Wyoming football: News and notes

LARAMIE -- Your eyes weren't deceiving you, that was indeed the Cowboys best performance of the season last Saturday night in Logan.

While the score speaks for itself -- 44-17 -- Craig Bohl said that victory over Utah State began in the trenches. That stood out on film immediately.

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"Everything kind of dovetailed off one another," Wyoming's head coach said, referring to the 604 yards of total offense the Cowboys rolled up in the rout. "It was a good performance by our offense. I think you're right on your assessment, it starts up front."

Hawaii (5-7, 2-5) comes to town this Saturday for the regular season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST.

Here's what else Bohl had to say during his weekly press conference:

* In accepting an invite to the Senior Bowl this February in Mobile, Alabama, Wyoming's junior linebacker Chad Muma has decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2022 NFL Draft. "Yeah, it's been a joy to coach him and how many more games we'll have (left) ... You know, he's declared to go in the Senior Bowl, so his eligibility will be completed," Bohl said.

* Bohl said the win over the Aggies was a "complete game" performance. In film study, he said they noticed UW had a size advantage up front and it needed to be exploited. "We felt good about our matchups coming into the game," he said. The Cowboys rushed for 362 yards on 49 carries. That's an average of 7.4 yards per rush. Titus Swen led the way with 169 yards on the ground, including a school record 98-yard touchdown and a 43-yard score. Xazavian Valladay carried the ball 21 times for 145 yards. "We ran the ball really efficiently," he continued. "We ran the ball better as the game went along. That's kind of a combination of not only some some really good runs by both Titus and X, but our offensive line, tight ends and fullbacks did a nice job blocking."

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS:
* Who has eligibility remaining on the UW football team?
* Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma declaring for NFL Draft
* Stone named MW Special Teams Player of the Week
* Rants & Raves: Utah State Edition

* The Wyoming coaching staff liked their odds against the Aggies secondary with the home team focused on stopping the Cowboys rushing attack. "We did feel like we could get some one-on-one matchups on the outside, which was going to be important that we won some contested balls," he said. They did just that. Isaiah Neyor caught four passes for 125 yards and a 40-yard touchdown in the win. Joshua Cobbs had a career day, hauling in six passes for 76 yards and a score.

* On the flip side, how did UW hold Deven Thompkins, the nation's leading receiver, to just five catches for 67 yards?  "I felt like our corners could match up with their wide receivers and do something that a lot of people had not done," Bohl said. "They played a lot of zone on them, so we played a lot more man and I think took some of the space away." CJ Coldon and Azizi Hearn helped hold one of the most prolific passing offenses in the country to just 181 yards, well under its 315 per game average.

* Levi Williams completed 12-of-15 passes for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns. If it looked like it was his best night as a Cowboy, you aren't alone in that assessment. "I thought Levi threw the ball really well. His numbers were good, even though we didn't put the ball up a lot," Bohl said. "... I thought Levi got in a rhythm and really felt comfortable and, you know, certainly the completion percentage, I think was about 80%."

* Wyoming was plus-2 in turnover margin after Saturday night's win. That's something the Cowboys hadn't done since Week 3.

* Cam Stone, who was today named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week, returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against the Aggies. That was the second-longest return for a score in UW history and the first since Tyler Hall took one back for a 95-yard touchdown in 2017. Bohl pointed to that play as being a difference maker. "We flipped the script with special teams," he said. "Certainly, the the kickoff return was a huge play in the game."

* Hawaii signal caller Chevan Cordeiro threw for 406 yards and two touchdowns in a 50-45 victory over Colorado State Saturday night on the islands. He also added 34 yards on the ground and found the end zone one more time. "Their quarterback is an exceptional athlete," Bohl said. "He can run, he can throw it, he's got great speed and he makes plays on the run."

* Last October, Cordeiro completed just 11-of-26 passes for 110 yards and an interception in a 31-7 loss in Laramie.

* Bohl is very familiar with Hawaii's Dae Dae Hunter. In fact, UW tried to recruit the running back from Denver. Hunter is averaging 6.4 yards per carry this fall and has 623 yards on just 97 rushes, to go along with three touchdowns.

* Unlike last Saturday's matchup, Bohl said the Cowboys won't have a size advantage this week. Hawaii features on of the biggest lines in the Mountain West. "It's almost 180 degrees difference as far as their size compared to Utah State," he said. "They're big and strong up front and they do move pretty well."

* Bohl joked that he wished the temperature would be in the 20's with some snow this Saturday with the Rainbow Warriors heading to 7,220. He likely won't get his wish though. The forecast in Laramie -- as of right now -- is going to be sunny and around 50 degrees.

* Want to come to Happy Hour tonight? We are going live from Dillinger's at 5 p.m. MT. We are going on an hour earlier than normal due to the Wyoming basketball game at Grand Canyon tonight. Hear what Ryan Clement has to say about Williams' performance in Logan.