming scored just 24 points over its last four outings. All were setbacks, making it two straight seasons under Sawvel without a postseason berth. He has since said the running game needs creativity. Consistency is a must under center, the most-important position on the field. The Cowboys averaged just 16 points per game, ranking 129th in the nation out of 134 eligible programs.
MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:
* Sawvel Seeking Consistency From Kicking, Punting Operation
* Is There Really an Open QB Competition in Laramie?
* Jack Dunkley is 'Mentally Wired' to do Damage of the Edge
* 5 Things I'll Be Watching During UW Spring Football
* Evan Eller Has Reaper the Benefits of Self-Imposed Redshirt
* The 'Governor' Will Not Be Seeking Re-Election
* Former UW Safety Andrew Wingard Inks 1-Year Deal With Arizona
* UW Athletics, Cowboy Joe Club Launch 'Step Forward' Campaign
* Former Three-Star Lineman Getting Early Jump on Process
* New Wyoming Wideout Eager to Prove Himself at FBS Level
* Former CSU Safety Inks With Border War Rival Wyoming
Sawvel said he will bring proficiency to a unit that finished the 2025 campaign, averaging just 28 minutes of possession. Out of 12 games, 11 times the Cowboys' fell on the wrong side of 30 minutes. In that blowout of the Rams, Wyoming finished with just 31.
That will happen when you turn the ball over 18 times and convert less than 34% of third-down opportunities.
Taylor also plans to add an explosive element, something this program has also been severely lacking. During that late four-game skid, that offense managed just 11 rushes of 10 yards or more and the same number of 15-yard completions in the passing game.
The Cowboys turned the ball over six times in that time frame, including five interceptions. That's not even factoring in the five turnovers on downs.
"There's a big part of me that's glad that I didn't," Sawvel said of hiring Taylor in '22. "Him, being in an NFL situation, defensively, and seeing what presents issues to defenses. You know, there's a lot of things we've already had to spend a little bit of time defensively on, like, OK, how are we going to adjust to this and this that we've done against our offense just in walk-throughs, in the spring.
"I think that's a good thing."
Taylor spent the previous two seasons as a defensive coach for the Buffalo Bills. Before that, he served as the offensive coordinator at his alma mater, William and Mary, where he recruited Wyoming's newest signal caller Tyler Hughes. Taylor also spent time on offensive staffs at San Diego State, Michigan, San Diego and Illinois Wesleyan.
Let's one last time take a look at some of the good, the bad and the ugly from last year's 4-8 season:
45: That's where Wyoming ranked in overall defense, allowing just 344.2 yards per game. Aaron Bohl's unit ranked fifth in the Mountain West behind New Mexico, Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State. The latter three on July 1 will officially join the reimagined Pac-12 Conference.
31: The Cowboys' defense certainly didn't have a lot of trouble getting off the field, limiting opponents to a 35% conversion rate on that all-important down. Wyoming landed fourth in the league in this category. Oddly, Bohl's bunch ranked No. 114 on fourth down, giving up 11 conversions on 17 attempts.
2: Only Ohio State was more proficient at keeping the opposing team off the scoreboard inside the 20-yard line. Wyoming's opponents entered the red zone 32 times, scoring just 22 times, including 17 touchdowns.
4: That's the number of blocked kicks the Cowboys finished with in 2025. Only three teams -- Penn State, Texas Tech and Toledo -- finished with more at five.
2: Avert your eyes. This is the number of blocked punts allowed, both coming against UNLV and both resulting in touchdowns in a 14-point home loss to the Rebels. Only four other teams in the nation gave up more.
122: That's where the Cowboys land when it comes to completion percentage. Anderson connected on just 56.3% of his throws and tossed 10 interceptions. In limited action, freshman Mason Drube sat at 52.6, completing just 20-of-38 throws.
78: Wyoming got off to a rough start in the penalty department, but rebounded nicely throughout the season, committing an average of 6.5 flags per game.
121: Kickoff return defense was an issue last fall with the Cowboys allowing an average of 25.4 yards per return. While that unit didn't give up a touchdown, far too many kids -- especially at 7,220 feet -- were not reaching the end zone.
32: That's where the Cowboys land in punt-return yardage, aided by a 73-yard touchdown return from Deion DeBlanc in a 35-28 home win over San Jose State last October. Wyoming averages nearly 12 yards per.
111: Wyoming's passing attack was once again one of the nation's worst, averaging just 183 yards per game. Only SDSU, Nevada and Air Force were worse.
14: The Cowboys' secondary was stingy, giving up just 175.5 yards through the air per outing. Only SDSU and Fresno State were better in the Mountain West. Wyoming needs to replace cornerbacks Tyrese Boss (Arizona) and Markie Grant (Utah State), who both left in the transfer portal. Dainsus Miller exhausted his eligibility.
130: Teams didn't score against Wyoming inside the 20. The Cowboys returned the favor on offense, managing just 17 scores (13 touchdowns and four field goals) on 25 red-zone attempts.
99: A power ground game was a staple of this offense during Craig Bohl's decade-long tenure on the sidelines in Laramie. That hasn't been the case of late. Led by the talented Samuel "Tote" Harris and his 558 yards on the ground, the Cowboys only managed to rack up an average of 131.7 per game.
112: If there was a real knock on the Wyoming defense it was in the sack department. That unit, as a whole, brought down the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage just 18 times. Only 5.5 of those came courtesy of a defensive end.
94: That's where the Cowboys ranked in turnover margin, finishing at a minus-3.
(Have you downloaded our free app? You can do that right here. Have you signed up for our daily newsletter? We got you covered right here. Questions, concerns? Shoot us an email at cody@7220sports.com)
'The Governor' Logan Wilson
More From 7220 Sports
