2018 Wyoming Cowboys football team explained

Mode:	football
Year:	2018
Team:	Wyoming Cowboys
Conference:	Mountain West Conference
Division:	Mountain Division
Short Conf:	MW
Record:	6–6
Conf Record:	4–4
Head Coach:	Craig Bohl
Hc Year:	5th
Off Coach:	Brent Vigen
Oc Year:	5th
Def Coach:	Scottie Hazelton
Dc Year:	2nd
Off Scheme:	Pro-style
Def Scheme:	4–3
Stadium:	War Memorial Stadium

The 2018 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cowboys were coached by fifth-year head coach Craig Bohl and played their home games at War Memorial Stadium as a member of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the regular season 6–6, 4–4 in Mountain West play to finish in third place in the Mountain division. Despite being bowl-eligible, they were not invited to a bowl game.

2018 recruiting class

The Cowboys announced an early signing class of 20 high school student-athletes on December 20.^[1] On February 24, they announced the signing of two more student-athletes.^[2]

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Chuck Bednarik Award^[3]	Carl Granderson	DE	SR
	Andrew Wingard	SS	SR
Jim Thorpe Award^[4]	Andrew Wingard	SS	SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[5]	Youhanna Ghaifan	DT	JR
	Carl Granderson	DE	SR
	Andrew Wingard	SS	SR
Outland Trophy^[6]	Youhanna Ghaifan	DT	JR
Ted Hendricks Award^[7]	Carl Granderson	DE	SR

Mountain West media days

During the Mountain West media days held July 24–25 at the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip, the Cowboys were predicted to finish in second place in the Mountain Division.^[8]

Media poll

Mountain Division
1	Boise State	132 (22)
2	Wyoming	95
3	Colorado State	82
4	Utah State	78
5	Air Force	52
6	New Mexico	23

Preseason All-Mountain West Team

The Cowboys had three players selected to the preseason all-Mountain West team.^[9] Strong safety Andrew Wingard was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year.

Defense

Youhanna Ghaifan – DT

Carl Granderson – DE

Andrew Wingard – SS

Schedule

Source:^[10]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Wyoming	Alma mater	Before Wyoming
	Head coach	5	Nebraska (1982)	North Dakota State – Head coach (2013)
	Associate head coach / offensive coordinator / quarterbacks	5	North Dakota State (1998)	North Dakota State – Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach (2013)
	Defensive coordinator / linebackers coach	2	Fort Lewis (1997)	Jacksonville Jaguars – Assistant linebackers coach (2016)
	Co-Special teams coordinator / tight ends coach / fullbacks coach	5	Miami, Ohio (2001)	Miami, Ohio – Interim head coach / offensive coordinator (2013)
AJ Cooper	Co-Special teams coordinator / defensive ends coach	5	North Dakota State (2006)	North Dakota State – Defensive ends coach / co-special teams coordinator (2013)
	Safeties Coach	2	Wisconsin–Stevens Point (2007)	South Dakota State – Co-special teams coordinator / safeties coach (2016)
Scott Fuchs	Offensive line coach	5	North Dakota State (1995)	North Dakota State – Offensive line Coach (2013)
Mike Grant	Wide receivers coach	3	Nebraska (1993)	North Texas – Wide receivers coach / receiving coordinator (2014)
Gordie Haug	Running backs coach / Director of player personnel	5	Bemidji State (2009)	North Dakota State – Running backs coach (2013)
	Defensive tackles coach / nose tackles coach	10	Washington (1994)	Montana – Offensive line Coach (2008)
John Richardson	Cornerbacks coach	5	North Dakota State (2010)	North Dakota State – Cornerbacks Coach (2013)
Ben Iannacchione	Director of Sports Performance / head strength and conditioning coach	1	Boise State (2008)	LSU – Associate Strength and Conditioning Coach (2017)
	Defensive Graduate Assistant	2	Minnesota State Moorhead (2016)	Minnesota State Moorhead – Linebacker (2016)
Jacob Claborn	Offensive Graduate Assistant	3	California Lutheran (2009)	Central Washington – Offensive line Coach (2015)
Taylor Housewright	Offensive Graduate Assistant	1	Ashland (2013)	Ashland – Defensive backs coach / assistant recruiting coordinator (2017)
Jalen Ortiz	Defensive Graduate Assistant	1	Wyoming (2017)	Wyoming – Linebacker (2017)

Roster

Statistics

Team

Team Statistics
	Wyoming	Opponents
Points	248	264
First Downs	204	223
Rushing	116	96
Passing	72	111
Penalty	16	16
Rushing Yards	2393	1554
Rushing Attempts	496	424
Average Per Rush	4.8	3.7
Long	75	56
Rushing TDs	19	17
Passing yards	1576	2360
Comp–Att	135–276	241–394
Comp %	48.9%	61.2%
Average Per Game	131.3	196.7
Average per Attempt	5.7	6.0
Passing TDs	8	15
INT's	4	10
Touchdowns	28	33
Passing	8	15
Rushing	19	17
Defensive	1	0
Interceptions	10	4
Yards	123	36
Total Offense	3969	3914
Total Plays	772	818
Average Per Yards/Game	330.8	326.2
Kick Returns: # – Yards	12–235	22–456
TDs	0	1
Long	30	99
Punts	74	68
Yards	2914	2967
Average	39.4	43.6
Punt Returns: # – Yards	27–156	21–136
TDs	0	0
Long	31	41
Fumbles – Fumbles Lost	15–7	13–5
Penalties – Yards	72–596	71–577
3rd–Down Conversions	63/174	69/176
4th–Down Conversions	5/13	11/16
Field Goals	16–17	12–17
Sacks	19	24
Yards	129	204

Offense

Passing Statistics
NAME	GP	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	TD	INT	RAT
Tyler Vander Waal	11	120	246	1310	48.8	5	4	96.97
Sean Chambers	4	15	25	266	60.0	3	0	188.98
Austin Conway	12	0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.00
TEAM	7	0	2	0	0.0	0	0	0.00
Nick Smith	3	0	2	0	0.0	0	0	0.00
TOTALS	12	135	276	1576	48.9	8	4	103.54

Rushing Statistics
NAME	GP	CAR	YDS	LONG	TD
Nico Evans	10	204	1325	75	8
Xazavian Valladay	12	71	396	45	3
Sean Chambers	4	59	329	64	2
Jevon Bigelow	9	69	292	39	2
Austin Conway	12	12	80	19	1
Avante' Cox	3	3	37	23	1
Dontae Crow	7	2	11	6	0
James Price	11	2	10	15	0
Ayden Eberhardt	11	1	1	1	0
Brett Brenton	1	1	0	0	0
Raghib Ismail Jr.	11	4	−2	6	0
TEAM	7	7	−23	0	0
Tyler Vander Waal	11	61	−63	19	2
TOTALS	12	496	2393	75	19

Receiving Statistics
NAME	GP	REC	YDS	LONG	TD
James Price	11	26	395	72	1
Tyree Mayfield	12	21	341	60	2
Raghib Ismail Jr.	11	24	267	26	2
Austin Conway	12	32	250	22	1
Austin Fort	9	7	102	41	1
Nico Evans	10	7	66	47	1
Ayden Eberhardt	11	5	46	15	0
Xazavian Valladay	12	4	35	12	0
John Okwoli	12	3	31	17	0
Josh Harshman	3	4	21	11	0
Jared Scott	11	1	17	17	0
Avante' Cox	3	1	5	5	0
TOTALS	12	135	1576	72	8

Defense

Defensive Statistics
	NAME	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL-YDS	SACKS	INT	BU	QBH	FR	FF	BLK	SAF
30	Logan Wilson	12	57	46	103	11.0–30	2.0–9	2	2	1	0	0	0	0
28	Andrew Wingard	12	46	41	87	2.5–6	1.0–5	2	1	2	0	0	0	0
6	Marcus Epps	12	42	21	63	6.5–23	1.0–9	0	8	0	0	1	0	0
3	Alijah Halliburton	12	39	22	61	0.5–0	0.0–0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0
46	Cassh Maluia	11	23	23	46	6.0–7	0.0–0	1	3	1	0	0	0	0
4	Antonio Hull	12	30	14	44	1.0–2	0.0–0	2	8	0	1	1	0	0
91		11	28	12	40	7.5–21	3.0–13	1	2	3	0	0	0	0
9		11	28	11	39	2.5–4	0.0–0	1	9	0	1	1	0	0
88	Garrett Crall	12	19	19	38	6.5–28	4.5–25	0	1	2	1	1	0	0
93	Youhanna Ghaifan	8	20	14	34	8.0–32	2.0–18	0	4	1	0–0	1	0	0
98	Ravontae Holt	11	10	21	31	1.5–4	0.0–0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0
1	Keyon Blankenbaker	12	22	7	29	0.5–1	0.0–0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
96	Sidney Malauulu	11	16	12	28	6.0–35	3.0–30	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
45	Adam Pilapil	12	8	17	25	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
7	Chavez Pownell Jr.	11	15	8	23	1.0–0	0.0–0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
44	Victor Jones	11	6	9	15	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	Kevin Prosser	9	8	5	13	3.0–13	1.5–9	0	2	0	0	1	0	0
86	Javaree Jackson	6	4	8	12	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
87	Conner Cain	11	4	7	11	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
21	C.J. Coldon	3	5	3	8	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
53	Josiah Hall	9	4	4	8	2.0–4	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	Ben Wisdorf	12	5	2	7	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
92		4	2	3	5	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Esaias Gandy	12	3	1	4	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Ayden Eberhardt	11	2	2	4	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	Braden Smith	12	3	1	4	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
85	Tyree Mayfield	12	3	1	4	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Gunner Gentry	10	3	1	4	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Jevon Bigelow	9	1	1	2	1.0–28	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
23	Xazavian Valladay	12	2	0	2	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
48	Chad Muma	11	1	1	2	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
80	James Price	11	2	0	2	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TM	Team	7	1	1	2	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
14	Miles Williams	4	1	1	2	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Miles Kutterer	7	0	1	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Tyler Vander Waal	11	1	0	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	Cooper Rothe	12	1	0	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
62	Rudy Stofer	11	0	1	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Sidney Washington	4	1	0	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
50	Ryan Gatoloai-Faupula	8	0	1	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
8	Dontae Crow	7	0	1	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	Dauson Booker	5	0	1	1	0.0–0	0.0–0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Trey Woods	1	1	0	1	1.0–11	1.0–11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTAL	12	467	344	811	68–251	19–129	10	51	12	5	8	0	2
	OPPONENTS	12	397	458	855	70–302	24–204	4	33	20	7	12	1	0

Key: SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FF: Forced Fumbles, FR: Fumbles Recovered, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties

Interceptions Statistics
NAME	NO.	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
Logan Wilson	2	21	10.5	0	13
Andrew Wingard	2	0	0.0	0	0
Antonio Hull	2	15	7.5	0	15
Cassh Maluia	1	0	0.0	0	0
	1	61	61.0	1	61
	1	26	26.0	0	26
Chavez Pownell Jr.	1	0	0.0	0	0
TOTALS	10	123	12.3	1	61

Special teams

Kicking Statistics
NAME	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	1–19	20–29	30–39	40–49	50+	LNG	PTS
Cooper Rothe	28	28	100.0%	16	17	94.1%	0–0	5–5	6–6	4–5	1–1	51	76
TOTALS	28	28	100.0%	16	17	94.1%	0–0	5–5	6–6	4–5	1–1	51	76

Kick Return Statistics
NAME	RTNS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
	5	112	22.4	0	28
Austin Conway	4	84	21.0	0	30
John Okwoli	1	23	23.0	0	23
Avante' Cox	1	13	13.0	0	13
Jaylon Watson	1	3	3.0	0	3
TOTALS	12	235	19.6	0	30

Punting Statistics
NAME	PUNTS	YDS	AVG	LONG	TB	FC	I–20	50+	BLK
Tim Zaleski	36	1395	38.8	52	3	8	9	2	0
Dontae Crow	24	1026	42.8	68	2	9	5	4	0
Ryan Galovich	13	493	38.9	68	2	4	7	2	0
TEAM	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	1
TOTALS	74	2914	39.4	68	7	21	21	8	1

Punt Return Statistics
NAME	RTNS	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Austin Conway	27	156	5.8	0	31
TOTALS	27	156	5.8	0	31

Scores by quarter (all opponents)

Awards and honors

All-Conference Teams

First Team

Nico Evans, Sr., RB

Andrew Wingard, Sr., DB

Cooper Rothe, Jr., PK

Second Team

Carl Granderson, Sr., DL

Honorable Mention

Tyler Hall, Jr., CB

Logan Wilson, Jr., LB

Conference awards

Cooper Rothe – Special teams Player of the Year

All–America Teams

Keegan Cryder, Fr., C – Freshman All–American (FWAA)

Senior Bowls

Carl Granderson – Senior Bowl

Andrew Wingard – East–West Shrine Game

Nico Evans – NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

Game summaries

At New Mexico State

See also: 2018 New Mexico State Aggies football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 13–22, 137 YDS; Matt Romero (NMSU): 16–27, 140 YDS, 1 TD
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 24 CAR, 190 YDS, 2 TD; Jason Huntley (NMSU): 9 CAR, 22 YDS
• Receiving leaders: Austin Fort (WYO): 2 REC, 51 YDS; Drew Dan (NMSU): 2 REC, 60 YDS, 1 TD

Washington State

See also: 2018 Washington State Cougars football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 8–20, 67 YDS, 1 INT; Gardner Minshew (WSU): 38–57, 319 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 18 CAR, 89 YDS, 1 TD; James Williams (WSU): 16 CAR, 82 YDS, 1 TD
• Receiving leaders: James Price (WYO): 2 REC, 23 YDS; Jamire Calvin (WSU): 5 REC, 82 YDS

At Missouri

See also: 2018 Missouri Tigers football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 13–28, 160 YDS; Drew Lock (MIZ): 33–45, 398 YDS, 4 TD
• Rushing leaders: Jevon Bigelow (WYO): 18 CAR, 56 YDS, 1 TD; Damarea Crockett (MIZ): 19 CAR, 73 YDS
• Receiving leaders: James Price (WYO): 1 REC, 55 YDS; Emanuel Hall (MIZ): 10 REC, 171 YDS, 1 TD

Wofford

See also: 2018 Wofford Terriers football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 25–42, 224 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT; Joe Newman (WOF): 9–15, 73 YDS, 2 INT
• Rushing leaders: Xazavian Valladay (WYO): 15 CAR, 57 YDS; Lennox McAfee (WOF): 13 CAR, 91 YDS
• Receiving leaders: Austin Conway (WYO): 11 REC, 89 YDS; Blake Morgan (WOF): 6 REC, 48 YDS

Boise State

See also: 2018 Boise State Broncos football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 15–25, 214 YDS, 1 TD; Brett Rypien (BSU): 28–42, 342 YDS, 2 TD
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 12 CAR, 141 YDS, 1 TD; Alexander Mattison (BSU): 20 CAR, 57 YDS, 1 TD
• Receiving leaders: James Price (WYO): 2 REC, 77 YDS, 1 TD; A.J. Richardson (BSU): 6 REC, 113 YDS, 1 TD

At Hawaii

See also: 2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team and Hawaii–Wyoming football rivalry.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 9–16, 87 YDS; Chevan Cordeiro (HAW): 19–29, 148 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 24 CAR, 192 YDS; Dayton Furuta (HAW): 16 CAR, 101 YDS
• Receiving leaders: James Price (WYO): 3 REC, 28 YDS; Marcus Armstrong-Brown (HAW): 6 REC, 49 YDS

At Fresno State

See also: 2018 Fresno State Bulldogs football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 12–32, 117 YDS, 1 INT; Marcus McMaryion (FRES): 22–32, 287 YDS, 2 TD
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 18 CAR, 58 YDS; Marcus McMaryion (FRES): 7 CAR, 53 YDS, 1 TD
• Receiving leaders: Raghib Ismail Jr. (WYO): 2 REC, 46 YDS; Jared Rice (FRES): 7 REC, 94 YDS, 1 TD

Utah State

See also: 2018 Utah State Aggies football team and Utah State–Wyoming football rivalry.

• Passing leaders: Sean Chambers (WYO): 3–5, 62 YDS; Jordan Love (USU): 12–28, 53 YDS, 1 INT
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 25 CAR, 133 YDS, 1 TD; Darwin Thompson (USU): 17 CAR, 109 YDS, 2 TD
• Receiving leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 2 REC, 40 YDS; Aaren Vaughns (USU): 2 REC, 14 YDS

At Colorado State

See also: 2018 Colorado State Rams football team and Border War (Colorado State–Wyoming rivalry).

• Passing leaders: Sean Chambers (WYO): 7–10, 116 YDS, 2 TD; Collin Hill (CSU): 34–54, 333 YDS, 2 INT
• Rushing leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 28 CAR, 176 YDS, 1 TD; Marvin Kinsey Jr. (CSU): 5 CAR, 24 YDS, 2 TD
• Receiving leaders: James Price (WYO): 3 REC, 50 YDS; Preston Williams (CSU): 10 REC, 126 YDS

San Jose State

See also: 2018 San Jose State Spartans football team.

• Passing leaders: Sean Chambers (WYO): 4–8, 51 YDS, 1 TD; Josh Love (SJSU): 19–32, 173 YDS, 1 TD
• Rushing Leaders: Nico Evans (WYO): 33 CAR, 187 YDS, 1 TD; Tyler Nevens (SJSU): 17 CAR, 70 YDS
• Receiving Leaders: Austin Fort (WYO): 2 REC, 28 YDS, 1 TD; Josh Oliver (SJSU): 5 REC, 66 YDS

Air Force

See also: 2018 Air Force Falcons football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 14–26, 225 YDS, 2 TD; Donald Hammond III (AFA): 5–9, 53 YDS, 2 INT
• Rushing Leaders: Jevon Bigelow (WYO): 10 CAR, 36 YDS; Kadin Remsberg (AFA): 20 CAR, 128 YDS
• Receiving Leaders: Tyree Mayfield (WYO): 4 REC, 112 YDS; Marcus Bennett (AFA): 3 REC, 31 YDS

At New Mexico

See also: 2018 New Mexico Lobos football team.

• Passing leaders: Tyler Vander Waal (WYO): 4–17, 41 YDS; Coltin Gerhart (UNM): 2–14, 31 YDS, 1 INT
• Rushing Leaders: Xazavian Valladay (WYO): 22 CAR, 192 YDS, 2 TD; Tyrone Owens (UNM): 12 CAR, 18 YDS
• Receiving Leaders: Raghib Ismail Jr. (WYO): 1 REC, 15 YDS; Anu Somoye (UNM): 1 REC, 19 YDS

Players in the 2019 NFL draft

See also: 2019 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
	S	6	191	Minnesota Vikings
	S	UDFA	—	Jacksonville Jaguars
	DE	UDFA	—	New Orleans Saints
Tyree Mayfield	TE	UDFA	—	San Francisco 49ers
Nico Evans	RB	UDFA	—	Philadelphia Eagles
Sidney Malauulu	DT	UDFA	—	San Francisco 49ers
	TE	UDFA	—	Denver Broncos

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wyoming Strikes it Rich with Early Signing Class for 2018. GoWyo.com. December 20, 2017. May 6, 2018.
2. Web site: Ja'Lani Ellison and Raghib "Rocket" Ismail Jr. Sign With Wyoming Football. GoWyo.com. February 24, 2018. May 6, 2018.
3. News: 2018 Bednarik Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-16. Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-17. en-US. 2018-07-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180716194921/https://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/2018-maxwell-bednarik-watch-list/. dead.
4. Web site: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Names 2018 Preseason Watchlist. July 23, 2018. July 23, 2018.
5. Web site: Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. July 24, 2018. July 24, 2018.
6. Web site: Outland Trophy Watch List. July 24, 2018. July 24, 2018.
7. Web site: Preseason Watch List – 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award. August 14, 2018. August 16, 2018. August 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180814232846/http://tedhendricks.com/2018_WATCH_LIST.pdf. dead.
8. Web site: Boise State, Fresno State Picked to Win 2018 Mountain West Football Divisional Titles.
9. Web site: 2018 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team.
10. Web site: 2018 Football Schedule.