Last week, the Cowboys found themselves down a touchdown within the opening seconds of the game after starting quarterback Evan Svoboda’s first pass attempt of the night resulted in a pick six.
It was a flurry of mistakes that snowballed after that pick six that led to the Cowboys dropping their road opener to Arizona State 48-7. A sluggish Cowboy defense allowed the Sun Devils 499 yards of offense, while the Pokes’ careless offensive attack gave up three possessions, two of which resulted in defensive touchdowns for the Sun Devils. Combined, both units also had seven penalties in that one sided affair in Tempe.
For the Cowboys to defend War Memorial Stadium against the Idaho Vandals, where they went a perfect 7-0 last season, they would have to be much sharper, on both sides of the ball.
And much to the dismay of the 25,070 fans in attendance, the Cowboys were just as sloppy as they were last weekend, ending in the same result as a week ago. The Cowboys made a slew of mistakes in their first game at War Memorial Stadium, nine of which garnered the dreaded yellow flag from the referees.
“These are mistakes that good football teams don’t make, and these are mistakes that 0-2 teams do make, and we’re 0-2 and we’ve made those mistakes,” head coach Jay Sawvel said post game.
One mistake that really stood out was a false start that was called on the Vandals’ one yard line, moments after a Svoboda rushing touchdown was called back as short of the goal line. The Pokes then failed to find the end zone, resulting in a field goal after being just mere inches to the goal line.
“There’s no excuse for that,” Svoboda said of the play. “We got to punch it in down there. When we’re that close, it’s no excuse.”
It was plays like those that eventually led the Cowboys to a 17-14 loss in their home opener.
The Cowboys initially would have appeared to have shored things both offensively and defensively, at least in their opening series on both sides.
Offensively, the Pokes’ would keep things on the ground early as Svoboda would stomach a fake handoff to DJ Jones for 37 yards. That would eventually set the Cowboys up at the Vandal 31 yard line, where John Hoyland would pitch in a 48 yard field goal.
The Cowboys would then force a quick three and out defensively, resulting in a punt that would have allowed their offense to set up shop at the Vandal 48 yard line. That would be until the Pokes’ first big mistake of the night.
An errant snap from center Nofoafia Tulafono would fly over Svoboda’s head on the first play of the second drive. The Vandals would eagerly pounce on the loose football and quickly turn the Cowboy turnover into seven points with running back Elisha Cummings cruising into the endzone.
Despite this early turnover, the Cowboy offense would be able find some footing, as Svoboda would orchestrate his first drive into the endzone, finding a streaking Devin Boddie Jr. from 20 yards out for a touchdown to make things 10-7 to end the first quarter for the Cowboys.
It wouldn’t take long for the Vandals to answer in the second quarter, as their current starting quarterback Jack Wagner and his receiving corps would carve up the Cowboy defense, with Wagner being a perfect 7/7 with his first touchdown pass on his second scoring drive of the night.
The Vandals would tack on three more points heading into halftime, as their hard-nosed defense would hold the Pokes off the scoresheet for the entire second quarter, trailing 17-10 at halftime.
Despite their mistakes, the Cowboy offense had already amassed more yards offensively in one half against the Vandals than it had in an entire contest against Arizona State. In fact, the Cowboys had 128 yards on the ground, which by itself was more than the 118 total yards they managed previously. Despite the decent offensive numbers, the Cowboys still found themselves trailing at the half.
“I mean, early on, yes, I thought that we were [establishing the run],” Sawvel said. “I think there was a point right around halftime, or maybe even early in the third quarter, that we were averaging close to five yards a carry, but it just never was anything that we were able to sustain.”
The Cowboys seemed to have steeled up defensively in the second half, as they’d force the Vandal offense to punt on two straight possessions. The Pokes’ offense wouldn’t be able to initially take much advantage of their defensive proficiency, as they’d also be forced to punt twice.
Even the fact that the Cowboys’ special team turned a fake punt on the Vandals’ third drive of the half into a turnover couldn’t give this offense any momentum.
In fact, for much of the entire second half, it was a sort of back and forth game for both teams. The Cowboys defense would constantly pin an exhausted Vandal offense, who was forced to play their third-string quarterback, far back in their own territory, allowing the Cowboy offense to set up shop around the 50 yard line on many possessions after the punt.
It was there, around the 50 yard line, though, where the Cowboys seemed to just make mistake after mistake, not gaining any traction towards the end zone.
“I mean, for the whole fourth quarter we’ve got the ball in plus territory, and we don’t get [any] touchdown[s]. And that’s including starting in the third quarter, when we’ve got the ball inside the one yard line,” Sawvel said of his offenses’ lackluster second half performance.
In perhaps an ending as indicative as anything of the season so far, Svoboda would be sacked on the final play of the game, as he couldn’t do much but hopelessly attempt to get a final snap off before time expired on the Cowboys’ home opener.
As the Cowboys turn the page to an old rival in BYU coming to Laramie next week, one of the biggest messages in the locker room remains the same: team unity.
“Keep positivity within the team, trust and believe in one another,” linebacker and senior leader Shae Suiaunoa said. “That’s the only way we can respond.”
