Texas v. Wyoming

There is, perhaps, more than expected when breaking down this weeks game with Wyoming. First of all Wyoming looked good in their opener against Southern Utah. They were able to throw the ball effectively and score often, while limiting Southern Utah from scoring in the red zone. Also there is the tragic death of Linebacker Ruben Narcisse which will serve as a distraction as well as motivation.

For the most part Wyoming looked good against the Thunderbirds, throwing for 319 yards on the day and scoring at will. Quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels was 26-32 and scored on td passes of 36 and 69 in what was an easy day for the sophomore from San Jose, CA. His favorite target was senior Zach Bulger who grabbed 5 balls for 134 yards including the 69 yarder.

On defense the Cowboys had a little more trouble. Southern Utah was able to gain 384 total yards with 191 coming on the ground. They also held the football for 34:43 in regulation but were only able to capitalize one time in the red zone in the first quarter. They also won the turnover battle 2-0 adding another element of "strange" to this game.

Looking ahead I feel as though Texas should have their way with Wyoming's rushing defense. 191 yards given up against Southern Utah does not get it done in big boy football. This is a great opportunity for Tre, Cody, and Fozzy, to unleash their off season workouts on a lesser opponent. Not to mention our O-Line!! I really hope we go to work and march on our first few drives. If we are forced to throw than this new running attack is likely to be more hype than reality. This is the perfect game to build confidence both within the team as well as the fan-base and national media. There has been talk of more throwing this week which is okay if done by design, but ultimately this game might be better served working on the rushing attack.

As for our defense, they certainly have a "formidable opponent," no it is not Stephen Colbert. Austyn (with a Y) Carta-Samuels looked great and will surely try to establish himself. Maybe the D can spark this win as they did last season with "pick 6" to the house early on. But certainly the D can expect to be active against an offense that throws the ball 30+ times a game. They also score from distance and keep coming providing another good test for the D. If this Defense is going to stop more high powered offenses later this year we need to prove we can stop a competent offense in week 2. I see heavy pressure, confusing schemes, and great DB's causing havoc for young Austyn, and hopefully forcing him into some bad decisions. Look for a lot of hard "vertical claps" over downed receivers.

Finally it should be said that 19 year old Linebacker Ruben Narcisse lost his life in a 1 car crash after the Cowboys win last week to start the season. CB Trey Fox, the driver as well as two other players, Christian Morgan and J.J. Quinlan were also in the car and were hospitalized with much less serious injuries. There will be a tribute before the game for Narcisse and Wyoming will certainly play inspired. I hope we pay a fitting tribute to the young man by honoring him before the game and then proceeding to play hard and with good spirits. These types of tragedies can inspire a lesser team, a la Texas A&M following the bond fire tragedy, and we must not let that affect our game plan. Than we must pray for that team's players and that boys family. But football is football.

Hook em'!! Lets get a big win, stay healthy, and look sharp on Offense and Defense!!

Zack

Burnt Orange Radio