2011 Wyoming Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

The Wyoming Cowboys are coming off a disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2010, but did end their season with an impressive 44-0 win over Colorado State to avoid going 0-8 in the Mountain West Conference. The Cowboys enter into the third season under head coach Dave Christensen, and with 14 starters back the hope is that he can lead to them their second bowl game in three years. Here is a look at what the Cowboys will be sending to the field on both sides of the ball, plus my prediction on where they will finish in the MWC.

Offense:

The Cowboys will have to replace starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, who threw for 1,702 yards with just nine touchdowns to eight interceptions. While Carta-Samuels throwing numbers weren’t very impressive, he did finish second on the team with 392 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It looks like the new starting quarterback will be one of three freshen, as Brett Smith Emory Miller, and Adam Pittser will battle it out this fall.

Wyoming does bring back promising junior running back Alvester Alexander, who led the team with 792 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2010. With the inexperience the Cowboys will have at quarterback, look for Alexander to carry even more of the load offensively than he did in his sophomore season.

On the outside the Cowboys will have to replace their two of their biggest threats in David Leonard and Zach Bolger. They do bring back junior Chris McNeill and senior Mazi Ogbonna, and will add in sophomore Robert Herron. This unit figures to be the weakest receiving corps in the MWC, but it does have some potential if they end up finding a solid new quarterback.

A big reason why I look for the Cowboys to really focus on the running game this season, is the fact that they return four starters on the offensive line, led by senior left tackle John Hutchins and junior center Nick Carlson. If this unit can build off the experience they gained in 2010, the Cowboys should improve on their average of 19.2 ppg.

Defense:

Much like the offense, the strength of the defense comes in the trenches. Wyoming brings back two of the top defensive ends in the conference in seniors Gabe Knapton and Josh Biezuns and also returns both starting tackles in sophomore Patrick Mertens and junior Mike Purcell. The Cowboys were terrible against the run in 2010, allowing 206 yards per game, but should really improve in that area in 2011.

At linebacker the Cowboys have one of the top outside linebackers in the conference in senior Brian Hendricks, who was third on the team with 80 tackles in 2010. Hendricks will be joined by 2010 starting middle linebacker Oliver Schober and junior college transfer Korey Jones. Hendricks and Schober will be counted on heavily to make plays this year.

Outside of senior corner Tashaun Gipson, the Cowboys figure to be very weak in the secondary this season. Juniors Luke Ruff and Kenny Browder are expected to take over at the two safety spots, while sophomore Marqueston Huff steps in at the other starting corner slot. While the Cowboys figure to improve against the run, they will likely have a much harder time defending the pass.

2011 Prediction: 6th MWC - While I am not very high on the Cowboys this season, they should be able to win both home games against New Mexico and UNLV to avoid finishing in the basement of the MWC. Despite the lack of winnable games in conference play, there is a decent chance the Cowboys win their four non-conference games and finish the year 6-6.

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