By Jeff Bugher
jeff@pokesnews.com
The Cowboys had a remarkable win against New Mexico to open up Mountain West Conference play at War Memorial Stadium last Saturday afternoon. When all was said and done, the score was Wyoming 35, New Mexico 26. Storylines were plentiful for this game, so we picked the most important storylines and put them into one article to give you a condensed version.
Peasley Bounces Back:
Shake It Off: Making it Look Easy Peasley
Taylor Swift's hit song ‘Shake It Off’ rang throughout War Memorial Stadium during The Western Thunder Marching Band’s halftime tribute to Swift’s iconic Eras Tour on Saturday. Nobody ‘shook’ a bad previous week performance ‘off’ better than graduate transfer quarterback Andrew Peasley, who bounced back on Saturday following a dismal performance against Appalachian State. Yet the theme of 1-0 was apparent during the game as Peasley was ‘fearless’ while passing through the air: Peasley had 25 pass attempts with 16 completions resulting in 194 pass yards for a completion percentage of 64%, 1 touchdown pass, and a QB rating of 142.2. On the ground, Peasley had 7 rushing attempts for 34 total yards, 1 touchdown, a long of 15, and an average yards per rush attempt of 4.9. So, ‘haters gonna hate’, but following Saturday’s performance, Peasley was a ‘love story’ for fans and media alike which left everyone saying, ‘Players gonna play, play, play!’
Andrew had a lot to say about his rebound: “I think with our offense, you know, obviously last week when you look at our game, we had no flow. We had no rhythm, so I think that was the main goal. Just start fast, get a rhythm, get the ball on the perimeter. I think we executed it really well. I'm just thankful that they have trust in me. The week before [the] offense was struggling, but just to come out and start off with the pass play is a big statement for me...I thought we started out very well. And we played good today.” Peasley said.
Peasley threw to 9 different receivers on Saturday, a feat that hasn’t been done by a Wyoming quarterback since Josh Allen did in 2017, ironically against New Mexico. Peasley was asked about this feat, and here’s what he had to say: “Yeah, we have a lot of weapons, obviously. You know, Devin had a good day. Gunner got his first catch on a pretty bad ball too. I threw it. I was like, oh, no, he snagged it…and I was like, yeah, let's go, Gunner. I was happy for him. You know…he's been through it. I'll tell you that with his injuries and just kind of keeping his motivation to keep playing football and to see him out on the field, you know, and make a catch is, is really special to me and for him and for this team too. So yeah, I think our weapons though, and our offense evolving is, it's getting there.”
Peasley's strong leadership with this team has been a common theme and topic in the press conferences this year, not only from himself but also from his teammates. Peasley remarked during the post-game press conference that the captains called up an offense-only meeting and had a good 15 minute discussion about what the team wants to be and who they are.
Head Coach Craig Bohl was the first to praise Peasley’s rebound performance: “I was really pleased with and I thought Andrew had one of his better games, not only what he was doing, what you guys saw physically, but just his ability to put us in and out of place was special.”
Running back Harrison Waylee didn’t hold back: “I knew Peasley [was] gonna come back. That's my boy, so I knew cause we talked about it all week, you know, just focus, just keep going out there and do what we do best. Yes. He didn't do too well [last week]…But this week, he definitely outshined the past couple weeks. So, I know he's going to do that.”
Perhaps wide receiver Ayir Asante said it best: “Andrew Peasley is a special person, special player…Never did anyone in our locker room doubt this guy… Somebody you could always talk to…and just, you know, a person that people can get behind. It's super easy for everyone to just put it all on Andrew, and I think that he does a great job of taking that. I think that's what you do as a quarterback. He can make plays, but you know just him being able to give us a ball in space outside, his running ability.. see him checking the protections and stuff like that, taking away blitzes, going away from blitzes or, you know, going into them. That deters the defensive coordinator from, blitzing more. You see a captain, you see a field general like that, it kind of deters the defense from, you know, all that crazy stuff. So I think that we're really fortunate to have Andrew and we love how he played today.”
Fellow team captain Easton Gibbs also chimed in saying the team was confident Peasley would play well: “We all knew he would. He's a competitor, just who he is. And it's funny how down people get on someone after one game. So I mean, we all knew in the locker room he's gonna bounce back. He's a great leader, and a great competitor. So we all knew it was going to happen, but it feels good”.
Waylee has a Field Day:
We’re fairly certain that if you google the word “explosive plays,” Harrison Waylee will be the first result. We don’t know if that’s true or not, but it should be! Transfer running back Harrison Waylee had a field day on Saturday racking up a total of 191 yards off of 18 attempts, 1 touchdown, a long of 66 yards, and an average of 10.6 yards per attempt. In the first quarter, Harrison broke free for a gain of 17 yards. In the 3rd quarter, Harrison exploded for a big 46-yard gain for a touchdown. Followed by 2 big plays in the 4th quarter; a big gain of 66 yards and another for 18 yards. Both good for first downs. Saturday marked 3 games with 100 yards plus for Waylee. Regardless of the accomplishments, he was dissatisfied that he was chased down. “I mean that was the first time, so I'm definitely taking the L on that one, but probably not gonna happen again. Can't let it happen again.” Waylee said during the postgame press conference. Waylee was very excited to hit the 3 games with 100 or more yards, especially after coming back from offseason surgery. One thing is for certain, Waylee wants to get more than 200 yards in the next game.
Ekeler Establishes Defensive Identity:
Free safety Wyett Ekeler has had a lot of success this year, but no game has been more successful than Saturday. In the first quarter, Ekeler got his first-ever quarterback sack when he sacked New Mexico quarterback Dylan Hopkins for a loss of 9 yards which forced the Lobos to punt the ball. Ekeler didn’t stop there, in the 2nd quarter he sacked Hopkins again for a loss of 11 yards that also forced a fumble which Ekeler scooped up and ran for a gain of 8 yards. Ekeler now has 2 sacks to his credit and a new "game high", a massive achievement. By the end of the day, Ekeler had 4 total tackles including 3 solo, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup, and 1 forced fumble. Head Coach Craig Bohl praised Ekeler, but did disclose that he has an injury: “Yeah, he's been an explosive player. I think he caused a takeaway today and he did get hurt. I don't know what the extent of his injury is. We'll find out a little bit more.”
*PokesNews.com submitted a request to interview Ekeler following the game, but he was unavailable.
Déjà Vu: Lighting Strikes Twice
New Mexico’s first possession resulted in a touchdown which led to a PAT attempt. In a strange plot twist, defensive end DeVonne Harris blocked the kick, and the ball was recovered by cornerback Jakorey Hawkins who ran the ball back 81 yards for a successful defensive PAT giving Wyoming 2 points. Surprisingly, a similar play with the exact same players happened the week before against Appalachian State which ended up essentially winning the game for the Pokes. Rule of thumb: don’t kick the ball anywhere near DeVonne Harris, and don’t leave a loose ball anywhere near Jakorey Hawkins. Nickel Wrook Brown also got another critical interception in the 3rd quarter, which resulted in Harrison Waylee running the ball 46 yards to the house for a touchdown on a 1 play drive. Another aspect of Déjà vu was the fact that linebacker Easton Gibbs was yet again the leading tackler for the Pokes, a theme that has continued this season. The opposite of déjà vu: the offensive play calling which had more passing involved than in weeks past.
MVPs of the game, in no particular order:
· Quarterback Andrew Peasley
· Free safety Wyett Ekeler
· Nickel Wrook Brown
· Running back Harrison Waylee
· Defensive End DeVonne Harris
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