Northern Colorado vs. Wyoming: Game Preview, How to Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Cowboys will look to maintain their winning ways against Northern Colorado. Here’s how to watch the livestream and what to watch for.

[jwplayer jF5wU66N-sNi3MVSU]

Northern Colorado vs. Wyoming: Game Preview, How to Watch, Livestream, Odds, Prediction

Wyoming hopes to continue improving as the Northern Colorado Bears come to Laramie. Here’s how to find the livestream and what to watch for.

Cowboys look to continue to right the ship.

Contact/Follow @bangle94 & @MWCwire

WEEK 2: Northern Colorado Bears (0-1) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (1-1)

WHEN: Saturday, September 10 — 2:00 PM MDT/1:00 PM PDT

WHERE: War Memorial Stadium; Laramie, WY

TV: Mountain West Network

RADIO: The Wyoming broadcast can be found throughout the state on the affiliates of the Cowboy Sports Network, including flagship 1240 AM (KFBC) in Cheyenne. The Northern Colorado broadcast can be found in and around Greeley on 1310 AM and 103.1 FM (KFKA).

SERIES RECORD: The Cowboys and Bears have met 26 times previously, with the Cowboys holding an 18-5-3 record against the Bears.

LAST WEEK: Northern Colorado fell to Houston Baptist, 46-34, while Wyoming bested Tulsa 40-37 in double overtime.

WEBSITES: UNCBears.com, the official Northern Colorado athletics website | GoWyo.com, the official Wyoming athletics website

GAME NOTES (PDF): Northern Colorado | Wyoming

ODDS: N/A

SP+ PROJECTION: Wyoming by 22.8

FEI PROJECTION: N/A

PARKER FLEMING PROJECTION: N/A

[lawrence-related id=47572]

After a thrilling double overtime victory against Tulsa, Wyoming looks to carry forward positive momentum to a contest with the Northern Colorado Bears of the Big Sky Conference. The Cowboys look to build off good performances by quarterback Andrew Peasley and kicker John Hoyland, both of whom won Mountain West Player of the Week honors.

After a rough outing against Illinois, in which Peasley completed 5-of-20 passes for 30 yards, the embattled signal caller played significantly better at home against Tulsa, completing 20-of-30 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Peasley and the Cowboys hope to prove that the performance against Illinois was a fluke and not the performance against Tulsa.

Northern Colorado, meanwhile, comes into the game after losing a heartbreaker to Houston Baptist. The Bears scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to bring the game within five points and successfully converted an onside kick, only to have a fumble returned for a touchdown with a little over a minute left in the game. The comeback came as starting quarterback Dylan McCaffrey was replaced by Jacob Sirmon after suffering an injury, though it isn’t clear who will get the starting nod in Laramie.

Three Keys to a Cowboy Victory

1. Get Andrew Peasley in good situations.

One of the biggest differences between the loss at Illinois and the win over Tulsa was that offensive coordinator Tim Polasek dialed up some easy completions to get Andrew Peasley into an early rhythm. Peasley went 4-for-4 throwing the ball in the first quarter and looked considerably more comfortable than he did against the Illini. The early rhythm and establishment of the passing game also led to more space in the run game.

Another big difference this past week on the offensive side of the ball was more creativity in the offensive play calling. Instead of playing virtually every snap under center, the Cowboys mixed up their formations and played quite a bit out of the pistol and shotgun. One play that worked particularly well was the play action bootleg, so I expect the Cowboys to call more plays this week and put Peasley on the move in order to succeed.

2. Slow down the Northern Colorado passing game.

Against Tulsa, the Cowboys gave up 460 yards through the air and 8.8 yards per attempt, allowing three different receivers to gain at least 100 yards. To say the Wyoming secondary was torched is putting it lightly, so the Cowboys could be challenged again by UNC’s passing attack, which passed for 425 yards against Houston Baptist.

Both McCaffrey and Sirmon were able to move the ball effectively against HBU and the Bears had five different receivers with more than 40 receiving yards. Unless the Cowboys want to struggle for another week, they will need to shut down the passing attack of Northern Colorado. The Cowboys will be relying on shutdown performances from Cameron Stone, Deron Harrell, and Jakorey Hawkins.

3. Be creative in the run game.

It is no secret what Wyoming wants to do with the football. Since Craig Bohl came to town, the Cowboys have been a power running team. When Wyoming moves the football on the ground, they are at their best, but Titus Swen suffered bruised ribs in the Week 0 loss to Illinois, and his pain seemed to impact his showing against Tulsa.

With their top back not at 100 percent, the Cowboys need to be more creative running the football. I expect to see more QB designed runs and off tackle runs as opposed to the usual pound the ball up the middle. Titus Swen will be good to go on Saturday but it remains to be seen if he will feel 100 percent.

Final Thoughts

This game should be a good test for the Cowboys and has all the makings of being a trap game. If they can stay focused and take care of business, it will be a long day for the visitors. I expect Wyoming to come out with a very balanced attack and come away from the game with both a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver.

Prediction

Wyoming 40, Northern Colorado 10

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=645997055]


Advertisement

[protected-iframe id=”f7652191f99ba13728097498e8a79cd8-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/show/48681pqFq0kB9dhrtPPoNd” width=”100%” height=”232″ frameborder=”0″]