CFN Article #4 Wyoming Preview

Wyoming coach Dave Christensen brings his 2010 Cowboys to Austin as a followup to last year’s Longhorn trip to Laramie. Texas fans flooded the state of Wyoming to beat the Austin heat, and watched the Longhorns struggle in the first half against Wyoming before pulling away for a 41-10 victory. In his first year as head coach, Christensen led Wyoming to a 7-6 record, including a New Mexico Bowl victory over Fresno State.

Offense
After leaving Missouri as the Offensive Coordinator, Christensen installed his high octane spread attach in Wyoming – the same attack that led Missouri and Chase Daniel to their magical 2007 #1 ranking and Heisman finalist season. Last year, Wyoming played the role of comeback kids, winning 4 games in which they trailed in the 4th quarter. This year, with sophomore QB Austyn Carta-Samuels returns with a seemingly better grasp of Christensen’s offense. After throwing just 10 TDs in 2009, Carta-Samuels spent the off-season working on routes with his receivers and tight-ends, as Christensen looks to improve an offense that averaged only 18 (113th in FBS) points per game. With a running game that picked up 1770 yards total returning most of its production, Wyoming knows maturity at the QB position can only help improve their results in 2009.

Against a defense like Texas, though, this could prove difficult. Carta-Samuels was sacked 30 times last year behind a suspect offensive line, which seemed at times to have difficulty picking up complicated blitzes. With one of the best secondaries in the nation, you can bet Texas will bring the heat from a variety of places against the Cowboys. Expect Texas to tee off on the still developing QB early and often with a variety of different looks. This is another game where Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp should be able to play some young guys to try and fill the holes at the defensive tackle position, and see who can step up for the interior of the Texas line this season.

Defense
S Chris Prosinski returns to lead the defense. While they bring back 8 starters on the D, it’s not like the guys returning were all that impressive in 2009. Wyoming gave up 27 points per game last. They were even worse against elite teams, giving up 52 to BYU, 45 to TCU, and 41 to Texas. Prosinski is garnering hype as a potential MWC player of the year. Christensen’s defenses focus on utilizing his safeties as a rover, ala Ed Reed and the Baltimore Ravens, so having an experience leader like Prosinski back should help improve the Cowboys efforts.

Again, though, when we’re talking about Texas, Wyoming just doesn’t match up. The athletes on the Longhorns’ side of the ball should push around any players the Cowboys throw out there. The game should be a good opportunity to continue establishing the running game. Oftentimes, games like this in 2009 should have allowed that Texas team to do much the same, but the ineffectiveness of the Texas offensive line in 2009 didn’t allow for such glorified practice. By going back under center and allowing the offensive linemen to push off out of a three-point stance, Mack Brown should be able to establish an attitude against weaker opponents this year that was lacking last year, and ultimately hurt the running game.

Add the weather factor into the mix (Laramie averages temperatures in the mid 70s during August and September – and while the game isn’t until 6, Wyoming players won’t be used to the furnace that is Memorial Stadium in early season games), and you ought to expect a blowout.

Brown and company would be wise to build up Gilbert’s confidence heading into the week 3 matchup against Texas Tech in Lubbock, so the running statistics won’t be as impressive as expected. Still, Texas wins going away 45-7.