Three Keys To a Wyoming Cowboys Victory vs. UNLV

LARAMIE -- Dan Mullen took care of some honey do's and got to know the kids again over UNLV's bye week.

The head coach, who always seems to be sporting a million-dollar smile, let the local media take the reins of his Monday press conference.

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The questions ranged from his team's ability to overcome adversity -- three times at Miami (Ohio) the Rebels trailed by 14 points -- to the game plan to get his defense back on track to the freedom he gives quarterback Anthony Colandrea to check in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage.

The answers? He likes his team's composure, coaching needs to improve and, it depends on the play call, respectively.

Mullen also gave Wyoming's defense its flowers, calling that new-look unit "stout," "Physical" and added a self-inflicted hiccup could lead to a complete shutdown.

Is unbeaten UNLV for real?

We're all about to find out Saturday night inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

1. PASS THE TEST

If there was ever a chance for this Wyoming passing attack to get going, this is it.

UNLV ranks 10th out of 12 Mountain West programs, allowing more than 275 yards per game through the air. That secondary has already given up seven touchdowns through four games. Oddly, though, the Rebels have also picked off eight passes.

Feast or famine.

Kaden Anderson and Co. haven't exactly been tearing it up in the throw game. The sophomore signal caller is completing just 55.1% of his passes and has five touchdown tosses.

"Clunky" would be a good work to describe what has transpired throughout the first month of the 2025 campaign.

Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said this week Anderson has strung together some of his best practices to date. Will it translate to the field Saturday night? The hope is the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Texan can build upon a strong second half in Boulder during the Cowboys last outing.

After starting just 4-of-11 for 49 yards, Anderson connected on 50% of his throws over the final two quarters. That included 127 more yards and two touchdown strikes, including a 41-yarder to Eric Richardson.

Emergence like that from some playmakers on the outside certainly wouldn't hurt.

"I think that it's reasonable for us to expect, where we are in the program, that when we get several weeks from now, Jaylen Sargent has all of a sudden popped, and that John Mike Gyllenborg, all of a sudden we're getting big gains," Sawvel added. "I think those are reasonable things. I see it coming with Eric Richardson. I see it coming with Jaylan Bean, at times. I see those guys on a rise."

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2. CORRAL COLANDREA

Wyoming has struggled mightily when it comes to facing a true dual-threat quarterback.

Devon Dampier accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and two touchdowns through the air in a 31-6 loss to then-No. 20 Utah. Kaidon Salter was even better the following Saturday night inside Folsom Field, torching the visiting secondary for 304 yards and three scores. Colorado's signal caller added another touchdown on the ground along with 86 yards -- the same number Dampier's legs rolled up a week prior.

This isn't a new problem, either.

Dampier, you might recall, did his best prime Michael Vick impression last November as the starter in Albuquerque: 207 rushing yards, 12 carries, three touchdowns. His final stat line also included 164 passing yards and another score.

Arizona State's Sam Leavitt was a menace. So was BYU's Jake Retzlaff, San Jose State's Walker Eget and Chandler Morris of North Texas.

How do you contain these athletes?

"Just do your job," Wyoming's defensive tackles coach Deonte Gibson said bluntly. "Not only are those guys very talented, but they exploit really bad defensive mistakes. If you're out of your gap and if you're not in the proper rush lane when you're rushing that quarterback, I mean, you're going to put yourself in really bad issues."

That's Colandrea in a nutshell.

The 6-foot, 205-pound Virginia transfer is not only completing better than 72% of his passes, he has more rushing attempts than All-Mountain West running back Jai'Den Thomas, rolling up 229 yards and a touchdown on 46 carries. Colandrea and Co. have carved up their first four opponents, averaging 450.5 yards of total offense per outing.

In last season's finale, Wyoming put the clamps down on Washington State's dynamic quarterback John Mateer.

Aside from a 37-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams, the visitors limited the Cougars' passing game to just 145 yards and 15 completions. Mateer, who is now at Oklahoma, did pick up 56 yards with his legs. That total, however, came on 18 attempts. The Cowboys limited him to 3.1 yards per and forced a critical fumble just before the half.

Meteer wasn't just your average Joe. He accounted for 44 touchdowns in '24.

Duplicate that November performance in Pullman and the Cowboys could hand the Rebels their first loss of the year.

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3. WIN THE THIRD

There aren't many better teams in the nation when it comes to third-down success -- both on offense and defense -- than the visitors from Sin City.

UNLV's defense, for all of its early deficiencies, is No. 1 in the FBS when it comes to getting off the field, holding opponents to 21.7% (10-of-46).

Sound familiar? It should.

The Cowboys defense was also tops in the country last fall despite being statistically one of the worst units in college football.

Only Air Force has been better than Colandrea and the fellas on that money down. The Rebels are converting better than 52% of the time (25-of-48). In a 41-38 victory at Miami (Ohio) in the last outing, the Rebels were successful on 12-of-17 third-down attempts. In wins over Sam Houston State and UCLA, that total number was 10-of-19.

On the defensive side, the Bearkats and Redhawks were a combined 2-of-20 on third. The Bruins also converted just 3-of-13.

Dominant stuff.

Wyoming? Not so much.

The offense is clicking at a 38.2% rate (21-of-55). That's the eighth-best mark in the 12-team Mountain West. Defensively, the Cowboys rank ninth in the league, allowing 22 conversions on 55 attempts (40%).

In back-to-back losses to the Utes and Buffs, Jay Johnson's offense was just 8-of-28.