Tuck’s Take: This Wyoming Team Isn’t Tapping Out

LARAMIE -- Evan Svoboda slowly emerged from the home locker room, adjusted his rib protector and tightened his chin strap, before tapping the Steamboat statue with his right hand.

Once Wyoming's embattled quarterback reached the turf inside War Memorial Stadium, he jogged to the northwest corner and began participating in drills, lining up under starting center Nofoafia Tulafono.

He took two snaps then rotated to his left. Kaden Anderson took his place.

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Jay Sawvel said Monday his 1-6 team needed a spark, particularly at that all-important position. By now, you know the Cowboys feature, statistically, one of the worst passing offenses in college football. Managing just 172.6 yards through the air per game, that ranking sits at 117th out of 133 FBS teams.

When it comes to efficiency -- only six touchdowns, 1,208 yards and eight interceptions -- only Air Force and New Mexico State are worse. Those two have a combined record of 3-11.

Troy Calhoun's Falcons account for Sawvel's lone win as a rookie head coach.

"Kaden will come in very early in that game," Sawvel said last Monday during his weekly press conference. "Then, we're going to play both throughout the course of the game, unless there is one that is substantially providing a high level of execution to the offense. Then we'll keep riding that player."

A two-quarterback system, this staff hopes, will not only give this unit an immediate lift with another one-win team, Utah State, coming to town, but will also give Svoboda a chance to watch, absorb and improve. They are also high on Anderson, a three-star recruit from Texas football factory Southlake Carroll High School.

May the best man win.

Sawvel, unlike his predecessor Craig Bohl, allowed the local media to watch Tuesday night's practice.

On a blustery evening that quickly turned into a chilly night, these two quarterbacks, side by side, made the short throws and the long ones. Most were on target. Others were simply dropped by a receiving corps that lost four of its top-five targets from a year ago.

There were misfires, too. Not many.

One that stood out, though, was a short toss from Svoboda that brought back memories from last Saturday inside a sun-spanked CEFCU Stadium.

Facing a 3rd-and-9 inside San Jose State's 15-yard line, the junior took the shotgun snap and patiently waited for running back Sam Scott to escape the backfield and get to the left flat. Svoboda uncorked a throw that would eventually relegate him to the bench to become a spectator for the remaining 11:31 of regulation.

It was a badly overthrown screen pass, one that arched right over Scott's outstretched arm and right into the hands of defensive back Amir Wallace.

That scoring threat, along with any chance the visitors had in this eventual 24-14 loss, gone.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Wyoming Cowboys in the NFL: Week 7

* Wyoming Football: News and Notes Ahead of Utah State

* Wyoming's Jay Sawvel on QB spot: 'We're going to play both'

* Tuck's Take: Time for 2-QB System in Laramie

* Wyoming's locker room robbed during loss at San Jose State

* Turning point, unsung hero and what's next for UW Football?

* Cowboys can't capitalize on takeaways in 24-14 road loss at San Jose State

* Rants and Raves: SJSU Edition

* LIVE FILE: Wyoming vs. San Jose State

* 7220sports.com Kickoff Show: Show Me Something Good

* Wyoming's Harrison Waylee: 'I'm going to stay here"

Consistency, or lack thereof, is what led to Sawvel's decision this week. It's not good enough. The numbers -- and visuals -- bear that out.

The point of this mid-week column isn't to pile on the former starter or lend excuses for this disastrous campaign. Sawvel called himself the "most-hated man in Wyoming," following this workout. He's owning it.

"It's painful," he said. "It's painful because we're in games. You sit there and go, we have to win these games. It's painful and I hate it. Yep, I'm pissed."

Whether you want to hear it or not, injuries have played a key role in this downfall. For example, senior safety Isaac White, Sawvel said, has been on the field for 1,800 plays over the previous two seasons. This fall, 215. His running mate in the secondary, Wyett Ekeler, isn't far behind.

Yes, 17 starters returned this year from a nine-win team.

From the initial two-deep depth chart of the season, though, 16 players have missed at least one game due to injury, including running back Harrison Waylee and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, two of the top weapons on this roster.

Couple all of that with an inexperienced, inconsistent signal caller, a host of new wideouts and a pair of new coordinators.

"We're a better football team with those guys," Sawvel said of White and Ekeler, specifically. "You know, take any company, take five of your Top-10 employees, and send them away for three months. Your company probably suffers a little bit, in any business."

All of that mess above does little to ease anxiety. I get it. Here's likely the reason: Penalties -- lots of inexcusable ones, including illegal formations and substitutions -- questionable play calls, bad tackling and angles, shoddy clock management and poor player performances.

Despite all of that mess above, this team continues to plug away.

For more than two hours on this "Bloody Tuesday," this group was energetic, vocal and loose. Station to station, organization was apparent. Coaches were fully involved, sometimes emphatically. Jovon Bouknight worked with Chris Durr Jr. Benny Boyd urged on Keany Parks. Jay Johnson praised and encouraged the QB's from Svoboda to Gage Brook.

It's telling to me when a player like Ekeler, casts on both hands due to a pair of broken thumbs, is flying around on a cold night. White, who is slowly making his way back from a foot/ ankle injury and is expected to play Saturday against the Aggies, was also full speed.

These guys haven't thrown in the towel.

Neither has Waylee.

The senior running back is questionable to return to the lineup this week after suffering a knee injury late in fall camp. He has already missed the first seven games. Would've been real easy for him to shut it down for the season, especially with this record. Instead, he was cutting, spinning and hitting holes in just his second practice back. Sawvel said he reached 22 miles per hour on Monday. That's fast.

He wants to play.

Sawvel gathered his team at midfield at the conclusion of practice. He said all the right things. He pointed to the Jumbotron. It read "1-0." He then lifted a rifle above the fray. It once belonged to mountain man Jim Bridger. Now, it belongs to the program who wins this next football game.

These guys smiled and laughed as they headed toward the locker room. Offensive tackle Caden Barnett, joking with his fellow linemen, removed his jersey and pads. Despite the red marks all up and down his back after a hard day's work, you could tell the junior was in the moment.

This team hasn't given up. You can take solace in that.

"I don't think it's very hard to see that there's people out here wanting to get better," Sawvel said. "For where we are at, we're in a spot where we're working to improve. It's been that way through the whole course of the season."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players