Behind the Numbers: Pokes Peck Away at Six-Point Plan

LARAMIE -- Jay Sawvel laid out a six-point plan of success he asked his team to accomplish on a weekly basis over the final month-plus of the season:

* Win turnover battle

* Outgain the opponent

* Limit explosive plays of more than 25 yards

* Take less penalties

* Convert third-down opportunities

* Score -- preferably touchdowns -- in the red zone.

"It all ties together -- all of these things," Wyoming's third-year head coach said at his Monday press conference, just 72 hours after his team snapped an eight-game road losing skid with a 16-13 overtime victory in San Jose.

Did his team pass the test in Saturday's 41-23 dismantling of winless Northern Illinois? Well, almost.

Sawvel wants his team to finish with at least a plus-1 in the turnover department. That didn't happen against the Huskies. In fact, there were no takeaways, across the board. If you want to get nit-picky, though, the Cowboys did turn the ball over on downs late in regulation. The Huskies returned the favor on the following series.

Wyoming gave up way too many yards to the visitors Saturday, especially in the running game where Telly Johnson Jr. gashed the Pokes to the tune of 139 yards on just 16 carries. That's an average of nearly nine yards per carry. He also scored from 13 yards out in the third quarter. NIU rolled up 392 yards of total offense. Thanks to a 184-yard rushing performance from quarterback Tyler Hughes, though, UW capped the afternoon with a season-high 510 yards.

If you go by the traditional model -- 15-plus yards on a single pass or a 10-plus yard rush -- the Huskies broke off 14 "explosive plays" inside a sun-splashed War Memorial Stadium. Wyoming's staff's main concern is the 25-yarders. NIU finished with three of those, including two runs for 26 and 28 yards. One Taron Dickens completion went for 34 yards. That was a late touchdown toss to La'Don Bryant.

Penalties haven't really plagued the Pokes this fall. Sure, there have been some untimely ones. An illegal-man-downfield and a roughing-the-kicker call at Colorado State come to mind. Remember last week when Sawvel gripped, publicly, about what he thought was an "egregious" holding call on center Chandler Donaway late in regulation against SJSU? The league certainly didn't, handing him a public reprimand for his "load of crap" comments about officiating.

Overall, Wyoming is 45th in the nation out of 138 FBS programs in this category, averaging roughly five a game. The Cowboys drew just three flags for 23 yards on Saturday. It was NIU that committed some back-breakers, including a pair of holding calls on what surely should've been a first-half touchdown drive. They also roughed the passer twice, amounting to eight yellow hankies for 90 yards.

Christian Taylor's offense was 5-of-9 on third-down opportunities against the Huskies. That, comparatively, is a great day at the office, considering this program sits at 114th overall, converting just 27-of-80 attempts in this all-important category.

"It was awesome," Rex Johnsen said following Saturday's win. I mean, obviously, the last couple games we've been struggling with that, so we weren't going to get denied today. That was our main goal. Once we get in the red zone, we're scoring that b----."

The starting left tackle was referring to all five of the Cowboys' trips inside NIU's 20-yard line. That equated to three touchdown runs and two Erik Sandvik field goals. Wyoming has been dreadful in the red zone up to that point, scoring 16 times -- seven field goals and nine touchdowns -- on 21 trips.

How did Sawvel feel his pupils performed?

"We're not perfect, as a program, offensively, or anything like that, but we're getting better and better," he said. "There was an expectation that I've told a number of our players, that when we got to mid-season, I expected a surge of improvement because now you've been through it."

Here are some other numbers from Saturday's win in front of 20,000-plus in Laramie:

184

That's the number of rushing yards quarterback Tyler Hughes rolled up on just 12 attempts on Saturday. That's the best outing from a signal caller since Sean Chambers totaled 120 in the 2019 season opener against Missouri.

4

That's the number of times Hughes crossed the white stripe against NIU. No other Wyoming QB has accomplished that since Levi Williams gashed Kent State for 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 52-38 victory in the 2021 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

16-of-19

Hughes also completed 84% of his throws for 196 yards. More importantly, he didn't turn the ball over once.

49

Wyoming entered Saturday with 39 rushing plays of 10-plus yards, good enough for the 12th-best mark in the country. They tacked on 10 more against the Huskies, including four of more than 20 yards. Hughes, himself, produced six of those. One was a 53-yard touchdown jaunt on the Cowboys' second possession of the day.

5

A week after allowing six sacks in an overtime win inside CEFCU Stadium, the Cowboy defense tacked on five QB takedowns of its own against the Huskies. Tanielu Maafala-Barbasa tallied his first. Gary Rutherford, Steven Perez, Ja'Quan Redfern and Kevin Sjogren also got to Dickens. The offensive line, by the way, didn't allow a single sack.

7

That's the number of players who snagged a ball from Hughes on Saturday, including a 5-catch, 77-yard performance from Eric Richardson. Tight end Kyle Frendt reeled in three grabs for 61 yards. Running back Markell Holman, starting for Samuel "Tote" Harris, who is in concussion protocol, also caught three for 17 yards. Wideout Charlie Coenen finished with two for 20 yards. Jake Wilson, Ke'Lyn Washom and Nico Hamilton also had a catch. For Washom, it was the first in his college career.

53

Bart Edmiston Jr. punted just twice Saturday, but this was his average. He also finished with a long of 56. He is currently the second-best punter in the Mountain West, averaging 41.3 yards per kick.

10-of-10

Sandvik's career year continued Saturday, converting on both of his field-goal opportunities. The first came from 37 yards out. The next, on the final snap of the first half, soared in from 24 yards. He was also a perfect 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts.

24

Coenen returned just two punts against the Huskies, but one went for 24 yards. That took some razzle dazzle and a few missed tackles, but Wyoming set up shop near midfield with 47 seconds and a timeout at its disposal. Hughes' 37-yard scamper set the Cowboys up at the NIU 6-yard line with two ticks remaining. Sandvik booted through the 24-yarder, giving the home team a 20-6 advantage at the half.

3

That's the number of passes safety Jones Thomas broke up against the Huskies. Two of those came right in front of Dicken's face and one was nearly intercepted by linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz. Thomas also registered a team-best eight tackles, including five solo stops.

15

That's the number of true explosive plays Wyoming finished with. Five of those came in the passing game, including a 40-yard hookup from Hughes to Richardson in the second half. If you want to go by the staff's standard -- 25 yards or more -- the Cowboys did that five times.

7

That's the number of scoring drives the Cowboys' offense finished with against NIU. That equaled five touchdowns and two field goals. Edmiston punted twice and that unit turned the ball over on downs late in regulation.

3-1

That's now Wyoming's record in Mountain West play with just five guaranteed games -- three at home -- still on the slate. The Cowboys will renew a rivalry Friday night with Front-Range foe Air Force that dates back to 1957. The Falcons hold a slight 32-28-3 advantage in the series, but have not won on the high plains since 2012. That's five consecutive losses in Laramie.

4-3

That's the Cowboys' overall record after seven games. With two more wins, this team will be eligible for the postseason for the first time since 2023, Craig Bohl's last ride on the sidelines.

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