Wyoming Football: News and Notes Ahead of Washington State

LARAMIE -- Spencer Danielson is thinking about closing out his season with a victory over Oregon State in the regular-season finale and hoisting a Mountain West championship trophy the following Saturday inside Albertsons Stadium.

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If both of those things do happen, his Boise State team is heading to the College Football Playoff.

That's not all.

The Broncos could also receive a bye week and host a second-round matchup on their famous blue turf.

"He and I are having different seasons right now," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said sarcastically Monday during his weekly press conference. "He's thinking about other stuff, I'm thinking about our 105 and the management. I don't think he's put a lot of thought into his numbers on stuff right now.

"I kind of wish I was in his space."

Thanks to the House vs. NCAA settlement -- you know, the ruling that determined schools should repay former players for missed NIL opportunities and revenue sharing should be implemented? -- all FBS football programs will also now be limited to just 105 players per roster.

Sawvel said he has not only been preparing for this change, he welcomes it.

"It's a game changer in a number of ways," he said.

Why?

Wyoming entered this season with 118 on the roster, 85 of which were on scholarship. While this new rule will drastically cut down on preferred walk-on's, Sawvel said, it should add even more full-ride players to the mix.

This isn't a matter of head-counting anymore.

"If somebody gets academic money, and some other things, they may count as .75 (of an athletic scholarship)," he said. "Well, you get enough of those, next thing you know, you picked up more scholarships so your 85 could stretch to 95. It's very much like FCS and Division II -- and I love this. This is a great space."

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* Gear Up For Game Day: Boise State

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* UW Football: News and Notes Ahead of Boise State

* Sawvel on Waylee: 'He's got to get the ball more'

Sawvel said he currently has 18 verbal commits who could sign on the dotted line as early as Dec. 4. He's in hopes that number reaches 23 by then. His plan is to sign "35-plus" this offseason.

This now means position sizes will be a focus.

For instance, Sawvel added, you might only have 20 offensive linemen, eight running backs and 16 wide receivers. The days of carrying three kickers is a thing of the past.

"This is a big deal," he said.

The program said goodbye to 17 seniors last Saturday night. When the NCAA Transfer Portal window opens Dec. 9, others will depart, too, though Sawvel is confident the hit will be minimal in terms of impact players bolting for a new opportunity.

"As we go through position by position, there's a number of the people that we need back, will be back," he said, adding that quarterback Kaden Anderson and running back Harrison Waylee, for instance, have already publicly announced their intentions to return to Laramie. "So, that's a continued thing. It's a continued dialogue. I'm in tune with what's going on, and I'll be in tune with our players."

One aspect that is often overlooked is the fact coaching staffs also tell players to look elsewhere. Never will that be more prevalent than now.

Accountability is back in business.

"Here's one thing I will say -- we will have 105 players," Sawvel said. "We will have 105 players that can't live without football. We're going to have 105 players who are going to ride for the brand. If I make that determination somewhere along the line that somebody's not going to ride for the brand and can't live without football, they will not be in that 105."

Here are some other takeaways from the Monday press conference in Laramie:

* Sawvel wants to thank you, the Wyoming faithful. He said because of scenes inside War Memorial Stadium like the one last Saturday night -- more than 18,000 were on hand to watch this two-win team -- three of the nine prospects that were in attendance committed to the program. "We still have a couple more that I think we'll get," he added. "There's one player that, you know, you could probably shake your head as to like, 'how we are getting this player?' A lot of it just had to do with the people here in Wyoming and the fan base."

* But wait, there's more. Sawvel mentioned the crowd postgame and again Monday raved about the atmosphere. Plenty of other schools in the Mountain West -- San Diego State, San Jose State, New Mexico, Nevada, and others *cough cough* -- don't have near the support the Cowboys do. You think those bases are showing up to watch a squad with two wins play a night game in late November? In some of those cases, they don't show up in September. "I think we've had a really good game atmosphere at all of our games this year and, to be honest, I didn't know how that was going to be on Saturday," he said. "Our fans showed up, and our fans did a great job. I said it preseason, I said it during the season and I'll say it now -- you can't just say these things when everything's all good (wins) and everything -- we have the best fanbase in the Mountain West. They're passionate. I get it. They're frustrated. I get that because I am, too."

* After this Saturday meeting with the Cougars in Pullman, the "deep dive" gets underway inside the offices at the High Altitude Performance Center. "There are things that I already know and have identified that need correction and need adjustment," Sawvel said, adding "every aspect" of the program will be under scrutiny. "Every little corner we'll work into."

* Wyoming QB Kaden Anderson was injured just before the half against No. 12 Boise State and spent the entire second half in the training room, undergoing concussion protocol. Will he be available in the finale? Read HERE.

* If Anderson can't go in Pullman, Evan Svoboda will be under center. Gage Brook will serve as his back-up. Plenty of fans called for the walk-on against the Broncos. How is he coming along in practice? Would Sawvel be comfortable with him entering the game? "It depends on what we'd have to ask him to do and how much time that we would have him out there," he said of the 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman from Fort Collins. "Look, I think Gage has some good qualities, for sure, I just don't know that I hope I see him in the first quarter and have to try to go through the whole crux of the game. That's not knock on Gage, it's just experience and there's everything else. He does have a good arm and he is pretty accurate on some things, but there's a level of experience there. And, you know, there's a level of just running (the offense) that he hasn't done."

* Sawvel said he does expect right tackle Caden Barnett to play against Wazzu despite suffering a "pretty good" ankle sprain against Boise State. Defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole, per Alex Taylor of WyoSports, said he might be able to play this Saturday after sitting out senior night with a foot injury.

* Washington State (8-3), after very much once being part of the playoff conversation, have now dropped two straight on the road to big-time underdogs, New Mexico and Oregon State, respectively. "I know they've kind of stumbled the last two weeks in close games, but that doesn't detract from the fact that they're explosive, offensively," Sawvel said of the Cougars, who average 454.5 yards per game (No. 12 in the FBS) and 38.8 points per game (No. 7).

* John Mateer makes the entire thing go. Wazzu's sophomore signal caller has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. He is also the team's leading rusher, amassing 770 yards and 14 more scores on the ground. The Seattle Times reported last week that the Texas product currently could have a $1 million offer on the table to transfer. Cam Ward did so after a stellar final season in Pullman in 2023. Now, he's the new all-time passing leader in University of Miami football history.

* The Cowboys and Cougars are scheduled to kickoff at 4:30 p.m. Saturday inside Martin Stadium. The game will be broadcast on The CW.

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