Wyoming Football Preview 2024: Season Breakdown, Predictions, Key Players, Schedule

Wyoming College Football Preview 2024

Craig Bohl did his job.

It was rocky there for a while after the former head coach came in from his powerhouse performance as the North Dakota State head man, but after going 6-18 in his first two years his program got up to speed, started winning, and the weird and limited 2020 season became the only losing campaign in the last eight.

You always knew what you were getting with Wyoming football.

Close games, tough line play, defenses that didn’t miss tackles, and wins that too often came from out of nowhere - that's Wyoming football.

That’s all a lot of words for saying the Cowboys played their style, and forced teams to deal with it.

So what do you do after all of this decent success, including the first nine-win season since going 10-2 in 1996 under the late legend Joe Tiller?

You keep it going with your defensive coordinator taking over.

Jay Sawvel was a long time defensive assistant who rose up after spending a few years as a defensive coordinator at Minnesota and then Wake Forest. He stepped into the DC gig at Wyoming at 2020, everything clicked, and now he’s taking over a head coaching job for the first time.

Nothing stops.

Tough defense, tough offense, tough plays for opposing teams to play. Wyoming has its niche, and it’ll keep on working.

Wyoming Football Preview 2024: Offense

- Jay Johnson spent the last three years as the Michigan State offensive coordinator. In came the new coaching staff, and out he went to Laramie to by Jay Sawvel’s OC. There will be running, toughness from the line, and everything you’d expect from a Wyoming attack starting with …

- The running game will keep on rolling. It was effective last year averaging 4.4 yards per carry and it gets back Harrison Waylee coming off a team-leading 947 yards and five scores. He’s got the burst to crank out yards in chunks, Jamari Ferrell is a smallish quick back in the rotation, and North Carolina transfer DJ Jones will help.

The line was okay last season and should be a bit better. The interior is big around C Nofoafia Tulafono and 314-pound Jack Walsh, who’ll likely move from tackle to guard. There’s decent enough depth to play around with the configuration.

- Can Evan Svoboda rise up into the starting quarterback gig? The 6-5, 245-pounder saw a little time last year showing off the mobility to go along with the big arm. As long as he’s stretching the field and hitting around 60% of his throws he’ll be doing his job.

John Michael Gyllenborg is a nice midrange tight end who finished second on the team with 31 catches, but that’s about it for the experience. The top three wide receivers are gone, with Alex Brown and his eight catches in 2023 the top returning receiver. Even so, this group will be physical, will make plays down the field, and do what Wyoming receivers do.

Wyoming Football Preview 2024: Defense

- Aaron Bohl - the son of former head coach Craig Bohl - takes over the defensive coordinator duties with Jay Sawvel moving up a spot to the head coaching gig.

The D couldn’t come up with a third down stop, wasn’t great at generating plays behind the line, and it was all fine because of lots of takeaways and and a nasty style against the run. The mix of things all worked - the Cowboys allowed just 22 points per game.

The line will once became the best in the Mountain West starting with all-star tackle Jordan Bertagnole. There’s depth on the outside with a slew of 240ish-pound ends who can all move. Sabastian Harsh is the best of the bunch, but he’s not alone.

- The linebacking corps lost leading man Easton Gibbs , but Shae Suiaunoa is a rock in the middle, VMI transfer Evan Eller is a talking machine, and Connor Shay should slip into a bigger role on the outside.

- It’s Wyoming. The defensive backs can all tackle. The safeties are all nasty, with Wyett Ekeler one of the best all-around defenders in the Mountain West making 77 tackles with two picks, two sacks, and seven broken up passes last season. Wrook Brown and Issac White are veterans who’ll be all around the ball.

Tyrecus Davis is back at one corner spot with a slew of underclassmen working into the other roles. The safeties will make up for any rough areas on the outside.

Key To The Wyoming Football Season

The running game has to keep working.

It’s a relatively easy formula. Run, control the tempo, let the defense be tough as it bends but doesn’t break, run more, and keep it going. Wyoming was 7-0 last season when running for 170 yards or more, 2-4 when it didn’t, and 0-3 when it didn’t get to 130 yards.

Since 2019 Wyoming is 0-14 when it doesn’t run for at least 130 yards.

Wyoming Key Player

Evan Svoboda, QB Jr.
Andrew Peasley wasn’t perfect last year, but the then-sixth year senior was the exact right fit for the Cowboys. He threw 20 touchdown passes with five picks and ran for seven scores. More importantly, he hit 62% of his throws - just enough to keep the fun moving.

Svoboda has the tools to do even more, but he doesn’t have the experience. He’ll throw more picks than Peasley did, but he has to somehow make the new receiving corps shine.

Wyoming Football Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: Evan Eller, LB Sr.
He fits. He’s a slightly undersized linebacker who gets all over the field and makes lots and lots of tackles. The former VMI star made 206 tackles over the last two seasons and now should quickly be a part of the Cowboy rotation.

Top Transfer Out: Gavin Meyer, DT Sr.
The Cowboys didn’t lose too much in the portal, but the 6-4, 282-pound Meyer was a big piece of the rotation on the defensive interior. He made 26 tackles and was decent and generating pressure in the backfield. Now he’ll be a part of the USC puzzle.

Wyoming Key Game

Boise State, Nov. 23
Wyoming has lost seven straight to Boise State going back to 2016 and is 1-17 all-time. There isn’t a game on the Mountain West slate that isn’t winnable, but there will be a slip or two along the way. However, beat Boise State in the conference finale, and a spot in the Mountain West title game is possible

10 Best Wyoming Football Players

1. Wyett Ekeler, S Sr.
2. Jordan Bertagnole, DT Sr.
3. Isaac White, S Jr.
4. Harrison Waylee, RB Sr.
5. Wrook Brown, S Jr.
6. John Michael Gyllenborg, TE Jr.
7. Sabastian Harsh, DE Jr.
8. Shae Suiaunoa, LB Sr.
9. Nofoafia Tulafono, C Sr.
10. DeVonne Harris, DE Sr.

Wyoming 2023 Fun Stats

- 4th Quarter Scoring: Opponents 88, Wyoming 54

- Fumbles: Opponents 16 (lost 11), Wyoming 11 (lost 5)

- Two Point Conversions: Wyoming 2-for-2, Opponents 2-for-5

Wyoming Football 2024 Win Total Prediction: What to Expect This Season

More of the same.

Once again, Wyoming will be a tough out every week, it’ll be a bear to get through in Laramie, and it’ll beat the teams it’s supposed to.

How many of the ten teams Wyoming lost to over the last two years finished with a losing record? None.

There should be a decent base of wins to work off of, but unlike the Texas Tech game last year, the opener against a Power Four team - Arizona State - is on the road.

There’s no Colorado State or UNLV from the Mountain West slate, and not having to play Oregon State doesn’t hurt, but the Cowboys do close the season at Washington State and have to go to Colorado State.

The biggest games, though, are at home, getting Boise State, Air Force, Utah State, and San Diego State in War Memorial. They’ll win just enough of those to still be in the mix for the Mountain West title chase in mid-November.

Set The Wyoming Win Total At … 6.5

Likely Wins: Idaho

50/50 Games: Air Force, Boise State, BYU, at Colorado State, at New Mexico, at North Texas, San Diego State, at San Jose State, Utah State, at Washington State

Likely Losses: at Arizona State

2024 Wyoming Football Schedule

Aug 31 at Arizona State
Sept 7 Idaho
Sept 14 BYU
Sept 21 at North Texas
Sept 28 Air Force
Oct 5 OPEN DATE
Oct 12 San Diego State
Oct 19 at San Jose State
Oct 26 Utah State
Nov 2 at New Mexico
Nov 9 OPEN DATE
Nov 16 at Colorado State
Nov 23 Boise State
Nov 30 at Washington State
Missing: Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, UNLV, (Oregon State)