Wyoming

Practice what you preach: ASU generates three turnovers against Wyoming

Published

1 year ago

September 1, 2024

Press Room

Practice what you preach: ASU generates three turnovers against Wyoming

Four games. That’s how long it took for the Arizona State defense to generate its first turnover in 2023.

Forty seconds. That’s how it long it took for ASU to get its first turnover for this 2024 season.

Redshirt junior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu read Wyoming junior quarterback Evan Svoboda perfectly and intercepted the Mesa Red Mountain alum on the second play of the game, returning it for a touchdown to start the year in near-perfect fashion for the Sun Devils to establish an early 7-0 lead.

They didn’t stop there either.

On the very next offensive drive for the Cowboys, facing a long third-and-23, the ASU defense again capitalized on a mistake from Svoboda, this time as another linebacker – junior Keyshaun Elliott – intercepted Svoboda on an overthrown pass. Seven plays later, redshirt sophomore Ian Hershey booted a 29-yard field goal to make it 10-0 at the 6:19 mark in the first quarter.

Coach Kenny Dillingham called the linebacker room the “most improved” during the preseason. And less than 10 minutes into the first game, the group proved him right. It’s also a testament to ASU’s ability in the transfer portal as both Fiaseu and Elliott are transfers. The Sun Devils picked up 30 transfers this past offseason, with the class ranking No. 30 in the nation and fourth in the Big 12, according to 247Sports.

ASU added its third turnover of the game in the third quarter when Svoboda attempted to hit wide receiver Tyler King on a swing pass to the left, but threw the ball behind his intended target. ASU redshirt senior Justin Wodtly scooped it up and ran 6 yards for the touchdown to make it 41-0 with 6:07 to go in the third quarter.

It was all part of a superb evening from the ASU defense, which held Wyoming to just 53 yards of total offense in the first half. Wyoming didn’t score its first points until 2 seconds remained in the game.

One of the themes of spring and fall camp for ASU was emphasizing the need for turnovers.

Great play all around: Sam Leavitt leads ASU to convincing victory in 1st career start

“I expect us to run to the football, and I expect us to get takeaways this year,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said ahead of the season.

ASU didn’t get its first takeaway until the first quarter of the fourth game of last season against USC when linebacker Tate Romney recovered a fumble. The Sun Devils were the last team among FBS schools to force their first turnover last season.

ASU was a dismal 127th — out of 130 schools — last year in turnover margin. Rice, Nebraska, and Temple were the only schools to finish below ASU in 2023.

That trend is now shifting in favor of the Sun Devils. The message is starting to get through.

“It’s incredible,” Dillingham said in his postgame news conference. “Every single day — guys are probably bored of it — we start our team meeting and the only two things I show are: effort plays and takeaways. That’s it. Bad ball security, takeaways, effort. That’s it. I don’t show anything else. It’s those two things, over and over. It’s just to get in their mind that if you play really hard and you win the turnover battle, all these schemes that you’re about to go do are awesome, but they’re obsolete. And we have to be able to do those two things, and then go play smart football. That was game-changing when you turn the ball over at that rate. It was as close to a shutout as you can possibly get. So in my mind, it’s a shutout and it’s two defensive touchdowns. Awesome job by our defense tonight. They deserve it because they’ve been working hard.”

ASU also executed on running the ball as senior running back Cam Skattebo (11 carries, 49 yards, one touchdown) and redshirt senior running back DeCarlos Brooks (six carries, 47 yards, one touchdown) led a potent, multipronged ground attack.

Even redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt got in on the action, showcasing his scrambling ability to the tune of 47 yards on eight carries.

In all, the Sun Devils rushed for 241 yards on 49 carries as a team. ASU had 499 yards of total offense on the night in a commanding 48-7 victory.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.

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Wyoming

Ice-cold Colorado State taken out by Wyoming | Takeaways

Published

5 hours ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Ice-cold Colorado State taken out by Wyoming | Takeaways

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Shot after shot hit the rim. Or rimmed in and out.

With each miss, the Arena Auditorium crowd raised its decibel level just a little bit.

The once-dynamic shooting attack of the Colorado State men’s basketball team abandoned it in the worst way Jan. 31 in a 68-57 loss at Wyoming.

“They punched us in the face and we kind of weren’t ready for it. They started the game off strong and we started slow,” CSU star Kyle Jorgensen said.

The Rams started slow (down 13-3 early) and slowly chipped away. It was a four-point Wyoming lead at half. For the first 10 minutes of the second half the CSU deficit was between four and eight. Wyoming couldn’t pull away, but CSU couldn’t fully close.

Then the wheels fell off. Wyoming went on a 12-0 run in the middle of the second half and the lead ballooned to as much as 16 (54-38). CSU tried to make another comeback attempt but the Wyoming lead was never less than eight in the final 10 minutes. The Rams never led in the game.

Here are takeaways from the game.

Colorado State’s shooting touch has gone away

CSU was the most efficient offense in the nation for most of nonconference play as the Rams started 9-2.

Things unraveled early in Mountain West play offensively, but at the time it felt like injury to star Kyle Jorgensen could largely give the Rams an explanation for why.

But now it’s clear the offense is struggling mightily. CSU (12-10, 3-8 Mountain West) is back to full health but things aren’t clicking.

Turnovers have been one demon, with CSU losing the ball 15 or more times in six games this season (five of them in MW play). Turnovers weren’t the main issue in this one (there were 10 CSU turnovers).

Now shooting woes are a big concern, particularly from 3-point range. CSU was 8-30 (27%) from 3-point range last game in a 23-point loss at San Diego State.

It was even worse in Laramie. CSU hit just one of its first 14 3-pointers. Concerningly, the looks were generally open and to what CSU would consider its best shooters.

CSU coach Ali Farokhmanesh said the Rams were a bit 3-point happy early (seven of their first 10 shots were from deep) but from there took good looks outside.

“It makes it really hard when you’re missing shots,” Farokhmanesh said. “We missed a lot of shots tonight that honestly I can’t complain a whole lot about most of them.”

But basically everyone was missing.

The Rams finished 4-23 (17%) from 3-point range and Kyle Jorgensen (2-6) was the only one to hit multiple 3-pointers.

CSU still entered the game 5th in the nation in 3-point efficiency at 41% but the number dropped to 35% in Mountain West play (and will go down further after this one).

Good shooters didn’t become bad shooters in a span of a week or two, but the Rams are low on confidence and low on makes.

The Rams started attacking the paint to some level of success and outscored Wyoming 36-14 in the paint. The teams reversed roles, with good two-point team Wyoming shining from 3-point range and good 3-point team CSU only scoring on two’s.

“If you would have told me we beat them 36-14 before the game started I would have thought we probably would win by 20,” Farokhmanesh said.

CSU has shot 37% overall from the floor the last two games and 23% from 3-point range.

Wyoming role player leads Cowboys

Wyoming (13-9, 4-7 MW) guard Khaden Bennett entered the night averaging nine points per game and shooting 29% from 3-point range.

He hit his first three 3-pointers to reach his season average scoring.

The points kept coming. Bennett went 6-8 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 22 points and he also snagged 10 rebounds.

“They had a guy that hasn’t shot well all season go 75% from 3, so sometimes that’s basketball,” Farokhmanesh said.

That’s an elite performance to win a rivalry game.

Wyoming makes just eight 3-pointers per game but hit 12 of them in this one. The Cowboys are a 32% shooting 3-point team and hit just shy of 50% (12-25) against CSU.

Much-needed bye for Colorado State

It’s fair to say the Rams are reeling a bit. This is now three losses in a row and defeats in five of their last six and the Rams appear to be battling confidence issues.

“It looks like it,” Farokhmanesh said on if CSU is lacking confidence. “That happens. That’s the ebbs and flows of sports. There’s ups and downs. You can’t buy into that. You have to remember who you are and what you do every single day.”

This game, where CSU was a narrow one-point underdog, was the start of a shift in schedule where the Rams would mostly play the lower tier of the league.

This is, obviously, a bad start to that stretch. Still, CSU will look ahead to turn around the record.

The Rams have a midweek bye, which feels like a much-needed time to reset and then CSU will face struggling San Jose State (7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Moby Arena).

CSU must start stacking wins to get the season back in the right direction.

“We’ve got to look in the mirror a little bit and realize, too, people scout us at a high level,” Farokhmanesh said. “That’s what the Mountain West is. We can’t just rely on what’s worked in the past. We have to adjust to what’s happening.”

Sports reporter Kevin Lytle can be found on social media on X, Instagram and Threads @Kevin_Lytle and on Bluesky.

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Wyoming

Sunny skies and breezy conditions forecast for Gillette through Sunday

Published

17 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

Sunny skies and breezy conditions forecast for Gillette through Sunday

GILLETTE, Wyo. — Campbell County residents are seeing a break from winter conditions as an Arctic airmass departs to the east, making way for breezy conditions and temperatures that are expected to climb well above seasonal norms by early next week. According to the National Weather Service in Rapid City, an upper-level wave moving through […]

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Wyoming

New Film Examines the Delicate Balance of Wyoming’s Bighorn Sheep Herds

Published

1 day ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

New Film Examines the Delicate Balance of Wyoming’s Bighorn Sheep Herds

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has released a new documentary examining the challenges of managing bighorn sheep populations across the state.

The film, Carrying Capacity: The Hunt for Resilience, premiered online Jan. 19 and is now available for public viewing. Produced and directed by Snowday, the documentary focuses on how wildlife managers balance population growth, disease risk and long-term sustainability, using two Wyoming herds as case studies — the Jackson Herd and the Ferris-Seminoe Herd.

The film features perspectives from scientists, wildlife managers and hunters, highlighting how hunting and disease management play interconnected roles in conserving bighorn sheep.

According to Game and Fish, the Jackson Herd continues to face ongoing challenges from pneumonia pathogens and recurring outbreaks, while the Ferris-Seminoe Herd has remained largely disease-free. However, the Ferris-Seminoe population’s ability to grow and expand increases the risk of future disease transmission if population levels exceed the area’s carrying capacity.

To manage herd health and prevent overcrowding, Game and Fish has implemented targeted ewe and lamb hunts. Officials describe the strategy as a proactive approach designed to maintain sustainable population levels while protecting the long-term viability of Wyoming’s bighorn sheep.

The film was made possible through partnerships with organizations and companies including the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, Teton Conservation District, University of Wyoming Monteith Shop, and several outdoor industry sponsors.

Game and Fish also plans to host in-person screenings and panel discussions across Wyoming later this spring, with additional details expected to be announced soon.

The release of the film comes as research continues on the proposed Seminoe Storage Project, an area known to provide prime bighorn sheep habitat within the Ferris-Seminoe range. Wildlife officials say ongoing studies will help better understand how habitat conditions, population pressures and future development could affect the herd.

Weirdest Creatures in the Cowboy State

Wyoming’s animals are wild and weird. Pronghorns rocket across the plains, bison casually block roads, and sage grouse strut around like they own the place. Coyotes, eagles, and mountain lions pop up out of nowhere, making it feel like the state is one big, unpredictable wildlife show.

📣✨ State Spirit Competition in Casper

📣🏆 Cheerleaders, dancers, and stunt teams from across the state brought their energy, skill, and school pride to compete for top honors in cheer, hip-hop, jazz, gameday, and more. It’s an action-packed celebration of teamwork and talent you won’t want to miss! 💥🙌

Gallery Credit: Kolby Fedore

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