No hype for Christensen against Lobos
Whether it is New Mexico’s ineptness or Wyoming’s improved play, the Cowboys are favored by 10 points Saturday in their homecoming contest.
Yes, I said that Wyoming is favored by 10.
What exactly does that mean? I’d say it is a little of the Lobos struggling big-time at 0-5 and the Cowboys, winners of two straight, beginning to put things together and are at home again.
It’s somewhat of an unfairly position for the Cowboys lately. When was the last time Wyoming was a 10-point favorite against a 1A team?
It’s been a while and those times have been few and far between.
So, 10-point favorites and a chance for three straight wins. The last time Wyoming won three straight was in the 2006 season with wins over New Mexico, Utah and Colorado State, coming off a four-game losing streak.
Just what does Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen think about being a favorite or the importance of winning streaks for his team?
If you guessed not much, then you are correct.
“Beating New Mexico is important to me. That is the bottom line,” he said. “I’m not going to get caught up in how many we’ve won in a row. The bottom line is we have a game on Saturday, 12 o’clock at War Memorial Stadium versus New Mexico, and that is all that matters.”
And as would be expected, Christensen isn’t being caught up the talk about New Mexico’s struggles this season, on and off the field. He certainly isn't going to talk about it to the press.
Instead, Christensen said the Cowboys have a lot of challenges against the Lobos. He certainly isn’t going to provide the Lobos any bulletin board material.
“You look at who they have played, and I guessing that four of the five teams they have played will probably end up in bowl games,” he said. “They’ve played good people and they have good schemes on both sides of the ball."
Looking back at the scoreboard, the Lobos have been defeated by Texas A&M (41-6), Tulsa (44-10), Air Force (37-13), New Mexico State (20-17) and Texas Tech (48-28).
My guess is that New Mexico State is the lone team that won’t be bowling this year.
Christensen also sees challenges in basically all facets of the game from the Lobos.
“They’ve got an experienced, athletic quarterback (Donovan Porterie), which has been the common theme this year. You have to hit him and disrupt him, so that will be a challenge for us," he said. “They play three running backs. They have a good offensive line. Based upon who they have played, they might not have had success that they want, but they’re getting things rolling and they put 28 points on the board last week. Defensively, they have some athletic guys, some physical guys. They have a linebacker (Carmen Messina), who leads the nation in tackles 913.8 per game). They have talent.”
And while it is likely the furthest from Christensen’s mind, there’s also some past history with the two teams. Wyoming last win against New Mexico was in that 2006 season. We all remember what happened in Laramie two years ago. It was the beginning a miserable season for the Cowboys. Last year, Wyoming was blanked in Albuquerque, 24-0.
The Lobos have won eight of the last meetings between the teams.
On paper, this game looks very promising for the Cowboys. But like the old sports cliché says, games aren’t played on paper.
Yes, I said that Wyoming is favored by 10.
What exactly does that mean? I’d say it is a little of the Lobos struggling big-time at 0-5 and the Cowboys, winners of two straight, beginning to put things together and are at home again.
It’s somewhat of an unfairly position for the Cowboys lately. When was the last time Wyoming was a 10-point favorite against a 1A team?
It’s been a while and those times have been few and far between.
So, 10-point favorites and a chance for three straight wins. The last time Wyoming won three straight was in the 2006 season with wins over New Mexico, Utah and Colorado State, coming off a four-game losing streak.
Just what does Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen think about being a favorite or the importance of winning streaks for his team?
If you guessed not much, then you are correct.
“Beating New Mexico is important to me. That is the bottom line,” he said. “I’m not going to get caught up in how many we’ve won in a row. The bottom line is we have a game on Saturday, 12 o’clock at War Memorial Stadium versus New Mexico, and that is all that matters.”
And as would be expected, Christensen isn’t being caught up the talk about New Mexico’s struggles this season, on and off the field. He certainly isn't going to talk about it to the press.
Instead, Christensen said the Cowboys have a lot of challenges against the Lobos. He certainly isn’t going to provide the Lobos any bulletin board material.
“You look at who they have played, and I guessing that four of the five teams they have played will probably end up in bowl games,” he said. “They’ve played good people and they have good schemes on both sides of the ball."
Looking back at the scoreboard, the Lobos have been defeated by Texas A&M (41-6), Tulsa (44-10), Air Force (37-13), New Mexico State (20-17) and Texas Tech (48-28).
My guess is that New Mexico State is the lone team that won’t be bowling this year.
Christensen also sees challenges in basically all facets of the game from the Lobos.
“They’ve got an experienced, athletic quarterback (Donovan Porterie), which has been the common theme this year. You have to hit him and disrupt him, so that will be a challenge for us," he said. “They play three running backs. They have a good offensive line. Based upon who they have played, they might not have had success that they want, but they’re getting things rolling and they put 28 points on the board last week. Defensively, they have some athletic guys, some physical guys. They have a linebacker (Carmen Messina), who leads the nation in tackles 913.8 per game). They have talent.”
And while it is likely the furthest from Christensen’s mind, there’s also some past history with the two teams. Wyoming last win against New Mexico was in that 2006 season. We all remember what happened in Laramie two years ago. It was the beginning a miserable season for the Cowboys. Last year, Wyoming was blanked in Albuquerque, 24-0.
The Lobos have won eight of the last meetings between the teams.
On paper, this game looks very promising for the Cowboys. But like the old sports cliché says, games aren’t played on paper.
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