UNC Notebook: Pokes Still Grumbling Over Self-Inflicted Miscues

LARAMIE -- The 24-hour rule isn't a suggestion. It's also easier said than practiced.

It's been two days since Wyoming dropped its season opener in Fort Collins. That 35-13 setback still hasn't been digested by all inside that locker room despite the page being turned to Saturday's home opener against Northern Colorado.

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Jay Sawvel pointed to a number of critical mistakes postgame that he said cost his team against Colorado State. Now that he's seen the concrete evidence on film, Wyoming's head coach hasn't changed his stance. In fact, he found even more missed opportunities.

Here's the first one:

On a 4th-and-3 with the ball resting at the Rams' 21-yard line, quarterback Tyler Hughes hurried his unit to the line before reeling in the shotgun snap and taking his three-step drop. He zeroed in on wideout Eric Richardson, who was open on the quick slant.

Then came the boom.

Defensive back D'Mon Brinson, unblocked off the left side, hit Hughes in the back just as he stepped into the throw. That errant toss floated right into the arms of Jaylen King.

What happened?

Sawvel said they rushed the play in hopes the offense could catch CSU off guard. Instead, that speed didn't give the Cowboys' offensive line time to identify where the pressure was likely to come from.

"One of the things I love about (offensive coordinator Christian) Taylor is he takes accountability for himself, too. He said that was a bad call on him," starting center Jason Maciejczak said on Tuesday. "But, you know, no matter what he calls, we need to make it work. We've known all week that if they brought that blitz, he was going to be hot.

"It was on us for not flipping the protection."

Here's another example:

On Hughes' second interception of the afternoon, Richardson was again the intended target. Only this time, the speedy senior slipped coming out of his break and fell to the turf. Cornerback CJ Blocker was in position to snag the third-down pick, which eventually led to the Rams' second touchdown of the first half.

Sawvel said Richardson had two options on that route. He chose the safe one that would've given the visitors a first down.

"If we made the right read on the route (gone inside), we might have about a 40-yard play on that," he added.

And here's the most maddening example of them all:

This was the middle portion of a nightmare turning point for Wyoming Saturday. On the previous snap, Hughes rolled to his right and threw a perfect strike to a sliding Charlie Coenen, converting a 3rd-and-16. Instead of lining up inside CSU's red zone, trailing by just one, flags littered the field near the original  line of scrimmage.

It wasn't a hold. It wasn't illegal hands to the face. It wasn't a clip. Nope, it was an ineligible player down field. Starting right tackle Braylon Jenkins was the guilty party.

The video above shows what happened next.

With the Cowboys attempting to at least get into field-goal range to take a third-quarter lead, running back Nico Hamilton didn't watch the ball all the way into his hands and it promptly bounced into the hands of linebacker Oumar Diomande.

CSU signal caller Hauss Hejny threw a 57-yard touchdown strike two plays later.

It was a back-breaker.

Sawvel echoed his sentiments from Saturday night: if Jenkins doesn't get penalized, he said, a score -- and win -- was on the horizon.

"What's frustrating to me is with five minutes and 30 seconds to go in the third quarter," he reiterated. "If you had asked me, 'What do you think's about to happen?' I'm like, 'We're going to score, we're going to go for two and we're going to get that. We're going to be up 21-14, and we're going to win this game either 28-14 or 24-14.'

"That's what I would have said at that point in time. Then, all of a sudden, we just: boom, boom, boom made mistakes that you can't make in in those situations."

Here's some more news and noted from Monday's press conference:

* While Sawvel was mainly focused on the offensive issues, he has already addressed the defensive ones. One of those being caught in a "cover zero" defense that allowed CSU to make an adjustment at the line and perfectly execute a wide receiver screen that went for a 24-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Middle linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz said postgame he should've checked out of that coverage. Aaron Bohl Monday said that wasn't even an option -- then. "We've got that built in now," the Cowboys' defensive coordinator said. "That's one of those things when (Sawvel) talks about adjustments that the outside people won't notice. We've had that in for years. You always get nervous with a young group, but there are certain things that you just have to always have, and that's one of the things. I just need to make sure I always have (the option)."

* Wyoming was 0-for-8 on third down Saturday night in Fort Collins. No, that fact isn't lost on Sawvel. Though his offense needed on averaged 9.2 yards for a conversion -- a 3rd-and-21 and two 3rd-and15's certainly didn't help -- he said that unit needed to hit some "explosives." That means a rush for more than 10 yards or a pass over 15. The Cowboys finished with just eight of those in the opener, none, obviously, coming on that money down. "We need to stay out of those situations," he said. "There's a couple where we have to execute better. Obviously, we had a big third-down conversion that got taken away with a penalty. It was a good call. That was a big deal." CSU's new-look defense also had plenty to do with the third-down struggles. That group missed just four tackles all afternoon.

* There are videos circulating on social media of Wyoming defensive tackle Jayden Williams taking down possibly two CSU students who were running on the field postgame to celebrate. Sawvel said he has seen the evidence and it has been addressed "in-house." He went on to say, "Obviously, we don't condone that: from players to fans or anything from that standpoint. That'll be something that we address team-wide, as well. That's not the way that we're going to operate." Sawvel was also asked if this is an "example of the dangers" of fans running on the field while the losing team is still out there. He said field rushes are part of the college game and acknowledged that happens frequently in Laramie. An easy fix to the issue inside Canvas Stadium, he added, would be to switch sidelines so the visitors can walk right into their locker room without having to cross paths with fans. "They could put us on the other sideline, and we could come right out our tunnel, and we'd be right back in our tunnel," he said.

* The injury report isn't an extensive one, Sawvel said. Edge rusher Donnie Wingate (shoulder) is back at practice but is limited. He could play Saturday against UNC. Running back Markell Holman (ribs) finished with just one carry for 14 yards in his UW debut. He is sore, but should be good to go," Sawvel added. Offensive guard Chandler Donaway (unknown) is practicing but his situation is "still up in the air." Samuel "Tote" Harris missed time in the second half of the CSU game with hamstring cramping and is also going to be ready for the home opener.

* Don't be surprised if Wyoming's starting corner on Saturday are freshmen Kendall Griffin and Therman "Boogie" Williams. The duo was on the field for a combined 65 plays in Fort Collins and allowed just three receptions for 15 yards. "You'll see them play a lot," Bohl said, adding four of the Rams' touchdown passes Saturday were not the cornerbacks' fault. "I don't know how it's going to shake out exactly, with how practice goes, but they're on a good trajectory. They keep earning more playing time."

* Wyoming's offense managed just 273 yards Saturday, only 130 of which came though the air. Those numbers can be a bit deceiving, Sawvel said. That unit ran only 55 plays, averaging better than 5.2 per. That number was up over six in the first half. Again, he added, it was the critical mistakes that made the difference. "I'm pretty optimistic of where we can get to, offensively," he said. "We can be substantially better than what we've been around here for a while. But, I think what Saturday showed us is that we still have a lot of growth and work to do on that side of the ball."

* Offensive linemen Giovanni Panozzo, Kalvin Janssen and Maciejczak all made their first FBS start last Saturday. Josiah Petaia was also on the field for 46 snaps. Sawvel said it looked like they "belonged" and there were no instances of questioning whether or not they could move the pile. "There's growth that we're going to do, all the way around," he added. "There's a number of offensive players that are new, and the offensive line is new, and I think, obviously, we've got to get better."

* Esaia Bogar was impressive Saturday night. The senior defensive end tallied 11 tackles and 1.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. One of those, a take down of Hejny, technically could've been a sack. Either way, he was a problem for the Rams' offensive front. "You'd watch a practice, defensively, and go over to the offense meeting and the first thing they'd say is 'this Bogar is a pain in the ass,'" Sawvel said with a smile. "There's truth in that."

* Wyoming and UNC will meet Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will only be streamed on MW+. You can sign up for that right HERE.

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* The Roaring Repeater Podcast, fueled by Laramie Range Ford, will be produced this Tuesday. Jared Newland and myself will hit record around 2 p.m. Mountain Time. If you have any questions you want answered, send them via social media or to cody@7220sports.com.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS.COM:

* GALLERY: Wyoming, CSU Tangle in 118th Border War

* Behind the Numbers: Third-Down Thud in Opener

* Making the Grade: Wilson Pokes' Top Pass Catcher in FoCo

* Mistakes, Miscues Derail Pokes in 35-13 Border War Loss

* Rants & Raves: CSU Rams Edition

* Turning Point, Unsung Hero and What's Next for UW Football

* Final Live File: Colorado State 35, Wyoming 13

* Tuck's Take: UW Title Drought Nearing 40 ... Time to Fix That

* UW Head Coach: 'This is What College Sports is All About'

* Gear Up For Game Day: CSU Rams