Frustration continues for UW offense

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By Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming offense weren’t up to its own standards through two games, but what appeared to be a porous defense in the horizon had it thinking that Saturday would be the day.

The Cowboys took a step or two back on Saturday and made the Colorado defense look like gangbusters, as the Buffs rolled to a 24-0 win at Folsom Field in Boulder.

"Today was a hard day, we weren't successful on offense,” Wyoming freshman quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels said. “There are good things happening on offense, we're just a step away from being there. There are no excuses, but this is the first year in this system, so we have to learn quickly."

The Colorado defense had given up 77 points and over 1,000 yards of total offense in their first two games, prompting optimism that the Wyoming offense would break out of its early-season slump.

But that didn’t happen as the Wyoming offense has now failed to score a touchdown in nine straight quarters, dating back to the third quarter in the season opener against Weber State.

"It's frustrating as an offense if we don't score, especially if our defense is putting us in good situations,” Wyoming junior wide receiver David Leonard said. “We have to come together as an offense and get it done. We have the athletes, talent, and coaching scheme to put it all together; we just need to get it done."

Wyoming offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said the Cowboys started out of rhythm and just couldn't catch a cadence.

“We might have to deal with juggling quarterbacks, we'll have to go back and look at it, but again it's just experience and getting in and starting fast,” Arroyo said.

The Cowboys finished with 230 yards on offense, most of it in the second half. Wyoming also failed to get the ball into the end zone after a golden opportunity in the first half ended in a missed field goal attempt.

"We need to put points on the board and work on execution,” Cowboy center Russ Arnold said. “All 11 of us need to work on executing."

The Cowboys had been relatively disciplined in the first two games, but struggled with penalties on both sides of the ball. A couple of key penalties and dropped passes ended any type of threat to sustain drives.

Arroyo said that more than anything, they have to do the little things and can’t be their own worst enemy.

“We have to be able to be more productive on first down, so we don't get ourselves in third-and-long situations,“ Arroyo said. “It's about doing the little things and not killing ourselves with penalties. We had our first three personal fouls today. We lost our composure at times and we have to go back to the drawing board and back to work. We have a long way to go."

Carta-Samuels came off the bench after the first four possessions by starting quarterback Robert Benjamin. Carta-Samuels played the rest of the game, completing 11 of 24 passes for 125 yards.

Will there be a change at quarterback for next week’s Mountain West Conference opener against UNLV?

Carta-Samuels said it is not up to him.

"I gave my best effort and hopefully the coaches liked what they saw,” Carta-Samuels said. “I know I'll work as hard as I can and you will never see a lack of effort from me."

Benjamin, who showed progress last week against Texas, was just 1 of 4 passing for 2 yards.

"Whoever is in the game, we are behind 100 percent,” Arnold said. “Austyn played tough today."

Regardless the quarterback, Arroyo said they are all frustrated with the start offensively.

"If you're not frustrated, you're in the wrong business,” Arroyo said. “We're all competitive, that's why we're here. It is our job to get back to the drawing board and get these guys ready.”