Lobos ready for Sween

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UNM expects no surprises from UW offense

CHEYENNE - Even though the University of Wyoming will start a new quarterback Saturday at New Mexico, the host coach isn't expecting anything different, scheme-wise, from the Cowboys.

"I anticipate (Karsten Sween) will be doing basically the same things," New Mexico coach Rocky Long said during the Mountain West coaches teleconference on Tuesday. "They did the same things (against Syracuse) in the second half as they were doing in the first half.

"Both quarterbacks I thought were pretty good. One's right-handed; one's left handed. (Sween) got a little bit of a hot hand in the second half, and they're going with a hot hand."

Sween, a redshirt freshman, will make his first career start for UW (1-4 overall, 0-1 Mountain West Conference). He replaced junior Jacob Doss early in the third quarter last week after Doss threw an interception deep in Syracuse territory.Sween hit 19 of 27 passes for 201 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
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He also led the Pokes on a 14-play, 92-yard drive that was capped by a 15-yard TD pass to junior receiver Hoost Marsh with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.

UW lost 40-34 in double overtime to extend its losing streak to four. But coach Joe Glenn named Sween the starter against New Mexico (2-3, 0-1) after the game.

Long said since Sween is a lefty his defense may need to make a few adjustments. Senior Quincy Black is UNM's leading tackler from the Lobo position - a hybrid linebacker-defensive end. He said Sween poses some challenges.

"The biggest thing we've noticed is that he's left-handed," Black said. "We really haven't looked at every formation and compared it to the other quarterback, so we really don't know what to expect."
Since Sween arrived at UW last year, Glenn has said he is impressed with his skills. The coach was even more impressed with Sween's performance in his first meaningful game.

But now Glenn wonders how Sween will fare in his first-ever start in a road conference game.

"The question now is: Can he handle the pressure of being the starter as a redshirt freshmen?" Glenn said.

"With New Mexico's blitzing defense, they probably want to turn up the heat up a little more. But I'm anxious to see him go. He's got some real talent."

In other news involving MWC teams:

Air Force

One of the most important games for the first-place Falcons (2-1, 2-0) is Saturday at home against Navy (4-1). It is the first contest for both squads for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.

That is given annually to the series winner among the three service academies.

Navy has won the last three trophies, but Air Force has taken 13 of the last 17.

The game features two top rushing offenses. Navy leads the nation (357.2 yards per game), and Air Force is third (290 ypg).

Brigham Young

The Cougars (3-2, 1-0) snapped a 13-game losing streak to ranked teams with a 31-17 win over then-No. 17 Texas Christian in Fort Worth last Thursday.

That also ended TCU's 13-game winning streak, up to that point the best in the nation.

Senior quarterback John Beck, who played with two sprained ankles, is the MWC Offensive Player of the Week. He threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns against TCU.

Beck moved past John Walsh and Robbie Bosco into third place on BYU's career passing yards list.

BYU hosts winless San Diego State (0-4, 0-1) Saturday.

Colorado State

The Rams (3-1, 0-0) lead the MWC and are fifth nationally in total defense (232.2 ypg).

They play their first home game in five weeks Saturday against UNLV (1-3, 0-0) for homecoming.

Senior safety Ben Stratton, a Cheyenne East graduate, missed last week's 35-23 victory at Fresno State with a neck injury.

Coach Sonny Lubick said Stratton has a disc problem, and it will be up to him, his parents and team doctors on how to treat it.

Lubick added it likely will take another week to determine Stratton's future this season.

Junior starting quarterback Caleb Hanie sprained an ankle late in the Fresno State game, but Lubick said he should be ready to play Saturday.

San Diego State

Things continue to go badly for first-year coach Chuck Long.

Not only are the Aztecs winless (0-4, 0-1) and down to their third-string quarterback, but Long suspended senior cornerback Donny Baker and senior offensive guard Nick Smith - both starters - for Saturday's game at BYU (3-2, 1-0).

That's because they were ejected for fighting in last Saturday's 31-10 loss at San Jose State.

Sophomore quarterback Darren Mougey is out 4-6 weeks with a separated right shoulder that he suffered in the third quarter against San Jose State.

Mougey replaced junior starter Kevin O'Connell in the second half of the season opener after McConnell injured his thumb.

Redshirt freshman Kevin Craft, the son of former SDSU coach Tom Craft, will start at BYU.

True freshman Kelsey Sokoloski from Englewood, Colo., and Cherry Creek High is the back-up.

The Aztecs have lost four tight ends, two quarterbacks and two wide receivers this season.

"I'm just glad this happened in year one instead of year three," Long said with a laugh. "You've got to try to keep a sense of humor through this."

TCU

Three times under coach Gary Patterson, TCU has lost its starting quarterback to injury and went on to win 10 games.

Senior Jeff Ballard injured his right shoulder in TCU's 31-17 home loss last Thursday to BYU. Could a fourth time be in the works?

Not at this time.

"He'll play and everything's OK," Patterson said.

TCU (3-1, 0-1) dropped out of the top 25 polls this week and plays its second straight Thursday game at Utah (3-2, 1-0) this week.

TCU's defense also took its lumps against BYU. Junior safety David Roach (leg) and junior defensive end David Ortiz (shoulder) were injured.

UNLV

The Rebels (1-3, 0-0) will try to snap an 11-game road losing streak Saturday at CSU (3-1, 0-0). UNLV was humbled at home last week by in-state rival Nevada 31-3.

Coach Mike Sanford said he suspended two players who left UNLV's bench to take part in a bench-clearing brawl in the Nevada game - senior Prince Brown and freshman Malo Taumua, both defensive linemen.

Sanford added he is waiting on a decision from the MWC on the playing status of senior offensive lineman Chris Bowser. He also was involved in the brawl.

Utah

The Utes (3-2, 1-0) are trying to recover from last week's 36-3 loss to No. 20 Boise State - the worst home loss for Utah in 17 years.

Much of the problem was in the passing game. Senior quarterback Brett Ratliff was just 5 of 21 for 30 yards, and back-up Tommy Grady wasn't much better. They combined to throw four interceptions.

Coach Kyle Whittingham said Ratliff will remain the starter Thursday at home against TCU (3-1, 0-1).

Utah is the only team in the nation not to allow a quarterback sack this season.

Senior defensive back Eric Weddle is second in the nation with five interceptions.

 

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Wyoming looks for positives in wake of latest loss


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The words could have been uttered after Wyoming's 13-12 overtime loss at Virginia.

"We had our chances."

Or following a 17-10 loss to Boise State.

"Turnovers continue to haunt us."


Even in the aftermath of a 31-24 setback to Air Force.

"We came up a little short again."

But they all came Tuesday from Cowboys head coach Joe Glenn, who joked that he was "balder than a cue ball" three days after Wyoming's most recent heartbreaker -- a 40-34 overtime loss at Syracuse.

Still, Glenn hinted that the feeling in Laramie this week, as the Cowboys prepare for Saturday's game at New Mexico, is decidedly different than it was after any of his team's other close calls. Just how different?

"I think we have an excitement in the air right now," Glenn said.

The main source is redshirt freshman quarterback Karsten Sween, who came off the bench in the second half at Syracuse to pass for 201 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Jacob Doss. Sween showed extreme poise in his first significant action, engineering a 92-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to Hoost Marsh with 5 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

"He was a terrific shot in the arm," Glenn said.

And at least one reason to forget all the negatives -- a porous red zone defense, 10 penalties, four turnovers -- that led to another bitter defeat.

"You just have to take all the positives," Glenn said. "We're all in this business because we're competitors. It's the American way to win, but we have a decent football team and I think time will bare that out. ... Our kids still believe, they're still fighting. They feel that we're a good football team and we still have a lot of football to play."

Sween was perhaps the biggest positive to glean from Saturday, but he wasn't the only one. Receivers Michael Ford and Marsh had career days, combining for 19 catches and 195 receiving yards. Defensively, while the Cowboys suffered a letdown in overtime, they held Syracuse to its second-lowest offensive output of the season and forced a season-high three turnovers.

Wyoming (1-4, 0-1 Mountain West Conference) will work to correct the negatives this week before traveling to Albuquerque, N.M., where the Cowboys have not won since 1991. The Lobos (2-3, 0-1) are coming off a 24-7 loss at Air Force in which costly turnovers led to three Falcons scoring drives of 30 yards or less.

While the point differential in New Mexico's last loss was only four points less than the sum of the point differentials in Wyoming's four losses, Long said he doesn't expect the Cowboys to be overcome with frustration.

"I don't think he'll have any trouble keeping his team up," Long said of Glenn. "It's frustrating losing close games, but you always bring a lot of positives out of those games. ... If a team is losing and they lose confidence, that's when it's hard to get them ready to play."

According to Glenn, confidence isn't an issue.

"We know we have a good team," Glenn said.






n INJURY UPDATES: Glenn said he is unsure whether center Jason Karcher, who participated in the start of pregame warmups before taking himself out at Syracuse, will play against New Mexico. The same wait-and-see approach will be applied to defensive end Mike Groover, who also has a knee injury, and Austin Hall (foot). Hall began Saturday's game in street clothes, but suited up after linebacker Marcial "Mace" Rosales injured his left knee during the game. Glenn said Rosales had an MRI on Monday and is likely out for the year unless Wyoming makes a bowl game. Tight end Chris Sundberg has a bone bruise, but Glenn said he could play against the Lobos, as could safety Dorsey Golston, who ran with the team on Sunday.

n ADJUSTMENTS: While New Mexico head coach Rocky Long told the Albuquerque Tribune that preparing defensively for Karsten Sween could be difficult with tape of Sween from only one half of a game, preparing for a left-hander (as Sween is) as opposed to the right-handed Jacob Doss doesn't pose that much of a challenge.

"There's not a lot of adjustments," Long said. " ... Most quarterbacks that are right-handed like to throw to the right and most quarterbacks that are left-handed like to throw to the left, but they throw both ways. There's some subtle adjustments that you might make."