Turning Point, Unsung Hero and What's Next For UW Football

SAN DIEGO, Calif., -- Jay Sawvel said the turning point in this latest setback is a no-brainer.

Wyoming's head coach pointed to a forgettable series of plays early in the fourth quarter inside San Diego State's 20-yard line that cost his team any shot at pulling off this road upset. His team trailed by just 10 with 13:29 remaining in regulation.

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"At worst, you're going to get a field goal," he said postgame.

Wrong.

The false start on first down was maddening, but the hold on the ensuing snap was a killer, Sawvel added.

Rex Johnsen, the Cowboys' starting left tackle, was the initial culprit. The bookend of that embattled front five, Braylon Jenkins, was guilty of the latter. Running back Terron Kellman was tossed down in the backfield for a loss of two on the next play.

The fourth costly turnover of the night came next.

Kaden Anderson, who tossed three interceptions in the first half, completed an 8-yard pass to wideout Michael Fitzgerald. The 6-foot-6 Central Missouri transfer, attempting to escape a tackle, was smoked from behind by 295-pound Malachi Finau, forcing a fumble.

Initially, it appeared disaster was averted. The loose ball bounced right into the hands of Samuel Harris.

That was short-lived.

The rookie running back was met immediately by a host of Aztecs at the 30-yard line. He couldn't maintain possession.

Eric Butler did.

Yes, that's the same safety who picked off Evan Svoboda in Laramie last October, returning the misfire 43 yards for a touchdown in a 27-24 victory.

Sawvel said self-inflicted wounds did its part to derail his team in this outing, but so did the top-ranked defense in the Mountain West Conference.

"That's a really good defensive football team with talent at all the levels, and it made it very hard on us," he added. "So, sometimes, when you're not creating separation, you're forcing balls at quarterback and that clock is ticking when you're back there throwing the ball because of the pass rush, you know, a lot of times it doesn't matter what you call necessarily. We were going to have to be better."

SDSU entered this one allowing just 10 points per game, which was good enough for second in the country in that all-important category. That unit has pitched three shutouts and held Northern Illinois to a single field goal in a 6-3 road win in DeKalb.

Wyoming teased with an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game. After that initial drive, one that featured a picture-perfect 23-yard pass to Fitzgerald on third down and a 37-yard jaunt by back-up QB Landon Sims, this offense bottomed out in a big way:

* Punt

* Interception

* Punt

* Interception

* Punt

* Missed field goal

* Interception

* End of half

* Punt

* Fumble

* Missed field goal

* Punt

* Turnover on downs

Anderson, who completed just 12-of-24 throws for 93 yards, led this offense to only 110 additional yards on the Cowboys' final 14 possessions. The sophomore's first two interceptions led to short fields for Jayden Denegal. The Aztecs turned those gifts into 10 points.

It was all as dominant as it sounds.

"We all kind of know the repercussions surrounding it on this team," said senior tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, who caught three passes for 26 yards on the night. "Yeah, it's tough. It's tough, for sure. That's really all there is to say."

How frustrating is it all for a defense that gave up just two third-down conversions on a dozen attempts and forced two turnovers -- and seven punts -- of its own?

"Well, football is a team sport. Defense has to do their best, offense has to do their best. It all works into one. So, overall, they scored 24 points. That's on the defense, that's not on the offense. So, defense, we need to stop them more."

That's a diplomatic way to put it, courtesy of senior edge rusher Larry Wilson.

Once again, the defense did its part. The offense? Not so much.

Stop me if you've heard that one before.

San Diego State 24, Wyoming 7

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* PODCAST: Can Cowboys Keep Rolling in Sunny San Diego?

* Behind the Numbers: Front Five Shines in Border War Rout

* SDSU Notebook: CSU Shutout Was Just as Impressive on Film

* Bou Knows Offense: 'He Had a Handle On Everything'

* Wyoming's Tegen Seeds Creeping Up Depth Chart

UNSUNG HERO

This honor could once again belong to punter Bart Edmiston Jr., who last week dropped five of his six punts inside Colorado State's 20-yard line in a 28-0 blanking of the Cowboys' Border War rivals.

In sunny San Diego, the junior was at it again, averaging 50.5 yards per attempt, banging four of his six punts at least 50 yards. One of those went for 59. Punting from deep in his own end zone in the first quarter, the Mississippi product hit one of those 50-yarders. A personal foul on SDSU sent them back 15 more.

Let's hand this unofficial game ball to Tegen Seeds.

The redshirt freshman from Douglas, who has only been on the field for a handful of snaps this fall, was put in a tough spot Saturday night thanks to a violation of team rules and subsequent suspension of fellow defensive tackle Jayden Williams.

That position has taken a beating on the injury front, too.

Dante Drake and Caleb Robinson were lost for the season before it even began. Aneesh Vyas and Cody Crawford are also currently on the shelf. Wilson, who is listed as a defensive end, even slid into the trenches in this one.

Seeds didn't tally a tackle against the Aztecs, but he did pick off a shovel pass by Denegal midway through the second quarter. Unfortunately for visitors, they couldn't cash in on the mistake. Erik Sandvik came up a yard short on a 50-yard field-goal attempt.

"It was pretty cool to get my opportunity this week," Seeds said postgame. "It was a blessing to be able to go out there. They were like, 'Go do you' -- and I did that. I thought that I did pretty good today."

QUOTABLE

"Six in a row. Good win. Another dominant performance by the defense except for that opening drive ... I think we’re one of the best teams in the country. We should be in the Top 25."

-- San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis said postgame, referring to his team's win streak, including a 4-0 start in Mountain West play.

"We just had to settle in as a defense. They obviously scored on that first drive, which was unacceptable for us ... We’re just a really hungry team and we know we have plenty ahead of us. We know we just have to take it game by game."

-- Aztec edge rusher Trey White on 24-7 victory over Wyoming.

"One of the things that happens is that he looked very comfortable a week ago, right? Well, he wasn't playing against the same people, in that regard. But, he's got to be better. He's got to be a lot better. There were some mistakes made, particularly in the first half, and that's part of quarterbacking. He's going to have to learn from that and minimize those."

-- Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel, discussing the rough outing from his sophomore QB Kaden Anderson.

"It comes down to execution. It's a players' game. We didn't do what we needed to do on those series of plays to score. And that's on us."

-- Wyoming tight end John Michael Gyllenborg on the number of missed opportunities from this offense in the Cowboys' fifth loss of the season.

"Honestly, I'm disappointed with how we did. I didn't play my best. I need to do more to step up and help our team out. And, overall, 24 points, I'm not happy with. And I don't think anyone is, so that's on the defense."

-- Wyoming defensive end Larry Wilson gives his postgame thoughts about the defense's outing in San Diego.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Wyoming (4-5, 2-3) heads into its second bye week of the season after a stretch of five straight games. There are three outings remaining on the schedule. Next stop, a road date with Fresno State, a team that Saturday embarrassed front-running Boise State 30-7 inside Albertsons Stadium. The Cowboys need six wins to become eligible for the postseason. After that date with the Bulldogs on Nov. 15, Sawvel and Co. return home to face Nevada before closing the regular season at Hawaii.