UW Cowboys ready for coming season as media day looms
Sept 16, 2022; Laramie, WY, USA; Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Andrew Peasley (6) against the Air Force Falcons at War Memorial Stadium. (Troy Babbitt-UW Media-Athletics)
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Cowboys will join the other Mountain West Conference football programs this week to preview the 2023 college football season at Mountain West Media Days at the Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Representing the University of Wyoming at the event will be head coach Craig Bohl, junior linebacker Easton Gibbs and graduate quarterback Andrew Peasley.
The event will run Wednesday and Thursday, July 19–20, with conference and national media conducting interviews with the head coaches and student athletes from all 12 Mountain West football programs. The student-athlete interviews will take place on Wednesday, followed by the coaches’ interviews on Thursday.
Craig Bohl looks to continue Wyoming’s success
Bohl will enter his 10th season leading the University of Wyoming football program in 2023, and with his 10th season he will become the longest tenured head football coach in school history. He was previously tied with former Cowboy head coaches John Corbett (1915–23) and Lloyd Eaton (1962–70), who each served nine seasons as head coach of the Cowboys.
The 2023 season will be Bohl’s 21st as a head coach at the collegiate level. Bohl and his coaching staff became the first Wyoming football staff to lead UW to three straight bowl victories: the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the 2019 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl and the 2021 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
He and his staff are the only football staff in Wyoming history to lead five different teams to bowl appearances. Wyoming’s 2022 appearance in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl marked the fifth time in seven seasons that Bohl guided the Cowboys to a bowl bid. The Cowboys earned bowl eligibility a sixth time in the 2018 season.
In terms of success, the Cowboys have become regular contenders in the race for the Mountain West Conference title. The Pokes concluded the 2022 season in second place in the Mountain Division. UW also finished second in its division in 2017. In 2016, Wyoming won the Mountain Division and hosted the 2016 Mountain West Championship Game by virtue of being the highest ranked team in the conference at the time of the championship game. UW has enjoyed five winning seasons in the seven seasons since 2016, winning eight games in 2016, ‘17 and ‘19 and recording seven wins in 2021 and ‘22.
Gibbs and Peasley to lead the Cowboys in 2023
Junior middle linebacker Gibbs was named First Team All-Mountain West in 2022 as a sophomore in voting by Mountain West head coaches and media. He has been named to the 2023 Preseason First Team All-MW Team by both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. Gibbs ranked third in the conference and 22nd nationally in tackles for the 2022 season, at 9.3 tackles per game. He recorded the first 100-tackle season of his career, with 121.
Gibbs also became only the 61st Cowboy in the 126-year history of the school’s football program to record 100 tackles in a single season. In 2022, he became the third Wyoming linebacker to earn First Team All-Mountain West honors in the last four consecutive seasons, following Casper native Logan Wilson and Chad Muma.
Peasley earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference in 2022. In his first season as Wyoming’s starting quarterback after transferring from Utah State, he earned the immediate respect from his teammates by being voted a team captain. He went on to lead Wyoming to a 7–6 record and a berth in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.
Peasley threw for 1,574 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games, missing the Colorado State game due to injury. He also showed his versatility by rushing for 339 yards and two more TDs. He was Wyoming’s team leader in total offense, with 1,913 total yards.
Place-kicker John Hoyland racking up preseason honors
One of Wyoming’s most highly decorated players returning this season is junior place-kicker John Hoyland, who has been recognized as one of the top returning place-kickers in the nation in 2023. Hoyland has been named to Athlon Sports 2023 Preseason Second Team All-America squad, and he was also selected by Phil Steele as a Third Team 2023 Preseason All-American.
A year ago, Hoyland was selected as the 2022 First Team All-Mountain West place-kicker. He was also a 2022 semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. This preseason, he has also been selected as the 2023 First Team Preseason All-Mountain West Conference place-kicker by both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
In 2022, Hoyland led the MW and ranked No. 7 in the nation in field goals made, was second in the conference and 18th in the entire FBS in field-goal percentage, making 22 of 25 field goal attempts on the season. His 22 made field goals set a new Wyoming single-season school record, breaking the record of former Cowboy All-America kickers Cory Wedel, who made 20 field goals in 1996, and J.D. Wallum, who made 20 in 2001.
He also made four field goals of over 50 yards in the 2022 season, measuring 51, 53, 53 and 55 yards. His 55-yarder was tied for the fifth longest in the FBS last season and was the longest in the Mountain West in ‘22.
Cowboys return 17 starters and 48 letterwinners
A year ago, the Wyoming Cowboys entered the 2022 college football season as the fourth youngest team in the country. But given that, the Cowboys went on to record a 7–6 record, finish second in the Mountain West Conference Mountain Division and earn a spot in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. Along the way the Pokes defeated rivals Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, Utah State and American Athletic Conference member Tulsa.
As Wyoming approaches the 2023 season, the outlook is much different than it was a year ago. A total of 17 of 24 starters return this season, with 10 of 11 starters returning on defense, a group of five starters on offense plus starting place-kicker Hoylandand starting punter Clayton Stewart.
Those 17 returning starters are among 48 returning letterwinners — 22 on offense, 22 on defense and four on special teams.
The Pokes will not be shy of leadership either. While team captains for the 2023 season will not be voted on until fall camp, all four team captains return from last year: linebacker Gibbs and nose tackle Cole Godbout on defense, and quarterback Peasley and tight end Treyton Welch on offense.
Cowboys rack up preseason honors
A number of Cowboys have been named to 2023 Preseason All-Mountain West teams by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
Athlon Sports selected 13 Wyoming Cowboys to its 2023 Preseason All-Mountain West Teams earlier this summer. Six Wyoming Cowboys were named to Athlon’s Preseason First Team. Those six include Hoyland, offensive tackle Frank Crum and running back Harrison Waylee, who transferred to Wyoming in January from Northern Illinois, on offense. Defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole, Gibbs and nose tackle Godbout represent the Cowboy defense on the First Team.
Three Cowboys are on Athlon’s All-Mountain West Second Team: junior defensive end DeVonne Harris, junior offensive center Nofoafia Tulafono and graduate tight end Welch.
Sophomore defensive end Braden Siders is the only Wyoming Cowboy on the Third Team, while three Cowboys are on the Fourth Team. Those three are junior free safety Wyett Ekeler, Stewart and junior linebacker Shae Suiaunoa.
Challenging 2023 schedule
The Pokes know they will have a challenging schedule in the coming season, but Bohl believes it offers the Cowboys the advantage of having seven home games.
The non-conference portion of the schedule will kick off with a nationally televised game on CBS from Laramie versus Big 12 opponent Texas Tech on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 5:30 p.m. Two weeks later, the Cowboys will face another Big 12 opponent, the Texas Longhorns. That game will be on the road in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 16.
In between the two games against Texas Tech and Texas, Wyoming will host FCS member Portland State of the Big Sky Conference on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The Cowboys’ other non-conference contest will be a home game on Sept. 23 vs. Appalachian State, which has been a team that has recorded some of the biggest upsets in college football in recent history. Last season, the Mountaineers went on the road and defeated Texas A&M 17–14, and nearly upset North Carolina before losing a two-point game to the Tar Heels, 63–61.
Wyoming will have five of its first six games of the season at home, including its Mountain West opener on Sept. 30 vs. New Mexico followed by a home game against defending MW Champion Fresno State on Oct. 7. UW’s other two home games will be a Friday night showdown with rival Colorado State on Friday, Nov. 3 and a Saturday, Nov. 18 game vs. the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
The Pokes will face conference road games against Air Force, Boise State, UNLV and Nevada.
“It is a favorable schedule from a home game perspective, which we feel is great for our players and our fans,” Bohl said. “The non-conference schedule is certainly daunting. Texas Tech played really well in their bowl game against Ole Miss and had an exceptional year overall. Portland State is going to be a very competitive team. The University of Texas on the road is always going to be a challenge and then App State I think has made a name for itself winning some of the games they have in recent years.
“It is no doubt going to be one of the most challenging non-conference schedules we’ve played since we’ve been at Wyoming. It is great having the number of home games we have this season and particularly having them early in the season.”
No More Divisions
One of the biggest changes for the 2023 Mountain West Football season is there are no longer Mountain and West Divisions. The 2023 MW season will feature a single division format for the first time since 2012 and the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will compete in the championship game.
