Tag: Wyoming Football

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: #49, Wyoming OT Frank Crum

The first Wyoming Cowboys player on this year’s countdown has done yeoman’s work on the offensive line.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: #49, Wyoming OT Frank Crum

The first Wyoming player on this year’s countdown has done yeoman’s work on the offensive line.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS and @MWCwire

Protecting the blind side like it’s no big deal.

The Wyoming Cowboys have quietly churned out a number of quality offensive linemen under Craig Bohl’s watch, so the emergence of the next player on our countdown of Mountain West football’s top performers isn’t a total surprise.

Frank Crum first broke into the starting lineup at right tackle way back in 2019 and, four years later, is now one of the longest-tenured players on the Wyoming roster with 43 career games under his belt. In that time, he’s steadily improved as a pass protector: Per Pro Football Focus, his pass-blocking grade improved from 49.3 in 2019 to 74.2 last season, when he allowed only two sacks and one quarterback hit in 296 opportunities.

Now heading into his last year of college football, Crum should provide a steady presence for the usually-reliable Cowboys ground game and, at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, could catch the eye of NFL scouts should he raise his game one last time.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: Honorable Mentions

Here is the list of Mountain West football players that got some love from our staff but did not make our top 50 in 2023.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: Honorable Mentions

Here is the list of Mountain West football players that got some love from our staff but did not make our top 50 in 2023.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Who couldn’t quite make the cut this summer?

Before our countdown of Mountain West football’s top 50 players of 2023 gets underway, we kick things off with a nod to those athletes who didn’t quite receive enough support to make the cut.

See anyone you think should have made our top 50? Did we overlook your favorite player entirely? Join the discussion using the hashtag #MWwireTop50 on Twitter, Instagram, or leave us a comment on our Facebook page.

Cade Bennett, G, San Diego State

The first player to miss the cut is the big left guard from Scottsdale, Arizona, who transferred to the Aztecs from Oklahoma State and started 12 games in his first season on the Mesa. According to Pro Football Focus, he was one of just four Mountain West guards with at least 100 allowed pressure opportunities to give up zero sacks and zero hurries, though he led that group with 356 such chances.

Herbert Gums, DT, Boise State

Gums’s first full year as a starter ended up being a pretty busy one, but he finished 2022 as a vital part of the Broncos front seven. He made 13 starts and collected 25 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks, registering 18 total stops on 369 snaps according to PFF.

Terrell Vaughn, WR, Utah State

Perhaps the Mountain West’s top slot receiver headed into 2023, Vaughn could see himself keeping very busy in the revamped Aggies offense after grabbing 55-of-81 targets for 624 yards and five touchdowns last season. Then again, he could also make a difference as a kick returner once more after averaging 26.5 yards per return and scoring once on special teams.

Dylan Hopkins, QB, New Mexico

One of the Mountain West’s top transfer portal imports, Hopkins should be the man to help turn the Lobos offense around this fall. In three seasons at UAB, he completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,750 yards and 31 touchdowns against a 2.9% interception rate, chipping in with eight rushing touchdowns for good measure.

Dawaiian McNeely, RB, Wyoming

McNeely could be primed for a breakout season after flashing some serious explosiveness over the last three years. Though he has just 94 career carries to this point in his collegiate career, McNeely has averaged 5.6 yards per carry; in 2022, he ran for at least ten yards once every seven carries, so if he can do that with a larger workload, watch out.

Peter Manuma, S, Hawaii

Lots of Warriors defenders went through a trial by fire last fall, but few managed it as cleanly as Manuma. He earned an all-conference honorable mention as a true freshman in 2022 by making 70 total tackles and racking up three tackles for loss, one sack, four pass breakups, and three interceptions. One way or another, he’s one of the top young defensive backs anywhere in the Mountain West.

The Complete List

Air Force — Kaleb Holcomb, Adam Karas, Dane Kinamon, Alec Mock, Bo Richter, Jayden Thiergood

Boise State — Garrett Curran, Ben Dooley, Herbert Gums, Kaonohi Kaniho, Eric McAlister, Rodney Robinson, Andrew Simpson, Demitri Washington

Colorado State — Cam Bariteau, Brian Crespo, Jacob Gardner, Dallin Holker, Kobe Johnson, Grady Kelly

Fresno State — Erik Brooks, Johnny Hudson Jr., Dylan Lynch, Morice Norris Jr.

Hawaii — Peter Manuma, Brayden Schager, Matthew Shipley, Solo Vaipulu

Nevada — Jamaal Bell, Jacob Capra, Jaden Dedman, Isaiah Essissima, Shane Illingworth

New Mexico — Dylan Hopkins, Aaron Rodriguez, Luke Wysong

San Diego State — Tupu Alualu, Cedarius Barfield, Cade Bennett, Dallas Branch, Kenan Christon, Brionne Penny, Mekhi Shaw

San Jose State — Jordan Cobbs, Noah Lavulo, Dominick Mazotti, Kairee Robinson, Charles Ross, Matthew Tago, Marist Talavou, Elijah Wood

UNLV — Jacob De Jesus, Tiger Shanks

Utah State — Cole Motes, Hale Motu’apuaka, Terrell Vaughn

Wyoming — Ayir Asante, DQ James, Dawaiian McNeely, Nofoafia Tulafono, Jack Walsh

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Wyoming Football: First Look At The Portland State Vikings

The Cowboys will host FCS Portland State as part of its non-conference slate this fall. Here’s a first look at the Viks.

Wyoming Football: First Look at the Portland State Vikings

The Cowboys will host FCS Portland State as part of its non-conference slate this fall. Here’s a first look at the Viks.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS and @MWCwire

A reasonable FCS test.

Wyoming Football: First Look at 2023 Non-conference Opponents

Texas Tech | Portland State | Texas | Appalachian State

After opening the 2023 season with a big-time home clash against Texas Tech, the Wyoming Cowboys will finish a season-opening two-game homestand against the Portland State Vikings.

While it may be tempting for Pokes fans to chalk up an automatic “W” in Week 2, this team nearly took down another Mountain West team in non-conference play last year and boasts a potent offense that could surprise if Wyoming looks past them.

Location: Portland, Oregon

Conference: Big Sky

Series History: This will be the first meeting between Wyoming and Portland State.

2022 Record: 4-7 (3-5 Big Sky)

Head Coach: Bruce Barnum (ninth year, 30-50 overall). The Big Sky can be a tough place to make headway, which explains in part why the Viks suffered their seventh straight losing campaign in 2022. After opening the year with a narrow road loss to San Jose State and a blowout defeat to Washington, the Viks couldn’t put it together against the class of their conference, losing by a combined 196-61 margin to the four FCS playoff teams on their schedule.

Key Players

Dante Chachere, QB

The younger brother of former San Jose State star Andre Chachere didn’t need much time to establish himself as a bonafide dual-threat quarterback. In his first full season as PSU’s starter, the Fresno native completed 59.7% of his throws for 1,956 yards and 19 touchdowns against a 3.2% interception rate and led the Viks with 609 rushing yards and seven more touchdowns on the ground.

Parker McKenna, LB

After establishing himself as one of the Big Sky’s top young defenders as a freshman in 2021, last year didn’t go quite as smoothly for the Beaverton, Oregon native as injuries limited him to just three starts. Even in that limited stint, though, he picked up 27 total tackles, a forced fumble, and 1.5 tackles for loss, so a return to health should mean a return to form.

Jaymason Willingham, LB

McKenna’s 2022 injury provided an opportunity for Willingham, who’d transferred to PSU from Utah State last off-season, to step into the starting lineup. He ended up making seven starts altogether and tallied a total of 53 tackles, the most of any Viks defender back for this year, as well as five tackles for loss, so chances are the two might end up as running mates in the middle of the Portland State defense in 2023.

Nate Bennett, WR

The Viks will have to replace a big chunk of their passing production, but Bennett provides Chachere at least one reliable target. According to Pro Football Focus, he had a team-high 78 targets in 2022 and led PSU with 47 receptions totaling 517 yards.

Tyreese Shakir, S

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Tyreese’s brother Khalil was a former Boise State standout. In two seasons with the Viks, Tyreese has started to make his own name, though injuries limited to him to seven starts as a sophomore last year. Nonetheless, he collected 37 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and two interceptions, doing a little bit of everything in Portland State’s defensive backfield.

Overview:

Offense

PSU’s offense had a fair bit of talent in 2022 but it scuffled against the tougher teams on its schedule, which helps to explain why the Viks finished 10th among Big Sky offenses in converting red zone opportunities (69.4%) and 11th in third-down conversion rate (36.5%) despite averaging a respectable 5.63 yards per play and 25.6 points per game. They’ll look for better results this fall while replacing Beau Kelly and Mataio Talalemotu, two of their top three pass catchers from last season.

Chachere has proven he can do some heavy lifting, but the rushing attack will benefit if Joby Malary and Quincy Craig (96 combined carries, 576 combined rushing yards, five combined touchdowns) can remain explosive with larger workloads. The offensive line returns lots of experience, as well, led by swingman Shiloh Ta’ase, who has seen plenty of reps at tackle and guard dating back to 2019.

The passing game could be a little more of a mystery, but the Viks have lots of options from which to choose. Bennett and Maclaine Griffin (14 catches, 175 yards, three touchdowns) lead the veteran contingent while Jaden Casey converted from quarterback in the spring and showed promise, Jermaine Braddock transferred in from San Jose State, and Darien Chase (54-579-4 in 2021) returns from an injury that wiped out his 2022 season.

Defense

Key injuries didn’t help, but PSU’s defense was clearly a weakness in 2022: The Viks gave up 6.7 yards per play, the sixth-highest average among all FCS teams, and 36.5 points per game. On paper, it may not get much better since Portland State has to replace its leading tackler and all five players who had at least six tackles for loss in 2022.

Needless to say, a lot will be expected of players who had part-time roles over the last couple seasons like defensive linemen Dino Kahaulelio and Kennedy Freeman and linebacker Isaiah Henry, who should fill in some of the gaps around McKenna and Willingham in the front seven.

The secondary, on the other hand, brings back a wealth of experience despite losing star safety Anthony Adams. Shakir and David Joseph (44 total tackles, three pass breakups, one interception) both have experience at safety and nickelback while Isaiah Avery (28 tackles, four PBUs) held his own as a season-long starter at cornerback. It’ll be crucial for the Viks to improve the 63.7% opponents completion rate and 8.43 yards per attempt they gave up in 2022 if they want to surprise this fall.

Early Prediction

The Cowboys aren’t likely to win this one in a walk — they beat an inferior Northern Colorado State by only 23 last year — but their defense should be more than good enough to put the clamps on anything the Viks might hope to do for a workmanlike victory.

Wyoming 28, Portland State 13

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Mountain West Football Media Reveals 2023 Preseason Players of the Year

Chevan Cordeiro, Easton Gibbs, and Jack Browning are named the Mountain West’s preseason players of the year.

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Mountain West Football Media Reveals 2023 Preseason Players of the Year

The conference media makes its picks for offensive, defensive, and special teams players of the year.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

A new trio of predicted standouts.

Mountain West football’s media days are underway this morning in Las Vegas and the conference wasted little time in announcing the media’s choices for preseason players of the year.

San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, Wyoming linebacker Easton Gibbs, and San Diego State punter/kicker Jack Browning were named as offensive, defensive, and special teams players of the year, respectively.

Cordeiro’s first year in San Jose was a big success as he led the Spartans to a Famous Idaho Potato Bowl bid by completing 60.1% of his 427 attempts for a Mountain West-high 3,251 yards and 23 touchdowns against six interceptions. He also made the most of his mobility, as well, adding 265 rushing yards and nine more touchdowns on the ground.

Gibbs, meanwhile, took a few steps toward becoming the next great Cowboys linebacker by tallying 121 total tackles, the second-most in the conference, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble.

Browning had a difficult task in replacing Matt Araiza, but he handled specialist duties with aplomb, finishing 20-of-25 on field goal tries as a kicker and leading the Mountain West with an average of 46.3 yards per punt, including a net of 42.3 and 28 kicks inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

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Mountain West Football Media Predicts 2023 Order Of Finish

Now that divisions are a thing of the past, the Mountain West football media predicts who will rise to the top two in 2023.

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Mountain West Football Media Predicts 2023 Order Of Finish

Now that divisions are a thing of the past, the Mountain West football media predicts who will rise to the top two in 2023.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

A new environment means a new outlook.

Mountain West football media days began this morning at Circa Resort and Casino with the announcement of how the conference’s media projects the 2023 season will play out.

For the first time since 2012, conference play will take place without divisions, which means that Boise State and Air Force being predicted to play for the Mountain West championship in December is a groundbreaking forecast.

  1. Boise State (28 first-place votes) — 433 points
  2. Air Force (two first-place votes) — 364 points
  3. Fresno State (five first-place votes) — 351 points
  4. San Diego State (one first-place vote) — 338 points
  5. San Jose State — 293 points
  6. Wyoming — 281 points
  7. Colorado State — 201 points
  8. Utah State — 194 points
  9. UNLV (one first-place vote) — 177 points
  10. Hawaii — 102 points
  11. Nevada — 92 points
  12. New Mexico — 60 points

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Boise State is projected to come out on top for the tenth straight year, but Air Force’s road to that number-two spot may be a tough one since they’re separated from the fourth-place Aztecs by just 26 points.

Mountain West Football: MWwire’s 2023 Preseason Projected Order Of Finish

There also appears to be more of a difference in opinion than in years past, as well, with five different teams earning at least one first-place vote. The biggest surprise in that group is UNLV, predicted to finish ninth overall but with a new head coach in Barry Odom who comes into the job with expectations of a breakthrough.

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Mountain West Football: 2023 Media Days Central

The Mountain West football media is gathered on Las Vegas’s fabled Fremont Street. We have you covered for everything that happens.

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Mountain West Football: 2023 Media Days Central

The Mountain West football media is gathered on Las Vegas’s fabled Fremont Street. We have you covered for everything that happens.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Don’t miss anything from the conference’s annual preseason get-together.

Mountain West football media days are once again underway in Las Vegas, hosted this year at Circa Resort and Casino, and Mountain West Wire wants to make sure you don’t miss anything. Check back here throughout Wednesday and Thursday for all kinds of developments, big and small, as players and coaches discuss the upcoming season with conference media.

Team Developments

Air Force | Boise State | Colorado State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Nevada | New Mexico | San Diego State | San Jose State | UNLV | Utah State | Wyoming

The Big Stories

  • Want to follow all of the action from Las Vegas? The Mountain West has a livestream set up for fans to do just that. [Mountain West Network]
  • One of our writers got to make selections for the official preseason all-conference team and predicted order of finish. [Mountain West Wire]
  • The Pac-12 doesn’t appear any closer to a new television deal and won’t be announcing anything at their conference’s media days, keeping San Diego State in a bit of limbo for the foreseeable future. [Yahoo! Sports]
  • Meanwhile, the Mountain West and San Diego State have arrived at a resolution for now. The Aztecs will be on the hook for some accrued legal fees, but they are in good standing with the conference. [San Diego Union-Tribune]
  • The Mountain West football media makes its picks for preseason players of the year, predicted order of finish, and all-conference team. [Mountain West Wire]
  • New Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez gave her first media days address and covered a number of topics concerning the conference. [KTVB]

Media Guides

Mountain West 2023 Media Guide

Air Force | Boise State | Colorado State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Nevada | New Mexico | San Diego State | San Jose State | UNLV | Utah State | Wyoming

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13

Mountain West Football: How I Voted On The Official Preseason Ballot

After ten years of writing about Mountain West football, here are my first picks for the official all-conference team and order of finish.

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Mountain West Football: How I Voted On The Official Preseason Ballot

After ten years of writing about Mountain West football, here are my first picks for the official all-conference team and order of finish.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS and @MWCwire

Breaking it all down.

Last week here at Mountain West Wire, we unveiled our staff’s picks for the preseason all-conference team and projected order of finish in a post-divisions world. As the person who has put those together since our site’s launch in 2017, I can tell you that getting a sense of what everyone else is thinking ahead of another college football season is one of the most satisfying conversations of the entire calendar year, but having the opportunity to contribute to the Mountain West’s official predictions for the first time, after a decade of writing about football across the conference, was a real privilege.

It also opened my eyes to just how different our process is compared to that of the Mountain West: For instance, if memory serves, the official All-Mountain West ballot had just six quarterbacks to choose from while the one I created for our writers this year has 15. I always put every feasible option on the table for every position and, thankfully, no one so far has been crippled by choice paralysis, but it did help me understand how our choices can sometimes differ from the conference media at large.

With that in mind, here are the players I picked for the official ballot, as well as my sense of how the Mountain West will shake out in 2023.

Note: Players are listed by order of priority at each position, as per the regulations of the official voting process.

All-Mountain West Offense

QB – Taylen Green, Boise State
RB – George Holani, Boise State
RB – John Lee Eldridge III, Air Force
WR – Tory Horton, Colorado State
WR – Justin Lockhart, San Jose State
WR – Terrell Vaughn, Utah State
TE – Treyton Welch, Wyoming
OL – Thor Paglialong, Air Force
OL – Cade Beresford, Boise State
OL – Garrett Curran, Boise State
OL – Eliki Tanuvasa, Hawaii
OL – Frank Crum, Wyoming

You may recall that, in the conversation about last year’s all-conference ballot, it was revealed that former Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier was not a voting option because he had not received any kind of postseason accolade the previous year, in keeping with that program’s protocols for this annual exercise. Every team’s justification for putting forth nominees (or not) is surely a little bit different, but it did lead to some mild disappointment on my part that a pair of Air Force offensive linemen for whom I would have voted, Wesley Ndago and Kaleb Holcomb, were unavailable.

Beyond the offensive line, where Wyoming center Nofoafia Tulafono was a painful cut, I didn’t really feel a lot of angst when making my other choices. I think Green has the capacity to be special — more on that in a minute — and I’m confident that Lockhart and Vaughn will be able to step up as their team’s respective top pass catchers.

All-Mountain West Defense

DL – Mohamed Kamara, Colorado State
DL – Cole Godbout, Wyoming
DL – DeVonne Harris, Wyoming
DL – Jordan Bertagnole, Wyoming
LB – Cody Moon, San Diego State
LB – Easton Gibbs, Wyoming
LB – DJ Schramm, Boise State
LB – Levelle Bailey, Fresno State
DB – Camby Goff, Air Force
DB – Trey Taylor, Air Force
DB – Chigozie Anusiem, Colorado State
DB – Morice Norris Jr., Fresno State

In spite of the significant number of departures across the conference on this side of the ball, it wasn’t all that hard to pick out whom I thought would be the best of the best when all is said and done. Wyoming’s defensive line could be absurd if everyone stays healthy and the Mountain West is still flush with talented linebackers.

One player whom I think is a significant omission from the ballot is Fresno State cornerback Cam Lockridge; he would’ve had my vote if he was present, though that would’ve presented the problem of selecting among five players for four spots. Norris would be my pick as the conference’s top flex piece — your nickelbacks, AZTECs, LOBOs, and so on — which might come as a surprise to many. Just watch, though, because I think he’ll be a key cog in that Bulldogs secondary.

All-Mountain West Special Teams

PK – Jonah Dalmas, Boise State
P – Jack Browning, San Diego State
PR – Tory Horton, Colorado State
KR – Christian Washington, New Mexico

Though we won’t ever know the exact results, I suspect the voting for kicker and punter will be decided by a very close margin because while the Mountain West isn’t quite as stacked with specialists as in other recent years, it’s not hard to make a case for the likes of Nevada’s Brandon Talton, New Mexico’s Aaron Rodriguez, or Wyoming’s John Hoyland.

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Wyoming Football: First Look At The Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Cowboys get a chance to make a big statement when they open 2023 against the Red Raiders. Here’s a first look at Texas Tech.

Wyoming Football: First Look at the Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Cowboys get a chance to make a big statement when they open 2023 against the Red Raiders. Here’s a first look at Texas Tech.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS and @MWCwire

Laradise will host a Big 12 dark horse.

Wyoming Football: First Look at 2023 Non-conference Opponents

Texas Tech | Portland State | Texas | Appalachian State

The Wyoming Cowboys have a big 2023 football season ahead of them, beginning with a big home test in Week 1 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

As it happens, the visitors are aiming high headed into the fall, as well: After winning eight games for the first time since 2013, Texas Tech has its eyes on competing for a conference championship and won’t take anything for granted.

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Conference: Big 12

Series History: Wyoming leads the all-time series against Texas Tech, 3-2.

2022 Record: 8-5 (5-4 Big 12)

Head Coach: Joey McGuire (second year, 8-5 overall). Former Utah State head coach Matt Wells got the axe near the end of the 2021 season and was ultimately replaced by McGuire, a Texas native intimately familiar with football in the state as both a former high school coach and former assistant at Baylor. His first year at the helm certainly didn’t lack for drama, as the Red Raiders beat both Texas and Oklahoma in the same year for the first time ever and finished 4-0 in games decided by eight points or fewer.

Key Players

Jaylon Hutchings, DT

Wyoming fans certainly appreciate a quality defensive tackle, so they’ll be keenly aware of how Hutchings can change the tenor of a game in a hurry. Last season, he posted a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 84.5 which ranked fifth among all Big 12 defenders, collecting 50 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss with four quarterback hurries, all of which are reasons why he was recently named a preseason all-conference selection.

Tyler Shough, QB

Shough missed about half of the 2022 season when he suffered an injury in Texas Tech’s first game, but he made his eventual return to the field count. He started the last four contests and won all of them, finishing the year with a 59.9% completion rate, 1,304 passing yards, and seven touchdowns against a 2.3% interception rate. Should he win the job in fall camp and stay healthy this fall, he could be a big reason why the Red Raiders exceed expectations again.

Jerand Bradley, WR

Like Hutchings, Bradley also earned a preseason all-Big 12 nod after emerging as Texas Tech’s top receiving yards as a redshirt freshman last fall. He tied for the team lead with 51 receptions and stood alone with 744 yards and six touchdowns, so with more consistent quarterback play, his ceiling might be considerable.

Malik Dunlap, CB

Following an injury-plagued 2021 season, Dunlap made his presence known early and often in 2022. He finished in a tie for second among Big 12 defenders with 12 pass breakups and, according to PFF, allowed a 50.8% completion rate on 65 targets, so he’ll be prepared to lock up any pass catcher lined up against him.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S

Taylor-Demerson broke into the starting lineup late in 2021 and made good on that opportunity by becoming one of the top safeties anywhere in the Big 12 last fall. He returns for 2023 as Texas Tech’s top tackler from a year ago, having tallied 74 altogether to pair with five pass breakups, 5.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles.

Overview:

Offense

Despite some unexpected shuffling at quarterback, the Red Raiders held their own on offense in the first year under McGuire and offensive coordinator Zack Kittley, ranking just outside the top 50 nationally by points per drive (2.34, 54th) and available yards percentage earned per drive (48.3%, 52nd). Now, they have the benefit of being one of the more experienced offenses anywhere in college football by returning 80% of last year’s production.

Will one quarterback be able to earn the job and keep it, though? Shough’s injury opened the door for Behren Morton (56.8% completion rate, 1,117 yards, 7:6 touchdowns-to-interceptions) to start a handful of games and Morton might be the better long-term play heading into his sophomore season.

Whoever wins that job will have plenty of weapons at their disposal. Running back Tahj Brooks (855 all-purpose yards, eight total touchdowns) is a seasoned operator who’s led the Red Raiders in rushing over the past two years, while Cam’ron Valdez flashed explosiveness in the second half of 2022 once he was sufficiently recovered from injury. Bradley, meanwhile, is one of five Tech receivers who had at least 30 catches a year ago and that group adds Drae McCray from Austin Peay, where he twice earned all-conference honors and set a program record by averaging 85.8 receiving yards per game in his career there.

The offensive line also happens to be one of the most experienced in the FBS ranks as well, with Dennis Wilburn and Caleb Rogers leading the veteran contingent while Rusty Staats (27 starts at Western Kentucky) arrives from the transfer portal and Cole Spencer, who previously made 36 starts for WKU before his 2022 season was wiped out by injury, figures to be 100%.

Defense

Defensive improvement is what really enabled Texas Tech to defy expectations last season. Under the tutelage of former Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter, the Red Raiders finished 70th among FBS defenses in points per drive allowed and 88th in available yards percentage allowed per drive after having finished 110th and 99th, respectively, by those metrics the year prior. They also led the Big 12 in allowing a touchdown on just 46.6% of opponent red zone opportunities and boasted a downright nasty pass rush on standard downs), so there are reasons to think Tech could be even better in 2023.

That starts with the defensive tackle tandem of Hutchings and Tony Bradford (32 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks) up front, though finding more help from the edge can only help. Joseph Adedire (six starts, 3.5 TFLs, one sack) earned a lot of trust after playing well as a true freshman, however, and an incoming transfer like Steve Linton (Syracuse) might be the answer they need.

Linebacker might have the most questions on this side of the ball since Tech will need to replace its top two tacklers from 2022. Jesiah Pierre (40 tackles, seven TFLs, 4.5 sacks) could be in line for a big year as a result, but one interesting name to keep an eye on is Mike Dingle, who’s already opened some eyes as a true freshman and a dual-sport athlete.

The secondary, meanwhile, is very well stocked beyond Dunlap and Taylor-Demerson, boasting other returning starters like Rayshad Williams (37 tackles, seven pass breakups) and bringing in some familiar names from the transfer portal like Bralyn Lux (three TFLs, two sacks, seven PBUs at Fresno State) and CJ Baskerville (36 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, three PBUs at San Diego State). Though they allowed 7.9 yards per attempt last season, they should be much tougher to throw against this fall.

Early Prediction

Wyoming isn’t an easy place for Power 5 teams to visit — just ask Missouri — but it seems likely that Texas Tech will have the athletes on defense to match wits with a Cowboys team inclined to turn the game into a slog. Combined with much more reliable contributors on offense, an upset just doesn’t seem like it’ll be in the cards this time around.

Texas Tech 34, Wyoming 17

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Wyoming Football: Easton Gibbs Is MWwire’s 2023 Preseason Defensive Player Of The Year

The Wyoming Cowboys linebacker stood out as the overwhelming choice among our staff to be the Mountain West’s top defender in 2023.

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Wyoming Football: Easton Gibbs Is Mountain West Wire’s 2023 Preseason Defensive Player Of The Year

The Cowboys linebacker stood out as the overwhelming choice among our staff to be the Mountain West’s top defender in 2023.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

A highly reliable anchor.

Mountain West Wire’s 2023 preseason honors:

All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year

Throughout his tenure in Laramie, Craig Bohl’s Wyoming Cowboys have developed a habit of churning out top-notch defenders. From Andrew Wingard to Logan Wilson to Chad Muma, you can count on the Pokes having at least one very reliable star on that side of the ball.

That makes Easton Gibbs, our selection as the Mountain West’s preseason defensive player of the year, an obvious choice as the next all-time program great. He’s already well on his way after a 2022 season in which he racked up 121 total tackles, the second-most in the conference, as well as nine tackles for loss, three sacks, and one forced fumble. That included six different games in which he compiled double-digit tackles and landed him on the postseason first-team all-conference defense.

Given his propensity for being seemingly everywhere on a football field, 2023 could just be Gibbs’s best effort yet.

Also received votes: Michael Anyanwu, CB, Utah State; Levelle Bailey, LB, Fresno State; Tavian Combs, S, New Mexico; Isaiah Essissima, CB, Nevada; Cole Godbout, DT, Wyoming; Camby Goff, S, Air Force; DeVonne Harris, DE, Wyoming; Jack Howell, S, Colorado State; Tre Jenkins, S, San Jose State; Mohamed Kamara, DE, Colorado State; Ike Larsen, S, Utah State; Cam Lockridge, CB, Fresno State; Cody Moon, LB, San Diego State; DJ Schramm, LB, Boise State; Cam Stone, CB, Hawaii; MJ Tafisi, LB, Utah State; Trey Taylor, S, Air Force; Drue Watts, LB, Nevada

Previous preseason DPofY honorees: 2022: JL Skinner, Boise State | 2021: Cade Hall, San Jose State | 2020: Tariq Thompson, San Diego State | 2019: Curtis Weaver, Boise State

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Mountain West Football: MWwire’s 2023 Preseason Projected Order Of Finish

The writers at Mountain West Wire project Boise State and Fresno State to be the top two teams in the conference for the 2023 season.

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Mountain West Football: MWwire’s 2023 Preseason Projected Order of Finish

Our writers put their heads together to predict how the 2023 Mountain West football season will ultimately shake out.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Goodbye, divisions. Hello, top two.

Mountain West Wire’s 2023 preseason honors:

All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year

It’s a brave new world for Mountain West football in 2023: After a decade with the Mountain and West divisions, the conference has moved to a “top two” format that will determine who will play for the championship going forward.

Order of Finish

Boise State – 94 points (six first-place votes)
Fresno State – 81 points (two first-place votes)
Air Force – 78 points
San Diego State – 70 points
Wyoming – 65 points
San Jose State – 58 points
Colorado State – 48 points
Utah State – 48 points
UNLV – 33 points
Nevada – 23 points
New Mexico – 16 points
Hawaii – 15 points

Could a rematch of last year’s title clash, which would be the fifth such game between the Broncos and Bulldogs, be in the works? While those two teams earned all of the first-place votes, it isn’t totally clear-cut among our ranks: Four different teams earned at least one first- or second-place vote.

Among those closer to the top of the projected standings, it also seems clear that tiebreakers could play a major role in how things ultimately shake out, especially since head-to-head results may not always be a factor: Fresno State and Air Force don’t play each other in this regular season, for instance, and neither do Wyoming and San Diego State.

The two squads with the widest degree of disagreement among our writers appear to be the Cowboys and Spartans: The former was voted as high as third and as low as eighth, while the latter appeared as high as fourth and as low as eighth.

At the bottom of the standings, our staff doesn’t appear to have a lot of faith in New Mexico’s off-season overhaul and seems to think the rebuilds at Nevada and Hawaii need another year to truly start paying dividends.

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