By Samuel Burkett
Guest Contributor
9/21/24
The Wyoming Cowboys will travel to North Texas on Saturday night for a matchup with the North Texas Mean Green. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. MT and will be televised on ESPN+. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
The Cowboys are hoping to get their first win of the season. They are 0-3 to begin 2024. Nobody is feeling this team's frustration more than head coach Jay Sawvel.
“It’s frustrating. Look, I don’t like being in the situation we are in now,” Sawvel said during his Monday press conference. “Nobody wanted to be 0-3 right now. I didn’t want to lose to BYU.”
Wyoming’s offense has struggled to start the season. The Cowboys are ranked 131st in scoring offense (11.3 ppg) and 133rd in total offense (201.3 ypg).
“I feel the frustration because I see the frustration and I have to wear the frustration in the fact that we have to be better offensively, we have to be more productive offensively,” Sawvel said.
Evan Svoboda ran for the only two touchdowns on Saturday against BYU, but he is still struggling to find his rhythm in the passing game. Svoboda went 14-of-31 for 140 yards and threw an interception. He was also the leading rusher on Saturday night, running for 32 yards.
It also has not helped the Wyoming offense that running back Harrison Waylee and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg have been out due to injury. Waylee is still out for Saturday’s game against North Texas, while John Michael Gyllenborg is expected to see playing time.
It’s not just the offense that has been stalling; the defense hasn’t lived up to its hype. Aaron Bohl is in his first year as the defensive coordinator, and the defense is ranked 117th in points per game as the defense has been giving up 33 points per game. The Cowboys are also giving up 394 yards per game.
It won’t be easy for the Cowboy defense on Saturday as North Texas has been averaging 36 points per game and 469 yards of total offense per game. The Mean Green has struggled mainly on defense, as they have been giving up 41.3 points per game and 472 yards per game. North Texas is coming off a 66-21 loss to Texas Tech in their last outing. North Texas is a member of the American Athletic Conference as the Mean Green are in their second year in the league.
Not only will Waylee be out, but the Cowboys will also be without Caleb Driskill and Dawaiian McNeely, who will be out for a significant period of time.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Cowboys and the Mean Green on Saturday, and Wyoming hopes to get back to its winning ways.
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