Where Was Wyoming's Urgency in The Fourth Quarter?

BOULDER, Colo., -- It was arguably the most impressive drive of the night for this struggling Wyoming offense.

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Trailing by 17 with 11:14 remaining in regulation, Kaden Anderson and Co. marched 80 yards on 13 plays. The sophomore quarterback capped the possession with a seven-yard dart to wideout Chris Durr Jr., who hauled in the pass between a pair of Colorado defenders before falling into the end zone.

So, what's the issue?

Impressive as it was, 6:49 came off the game clock. The Cowboys huddled before each snap. Eight of those plays were runs, meaning precious time was dwindling. To make matters more puzzling, there was even a delay-of-game penalty mixed in.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Where was the urgency?

"We wanted to be able to execute plays and put ourselves in position," Jay Sawvel said after the eventual 37-20 loss in front of a capacity crowd inside Folsom Field. "I mean, yeah, it would have been nice to get certain things quicker, but we also had, you know, (true freshman tight end) Kyle Frendt out there some, you have a freshman running back (Samuel Harris) out there some. You're working through, you know, what was working at the time.

"And look, when we scored the touchdown and it gets to 30-20, Like I said, there's four minutes and 30 seconds to go, you have all three timeouts and you have the two-minute timeout. You need to kick the ball off and get a three-and-out."

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Translation: Too many young, inexperienced players were shuffling on and off the field and the plan was to immediately get the ball back, score quickly and attempt the onside kick.

Likely scenario? Hardly.

Wyoming had nine total yards of offense over the first 15 minutes in Boulder. That unit added 105 more in the second quarter, 50 of which came on a Harris sprint. The visitors managed just a field goal in the half.

While the execution improved drastically over the final two frames, it was the defense that had already started to "leak oil," Wyoming's second year head coach added. The Buffaloes, led by reinstated quarterback Kaidon Salter, found the end zone on 3-of-4 drives in the second quarter, including a 68-yard heave to speedster Sincere Brown just minutes after the Cowboys' finally put points on the scoreboard.

Colorado, who finished with 497 yards of total offense, bookended scoring drives in the second half, Salter connecting with Joseph Williams on the third play out of the half. The senior signal caller also raced through Wyoming's defense from 35 yards out with less than two minutes to play.

Translation: It was an all-around rough night at the office.

Still, the optics of that extended offensive drive, one that even baffled the ESPN announcers in real time, demanded an answer.

Jack Walsh said, in the heat of the moment, he wasn't even thinking about the time. He was looking for a positive result.

"I guess it didn't really matter how much time it took, but we needed to finish with something," the senior center said. "And finishing with that touchdown was something that we were, you know, proud of ourselves."

Sawvel said this one could've snowballed. A 25-point lead might have turned even more lopsided in year's past. He liked the fight. He said he was proud of this group's resolve and even took some positives from this one -- on the offensive side of the ball.

It just didn't happen frequently -- or fast -- enough.

"I mean, yeah, I wish that we didn't have to take seven minutes off of it," Sawvel continued. "But, by the same token, we were in a rhythm. It just took too long to get it all finalized."

University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

The rules are simple: What was the player's impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.

This isn't a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220's Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.

We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS -- only we hope this catalog is fairer.

Don't agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports - #Top50UWFB