The Cowboys season is starting to see some light after a win against the Air Force Academy Falcons. Quarterback Evan Svoboda had his best game of the season, passing for a career-high 165 yards in addition to 70 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The game started with a turnover forced by the defense after a failed fake punt from the Falcons. The turnover resulted in a short field for the pokes who set a physical tone early by running the ball. All 46 yards of the first drive came on the ground from Svoboda and running back Sam Scott. Scott finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run and gave the Cowboys a 7-0 lead.
Coach Sawvel’s aggressive playcalling stood out on the first drive when he elected to go for it on two fourth-downs in the drive. These fourth-down conversions acted as the momentum setters that the team has been looking for early in every game this season.
“We got some momentum going,” Sawvel said. “We started to make plays and we got some good things going. You go back to a lot of these games, it’s just that we needed that push. We’ve needed that punch.”
Despite a successful first drive, the Cowboys failed to score on the next four drives and went into halftime trailing 13-7. The team struggled to pick up any yardage, tallying only 42 yards after their first drive.
The Cowboys left the field at halftime determined to turn the game around.
“We came into the locker room and were like, ‘We are going to win and dominate these first four minutes,’” Svoboda said. “We truly did that. We got the ball to start and kept it rolling.”
The offense came out of the half and put together a fiery 76-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run for Svoboda. The team seemed to find their groove, as Svoboda led to two 30+ yard passes.
The team also started to experiment with a varying cadence, meaning the team would randomly run a “no-huddle” play, putting the Air Force defense on their heels. The varying cadence also led to multiple false starts for the Air Force defense.
The Cowboy linebackers controlled the Air Force offense, flying across the field to make tackles and take away running lanes.
The Cowboys will have a week to rest and recover from several injuries. Multiple members of the offensive line and defensive secondary went down in the game on Saturday. This forced young players to step into those roles in crucial moments of the game.
“Everyone on this team is capable of playing at a high level and we’re going to trust anyone we put out there,” said senior linebacker Connor Shay. “I think the younger guys did a great job and will continue to do a great job.”
The next test for the Cowboys will come against San Diego State University on October 12 in Laramie at 1:30 pm. The Aztecs are struggling, sitting with a 1-3 record. Their only win came against Texas A&M Commerce who has been in Division I for only two years. The game gives Wyoming a chance to build on the momentum and improve their conference record to 2-0.
