Wyoming falls apart in second half, loses to North Texas 44-17

Consistency…consistency.

The blips of success witnessed in the last two weeks have yet to be sustained.

When the Cowboys begin establishing themselves, it feels like a mirage.

You want to believe it will continue, but know it won’t last.

Apathy is in abundance in Laramie.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter (7-3 UNT Advantage)

9:54 – 30-yard field goal by K John Hoyland

Wyoming 3 – North Texas 0

7:18 – 29-yard pass from QB Chandler Morris to WR DT Sheffield (Kali Nguma PAT)

Wyoming 3 – North Texas 7

2nd Quarter (20-14 UNT Advantage)

14:12 – 23-yard field goal by K Kali Nguma

Wyoming 3 – North Texas 10

5:54 – 19-yard pass from QB Chandler Morris to WR Blair Conwright (Kali Nguma PAT)

Wyoming 3 – North Texas 17

2:15 – 41-yard pass from QB Evan Svoboda to RB Sam Scott (John Hoyland PAT)

Wyoming 10 – North Texas 17

1:17 – 4-yard run by RB Makenzie McGill (Kali Nguma PAT)

Wyoming 10 – North Texas 24

1:03 – 100-yard kickoff return by WR Tyler King (John Hoyland PAT)

Wyoming 17 – North Texas 24

0:00 – 45-yard field goal by K Kali Nguma

Wyoming 17 – North Texas 27

HALFTIME

3rd Quarter (14-0 UNT Advantage)

10:10 – 2-yard run by RB Makenzie McGill (Kali Nguma PAT)

Wyoming 17 – North Texas 34

5:17 – 24-yard run by RB Makenzie McGill (Kali Nguma PAT)

Wyoming 17 – North Texas 41

4th Quarter (3-0 UNT Advantage)

2:07 – 34-yard field goal by Kali Nguma

Wyoming 17 – North Texas 44

FINAL

NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN 44 – WYOMING COWBOYS 17

WYOMING PLAYER OF THE GAME

WR Tyler King – Special teams were anemic in 2024. King made sure to end that in Denton. With North Texas extending their lead to 14 with just over a minute left in the first half, any momentum that Wyoming held dissipated. But, the sophomore maneuvered his way to the left side of the field before turning on the jets to the endzone.

He gave the Pokes life before halftime.

*Courtesy of ESPN and Wyoming Athletics

GRADES

Offense – D

Starting the game with their scripted plays, Wyoming did a solid job of methodically driving down the field for points. However, the longer the game went, the less success they had.

Evan Svoboda was okay but still lacked the reliability on throws that needed to be converted.

He finished with a sub-50% completion rate and only 155 passing yards.

The run game was bad.

Real bad.

Sam Scott managed 39 yards.

D.J. Jones…22 yards.

Jamari Ferrell?

-6 yards.

The longest run of the day was a Svoboda eight-yard scamper.

Two critical pieces in Jay Johnson’s offense were Sam Scott and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg. Scott hauled in a 41-yard receiving TD that showcased his speed, while Gyllenborg did what he does best.

Get open and be a consistent target when attempting to move the chains.

He led the team in receptions (five) and receiving yards (56).

Something you won’t find in the box score is the handful of botched snaps by center Nofoafia Tulafono. On each occasion, Svoboda could not clean up the mess – resulting in stalled-out drives.

Defense – D-

Two of North Texas’ three opening drives in the second half resulted in touchdowns.

The Cowboys knew going into this game that the Mean Green would be tough to slow down in the air.

Chandler Morris had a field day against the Pokes – passing for 305 yards, two touchdowns, and a 68.2% completion rate.

Despite North Texas not having their top two running backs, Shane Porter had no trouble taking the mantle.

The junior tallied 120 yards on 13 carries.

Allowing over 500 yards of offense and your opponent to convert all four of their 4th down attempts is not winning football.

Not getting off the field in pivotal moments was compounded by Morris’ ability to scramble for first downs.

The “bend, but don’t break” defense only works if you…don’t break.

In Denton, the Cowboys’ defense was softer than a toasted marshmallow.

Special Teams – B+

This was the best performance by a Wyoming unit in 2024.

Tyler King’s kick return TD carries a lot of weight, but John Hoyland was perfect on the day (one field goal and two PATs).

Jack Culbreath didn’t have his best outing, averaging 38.7 yards a punt.

However, he did pin two of his six attempts inside the 20.

There have been a select amount of times this season where one of the Pokes’ three phases contributed positively the entire game.

Kudos to co-special teams coordinators Benny Boyd and Shannon Moore.

WHAT DOES THIS RESULT SIGNIFY?

Wyoming is in limbo.

With the amount of veterans returning, 2024 was not intended to be a rebuild.

But it is clear that this team is miles upon miles away from being where they want.

Head coach Jay Sawvel sums it up best with two quotes following today’s loss.

“We’re not good right now. We’re not good at anything right now.”

“I take ownership of it. I’ve jacked it all up for our whole program right now, and we have to get it fixed.”

*Alex Taylor of WyoSports published these remarks on X (Twitter)

GOING FORWARD

Wyoming sits at 0-4 for the first time since 2015.

That year, their winless campaign finally ended after a 0-6 start.

The Cowboys will face Mountain West competition between now and a November 30th matchup with Washington State on the Palouse.

Some have been better than advertised in the preseason.

San Jose State and New Mexico, for example.

Others have disappointed.

Looking at you, Air Force and Utah State.

Wyoming will return to Laramie and host the Falcons next Saturday in a battle of Mountain West cellar-dwellers.

For Poke fans, a loss on September 28th forces them to hope for their first win in mid-October.

What are your reactions to Wyoming’s loss against North Texas and how the season has unraveled so quickly?

Leave your comments down below!