Rants and Raves: CMU Chippewas Edition
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich., -- Dash Bauman said postgame this Wyoming defense knows what it's identity is and what it's capable of achieving.
So, what's the hold up here?
"Why hasn't it happened yet? I guess it's just something that's like -- it's a mentality," the linebacker said moments after the Cowboys suffered a 24-10 loss on a soggy Saturday at Central Michigan. "It's a mentality where we think that there's the next play and we're going to do better the next play. We just have to start making that play now."
What was supposed to be the backbone of this team turned into a severed spine inside Kelly/Shorts Stadium, allowing 339 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
CMU did its best Air Force impression, running constant QB-powers. It worked to perfection. Angel Flores rolled up 163 rushing yards and found the end zone twice with his legs. He completed only 4-of-7 passes for 32 yards.
Wyoming knew what was coming. It didn't matter.
"We knew what we were getting," head coach Jay Sawvel said. "It wasn't like they did something that we didn't see or anything that way, but there was kind of a faith or confidence that we would hold up and prevent leaky yardage. We allowed too much leaky yardage."
And big plays, too.
The Chippewas had seven runs for more than 10 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown run by Brock Townsend in the third quarter.
This game was a disaster across the board, starting -- again -- with a Bart Edmiston boot out of bounds on the opening kickoff. He committed that cardinal sin another time in the second half, too. Sawvel said postgame he has officially lost that job. It now belongs to placekicker Erik Sandvik.
The defense, as mentioned above, was a tad worse than "leaky." The offense turned the ball over twice. One of those was an ill-fated deep ball to wideout Jackson Holman that was easily picked off by, you guessed it, former Wyoming safety Justin Taylor. To make matters worse, there was a wide-open running back in the flat.
Instead of potentially making this a one-score game with 8:18 remaining, Tyler Hughes got greedy. It didn't pay off.
Explosive plays, missed throws and catches, poor tackling, turnovers and a slow start, among many other issues, continue to plague this program.
Why?
"That's a great question, because this week I thought we had a really good week of preparation," Sawvel answered. "You know, I thought the energy was good. I thought the intent was good."
Not good enough.
Here are the latest rants and raves from a fed-up fanbase:
FIRST HALF:
SECOND HALF: