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Wyoming loses fifth game of the season to San Diego State University

Sam Scott, Evan Svoboda, and Nick Miles embrace in the endzone after Scott’s 1 yard touchdown rush.
John Durgee
/
University of Wyoming Athletics
Sam Scott, Evan Svoboda, and Nick Miles meet up in the endzone after Scott’s touchdown run.

The Cowboys played at home against San Diego State University this Saturday. After leading, the Cowboys lost to the western state university.

Wyoming started the fourth quarter off with a 51 yard touchdown run from quarterback Evan Svoboda. It put the Cowboys up by seven points with 14:50 minutes left in the game. The defense had been playing really well all game, allowing only 155 yards of total offense to that point.

One thing that Wyoming football has always prided itself on is a strong fourth quarter at home at 7,220 feet. However, that was not the case this weekend. Following the 51 yard touchdown run, the Aztecs were in the endzone 49 seconds later, the game was tied.

“We gave up two plays for 80 yards in one series in the fourth quarter,” said a frustrated Head Coach Sawvel after the game. “You can’t have that happen. Those plays have to be made.”

The Wyoming offense responded weakly, picking up a single first down on the next four drives. The previously electric War Memorial Stadium fell quiet as the Aztecs cruised past the Cowboys in the final minutes of the game.

This game may seem as though it was lost in the final minutes, but Head Coach Sawvel said he saw it differently, “The team that makes the least mistakes wins. We made the critical mistake too often in all phases of the game.”

The mistakes that Sawvel is referring to include quarterback Evan Svoboda’s two interceptions. One of which was returned for a touchdown, and the other resulted in a short 10 yard field for the Aztecs. Svoboda completed only 38% of his passes although he threw and ran for a touchdown.

Svoboda was not alone in making mistakes, Sawvel cited a number of other instances that should have gone the Cowboys way. A missed field goal before the half, a dropped deep ball in the first half, and a costly third down drop to just name a few.

The Cowboys sit in 132nd out of 134 teams in total yardage this season. The narrative all season has been the stagnant offense and inability to score when it counts. Svoboda is still progressing but coach Sawvel admits that the young quarterback needs to make plays.

“We had some opportunities that he’s got to hit. He’s getting better and the accuracy part is improving,” Sawvel said. “But I think he’s going to look at the video and think that we could have had some plays.”

The Cowboys will travel to San Jose State University to take on the 4-2 Spartans next week.

Jack O'Neil is a senior Journalism major with a minor in the honors college and disability studies. From Colorado Springs, he enjoys skiing, golfing and cycling in his free time. Jack is also the captain of the UW men's swim team and a 2024 Team USA Paralympian.

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