Laramie, Wyo. » Wyoming's offensive struggles in late October were viewed mostly as a case of the Cowboys' running into two of the country's best defenses.
In the wake of Saturday's 52-0 loss to BYU, one of two conclusions is possible: Either the Cowboys simply are not very good, or the Cougars' defense is in a class with Air Force's and Utah's.
After being shut out by BYU and gaining 225 total yards, Wyoming is averaging about three points and 200 yards for the past three games.
BYU "did what they needed to do to stop us," said Wyoming coach Dave Christensen. "I would certainly say that we had a hand in making it easy for them."
The Cowboys' three quarterbacks combined to complete 15 of 27 passes for only 113 yards. BYU's Brian Logan and Craig Bills intercepted passes and Jan Jorgensen and Matt Putnam each recorded a sack, while Jorgensen teamed with Brett Denney for another sack.
"It starts with the pressure," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.
The Cougars' defense also featured excellent tackling, preventing Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels from scrambling for yards and limiting the Cowboy receivers to short gains after catches.
"That was something that was very important for us to do, because they do run a lot of crossing routes, a lot of intermediate routes," said BYU safety Scott Johnson. "It was good for us to get them tackled early."
The pressure also kept Wyoming from being able to complete any passes of longer than 19 yards.
