Making the Grade: Yes, It Was Really That Bad

FARGO, N.D., -- A red mark is never a good thing.

That's exactly what Wyoming earned on its final report card Saturday when it relates to the passing category.

Yes, it was as bad as the numbers would suggest. It also failed the eye test -- miserably.

Quarterback Tyler Hughes connected on only 5-of-14 throws in a lopsided 28-0 blanking inside a sold-out Fargodome. That amounted to just 52 yards through the air.

You couldn't have scripted a worse start in your wildest imagination, either.

The senior stepped up in the pocket on the opening play of the game and fired a dart over the middle. It was intended for tight end Kyle Frendt. It didn't make it that far. North Dakota State linebacker Donovan Woolen stepped in front of the toss near the Cowboys' 33-yard line and returned it inside the red zone.

Five plays later, signal caller Nathan Hayes trotted into the end zone from eight yards out, basically untouched.

"I put the team in a pretty tough position," a soft-spoken Hughes said postgame. "Can't happen. But, you know, what happened, happened. You've got to move on and just got to play the next play."

The William and Mary transfer completed just three of his first six passing attempts in the first half. He would be successful on just two others over the remaining 30 minutes of regulation. The Georgia native did virtually nothing downfield, averaging 3.7 yards per attempt.

The Cowboys also were dinged for two drops. Tight end Jake Wilson was responsible for one, per PFF. Running back Samuel Harris, the other.

Hughes was coming off his best statistical outing in an impressive 27-10 victory over Hawaii last Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium, posting an overall grade of 76.7, according to Pro Football Focus. That was the product of a 17-of-23 day. He finished with 204 passing yards and, most importantly, zero turnovers.

That rating dropped to a season-low 32.3 against the Bison.

A clearly flustered Jay Sawvel was asked postgame to assess Hughes' performance. Wyoming's third-year head coach instead evenly distributed the blame.

"My evaluation of everything, offensively, was: We weren't good enough," he added. "So, that'd be the evaluation of quarterback, coaching, offensive line, tight ends -- you know, the whole picture, right? So we've got to go back and figure out a way to get better."

The Cowboys' young and mostly-inexperienced front five allowed three sacks. Rushing lanes were hard to come by, too. A Week after Markell Holman and Harris combined for 181 yards on the ground and all three touchdowns against the Rainbow Warriors, that duo was limited to 60 yards on 18 carries.

The visitors were just 2-of-11 on third down. They also turned the ball over on downs twice. Here's a truly mind-boggling stat: The Cowboys punted seven times. They picked up just eight first downs.

This was an abject disaster, literally from start to finish.

"I mean, it's maddening, right? It's a simple thing: I'm 7-3 as a head coach here when we score 21 points. That's not an obscene amount of points ... So, it's maddening when we're in that space and not able to produce, offensively. There's going to be a lot of things that our players are going to have to learn off of this video."

Wyoming's offense, as a whole, capped this outing with a grade of 45.3, a drop of 31.7 points from just seven days ago.

What a difference a week -- and a really good opponent -- makes.

Let's check out some other PFF grades from the Cowboys first shutout loss since 2022:

* Starting left tackle Rex Johnsen is the only offensive lineman who finished with a "green" mark Saturday, meaning he was better than average. The senior finished with an overall mark of 70.0. The Iowa product was even better in pass protection, not allowing a single hurry on 22 drop-backs. That grade was an 86.2, 16.2 points better than right tackle Braylon Jenkins.

* When it came to run blocking, no one passed the test in Fargo. Johnsen, along with Jenkins, sit atop the standings with a score of 63.1. What does that say? The middle was closed. Wyoming finished with 110 yards on the ground. It took 35 carries to accomplish that. That's an average of 3.1 yards per rush.

* Wilson was targeted five times Saturday afternoon. The 6-foot-5 tight end managed just one catch, though, for 14 yards. His final grade was 45.6 in the receiving department.

* Dante Drake, by far and away, was the Cowboys' best defender in Fargo, finishing with five tackles, 1.5 of which came behind the line of scrimmage. The near-300-pound defensive tackle also had a QB hit. His overall grade -- 86.2 -- is 12.1 points higher than the next closest teammate, edge rusher Donnie Wingate. Drake was on the field for 50 snaps, a high for anyone on the line. The Robinson, Texas native was the top run stopper (90.4) by a margin of 11.9. Middle linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz finished with a score of 78.5.

* Therman Williams landed a grade of 79.6 in coverage. The rookie cornerback they call "Boogie" allowed just one reception on four targets. He gave up five total yards in the passing game. He broke up two of those throws.

* Wingate, thanks to a hurry and a QB sack, was Wyoming's best pass rusher. He scored a 72.3 on 13 pass rushes.

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