Cowboys chase Mountain West crown
Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel ranked all 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country entering the 2017 season. The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 130 to our projected No. 1 team. Wyoming
Craig Bohl (14-24, entering fourth season; 118-56 overall)
8-6, 6-2 in Mountain, tied for first in Mountain Division
The Wyoming Cowboys opened with a thrilling 40-34 triple overtime victory against traditional Mid-American Conference power Northern Illinois. The team later dropped nonconference games at Nebraska and Eastern Michigan before going on a fivegame win streak. The victories included a 30-28 victory over No. 13 Boise State. Wyoming would later add another Top 25 victory, defeating No. 24 San Diego State 34-33. However, the team closed the season on a threegame losing streak. The skid included a 24-21 loss to BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl. 3
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WR Tanner Gentry, RB Brian Hill, TE Jacob Hollister, WR Jake Maulhardt, C/OG Chase Roullier, NT Chase Appleby, LB D.J. May, LB Lucas Wacha QB Josh Allen, OG Kaden Jackson, FB Drew Van Maanen, OG Gavin Rush, OT Zach Wallace, OT Ryan Cummings, OT Jolly Brinkley, DT Conner Cain, S Marcus Epps, CB Rio Gafford, DE Josiah Hall, CB Antonio Hull, DE Kevin Prosser, LB Logan Wilson, S Andrew Wingard
Wyoming coach Craig Bohl led one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college football last season, helping the Cowboys go from 2-10 in 2015 to 8-6 in 2016. Bohl, who earned 2016 Mountain West coach of the year honors, understood what it took to recruit and develop talent at Wyoming.
QB Josh Allen returns to help lead the offense and will need to lead young position players on the offensive side of the ball.
The defense brings back eight starters and will be strength of the team, with S Marcus Epps, CB Rio Gafford, CB Antonio Hull and S Andrew Wingard.
“Taking another step forward as a football program is our focus entering this spring,” Bohl in the school’s spring preview.
“Last year, we were competitive within our conference, but we need to continue to take steps to improve. There are certain areas of our football team that we feel pretty good about. Obviously, the quarterback position is more entrenched than it has been, and the safety and cornerback spots return a lot of experienced players.
“I think we have some young, emerging wide receivers, who we are really excited about. I believe we’ll be stronger at the defensive line position. We have a lot more depth there.”
While Wyoming returns experienced players on defense, the Cowboys need the unit to make strides during the offseason.
The team ranked No. 104 nationally in total defense, allowing 453.1 yards per game, and No. 101 in scoring defense, giving up 34.1 points per contest.
New defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton, who previously coached the Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers, will be tasked with revamping the unit.
Wyoming returns enough talent to stay in the mix for a Mountain West Conference title, but it’ll take significant improvement on defense and the development of young receivers to edge power San Diego State.