LARAMIE, Wyo. — In one of Wyoming’s better defensive efforts through its entire season, the Cowboys kept a close game with the Boise State Broncos, ranked 12 nationally, before losing by just four points. Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty rushed for 169 yards and Cowboy QB Kaden Anderson went out with a concussion in the first half.
Although Wyoming fans may be disappointed losing in thin margins at their team’s final home game of the season, Wyoming Football Head Coach Jay Sawvel said that he was overall very proud of his players’ performance and was satisfied with the game’s officiating, which is something he has spoken against in the past.
“I just thought it was a really good football game tonight,” Sawvel said. “We do have to do better and I feel for our fans, but we’re a better team than our record. We just gotta finish those things off.”
Despite Wyoming being plagued by injuries — especially on the defensive side of the ball, where the team was missing three starters — Wyoming kept putting pressure on the Broncos in third-down situations and limiting their offensive options. Tonight, Boise State was 1–10 in third-down conversions while the Cowboys were 4–14.
Offensively, Wyoming kept up with an excellent offense ran by Jeanty and Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen. The Cowboys were 69 yards short of matching pace with Boise State’s rushing yards — although the Cowboys had seven more carries — against the best rusher in all of college football.
Jeanty ran for 169 yards in total over 19 carries, which would make tonight his fifth lowest rushing yard game this season.
Anderson was 9–14 in passing and threw for 116 yards. Madsen, on the other hand, threw for 168 yards. Wyoming’s biggest bomb pass of the night, however, was thrown by backup QB and now tight end Evan Svoboda, who lobbed a 63-yard pass to wide receiver Justin Stevenson.
Svoboda played tight end last week against CSU and was slated to stay there for the game against Boise State, though he remains a backup for Anderson. He was put in in Anderson’s stead when the starter suffered a concussion near the end of the first half.
According to Svoboda in a post-game press conference, Anderson seems OK.
In the same press-conference, Svoboda assessed his performance and said that he had to prepare to play quarterback and, when it was his turn to step up, he didn’t bring everything he thought he could have.
“We’ve got to come up with some completions, and that’s on me. I’ve got to give my playmakers a chance, but we just left a little bit on the table,” Svoboda said. “We’ve got to capitalize on all the opportunities in a game like this.”
In the final possession of the game, with 14 seconds of game time starting at first down, Svoboda had four opportunities to pass the ball downfield and every time the pass was incomplete. Still, Wyoming kept the score within a single touchdown the entire game.
How did a team plagued by injuries in one of its worst seasons in recent memory — since 2015 — step up tonight and keep such a close game against one of the best teams in the nation? Sawvel said in his post-game press conference that the Cowboys had a four-pronged battle plan made for the game.
“Going into it, we had to be productive on offense and score, but within that we had to control and milk the clock. We did that really well for a big part of it. The second thing was we had to get stops any way possible,” Sawvel said. “Third thing: We couldn’t allow any bomb plays at any phase — whether that’s special teams, a turnover or a big play touchdown — and we allowed a big play touchdown.”
That big play touchdown was a 61-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter at the hands of Jeanty.
Sawvel said that the Cowboys also needed to stay attached and apply pressure on the Broncos all four quarters. In Sawvel’s opinion, his team did everything right besides allowing that big moment for Jeanty.
Tonight was also senior night in War Memorial Stadium, and Sawvel said that he is proud of his seniors and thought they demonstrated their talent at their final appearance on that turf despite the injuries plaguing the entire roster.
“I thought our seniors showed up tonight and did a really good job. On some of these guys, they’ve been coming out there at 75% for a while,” Sawvel said. “Actually, some of them are healthier now than how they were earlier in the year. I’m proud of the effort they gave.”
This is likely also the last time in War for the Boise State Broncos team, as they are not scheduled to play the Cowboys in Laramie before they make the switch to the Pac-12. The Broncos just secured their place in the Mountain West Conference Championship as well.
Regarding that, Sawvel said that he wishes nothing but the best for the departing Broncs.
“We give credit to Boise State. They’ve got a great football team and a great football program,” Sawvel said. “I wish their whole organization the best going forward and hopefully they can represent the Mountain West well come playoff time, which means they gotta win a couple more games. We’ll be cheering for them to do it.”
Wyoming is now 1–16 against Boise State since 2006. That singular victory came in 2016 with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen at the helm. That means the Broncos have won the last eight meetings between the teams. Now, they set their sights to the Pac-12, but not before playing one more regular-season game against Oregon State and then making their way to the College Football Playoffs.
Wyoming will head to Pullman next week to face Washington State, another nationally ranked team, for its final game of the season. For more information on University of Wyoming football, see the UW Athletics web page.
