Rams push over the Pokes

Well this is a night for good news and bad news. Let's start with the good news first because you probably wouldn't finish reading this if you started off with the bad stuff.

Good News:

The Cowboys actually made 10 three pointers tonight a new season high! Only took 24 attempts which gave them a solid 41% for the game. This is a great sign for the future as the long range shooting has been the Achilles heel for the Pokes this year.

Monsieur Boeudo can play! The Frenchman Arthur Boeudo made his Wyoming debut tonight and put 15 points in 21 minutes. Shot 5-8 from the field and 4-5 on 3 pointers. Hopefully he stays consistent

Adam Waddell put up 18 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. The only bigman to accomplish much this game for the Pokes.

I cooked dinner tonight and it turned out nicely. Just spaghetti and meatballs but the meatballs were homemade. I'm not a gourmet chef so I was happy.

That's it. I'm really grasping at straws here and the dinner comment was just a space filler.

Bad News:

The Pokes never led in a 83-73 demoralizing loss to the Colorado State Rams in front a small crowd of hearty fans that ventured out. Most of the students were gone because of the winter break. Then a huge snowstorm dumps a ton of snow on the Front Range so that makes it even harder for anyone to show up. Nice scheduling MWC - put a rivalry game on a weekday when no students are on campus. I know you can't do anything about the snow.

The Rams pushed around the Pokes all game long. CSU held a 40-33 rebounding advantage including 15 offensive boards which turned into 23 second chance points.

“Hats off to CSU; they played very well,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “We were out-toughed and out-executed.”

Afam Muojeke the second leading scorer in the Mountain West played only 18 minutes and spent most of the second half on the bench despite not having any fouls. Was he being punished by Schroyer? We'll see if he laces up on Saturday versus San Diego State. AJ Davis only played 15 minutes but at least he collected four fouls.

Desmar Jackson only played 5 minutes. He had been one of the more consistent players for the Pokes recently.

CSU was winless on the road prior to tonight and not considered a very strong team. If Wyoming can't beat teams like the Rams at home then the next couple months could be really ugly for Poke fans.

Pokes only made 11 of their 20 free throw attempts. They are much better team than this and average over 73% on their free throws as a team.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Arthur Bouedo - Welcome aboard! Solid debut with 15 points and 4/5 on three pointers.

Cowbow Low: Coach Schroyer - This was an ugly performance and you didn't have your team ready tonight.

Cowboy Foe: Andy Ogide led the Rams with 22/6. Came on strong in the second half to secure the victory.

It's that time again...

Colorado State Rams at Wyoming Cowboys
6:00pm MST
TV: The Mtn

Hoops Border War: The Laramie Edition.

What a great way to start off the New Year with the beginning of Mountain West play and the CSU Rams coming to town. The Border War starts on Wednesday with a 6pm MST tip off time at the AA. With most students still away from campus it should unfortunately be a smaller crowd than usual.

The Rams head into town with a surprising 9-5 record including wins over Denver, Montana and Colorado. The fact that they are 0-5 on the road so far this year is great news for the Cowboys. Dorian Green leads the Rams in points and assists so far this year: 13/2. Travis Franklin (11.9) and Ogide (11.4) are the other scorers in double digits. The trio of Franklin, Ogide and Pierce Hornug all average 5+ rebounds a game.

Coach Schroyer and the Pokes (7-7) are coming off the highest scoring game in program history after a 123-71 victory over Adams State over the weekend. This boost of confidence is exactly what the Cowboys needed entering conference play. Hitting the long range shot has been a struggle all season for the Pokes. If they can improve on their 22% 3 point shooting it could make a big difference in keeping games close. The Cowboys have gotten a large portion of their points this year from the free throw line. Wyoming is currently ranked #1 in the nation in free throws made and have a 35 shot margin over #2 Kansas State.

Sophomore Afam Muojeke leads the Cowboys with 17 points per contest is the #2 scorer in the Mountain West. These points have come at a cost as Muojeke often tries to do too much on his own and leads the league with 4.3 turnovers a game. Wyoming also needs to keep their big men out of foul trouble. Adam Waddell, Djibril Thiam, Boubacar Syalla and Amath M'Baye have all struggled to stay in games this season.

Colorado State Rams at Wyoming Cowboys

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
CSU	9-5	69.2	63.6	8-0	0-5	W1
WYO	7-7	80.0	74.6	7-4	0-3	W1

Hammerschmidt returns to the Green and Gold

Hope he saved all his CSU his shirts

After one year in Laramie WR Coach Dan Hammerschmidt has decided to return to Fort Collins and become the wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator for Colorado State. The move reunites Hammerschmidt with Head Coach Steve Fairchild who have both spent a long time with the Rams program.

Before coming to Wyoming Hammerschmidt spent a year at Rice University and helped them to a 10-3 record and a win in the Texas Bowl. After four years as a player at CSU spent 13 years on the coaching staff.

This leaves a big hole for Dave Christensen to fill as Wide Receivers are key to the success of any spread offense. David Leonard had a career year with 77 receptions and 705 yards.

The fact that Hammerschmidt is going to another Mountain West school is one thing. With Colorado State the destination makes the move becomes even more disconcerting. He now knows the Wyoming playbook and offensive scheme inside and out and can use that every year in the Border War. Obviously hand signals and play calling will be adjusted but with the Border War you can never be too careful.

The Cowboys now need to find someone to takeover as Assistant Coach and then also work with the Wide Recievers and Tight ends. No likely candidates have been named yet to fill the spots left by Hammerscmidt.

Current Wyoming Coaching Staff:

Dave Christensen, (Western Washington '85) Head Coach

Assistant coaches listed alphabetically...

Marcus Arroyo, (San Jose State '03) Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Marty English, (Northern Colorado '86) Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Mike Fanoga, (UTEP `86) Outside Linebackers

Alex Grinch, (Mount Union College `02) Secondary/Recruiting Coordinator

Jim Harding, (Toledo `01) Offensive Line

Pete Kaligis, (Washington '94) Offensive Line

Jerry Montgomery, (Iowa '02) Defensive Line

Jared Petrino, (Carroll College '04) Defensive Graduate Assistant

Jason Ray, (Missouri `07) Running Backs

Brent Vernon, (Missouri '08) Offensive Graduate Assistant

Cowboys grab the Bronze Boot

This was your typical Border War which meant throw out the records because anything can happen. The Wyoming Cowboys needed a victory to give them a 6th win and become bowl eligible. The Colorado State Rams were looking to play spoiler and end the season on a high note after losing eight straight games.

Wyoming has a knack for fourth quarter comebacks this season and pulled off their fourth of the season in a 17-16 victory. Ian Watts made a 33 yard field goal with 1:29 left to give the Cowboys (6-6) a one point lead. The Rams were driving down the field but Ghaali Muhammad intercepted a Jon Eastman pass to secure the victory and give the Cowboys the Bronze Boot trophy for the first time in three years.

With the victory the Cowboys locked up fifth place in the Mountain West and will be heading to their first bowl game since a 2004 Las Vegas Bowl win over UCLA. The New Mexico Bowl is the likely destination for the Cowboys but the Armed Forces and Humanitarian Bowl are still possibilities.

The Rams (3-9) went winless in the Mountain West this year and finished with a 9 game losing streak but they controlled the momentum most of the game. CSU out gained the Cowboys 352 to 233 and had the ground game working all game. Leonard Mason put 119 yards on the ground, John Mosure had 36 yards on four attempts before leaving the game with an injury. QB Jon Eastman got his first start for the Rams and completed his first eight passes, Eastman finished the day 22 of 30 for 185 yards.

The Rams scored first on a 8 yard touchdown by Lou Greenwood. John Fletcher blocked the extra point for the Pokes and that would end up being the difference in the game. QB Austyn Carta-Samuels got the Cowboys on the board with a 6 yard TD run. Eastman found Zac Pauga in the third on a 6 yard pass to give the Rams a 13-7 lead. Later in the third Carta-Samuels broke out again for a 49 run to give the Cowboys the 14-13 edge. The Rams used nearly 7 points to drive down and a Ben Deline 23 yard field goal gave them the 16-14 lead.

On the winning drive Carta-Samuels kept the drive alive with a 14 yard run on 3rd and 11 and then found Greg Bolling for a 7 yard pass on 4th and 6. Brandon Stewart broke out a 20 yard run to move the ball inside field goal range. The Cowboys drive stalled at CSU 16 and on 4th and 2 Ian Watts nailed the game winning field goal.

The Cowboys evened the Border War at 21 wins a piece and now have the Bronze Boot back for the first time in three years. This has been an impressive season for the Cowboys as they were picked to finished last in the Mountain West and have surpassed all expectations despite playing 12 freshman and one of the toughest schedules in the nation. First year Coach Dave Christensen has changed the minds of those in Laramie who thought this program was going nowhere after struggling for years during the Joe Glenn era.

Christensen had a great quote after his earning first Border War victory:

"The boot's back where it belongs," Wyoming's first-year coach shouted. "Gimme a beer."

AWARDS:

Cowboy Joe: ACS - Two rushing touchdowns and some key conversion on third and fourth down.

Cowboy Low: David Tooley - only because he injured his knee late in the game and will mess the post season. The freshman TE had been stepping up big for the Cowboys in the last three games.

Cowboy Foe: Leonard Mason was eating up yards on every run as he piled up 119 yards.

WE'RE GOING BOWLING!!!

Cowboys are heading to a bowl game after knocking off the CSU Rams 17-16 on Saturday. This was a typical Border War as the score was close the entire game and it came down to the last couple minutes.

Ian Watts kicked a 33 yard field goal with 1:29 remaining to give the Cowboys a 1 point lead. Ghaali Muhammad intercepted on Jon Eastman on 4th down to secure the victory for the Cowboys.

Next up: Waiting to see where the Cowboys end up in Bowl Land. All signs seems to point towards New Mexico.

Full Border War Analysis later tonight.

Go Pokes!!!

Border War Preview

The Wyoming Cowboys (5-6) will travel 64 miles to Fort Collins, CO with their post season hopes resting on a victory over rival Colorado State. The Rams (3-8) haven't won in two months and just gave previously winless New Mexico their first win of the season but don't count the Rams out.

After a 3-0 start pretty much everything that could have gone wrong for the Rams
this season has:

Injuries? Check!

Fourth Quarter Collapses?
Check!

Disillusionment with the coaching staff? Check!

But nothing could save the season like a victory over Wyoming in the Border War to help put a band aid on things. Coach Fairchild doesn't want the losing streak to extend to 2010. History has shown that you can throw the records out when these teams face off. CSU has won the last two Bronze Boots and now leads the series 21-20.

Wyoming has surprised others in the conference and the media by being fairly competitive in the first year under new Head Coach Dave Christensen. The new staff is not afraid of playing young players and the team is led by true freshman QB Austyn Carta-Samuels. ACS has thrown for 1,615 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 261 yards on the ground. David Leonard has been his favorite target but TE David Tooley stepped up big in the win over San Diego State.

The Cowboys have one of toughest schedules this year and have struggled against ranked opponents but had quite a bit of success against middle of the pack teams. LB Brian Hendricks who has missed the last two games with a high ankle sprain will be back in action. The return of the teams leading tackler will give the defense a much needed boost.

A Wyoming victory will put the Cowboys at 6-6 and make them bowl eligible. A trip to the Albuquerque would be their destination to play in the New Mexico Bowl. Last year the Rams beat the Cowboys to earn their sixth victory and head to the New Mexico Bowl.

The Rams feature a potent rushing attack that is led Jon Mosure who had 177 yards and two touchdowns last week but had a key fumble that contributed to the loss. Leonard Mason was the feature back for the Rams but has found himself on bench after Coach Fairchild was unhappy with his work ethic. QB Grant Stucker is banged up and will be a game time decision. If Stucker is unable to go then John Eastman will get the start for the Rams. Rashaun Greer leads the Rams with 688 receiving yards this year.

Utah has the Holy War but the Front Range has the Border War and this will be an entertaining game despite the records.

Series History: Colorado State leads Wyoming 53-40-5,

Border War History: Colorado State leads Wyoming 21-20

Cowboy Chatter: Border War Edition

Here is a great set of articles from the Casper Tribune talking about CSU and the Border War.

• This is a must win game for the Cowboys.
• Breakdown on the matchup between CSU and Wyoming.
• CSU is playing for nothing but pride this weekend.

Border War: Bronze Boot Time

The Border War is finally upon us! This is always an important game for both teams if not the most important. This year will be especially interesting as Wyoming needs a victory on Friday to grab a bowl berth while the under performing Rams would love never nothing more to spoil the Cowboys season.

If the Cowboys win they can celebrate with the Bronze Boot on the Rams field and cap off a terrible season for the Rams who have lost eight in a row and just gave hapless New Mexico their first victory of the season.

Current odds have the Rams by 3 points.

CSU currently leads the 21-20 and have won the last two meetings.

Here is an article from the Denver Post detailing the Rams season.

I'll be giving you Border news and analysis all week long.

Mountain West Matchups

Here are the other matchups in the Mountain West this weekend.

Air Force at #19 BYU
1:30PM MST
TV: CBS College

This is my matchup of the week in the Mountain West. Air Force boasts a stellar defense and BYU has a potent offense. The Falcons nearly knocked off TCU and forced Utah in overtime earlier this season. I say that BYU shows it weakness on defense and Air Force comes out of Provo with a win.

San Diego State at #23 Utah
2:00PM MST
TV: Versus

San Diego State was one quarter away from winning their fifth game of the season before the Cowboys went on a tear. Now they must defeat Utah and UNLV on the road if they want to earn a bowl bid. Utah is looking to redeem themselves after getting by TCU last week. I'd love for the Aztecs to get the win but it probably won't happen.

Colorado State at New Mexico
4:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

Not much reason to watch this one unless you like watching bad teams. New Mexico is winless but have been showing signs of life in recent games. CSU is coming off a bye week and hasn't won in two months. Hopefully the Rams won't win and get hot just in time for the Border War.

Mountain West Mondays

Recapping all the Mountain West Action over the weekend.

TCU @ BYU

This was the game of the week in College Football. It was a great game unless you are a BYU fan. The Horned Frogs jumped out a 21-0 lead and never looked back. The only bad news is that TCU beat BYU so bad in the 38-7 win that it knocked the Cougars out of the Top 25 rankings. The win vaulted the Froggies to #6 in the BCS standings.

Box Score


San Diego State @ CSU

A tale of two halves here. CSU looked like they finally going to a win and break their four game losing streak when they were up 21-7 heading into the half. Ryan Lindley and the Aztecs took to the air for 459 yards and six touchdowns as they roared back with 35 points in the second half to end up winning 42-28. A promising start to the season has been derailed for Rams.

Box Score


Air Force @ Utah

Past games have been very close and this game didn't disappoint. The Utes had problems all game long with 6 fumbles but only losing two. The Falcons forced a 16-16 tie with a 48 yard field goal that sent the game into overtime. Utah ran for a TD in their first possession of OT then the defense stepped up and smothered the Falcons on a 4th and 2 to earn a hard fought 23-16 victory.

Box Score


UNLV @ New Mexico

It really doesn't matter who coaches the Lobos - it is the same result. The Lobos are now 0-7 following the 34-17 loss to the Rebels. You never know what will happen but chances are pretty good now that New Mexico will finish with an 0-12 record this season.

Box Score

Whats happening?

Here is the scoop on what we'll be doing each day this week. So make sure you check in everday. Or why don't you just become a follower of Cowboy Altitude so you can check the updates easier? :)

Monday - Mountain West Mondays
Recap of all the action in the MWC

Tuesday - Pokes in the Pro's
A look at former Wyoming players in the NFL and NBA

Wednesday - Wyoming vs Utah Preview
Previewing the upcoming game in Utah this weekend

Thursday - News from around the MWC
News from all the league

Friday - Preview all the MWC match ups
Predictions for all the Mountain West games this weekend

Weekend - Travel and Family
I'll be traveling to Colorado this weekend to be with family. I'll attend the CSU-AF game so I'll be doing some scouting for the Bronze Boot game. Will be able to update the blog via the blackberry stay tuned for recaps and analysis.

Great MWC Matchups this Weekend!

While the Pokes have the weekend off you can tune in and scout the competition. You can preview the Cowboys upcoming opponents for the rest of the season by watching just three games this Saturday.

Game of the Week

#10 TCU @ #16 BYU
5:30pm MST
TV: Versus

ESPN College Game Day is making big news by coming to Provo. This is only the third time the GD crew has been in attendance for a game hosted by a Mountain West team. The fact that ESPN can't even broadcast the game makes it even more impressive. Best game in College Football this weekend.

TCU has their BCS dreams on the line. A loss here will sink the Horned Frogs and the MWC. The Cougars are looking to return the favor at TCU ruined their season last year.

Prediction: TCU 27 - BYU21


Air Force @ #19 Utah
2:00pm MST
TV: Versus

Air Force has one of the top defenses in the nation. Will they be able to stop the Utes and their powerful offense? Utah will become the third MWC team to become bowl eligible with a victory. These games have been close every year and don't expect anything to change.

Prediction: Utah 17 - Air Force 10


San Diego State @ Colorado State
2:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

The Cowboys better study this game and figure out a way they can beat the Aztecs and Rams if they want to play in a bowl game this year. CSU has lost 4 in a row and is win less in the Mountain West this year. The second half of their schedule is much easier now and they need this victory at home.

Prediction: CSU 31 - SDSU 21


UNLV @ New Mexico
6:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

This game is all about pride. If New Mexico wants to try and get a win this season this is their best chance. UNLV need this win to try and stay with the middle tier of teams in the Mountain West.

Prediction: UNLV 37 - New Mexico 17

Making the Rounds - 10/21/09

Making the Rounds: New from around the Mountain West Conference.

As seen on Mountain West Connection.

Air Force: The Falcons want to add some balance to their offense.

BYU: The Cougars still have the loss to TCU from last year on their mind.

Colorado State: The Rams can relate to the Aztecs state.

New Mexico: Greg Barlow will be handling coaching duties for the Lobos this weekend.

San Diego State: The basketball arena has a new name and a new scoreboard.

TCU: The Horned Frogs have a new Athletic Director.

UNLV: The Rebels want to try something different in the red zone. Scoring.

Utah: The student group support MUSS keeps growing at Ute games.

Wyoming: The Cowboys and Cowgirls are getting ready for the start of basketball season.

Mountain West Standings - 10/18/2009

Mountain West Conference Standings
(updated 10.18.2009 at 12:26 AM PDT)

Overall - W L

TCU Horned Frogs 6 - 0 * #8
BYU Cougars 6 - 1 * #16
Utah Utes 5 - 1 #18
Air Force Falcons 4 - 3
Wyoming Cowboys 4 - 3
Colorado St. Rams 3 - 4
San Diego St. Aztecs 2 - 4
UNLV Rebels 2 - 5
New Mexico Lobos 0 - 6

Conference - W - L

BYU Cougars 3 - 0 *
TCU Horned Frogs 2 - 0*
Utah Utes 2 - 0
Air Force Falcons 3 - 1
Wyoming Cowboys 2 - 1
San Diego St. Aztecs 0 - 2
New Mexico Lobos 0 - 2
Colorado St. Rams 0 - 3
UNLV Rebels 0 - 3

* = Bowl Eligibile
# = BCS Ranking

Mountain West Mondays

Mountain West Mondays

Welcome to the first installment of Mountain West Mondays. We will use this section to get you caught up from news all around the Conference.

So all of the news on Monday will relate to the other nine teams in the Mountain West.


Wyoming at Air Force
Air Force shutouts Wyoming at home 10-0. Defensive battle for both teams. The Falcons solidfy themselves as the #4 team in the Mountain West.


Box Score


Colorado State at TCU
TCU shows what their offense can do when the field isn't covered in snow and it's 15 degrees out. The Horned Frogs are now bowl eligible and still undefeated this season. TCU 44 - CSU 3.

Box Score


BYU at San Diego State
The Aztecs came out and surprised the Cougars with their tough play. This one had the possiblity of being a huge upset before BYU settled down and won their sixth game of the season. The Cougars are also bowl eligibile. BYU 38- SDSU - 28.

Box Score

Utah at UNLV
Amazing stat: both teams totaled 327 total yards on offense. Bad news is that the Utes put 35 points to the Rebels 15. This game was essentially over in the first half.

Box Score


New Mexico
The good news is that Lobos achived something they haven't all season: they didn't lose. Unfortunately they had to wait for their bye week to accomplish this feat. When they do face UNLV this weekend they be without head coach Mike Locksley who can been suspended without pay for 10 games for punching WR Coach J.B. Gerald.

Locksley says he used "poor judgement". Really? I guess he was just trying to take after Tom Cable.


MWC RECAP VIDEO