Cowboys, Aztecs in dire need of a win

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming senior Wynel Seldon runs against Bowling Green earlier in the season.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The numbers don’t lie: No wins in Mountain West Conference play, three wins overall.

That’s just not one team, that’s the combined record for Wyoming and San Diego State, which meets Saturday at noon at War Memorial Stadium.

Not exactly game of the week material on paper.

But, like the old sports cliché, something has to give. One team will walk out of the War with a win and feeling better about itself down the stretch.

“We are both two teams that are struggling; there’s no question we’re trying to find continuity and rhythm on both sides of the ball,” SDSU head coach Chuck Long said. “I will say this, they (Wyoming) are a tough team. They run to the ball very well, they are tough on defense; they want to play sound on defense with their system. Offensively, they have been working some quarterbacks in, working new package on offense every week and they had a nice package against TCU. We’re expecting a new wrinkle or maybe the same one.”

The Aztecs, though, might be feeling a little better about themselves after coming up just short against Colorado State, 38-34. Wyoming, however, despite a fairly good first quarter and early second quarter, fell to No. 14 TCU 54-7 in Fort Worth.

San Diego State, however, knows the feeling. Two weeks ago they were hammered by New Mexico, 70-7.

“It was a much better effort than the week before,” Long said of the loss to CSU. “I was proud of the fact that our guys stepped up and our pride kicked in and gave us a chance to win it at the end of the game.”

Against CSU, Aztecs junior running back Atiyyah Henderson had his best game of his career with a nice 177-yard effort, including a 72-yard touchdown run against the Rams.

“It was our best production with the run game all year and we needed that,” Long said. “We had great balance and we scored some points. We finally got some rhythm back in our offense for the first time in a number of weeks.”

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said the SDSU running game does concern him, especially with the speed of Henderson

“If he can go for 177 and 72 for a touchdown, you know he has that Devin Moore type speed,” Glenn said. “If he can shake you, he can take it to the house. You don’t see many 70-yard runs in college football any more with dbs running like they can and everybody having angles on you. You have to be awfully fast to take one to the house.”

San Diego State redshirt freshmen quarterback Ryan Lindley has been hampered by a shoulder injury, but he did manage to go 24-of-33 for 166 yards and one touchdown against Colorado State.

“He’s getting stronger, getting more confidence in his arm,” Long said. “We thought we had an excellent game plan working around that. You can see on film that he had trouble throwing the deep ball. He was better last week than he was the week before. He still has his accuracy, although he’s not quite all the way there, but he makes good decisions and we’re getting stronger with him.”

Injuries have hurt both teams. Wyoming, which has been inconsistent at best at the quarterback position, will likely go with redshirt freshman Chris Stutzriem, with junior Karsten Sween still suffering from a concussion he received from a devastating hit from TCU linebacker Robert Henderson.

Sween is still experiencing headaches and is a game-time decision, Glenn said.

“The evaluation goes on,” Glenn said.

The Cowboys also got some bad news as sophomore receiver David Leonard is out again with an ankle injury. He is expected to miss at least two weeks.

“That is really tragic. That guy needs a break and we really need him,” Glenn said.

Injuries have been an issue all season for the Aztecs. Long said they are just trying to find a healthy 22 players each week.

“It’s not getting much better just because it is late in the year now,” Long said. “All of the pounding adds up. Each week has been a difficult challenge for us, especially our coaching staff, because they have to find out who is going to play. We have a number of guys out during the week and don’t know if they will play or not, so we have to plan around that.”

While the results haven’t shown it, both Long and Glenn have maintained that their teams are fighting hard and trying to stay positive. They’re always looking for something positive -- hard as it seems -- to prepare for the next game.

That positive for the Cowboys was how they played early against TCU.

“We played better in some ways on offense,” Glenn said.

Sween a game-time decision

Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween, right, is pictured running the football earlier in the season against Bowling Green.


By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

As of Tuesday morning, Wyoming junior Karsten Sween is still the starting quarterback for the Wyoming Cowboys.

His status for Saturday's game against San Diego State, however, is still unclear from a hit he took against TCU last Saturday.

Sween suffered a concussion after TCU linebacker Robert Henson delivered a blow to his head (from Henson’s shoulder pad) as Sween began a slide after a scramble. Henson was flagged for personal foul penalty on the play and Sween did not return.

The Horned Frogs went on to route the Cowboys 54-7.

Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn said Tuesday on the MWC media teleconference that Sween is a game-day decision.

“I think they have to keep trying him and see how the symptoms are,” Glenn said. "The symptoms are gone, but I guess with a deal like that they try to work you out and push you a little bit to see if the symptoms return. He has to be asymptomatic before he can play.”

Glenn said that Sween was never knocked out and he apparently answered Glenn’s questions correctly.

“I went over and asked him, ‘Who is the President?’” Glenn said. “He got that one right. I let a series go by and he was still with Doc and I went by him and asked, “Who is the Vice President?’ He looked up at me and said, ‘Is it still Cheney?’ He had a sense of humor through it all and remembered our Wyoming guy in D.C.

“I think he is going to feel better, but it is whether or not the symptoms, once they are gone, will they stay away?”

Glenn said that redshirt freshman Chris Stutzriem is No. 2 on the depth chart at this time.

Who’s No. 1?
The Cowboys are the lone MWC team to play BYU, Utah and TCU -- the top three teams in the league who are all ranked in the top 20 in the national polls and the BCS standings. Those three have teams combined to outscore Wyoming 138-14.

So who does Glenn think is the top team? Flip a coin.

“Where the game is being played, I’m saying, would be huge. I always think there is a home-team advantage,” Glenn said. “There are some good teams there and I don’t think I could pick one team or the other.”

Players of the Week
Max Hall (BYU), Jimmy Young (TCU) and Aaron Kirchoff and Ryan Harrison (Air Force) are Mountain West Conference Players of the Week for games through Oct. 26. Hall and Young share Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Kirchoff garners the Defensive Player award and Harrison receives Special Teams recognition.

Hall converted 24 of 31 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 17 BYU to a 42-35 victory over UNLV. The junior from Mesa, Ariz., also had three rushes for 37 yards to give him 282 yards of total offense on the day.

Young caught five passes for three touchdowns and a school-record 226 yards in the Horned Frogs' 54-7 routeof Wyoming. His 226 yards marked the best single-game receiving effort in the MWC this season and the sixth-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Monroe, La., native's touchdown catches were from 60, 55 and 39 yards. Young, who averaged 45.2 yards per catch on the day, also had a 65-yard reception that led to a TCU touchdown two plays later.

Kirchoff registered four total tackles, including two solo stops, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for his first career touchdown in Air Force's 23-10 win over New Mexico.
A senior free safety from Barrington, Ill., Kirchoff recorded the second-longest fumble recovery in Air Force history when he scooped up a Lobo fumble and ran it back 96 yards for the score. Kirchoff's recovery came with Air Force trailing 10-0 in the first quarter and New Mexico driving inside the Falcons' 10-yard line.

Harrison matched his career-high with three field goals in Air Force's win over New Mexico. The Keller, Texas, native's first field goal of 30 yards tied the game at 10-10 in the second quarter, while his second kick of 43 yards made it a two-possession game early in the fourth period. His third field goal came from 32 yards to give him a 16-of-18 completion rate on the season. Harrison also recorded four punts for an average of 41.5 yards and six kickoffs for an average of 63.5 yards in the contest.

Young, Horned Frogs fly past Cowboys

TCU photo
TCU receiver Jimmy Young hauls in a pass Saturday in the Horned Frogs 54-7 win over Wyoming.

By Wyoming Sports.org

Of all of the TCU weapons, Jimmy Young might have flown under the radar going into Saturday’s game.

By doing that, Young flew past the Cowboys with a school-record 226 yards receiving, catching three touchdown passes in No. 15 TCU’s 54-7 throttling of Wyoming in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West) ended BYU's 16-game winning streak with a 32-7 win last week that vaulted them up the polls and into the initial Bowl Championship Series standings at No. 14.

TCU coach Gary Patterson was worried that his team would overlook a struggling Wyoming team. Young apparently took Patterson's warning to heart.

"We handled it well," said Young, who had five receptions. "We knew Wyoming wouldn't back down. Coach made sure we forgot about BYU quickly."

Young had scoring catches of 60, 55 and 39 yards, and hauled in a 65-yarder to set up another touchdown as TCU won its fourth straight game.

It feels great, but it is something that I'm going to have to forget about for the next couple of weeks and wait until the season is over, because now my focus has to be on UNLV,” Young said of the TCU receiving record.

Young's big day helped the Horned Frogs pile up 444 yards of offense.

"Everybody looks for style points all time," Patterson said. "Maybe it’s just my defensive nature, but I'm just looking for a win."

TCU quarterback Andy Dalton completed 16-of-22 passes for 334 yards and four touchdown passes. The Horned Frogs, who led 38-7 after three quarters and rested most of their starters in the fourth, have outscored their opponents 140-28 during their winning streak.

Wyoming (2-6, 0-5), which upset TCU last season 24-21, has dropped five in a row and lost all its conference games by at least 20 points. In losses to the top three teams in the league -- TCU, BYU and Utah -- the Cowboys have been outscored 138-14.

“They just have too much speed and athleticism and we couldn't keep up with them,” Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said. “Not only did they make our offense and defense look bad, but our special teams as well." Devin Moore had 114 yards rushing for the Cowboys, the most this season against a TCU defense which came in leading the country in run defense and total defense.

Moore had a 42-yard TD run that cut TCU's lead to 14-7 midway through the second quarter.

Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween left the game in the third quarter with a concussion after taking a blow to the head from TCU linebacker Robert Henson. Sween was replaced by Dax Crum.

"(Henson) is a great player and I'm sure he didn't mean to do it," Moore said. "He was just hungry to make a hit and that's understandable. But when the engines are going like that, things can get out of control."

Henson said Moore gave the vaunted TCU defenses fits, but they were able to adjust in the second half. Wyoming had just 15 yards rushing in the second half after 98 in the first half.

"In my opinion, Devin Moore is the best running back that we have faced all year,” Henson said. “He made us go back to the basics of tackling, which is break down and wait on him to make a move and go for him then. That guy plays hard, he's obviously the leader of his team and behind him, they can do a lot."

It took us a while to get adjusted to what they were doing on offense. I think the biggest change we had to make was that we had to get back to trusting each other to take care of our responsibilities."

The Horned Frogs needed only four plays to score. Dalton hit a streaking Young for a 60-yard touchdown pass. The duo hooked up for 55 yards early in the second quarter.

Wyoming then marched down the field for its lone score of the day and appeared to be building some much-needed momentum. That momentum was extremely short-lived, as Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to put the Horned Frogs back up by 14 points midway through the second quarter.

"They beat our best guys and we just made mistakes," Glenn said. “We didn't execute well and we were outplayed in every aspect of the game."

TCU built on its 24-7 halftime lead when Dalton scored on a 1-yard run after hitting Young for 65 yards, the longest pass play for the Horned Frogs this season.

Young's final catch of the game was his 39-yard touchdown reception with a minute remaining in the third.

The Cowboys will return home Saturday when it hosts San Diego State, beginning at noon at War Memorial Stadium.
---
HORNED FROGS 54, COWBOYS 7
Wyoming 0 7 0 0 -- 7
TCU 7 17 14 16 -- 54
First Quarter
TCU-- Jimmy Young 60 pass from Andy Dalton (Ross Evans kick)
Second Quarter
TCU-- Jimmy Young 55 pass from Andy Dalton (Ross Evans kick)
UW-- Devin Moore 42 run (Jake Scott kick)
TCU-- Aaron Brown 85 kickoff return (Ross Evans kick)
TCU -- Ross Evans 24 field goal
Third Quarter
TCU -- Andy Dalton 1 run (Ross Evans kick)
TCU -- Jimmy Young 39 pass from Andy Dalton (Ross Evans kick)
Fourth Quarter
TCU -- Justin Watts 1 pass from Andy Dalton (Ross Evans kick)
TCU -- Team safety (punt blocked out of end zone)
TCU -- Marcus Jackson 4 run (Ross Evans kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
TCU -- Justin Turner 10-25, Antoine Hicks 6-23, Aaron Brown 7-22, Andy Dalton 6-21 & 1TD, Jai Cavness 5-8, Ryan Christian 2-7, Marcis Jackson 1-4 & 1TD, Jercell Fort 2-0. Totals: 39-110 & 2TDs. Wyoming -- Devin Moore 25-1114 & 1TD, Wynel Seldon 5-(minus 17), Brandon Stewart 2-15, Darius Terry 6-10, Karsten Sween 2-6, Greg Genho 2-4, Dax Crum 1-(minus 19). Totals -- 43-113 & 1TD.
Passing
TCU-- Andy Dalton 16-22-0 334 & 4TDs. Totals -- 16-22-0 334 & 4TDs. Wyoming -- Karsten Sween 5-10-0 89, Dax Crum 2-2-0 1, Chris Stutzriem 2-3-1 18. Totals: 9-15-1 108.
Receiving
TCU -- Jimmy Young 5-226 & 3TDs, Curtis Clay 2-32, Walter Bryant 2-20, Bart Johnson 2-17, Justin Watts 2-16 & 1TD, Ryan Christian 2-10, Aaron Brown 1-13. Totals -- 16-334 & 4TDs. Wyoming -- Greg Bolling 3-43, Brandon Stewart 1-40, Travis Burkhalter 1-12, Donate Morgan 1-6, Jesson Salyards 1-6, Wynel Seldon 1-3, Greg Genho 1-(minus 2). Totals -- 9-108.
Defensive points (unassisted-assisted)
TCU-- Jason Phillips 10-1, Robert Henson 7-2, Tejay Johnson 6-1, Steven Coleman 4-2, Stephen Hodge 4-1.
Wyoming -- John Fletcher 7-0, Quincey Rogers 6-1, Weston Johnson 5-2, Mitch Unrein 6-0, Gabe Knapton 4-0, Tashaun Gipson 3-1, Mike Juergens 2-2.

Tall task ahead: Cowboys face TCU

TCU photo
TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes gets a hold of BYU quarterback Max Hall last week.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Let’s recap things.

The Wyoming Cowboys were in dire need of a bye week to recharge themselves mentally and physically.

Check. They had four days off and are a little healthier coming back.

The Cowboys will look to come out of the bye week against an opponent that could give them a little momentum to basically save, if not re-charge the remaining five games of their season. Wyoming will get back to work Saturday against No. 14 TCU. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas.

Yikes. On paper, the Horned Frogs (4-0 in MWC, 7-1 overall) aren’t likely the team the Cowboys (0-4, 2-5) would like to face coming off the bye week. It's a game that matches one of the worst teams offensively in the NCAA against the best team defensively in the national statistics.

Despite the long odds, Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said they’ll come out and play hard.

“We have five games left in the season and we fully believe something good is going to happen,” Glenn said. “We have to push hard and we have to hang in there with this team early. We’ll see where it is at. If we can play error free first half and do the things I think we are capable of, we’ll see if we can make a game of it.”

Wyoming, which leads the country in turnovers with 27, will certainly have its work cut out for them. Based on past experiences this season and even in last year’s 24-21 win over the Horned Frogs, the Cowboys will look to establish the run first with seniors Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon. The problem: TCI is ranked first against the rush, giving up just 21 yards a game.

Overall, the Horned Frogs are giving up a paltry 218 yards per game, also No. 1 in the country.

“We’re like everybody else,“ Glenn said. “We’ll start the game out trying it and see where it goes.”

Asked in Thursday’s media teleconference on what made the TCU defense so strong, Glenn said it goes back to depth and talent.

“Somebody asked Gary Patterson, their coach, who was their MVP on defense and he couldn’t name him,” Glenn sad. “I named about five of them. They are a talented bunch. They are tough inside, better than they have ever been inside. (Stephen) Hodge (safety) comes off the edge a lot with their stunting. Thirty-nine (linebacker Jason Phillips) is an all-conference player three times now. (Jerry) Hughes (defensive end) is an edge rusher who can really bring the heat. The corners are cover guys and are all over you. It’s hard to get a pass in. I don’t know where to stop. They have the right people for their scheme. Fifty-one (linebacker Robert Henson) is another guy who is a relentless tackler. He comes after you hard. It’s a good football team.”

In last week’s 32-7 dismantling of BYU, Hughes had six sacks that earned him defensive player of the week honors nationally. He leads the nation with 11 quarterback sacks. The Cowboys are ranked 115th in the country (out of 119 teams) in passing and will have to protect starting quarterback Karsten Sween to have a chance to move the ball through the air.

Glenn said that with pass protection, they will have to be smart about getting their protection set to TCU the defense, which lies in the hands of the quarterback.

“Then you have to battle because they are relentless,” he said. “The pre-snap reads are going to tell you where you have to look, and if they change from a pre-snap read to rolling another way, you have to be able to drop back, pick it up and deliver the ball in rhythm.”

As strong as the TCU defense is, the Horned Frogs aren’t too bad on offense as well. In fact, TCU is ranked 38th in the country offensively. Quarterback Andy Dalton was back after missing two games with an injury and played well against BYU, completing 12 of 19 passes for 170 yards.

It’s all about efficiency, Glenn said.

“Against BYU, they came out and threw the ball over their head, which is something nobody had done,” Glenn said. “They ran effectively, they passed a high percentage. This quarterback makes them go pretty good. He is probably a little more balanced than the backup quarterback.”

On the ground, backup quarterback Marcus Jackson is sixth in the league rushing at 58 yards per game (six games), with Joseph Turner leading the team with 400 yards. Ryan Christian also had 302 yards, with Aaron Brown at 212 yards. As a team, the Horned Frogs are second in the MWC and 11th in the country at 233 yards a game.

“To me, they have a NFL back (Brown) playing second team. He might be the fastest guy in the league. If he is not playing, what does that tell you about the other guys?” Glenn said. “They don’t have many weaknesses.”

Ranked 14th in the country in the first BCS standings this season, are the Horned Frogs now the best team in the league?

Glenn said it depends on which week you ask. For now, they might be.

“It’s week-to-week, game-to-game. It’s hard to call,” Glenn said. “They are probably all a little bit better at home than on the road. It is close. I thought BYU was really strong and they got taken apart by this team.”

The Cowboys return home on Nov. 1 when they host San Diego State.

UW-TCU notebook

Cowboys at No. 15 Horned Frogs
The Wyoming Cowboys (2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Mountain West Conference) will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, this Saturday to play the TCU Horned Frogs (7-1 overall and 4-0 in the MWC). The game is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m., Mountain Time from TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium. It will be facing the third nationally-ranked team on its schedule this season for Wyoming.

TCU was ranked No. 14 in this week’s first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings of the year. The Horned Frogs were also ranked No. 15 in all three major polls this week – the Associated Press Media Poll, the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the Harris Interactive Poll.
Wyoming will be playing its third nationally-ranked team this season when they face TCU. UW has already played BYU and Utah this season when they were nationally ranked.

Of all its Mountain West Conference opponents, TCU is the one the Cowboys have the shortest series with, having played only four previous times. Wyoming and TCU will be playing for the fifth time when they meet on Saturday. The series is even at two wins apiece for each team. Each team is 1-1 at home and 1-1 on the road.

Defensively speaking
Two of the top defenses in the country will take the field this Saturday when the Cowboys and Horned Frogs face each other.

TCU leads the nation in three categories -- total defense, rushing defense and quarterback sacks. Wyoming is the No. 1 ranked pass defense in the Mountain West Conference and ranks No. 12 in the nation. The Pokes also rank No. 1 in the MWC and No. 6 in the country in lowest opponent third-down conversions, and rank No. 36 in the nation in total defense.

Bye week success
Wyoming had a bye week -- last week. In the modern era of Wyoming football, since World War II, the Pokes have had 39 bye weeks during the regular season. Wyoming has won 25 of its 39 games played following a bye.

The last time Wyoming had a bye week was the fifth week of the 2007 season. The following week, UW hosted TCU and captured a 24-21 home win over the Horned Frogs.

Last year
That last meeting between Wyoming and TCU was Oct. 6, 2007, in Laramie. UW built a 21-6 lead through three quarters.

The Pokes put together four long scoring drives on the day. UW scored on drives of 80 yards, 53 yards, 65 yards and 93 yards.

TCU began its first possession after picking off a Karsten Sween pass on UW’s first drive of the game. But the Cowboy defense held TCU to a three-and-out series forcing the Horned Frogs into a 51-yard field goal by Chris Manfredini, which was good. That was the only lead the Horned Frogs would hold all day.

Sween bounced back on the very next series to hit wide receiver Hoost Marsh on a 65-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the drive to put Wyoming up 7-3. Wyoming would never relinquish the lead.

Sween completed 12 of 26 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon each ran for 100 yards on the day, marking the first time since 1995 that two Cowboys had rushed for 100 yards in the same game. Moore ended with 135 rushing yards vs. TCU. Seldon ran for an even 100.

Marsh ended the day with a career best 87 receiving yards on four catches, including two TD receptions.

The Wyoming defense forced TCU into three turnovers -- two fumbles and an interception -- while recording nine tackles for losses, three sacks and 10 pass breakups. Defensive end Mitch Unrein forced two TCU fumbles and Michael Medina intercepted a pass.

Wyoming’s last score of the day came on a 23-yard field goal by Billy Vinnedge, to put the Pokes up 24-6. That field goal capped a 13-play, 93-yard drive by Wyoming.

TCU scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within three points at 24-21. On the last possession of the game, the Horned Frogs drove the ball down to the Wyoming 31-yard line, but a 48-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright on the final play of the game.

On TV
This Saturday’s game will be televised live on The Mtn. The Cowboys Sports Network radio broadcast will begin at 3 p.m., Mountain Time, with the pregame show.

Opponent news: TCU

Patterson not worrying about BCS

http://www.star-telegram.com/college_sports/story/984479.html

Hughes defensive player of the week

http://themwc.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101908aae.html

Play of the Game: Stutzriem to Bolling

UW photo service
Wyoming receiver Greg Bolling hauls in an 18-yard touchdown pass against Utah. Pictured below is quarterback Chris Stutzriem.


By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Easily the highlight for the Cowboys in Saturday‘s tough 40-7 loss to Utah at War Memorial Stadium came in the fourth quarter when third-string quarter Chris Stutzriem hit junior wide receiver Greg Bolling for an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Not only was it the only score for the Cowboys against the No. 13 Utes, but it is the only touchdown in four Mountain West Conference games for Wyoming. In the four losses, the Cowboys have been out-scored 131-10.

So what does it mean for Stutzriem and Bolling? It could be more possible playing time for the red shirt freshman quarterback and if nothing else, at least a touchdown in the season stats for Bolling, who has other wise struggled this season.

Bottom line for Stutzriem, though, is it was still a loss for the Cowboys.

The touchdown was a good feeling, but it still wasn’t great because we got a loss,” Stutzriem said.
It was the second time that all four Wyoming quarterbacks played in the game -- the other was in the 45-16 loss to Bowling Green.

After the game, Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn admitted that the quarterback carousel will likely have to continue until one quarterback steps up ands gets the job done.

Would Stutzriem like to be the starting quarterback in the future? Of course. If he is not, he said he will support whomever it is.

“I believe in all four of these guys. (Ian) Hetrick, Dax (Crum), (Karsten) Sween, we can do it,” Stutzriem said. “People have to realize that it takes time. But hopefully I do get to play, but if not, I’m going to back the guys just like they would back me.”

With Sween struggling, Crum and Hetrick also took a few snaps before Stutzriem got his chance in the fourth quarter. He said he just did his job, despite waiting on the sidelines in the whirling wind and cold.

“You have to be ready. That is the part about being a backup quarterback,” Stutzriem said. “You always have to be ready. “We’re D-1 athletes for a reason; we have to be ready to go and take the opportunity as we get it.”

Like all of the Cowboys who talked to the media after the loss, Stutzriem was disappointed not only with the outcome, but with how the Wyoming offense is performing. The Cowboys again had five turnovers in the game -- three interceptions, one fumble and one muffed punt return. Utah also blocked a punt for a touchdown.

“It was tough. We were ready for this game, we had a good game plan, coaches did a great job of getting us ready,” Stutzriem said. “But we lost another tough one. If anything, we ended on what I believe was a good note.”

Observing from the sidelines, Stutzriem said they are not doing the little things they have to do to be successful.

“Sometimes plays are there and were not catching it, we’re not making the throws. We have good players we just have to do the little things., then that will take care of the big picture.”

Bolling’s touchdown catch was his first of the season and only his 14th reception for 130 yards. Those statistics lead the Cowboys. It certainly isn’t the type of season he had envisioned as he made his way back to the program after academic struggles last spring.

Then again, other than a decent running game, there isn’t much to celebrate offensively for the Cowboys this season.

“We have to go back to the fundamentals and basics and try to take care of the ball. That’s No. 1,” Bolling said. “After that, it goes to our assignments. We have too many holding penalties that stop drives. We just can’t have that, especially against a Top 15 team in the nation, they are going to hurt you. We have to clean up the little things.”

With the way things are going offensively for the Cowboys, even Bolling’s touchdown catch was questionable if he got at least one foot in bounds on the sidelines of the end zone.

“Anybody will think they got their feet in when they (officials) are out their with two hands up and saying touchdown. We’ll look at it on film. Either way it goes, it is a touchdown in the stat book for me,” Bolling said. “Hopefully that can get us going a little bit, a little momentum in the fourth quarter. Hopefully it carries over in two weeks against TCU.”

When asked if the Stutzriem to Bolling connection could continue, Bolling said he has faith in the young signal caller and all of the quarterbacks.

“He came in and did a wonderful job,” Bolling said of Stutzriem. “I think all of the our quarterbacks have the capability to play. Even though sometimes things don’t got the way that they ant to, I think all of our quarterbacks are capable. Stutz came in and did a good job of moving us down the field. I think that is good for his confidence, as well as for the team.”

Despite O's struggles, defense staying positive

UW photo service
Wyoming junior defensive end Mitch Unrein sacks Utah quarteback Brian Johnson on Saturday. Pictured below is linebacker Mike Juergens.



By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming senior linebacker Mike Juergens is still having fun, regardless if anyone else is. He doesn’t intend that to change. Junior defensive end Mitch Unrein is on the same path.

Juergens, Unrein and the Wyoming defense once again did their part, holding the high-powered Utes to just 242 yards of offense and basically 20 points in the 40-7 loss Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.

Utah scored three times unconventionally, once on a pass interception, once on a blocked punt and another time on a muffed punt return that was recovered in the end zone.

Even some of the other scores against the Wyoming defense came from a short field, often caused by the Wyoming offense’s inability to move the football.

Juregens admits he is a little frustrated with the end result, but not displeased with the way he and his defensive teammates are playing.

“I’m proud of our guys defensively,” he said. “I thought we played really good today. Defensively, we shut them down. I felt like we played lights out defensively. Sometimes things just don’t go our way and we can’t get that monkey off of our back right now.”

While there is some aggravation in the locker room and in the stands, not much of it is directed towards the Wyoming defense. All they can do is keep coming out and playing with heart, Juergens said.

“This comes down to how much passion do we have? How much heart do we have? All of that sacrifice that we’ve done, it’s coming out there and playing every Saturday and having fun,” Juergens said.

Is Juergens still having fun? He said he is. It’s the only way he knows how to play the game.

“The minute you hang your head or you start doubting yourself or start doubting somebody else, that’s when you start getting dominating by the other team,” said Juergens, who had a team-high 10 tackles -- five solo and five assisted. He also had two sacks for a loss of seven yards. “The minute you start moping around and you don’t start playing and remembering what this game is all about, that’s when you get worked, that’s when you get dominated. My head is up and my chest is out. I’m proud of our whole defense. We’ll get things done. We’ve got to.”

In the last four games, the Wyoming offense has turned the ball over for a score early in the game, meaning the Cowboy defense has to play somewhat out of a hole. Unrein, who had one sack and also had 10 tackles, said that while is tough, it is something they can’t think about.

“You just have to go out there and get them off the field as fast as you can and give your offense another shot,” Unrein said. “That’s all you really can do. If we can give our offense more chances to dissect and see what they are messing up on, they can go out there and find something that works and go and do it.

“There are five games let … there is a lot of football left. We just have to keep playing. No one can get down on itself. Once the offense starts thinking, ‘Oh, can’t mess up, can’t mess up,’ that’s when they do mess up. They just need to go out there and react and play and they will be fine.”

For the time being, Jurgens said he is going abstain from worrying about the anemic Wyoming offense or even talking about it. He’s just concentrating on his and the defense’s job.

All I can do as a defensive player is trust and do my part,” he said. “That’s all I can do, really.”
With the Cowboys now on a bye week and not back in action until Oct. 25 at TCU, what should the Cowboys do? Unrein said they need to work hard and, you guessed it, enjoy what they are doing.

“I think we just need to relax … have fun,” Unrein said. “It seems like no one on the offense is really having fun. That is something they need to do, take a step back and look at the situation and say, ‘OK, we have five more games left and we need to make the best of it.’ I think this bye week is going to be good for us because we can look back and reflect on what they been doing. If we can find that little spark, once we get going, we will be hard to stop. We just haven’t found it yet.”

It's deja vu all over again for Cowboys

“It’s horrible. I played as hard as I could today and I just don’t understand why that keeps happening. I’m not going to play conservative. We had an opportunity to play against a big team, No. 13 in the nation, and I’m like, ‘We need to go out there and win.'" -- Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming junior defensive end Mitch Unrein compares the Cowboys recent troubles to the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray.

“The same thing keeps on happening over and over,” Unrein said.

Groundhog Day is an off-beat comedy where a self-centered TV weatherman, played by Murray, is sent to Punxsutawney, Pa., to cover the groundhog's annual appearance. Loathing the event, the character unleashes his bitterness on his producer and cameraman. The next day, he finds that he's doomed to repeat Groundhog Day -- again and again.

In the Cowboys case, it’s turnovers and turnovers early that lead to the opponents scoring. It seems to be a never ending battle the UW offense is fighting.

In the previous three games -- all losses -- the Cowboys had a turnover lead directly to a touchdown on their first possession.

On Saturday against Utah, Wyoming junior quarterback Karsten Sween’s second pass was tipped again into the arms of a defender -- Utes cornerback Sean Smith, and Smith ran it back 25 yards for the score.

Last week in the 24-0 loss to New Mexico, basically the same results came on the first play from scrimmage. This time it was on their second possession and eighth play.

The Cowboys would go on to have punt blocked and returned for a touchdown and freshman Tashaun Gipson muffed a punt return into the end zone that was recovered by Utah in the 40-7 Homecoming loss to the Utes at War Memorial Stadium.

“It’s horrible,” Sween said. “I played as hard as I could today and I just don’t understand why that keeps happening. I’m not going to play conservative. We had an opportunity to play against a big team, No. 13 in the nation, and I’m like, ‘We need to go out there and win.'"

What was Wyoming coach Joe Glenn’s reaction? Same verse, different story.

“It is a horrible reoccurring nightmare. I don't know what to tell you. We talk about it and we think we have pretty safe plays to stay away from them,’ Glenn said of the mistakes. “It’s just poor choices hurting us. You can’t get behind on a good team early. The plan was to stay close and make safe plays, bootleg out and not try to force it in. Karsten is old enough to know that you can’t try to fit something in where you can’t fit it in.”

Sween, the first of four Wyoming quarterbacks to again play in the game, was 8 of 18 passing for 52 years and three interceptions. UW signal callers were 10-of-23 68 yards and one score.

Redshirt freshman Chris Stutzriem directed the team’s only score late in the game when he connected for 18 yards to junior receiver Greg Bolling.

Sween said he did what he was supposed to do until throwing the football. It was a ball, he said, that he shouldn’t have thrown.

“It was a boot play and I rolled around and No. 11 is a real tall guy and he ran at me and I thought it would start to open up some room to the tight end,” Sween said. “When I threw it, all he had to do is tip it a little with his hand and it popped up and the corner picked it. I should have just thrown the ball away.”

The Cowboys actually had more yards on offense in the game -- 252 to 242 -- but about half of those came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

On several occasions, the Cowboys called a run play on third and long, sensing that they couldn‘t move the ball in the air. Until that one fourth-quarter scoring drive, it didn’t do them much good. Wyoming freshman punter Austin McCoy punted the ball nine times in the swirling wind.

“It’s frustrating watching, but that is what they call and that is what they have to run,” Unrein said. “They just have to go out and execute.”

No one is more frustrated than Sween, who admitted after the game that he is at the end of his rope.

“I’m trying to make plays. You can’t play to not turn the ball over,” he said. “I try to just play lights out and that happens. I don’t know what to do.”

At this point of time, and with the Cowboys seeing a bye for next week, Glenn isn’t sure what he is going to do as well.

What he did say was the only thing they can do is try to get the best players out on the field and coach them up.

“The quarterback carousel is crazy,” Glenn said. “We just can’t turn it over. Karsten, I thought, was at a place where he could get beyond the turnovers. Teams are good enough that you can’t help them out. You play a team like Utah and you help them out, you’re going to lose 40-7.”

Again, will the Cowboys go back to the quarterback merry-go-round?

“We’ll probably have to do it again,” Glenn said. “We’ll see. I haven’t even visited with Bob (offensive coordinator Cole).”

Glenn: Cowboys' morale still high

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

If bad things happen in threes, then the Wyoming Cowboys are done with all of the struggles offensively.

If only it was that easy.

Wyoming, looking to end a tough three-game slide, hosts No. 13 Utah Saturday in the annual Homecoming game at War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for noon and will be televised by The Mtn.

In the last three losses, the Cowboys have given up touchdowns from their offensive mistakes on their first possession. Last week, it was on the first play from scrimmage when quarterback Karsten Sween’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and returned 13 yards for the score.

In all three cases, the Cowboys have never been able to recover.

Despite the fact that the Cowboys have been outscored 91-3 in the three Mountain West Conference games and 113-16 in the last three games overall, Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said the morale of the team is “sensational.”

“We’ve had some bad breaks. We’ve not had momentum for about three games,” Glenn said. “We’ve started the last three games, and in the very first series, we’ve turned the ball over for a touchdown. Those things can weigh on your, but I am so proud of those kids for powering through it and working hard in practice. We need to get some momentum going early in the game, and if we do, we can play defense with anybody in the league if we protect the ball and keep our defense off the field.

“We have to find a way to score on offense.”

About the Utes
Utah has been solid this season and are coming off a rough but come-from-behind 31-28 win over Oregon State on Oct. 2. Utah is 2-0 in league play and 6-0 on the season.

Glenn said he can’t find any faults with the Utes this season.

“They are a veteran team on offense, really smart. They can get downhill on you with the run and have speed on the outside with their receivers,” he said. “Their team speed on defense is sensational. This is the best linebacking corps we will see this year,” he said. “Their defensive end is one of the top pass rushers in the United States. They have a good secondary. There is not a weakness to their team. And they have one of the best kickers of all time (Louie Sakoda). He is money.”

Weather conditions
Saturday’s forecast is for cold temperatures in the low 40s, windy with a 40 percent chance of rain and snow. While the conditions won’t be ideal, Glenn said it won’t favor any team.

“I never even think about it; both teams play on the same field,” Glenn said. “I don’t think it is an equalizer, it just makes play a little tougher for both teams.”

Glenn added that there isn’t much a coach can do to change his game plan because of the weather.

“Unless you get in there and it is blowing so bad that you can’t throw the ball,” Glenn said. “It’s never really changed anything I have done.”

Last year was last year
Glenn was asked on his Thursday media teleconference if last year’s 50-0 loss that included a Utah onside kick and Glenn reacting with a finger gesture, would have any bearing on this game.
He said none whatsoever.

“That was then and this is now. Revenge has never been part of my motivation,” Glenn said. “We’ll go out and play hard because it is Utah, not from anything that happened 50 years ago or last year.”

Injury ward
The Cowboys go into the game a little beat up, especially in the receiver department. Senior Chris Johnson will miss the game with a hand injury, while Greg Bolling, who is nursing a sore shoulder, is questionable. Sophomore David Leonard also showed up for Thursday’s team meeting on crutches, but he is expected to play.

Utes take advantage of Thursday game

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham isn’t a huge fan of Thursday night games -- his team has two on the 2008 schedule. One positive, though, is the extra days rest or preparation you get for the next week.

Whittingham said they got a little of both accomplished last weekend after the 31-28 win over Oregon State, and in preparing for the Cowboys Saturday in Laramie.

“We gave the team Saturday and Sunday off, so they get a little more rest,” Whittingham said. “The coaches get a jump start on the next opponent. It's a little more front-end loaded than a typical week.”

The Utes are wary of the Cowboys despite Wyoming’s recent struggles offensively. Whittingham said you can go back to the last time they played in Laramie -- two years ago - as an example. Wyoming belted his Utes, 31-15.

“I'm sure they will be fired up. They whacked us two years ago up there. I'm positive we will get their best shot,” Whittingham said. “They just lost to New Mexico on the road. It's their homecoming, so I'm sure they will be excited to get back to Laramie and have another opportunity.”

Whittingham said the Utes, who are ranked sixth in the country in rushing yards allowed, said you have to look at the Cowboy running back tandem of Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon first.

“Their running backs are very good,” Whittingham said. “They are the strength of their offense. Moore is gaining well over five yards a carry and Seldon is a tough, bigger back. Those guys run very hard. They are a little unsettled at quarterback. That is one of the biggest situations that they need to overcome. Their offense doesn't change much despite that.”

Overall, Whittingham likes where his team, 2-0 in Mountain West Conference play and 6-0 overall, is at in the midpoint of the season.

“We like the wins and finding ways to win in close situations,” he said. “I like our mentality and work ethic and how the team takes things week-to-week. The defense has done some very good things. There is still a lot to work on and by no means do we have everything figured out, but I am pleased with where we are.

“One week at a time. It's supposed to be cold up in Laramie. We have to get ourselves ready. We have conference play from here on out and have our work cut out for us.”

'It doesn't get any easier' with Utes in town

Richard Anderson photo
The Wyoming defense will look to bounce back Saturday against Utah.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

What made the previous two weeks so critical for the Wyoming Cowboys were the next two games -- Saturday at home against No. 13 Utah and Oct. 25 at TCU.

Three straight losses for the Cowboys (0-3, 2-4) hasn't helped the mindset for the future.

“It doesn’t get any easier. Suffice to say, we’re pretty disappointed at this point,“ Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said Tuesday during his weekly Mountain West Conference coaches’ teleconference. “We went down to New Mexico with a good plan and it just didn’t work out in any area of the game. Maybe we punted good … but that’s not good.”

The Wyoming offense, last in the country in scoring and near the bottom in most other offensive categories (passing and overall offense), will need its best game of the year to stay with the high-flying Utes.

But scoring just three points in three league games leaves Glenn and the Cowboys a bit staggered on where to start. Wyoming has been shut out by BYU (44-0) and New Mexico (24-0, scoring just one field goal against Air Force (23-3).

“It’s one thing to lose, but to lose without scoring, I think that is a double whammy,” Glenn said.

The Cowboys, despite all of their woes, have been decent on the ground behind seniors Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon. Utah’s defense, however, comes into the game tanked sixth in the country against the rush.

“Our coaches are searching high and low, looking at tape from the beginning of the season to last year, to try to find ways to see if there is an area where we can scratch a little bit if it itches," Glenn said of moving the football against the Utah defense. “Some teams have done a little better job of running the football than others and some have done a little better job of throwing the football than others. We have to pay particular attention to the ones who have had success. You always try to think, what do we do best? You have to blend a little bit together there.”

And then there is trying to stop the Utes, led by quarterback Brian Johnson (109 of 163 passing for 1,330 yards, 10 touchdowns, six interceptions) and the strong running tandem of Matt Asiata (373 yards, six TDs) and Darrell Mack (363 yards, three TDs).

The Cowboy defense had its worst game against the rush last week, giving up 317 yards against the Lobos, who were without leading rusher Rodney Ferguson.

“We gave up over 300 yards rushing and that was a disappointment,” Glenn said. “For a team to rush on us for that much yardage, it is just unacceptable.”

It all starts up front for the Utes, Glenn said, just like it does against BYU.

“They can pretty much dominate up front,” he said. “ You have a nice combination of run and pass, you have a couple of big backs, 220, 230, who can get downhill on you. They have it rolling good, their quarterback is the key to it all. He makes good choices and if seems like when he needs to go, they go.”

While Glenn said they have a lot of work to do in every phase of the game, he said they till have good kids, good coaches and good spirit.

“We have a lot of fight left in us, but we better be ready because we have a whale of a football team coming in with Utah this weekend,” he said.

Injury ward
The Cowboys also took a little beating at New Mexico physically, with junior wide receiver likely out with a shoulder injury and senior receiver Chris Johnson questionable with a hand injury.

Receiver Brandon Stewart, who played his first game last week because of a shoulder injury, re-aggravated the injury when he was slammed down hard out of bounds, but Glenn thinks he still might be able to go.

The good news? Redshirt offensive tackle Clayton Kirven appears ready to return to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a sprained ankle.

“He was been able to pick his game up and was working fast before he hurt his ankle a couple of weeks ago,“ Glenn said. “It will be good to have Clayton back.”

Lobos crush Cowboys

By Wyoming Sports.org

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- So much for not turning the football over and so much for a fast start.

It was same ole,’ same ole’ for the Wyoming Cowboys Saturday night against New Mexico. The Lobos got on the scoreboard just 15 seconds into the game and never looked back in dominating the anemic Cowboys 24-0.

With the loss, the Cowboys (0-3 MWC, 2-4 overall) have yet to score a touchdown in their three conference games, being outscored 91-3.

After last week’s disastrous four-quarterback rotation that emphasized no mistakes, that’s exactly what happened for the Cowboys on the first play from scrimmage. Starting quarterback Karsten Sween’s first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and easily intercepted and returned for a 13-yard touchdown by New Mexico’s Frankie Solomon.

This time Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn stuck with Sween the entire game, but the Wyoming offense never really threatened to get on the board. Sween was just 9 of 19 passing for 71 yards, with the Cowboy offense accumulating just 201 yards of total offense.

Glenn was basically at a loss of words during the post-game radio show on Leerfield Sports.

“Unbelievable,” Glenn said of the team’s start. “We worked that pass 20 times this week knowing that that would be the first play of the game and never had it tipped once. We’re a little snake-bit if you will, but I stand behind my guys. The guys are busting their butts and putting together good work. For it to go down like that is disheartening. It is so disheartening. You have some long faces and I feel bad for the kids. They want it and are trying hard. We just couldn’t get it going against New Mexico.”

As was the case from the Albuquerque skies, when it rains on the Cowboys, it seems to pour.

New Mexico head coach Rocky Long said the initial turnover not only helped the Lobos get some momentum, they didn't give it up the entire night.

"It probably hurt Wyoming psychologically, probably worse than it helped us get momentum. Because last week, I think it was the first two series of downs that they turned the ball over and Bowling Green scored off the turnover," Long said. "I feel bad for them because that has happened to us earlier in the season. If you turn the ball over close to the goal line, its hard to win games. I'm glad we won, but I have been on the other end of that so I feel their pain."

Although the Wyoming defense played well at times, it still gave up some big yards on the ground against a New Mexico offense that didn’t try to do anything fancy but run straight ahead.

The Lobos ran for 317 yards on the ground, even with starting running back and the league’s top rusher, Rodney Ferguson, on the bench with an injury. Third-string back, redshirt freshman James Wright ran for 120 yards, with senior Paul Baker adding 90 yards and quarterback Brad Bruner 80 yards.

Gruner was just 8 of 19 passing, but his legs hurt the Cowboys. A 52-yard scramble in the second quarter set up his 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Lobos (1-1, 3-3) a 21-0 lead with 5:58 left in the third quarter.

A 29-yard punt by Austin McCoy gave the Lobos good field position at the 50-yard line, followed by a UW pass interferrence penalty helped set up the Lobos second touchdown, a Wright 1-yard score. James Aho’s 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter closed the scoring.

Long said that while his offense wasn't exactly pretty without much of a passing game, they did what they wanted to do.

"A couple weeks ago everyone was talking about how bad we were. Now we have won two games and it's ugly?," Long said. "I don't think there is such a thing. Obviously, we are struggling to move the ball. We are not throwing and catching really well. The only chance you have to win is to play good defense and control the line of scrimmage and run the ball pretty well. We didn't kick the ball as well. We have been really good in special teams but we weren't very good in special teams tonight. We ran the ball good enough and played good enough defense to win."

Wyoming had three turnovers in the game, with two fumbles by Sween that were both on fourth down as the Cowboys were trying to get something going.

“We felt like we had a good plan for it, it just made us look bad,” Glenn said.

Field position also hurt the Cowboys, including a 49-yard opening kickoff return by Devin Moore that was called back because of a holding penalty.

“We’re our own worst enemy there, too,” Glenn said. “I don’t know how many times on kickoff return that we have a clip or a hold … it just can’t happen. We had a couple of good returns that were called back of what I just talked about.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Cowboys, as they host No. 15 Utah on Saturday and then travel to TCU on Oct. 25.

Something has to give for Cowboys, Lobos

Richard Anderson photo
Junior quarterback Karsten Sween looks for a receiver Saturday against Bowling Green.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn said he is blue in the face talking about it. Yet, he can’t avoid the subject.

With that said, Glenn talks about what turnovers have done to his team as they get ready for Saturday night‘s game at Albuquerque against New Mexico (7:30 p.m.).

The Cowboys’ 19 giveaways lead the nation. Their 11.2 points a game is 117th in the nation. The two have gone hand-in-hand this season.

“We’ve had five and six turnovers in the last two games and it has been brutal,“ Glenn said.
In three losses, 16 turnovers. In two wins, three turnovers.

“It was a way of life down the stretch last year and a reoccurring nightmare in the last two games,” Glenn said. “Anticipate getting something going on offense.”

The Cowboys are also one of the worst passing teams in the country, hence the switch back to last year’s starting quarterback, junior Karsten Sween. In last week’s 45-16 drubbing by Bowling Green, Sween had the best game of the four UW quarterbacks, completing 10 of 14 passes for 84 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown, but did lead the team on three scoring drives.

The reason Sween lost his starting job to sophomore Dax Crum is because of his knack of turning the ball over last season. He led the Mountain West Conference with 17 pass interceptions.

If Sween and the rest of the Cowboys can avoid those problems, Glenn said they will look like a different team out on the field.

“We actually aren’t that bad of a football team,” Glenn said.

Also in the lineup for the first time this season will be sophomore wide receiver/kick returner Brandon Stewart, who missed the first five games with a shoulder injury suffered in practice.

Stewart's debut and sticking with Sween has Glenn optimistic the Wyoming offense can get out of its funk.

“We’re looking forward to getting into a game where we can hang onto the ball and move the football on offense, get some points and protect the ball,” he said.

Mirror image?

Both teams have different quarterbacks other than their season-opening starters and both show a nice running attack with power and speed backs.

More importantly, both the Cowboys, 0-2, 1-4 and Lobos, 0-1, 2-3, are seeking their first MWC win.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Gruner took over last week for injured starter Donovan Porterie and was adequate as the Lobos ran for 297 yards in the 35-24 win over New Mexico State.

Senior reserve back Paul Baker ran for 146 yards and senior Rodney Ferguson leads the league at 104 yards a game.

Wyoming senior Devin Moore is second in the conference in rushing at 101 yards a game and senior Wynel Seldon backs him up at 46 yards a game.

“They are guarding their quarterback position, it looks like, but when you rush for about 300 yards, you don’t have to guard him too good,” Glenn said. “They have a stable of wonderful running backs. Baker out-rushed their big guy, Rodney (Ferguson). They are going to settle in on that running game. I think one of the keys for us is to hold up in the running game and not let them get too much in the pass.”

And Glenn said there is no doubt the Cowboys are going to rely on their running game.

“(Ferguson and Moore) are the two top rushers in the league,” Glenn said. “Certainly their styles are different. You have to gang-tackle Ferguson and Baker is more like D-Mo. They give you a one-two punch and we have a little bit of a Rodney Ferguson is Wynel Seldon.”

After Saturday’s game, the Cowboys return home Oct. 11 for their Homecoming contest against Utah.