Freshman running back D.J. May runs the ball past Toldeo linebacker Robert Bell during the Cowboys home opener. The team looks for its first win of the season against CalPoly this weekend.
The University of Wyoming Football team comes into their 2012 season with intentions of nothing less than victory. Led by four captains including senior linebacker Korey Jones, senior strong safety Luke Ruff, senior center Nick Carlson and sophomore quarterback Brett Smith, there is no doubt that the Cowboys are the team to be watching this upcoming fall season.
Although they have endured a rough start with losses in their first two games, the Cowboys return to the field at 4 p.m. on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium, looking for their first win of the season against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
Wyoming had two quality opponents to kick off their 2012 season. Texas, which was ranked No. 15 in the nation when they played UW, recently moved up to No. 12 in this week’s USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
In their most recent home-opening game against the Toledo Rockets, UW lost 34-31 in a hard battle. With an injury to starting quarterback Brett Smith, the Cowboys were forced to finish the game without him, placing junior back-up quarterback Colby Kirkegaard in his place. According to head coach Dave Christensen, Smith’s status for the upcoming game is doubtful but he continues to be evaluated for full recovery. If Smith is unable to play Saturday, Christensen will have to make the choice of putting in Kirkegaard or true freshman Jason Thompson.
The game against the Mustangs is a first for UW, and this also is the first year that the Mustangs have been members of the Big Sky Conference. In their only game of the season so far, Cal Poly defeated University of San Diego 41-14 back on Sept. 1.
So far this year, Wyoming has had effective qualities which have made them better than teams past. For the first two weeks of the 2012 season, Wyoming’s passing game was ranked No. 20 in the nation. According to Wyoming Athletics, their average passing distance was marked at about 309.0 yards per game. During their game against Texas, they threw for about 276 yards while against Toledo they completed 20 of 28 passes for a grand total of 342 yards.
Wyoming is hopeful that they will bounce back after their losses and get back on the winning track. Back in September 2011, the Cowboys had lost to the No. 9 ranked team Nebraska but had a comeback and defeated UNLV during their next home game. During that year the team had lost to TCU at home but later defeated New Mexico on their own turf.
Hard work, perseverance and teamwork are all qualities that have made the Cowboys a threat to other teams in their conference. Despite the setbacks that the team has encountered during the beginning of their season, they are ready to bring triumph back to the University.
