As Losing Streak Hits Three, Sawvel's Message: "We've Got to Be Better."
- Jeff Bugher
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
LARAMIE, Wyo. — What could have been a conference-opening win for Wyoming, turned into a night of heartbreak and self-inflicted wounds. The Cowboys fell 31–17 to UNLV on Saturday night on a field covered in hail, undone by two blocked punts that both turned into Rebel touchdowns. Both were momentum-killing plays that head coach Jay Sawvel called “uncharacteristic” and “costly beyond measure.”
“There’s a hurting locker room in there right now. I hurt for them,” Sawvel said after the loss. “There was a very strong intent, very strong preparation, a very strong focus on playing well in this game and winning this game. And we didn’t get that done. It starts with special teams.”
The Rebels stunned the Cowboys during punt formations two times in the first half. Both blocked punts were returned for UNLV touchdowns - the first midway through the first quarter, the second with 59 seconds left in the second quarter - accounting for 14 of the Rebels’ 31 points.
“When you get two punts blocked for touchdowns, you’re going to lose,” Sawvel said bluntly. “The one before halftime was a killer. Our guys played hard tonight, but we made a couple very uncharacteristic mistakes in areas that we’ve been pretty good in.”
Sawvel dove deep into the technical breakdown that led to the game-altering miscues.
“Our operation was slow - slower than what it needed to be,” he explained. “Our snap location took us back into the unblocked man. The punt that got blocked before halftime was 2.15 seconds. That’s two-tenths of a second too long. There’s your issue.
We brought the ball back into the guy that you should be able to handle with operation. We’ve got to be better, and we’ve got to address it.” Sawvel said the punt timing at Akron was low at 1.9 seconds.
Despite those struggles, Wyoming showed flashes of rhythm. Quarterback Kaden Anderson led a crisp third-quarter drive capped by a touchdown run from true freshman Deion DeBlanc - his first career score.
“Deion’s a really good athlete,” Sawvel said. “He’s going to be a good player for us. I’m glad he’s here and I’m glad that the lights are turning on for him in a positive way.”
Running back Sam Scott also provided a spark in the second half, taking advantage of additional reps. “We just needed a jolt,” Sawvel said. “Sam gave us a good jolt and did good things. He had a really good screen, a couple good runs - he was a big chunk of that first drive.” Yet why was he underutilized for the last three games? Does loyalty mean nothing?
Offensively, though, inconsistency remained the theme. Wyoming once again struggled to find footing early, scoring just three points before halftime - the second straight game with a stagnant first half.
“These are two straight first halves where we’ve scored three points,” Sawvel said. “And really, the half before that, we didn’t score. That’s inexcusable. That’s unacceptable. We’ve got a lot of things to fix and get better at.”
The Cowboys outgained UNLV by nearly 100 yards but couldn’t overcome turnovers and penalties. “We lost turnovers 3 to 1,” Sawvel said. “When that happens, you’re going to struggle to win games.”
Even through frustration, the second-year head coach made sure to emphasize his faith in his players. “Our guys played hard,” he said. “They had a great intent to play well tonight. And in a lot of situations, we did. But there are some other situations we’ve got to get a lot better at. I don’t think this was a flat football team tonight.”
As Wyoming drops its third straight game, Sawvel wants to focus on accountability, improvement, and resilience. Yet, many of the fans went online to express their frustration.
“This needs to hurt us for the next 24 hours,” he said. “When we get back to work Monday, we’ve got to go back to work on the next opponent. We can’t let this game beat us twice. We’ll get better. I believe in our players.”
The Cowboys (2–3, 0–1 MW) will look to regroup this week as they host San Jose State University in Laramie next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 5 pm.
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