What Happened to the Cowboys?
By Aiden Power
Last year, the Wyoming Cowboys had their best season since 1996, winning nine out of their thirteen games and ranking fifth in the Mountain West. This year, however, the Cowboys are back to their old habits, having been plagued by injuries, struggling with offense, racking up many holding and procedural penalties, and their poor running game. It is the sixth week of the season at the time of writing and the only team the Cowboys have beaten so far is Air Force, a team that has lost most of their starting players.
Wyoming’s team does not have many notable changes on their roster, the biggest of which is the switching of starting quarterback Andrew Peasely to Evan Svoboda. Svoboda is in his junior year of college and has put up some lackluster results, throwing interceptions or uncatchable passes. Nine of Wyoming’s defensive starters are being brought back from last year, yet they are ranked 110th in total defense. Their offense does not fare much better, averaging 10 points a game. Despite Svoboda's struggles, the real issue for the Cowboy's fall from success is likely the change-up in the coaching staff.
After the retirement of Craig Bohl last year, the longest-running and most successful coach in Wyoming history, Jay Sawvel took up the mantle of head coach after serving as Wyoming’s defensive coordinator for three years. Sawvel filled out the rest of the coaching staff by promoting Aaron Bohl, the former linebacker coach, to linebacker coach and defensive coordinator. This is an odd choice considering Aaron Bohl has no previous experience as a defensive coordinator. Other changes in coaching included the hiring of a new offensive coordinator Jay Johnson. Johnson has multiple years of experience in his field having been the offensive coordinator at Michigan State from 2020 to 2023, however, during his tenure, the Spartans only had one winning season (2021).
Former coach Bohl was famous for his old school, hard-nosed coaching style, players not having their names on their jerseys as a way to symbolize the importance of the team over any single player. Bohl was hard on his players, which caused contention between them. After Bohl left and Sawvel was promoted, the team's attitude changed. Players reported listening to music during practice which was something Bohl had been against. Sawvel is more of a players' coach while Bohl was set in his ways and focused on pushing his players. “Wyoming finally has a players coach,” sports journalist Cody Tucker says. “We can see that two of the three of the new coaches were promoted from within instead of being brought in from somewhere else. This has caused the new team to think similarly to Bohl without having the knowledge and experience he had. I believe this is a major factor in the Cowboys’ failure.”
Courtesy of Pokesinsider.com
After last year's season, fans had been more excited than ever about the Cowboys, but the excitement has become a familiar feeling of disappointment. I thought interviewing a lifelong Cowboys fan could put us into the mind of someone used to disappointment. Brad Cox was born in Wyoming and teaches history at Cody High School. When walking into his classroom, you can see a wall adorned with Cowboys memorabilia. I started the interview by asking how long he had been a Cowboys fan, he responded with, ” Thirty-six years.” I asked him how old he was and he responded,” Thirty-six.” Cox is as disappointed in the direction the Cowboys were headed in as any other Cowboys fan I know. In his opinion, “Wyoming’s main issue is our use of the transfer portal, largely our not using of the transfer portal.” The transfer portal is a way for athletes to throw their names out and publicly say they want to transfer somewhere else. This often leads to the best athletes at smaller schools being funneled up to the big schools. “Bohl was known not to use the transfer portal as much as he should have. This does not mean we did not obtain some good transfers from it, a prime example being a star running back Harison Waylee; a transfer from Iowa,” said Cox.
Despite Wyoming’s uninspiring season so far, the future is not dim. Sawvel is making strives to improve. College Networth.com says, “ Jay Sawvel has effectively used the transfer portal to strengthen the Wyoming Cowboys roster. By identifying key positions needing improvement, he has brought in athletes with proven track records from other programs.” Using the transfer portal is one example of how he looks into the future. Others include his aptitude for understanding NIL money, name, image, and likeness. The new rule allows players to profit from their names, images, and likenesses. He can attract fantastic talent by promoting opportunities for players to make money.
Work Cited
“Jay Sawvel – Wyoming Cowboys Contract, Net Worth, Coaching Information – CollegeNetWorth.com.” College Net Worth, 15 October 2024, https://www.collegenetworth.com/jay-sawvel-wyoming-cowboys/. Accessed 1 November 2024.5
“Pokes Insider: Jay Sawvel confident Cowboys can turn season around - University of Wyoming
Athletics.” Wyoming Athletics, 16 September 2024, https://gowyo.com/news/2024/9/16/pokes-insider-pokes-news-jay-sawvel-confident-cowboys-can-turn-season-around.aspx. Accessed 31 October 2024.
Taylor, Alex. “Taylor column: Cowboys' struggles don't fall solely on Svoboda.” Wyoming Tribune Eagle, 12 September 2024,
https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/university_of_wyoming/taylor-column-cowboys-struggles-dont-fall-solely-on-svoboda/article_f509bac8-6f95-11ef-8a3f-37e0da6ed5fb.html. Accessed 29 October 2024.
“2024 Football Cumulative Statistics.” University of Wyoming Athletics, 2024, https://gowyo.com/sports/football/stats. Accessed 29 October 2024.
Williams, Chris. “Wyoming Cowboys Scores, Stats and Highlights.” ESPN, 2024, https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/2751. Accessed 29 October 2024.