The University of Wyoming football team has seen this before.
The Cowboys played their first road game on Sept. 19. They faced a Colorado team that was winless, had struggled on offense, but was getting back a key receiver from suspension.
UW lost 24-0.
Today, UW plays its second road game with a 2 p.m. kickoff against winless Florida Atlantic (0-3) of the Sun Belt Conference.
The Owls have moved the ball but have averaged only 14.7 points per game.
They get their big-play receiver back today in senior Cortez Gent, who missed the last two games due to suspension.
How will UW respond in the heat and humidity of south Florida, along with facing another team wanting so badly to get its first win?
?Certainly, they?re going to be hungry for a win, but so are our guys,? first-year head coach Dave Christensen said. ?We need to change a trend of winning back-to-back games, and we need to learn how to go on the road and win a football game.?
The Cowboys have won consecutive games three times, and are 2-10 on the road dating back to the start of the 2007 season.
However, a lot has changed with UW since its last road game, which was just two weeks ago.
It has a new starting quarterback in true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels. In his first start last week, he threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys? 30-27 win over UNLV.
Carta-Samuels also had 34 yards rushing.
?He looks like a guy who can make plays a lot of different ways,? Florida Atlantic junior middle linebacker Michael Lockley said.
UW went 10 quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown before Carta-Samuels? first touchdown pass in the second quarter against UNLV.
The Cowboys have gotten off to slow starts in both halves this season. They?ve been outscored a combined 59-24 in the first and third quarters.
?Our offense got into a big rhythm in the second half (against UNLV), and we?re going to carry that into this week,? Carta-Samuels said.
?But Florida Atlantic has a lot of talent. They?ve had a lot of miscues and breakdowns in the first three games, but you can?t rely on those things. If they happen, we?ll take them, but I don?t expect them.
?For me, individually, they have two defensive ends who, behind Texas, are the best defensive ends I?ve seen since I?ve been here. They drive up the field, they?re fast and they?re big.?
Florida Atlantic has turned the ball over seven times and averaged 60 penalty yards per game, which has stalled its offense.
But the Owls should get a boost with Gent back. He has 2,151 yards and 18 touchdowns over his career.
?This has been a big-play team,? Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger said. ?We had several plays that could have materialized.
?Our offensive line is playing well, our running backs are playing well and our tight ends have been good. We?re just a freckle away from making the play.?
Avoiding big plays is a top priority for UW?s defense.
It has allowed just one pass play of 20-plus yards the last two games, but two different UNLV players had runs of 27 yards.
The Cowboys also would like to run the ball better on offense.
After double-digit yardage production in losses to No. 2 Texas and Colorado, UW ran for 109 yards against UNLV. The ?Pokes average 129 rushing yards per game, but Florida Atlantic allows 234.3 per contest.
Extra points
This game was added earlier this year after a scheduling mess involving several teams, and the fact UW moved future games with Missouri back to 2017 and 2018.
Florida Atlantic will make a return trip to UW on Sept. 27, 2014.
The Cowboys are 7-0 all-time against Sun Belt Conference teams, and Florida Atlantic will be the fourth Sun Belt team they have played.
Florida Atlantic is located in Boca Raton, Fla., but it plays its games south in Fort Lauderdale until an on-campus stadium is built next year.
UW is 1-2 in games played in Florida.
The Cowboys played their first road game on Sept. 19. They faced a Colorado team that was winless, had struggled on offense, but was getting back a key receiver from suspension.
UW lost 24-0.
Today, UW plays its second road game with a 2 p.m. kickoff against winless Florida Atlantic (0-3) of the Sun Belt Conference.
The Owls have moved the ball but have averaged only 14.7 points per game.
They get their big-play receiver back today in senior Cortez Gent, who missed the last two games due to suspension.
How will UW respond in the heat and humidity of south Florida, along with facing another team wanting so badly to get its first win?
?Certainly, they?re going to be hungry for a win, but so are our guys,? first-year head coach Dave Christensen said. ?We need to change a trend of winning back-to-back games, and we need to learn how to go on the road and win a football game.?
The Cowboys have won consecutive games three times, and are 2-10 on the road dating back to the start of the 2007 season.
However, a lot has changed with UW since its last road game, which was just two weeks ago.
It has a new starting quarterback in true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels. In his first start last week, he threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys? 30-27 win over UNLV.
Carta-Samuels also had 34 yards rushing.
?He looks like a guy who can make plays a lot of different ways,? Florida Atlantic junior middle linebacker Michael Lockley said.
UW went 10 quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown before Carta-Samuels? first touchdown pass in the second quarter against UNLV.
The Cowboys have gotten off to slow starts in both halves this season. They?ve been outscored a combined 59-24 in the first and third quarters.
?Our offense got into a big rhythm in the second half (against UNLV), and we?re going to carry that into this week,? Carta-Samuels said.
?But Florida Atlantic has a lot of talent. They?ve had a lot of miscues and breakdowns in the first three games, but you can?t rely on those things. If they happen, we?ll take them, but I don?t expect them.
?For me, individually, they have two defensive ends who, behind Texas, are the best defensive ends I?ve seen since I?ve been here. They drive up the field, they?re fast and they?re big.?
Florida Atlantic has turned the ball over seven times and averaged 60 penalty yards per game, which has stalled its offense.
But the Owls should get a boost with Gent back. He has 2,151 yards and 18 touchdowns over his career.
?This has been a big-play team,? Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger said. ?We had several plays that could have materialized.
?Our offensive line is playing well, our running backs are playing well and our tight ends have been good. We?re just a freckle away from making the play.?
Avoiding big plays is a top priority for UW?s defense.
It has allowed just one pass play of 20-plus yards the last two games, but two different UNLV players had runs of 27 yards.
The Cowboys also would like to run the ball better on offense.
After double-digit yardage production in losses to No. 2 Texas and Colorado, UW ran for 109 yards against UNLV. The ?Pokes average 129 rushing yards per game, but Florida Atlantic allows 234.3 per contest.
Extra points
This game was added earlier this year after a scheduling mess involving several teams, and the fact UW moved future games with Missouri back to 2017 and 2018.
Florida Atlantic will make a return trip to UW on Sept. 27, 2014.
The Cowboys are 7-0 all-time against Sun Belt Conference teams, and Florida Atlantic will be the fourth Sun Belt team they have played.
Florida Atlantic is located in Boca Raton, Fla., but it plays its games south in Fort Lauderdale until an on-campus stadium is built next year.
UW is 1-2 in games played in Florida.
