Excuse the University of Wyoming for any trepidation about coming to Utah on Halloween.
Playing the Utes has been a scary enough proposition recently without adding ghosts, goblins and vampires to the equation.
Since 2000, the Cowboys are 1-8 against Utah. They have been shut out three times and, in the last two games, the 'Pokes have been outscored, 90-7.
Ninety to seven.
In Salt Lake City, Wyoming has lost four straight games by scores that would make Frankenstein scream: 35-0, 47-17, 43-13 and 50-0.
No wonder new coach Dave Christensen hasn't held any history classes this week, as the Cowboys prepared for Saturday night's game against 16th-ranked Utah.
"I have no clue what's happened in this matchup in the past," Christensen said. "... [But] I don't think history has any bearing at all on the outcome of football games. We're a new program, we're a different team."
The Cowboys are 4-3 and 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference. They are two wins shy of bowl eligibility.
"You know," said freshman quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, "I think it's a matter of discipline, discipline, discipline. ... Our coaches demand hard work. [Christensen] doesn't accept mediocrity. He doesn't accept you being less than what you can be."
Wyoming ended up 4-8 last season, despite a 13-7 win at Tennessee. But the Cowboys' inability to be competitive against conference bullies Utah, BYU and TCU cost
ex-coach Joe Glenn his job.
"It was a brutal year ... [but] that stuff's in the past," said Carta-Samuels. "I can't promise it's going to be different Saturday. We could come out and Utah could beat us 40-0 again. But I fully expect we'll be competitive."
Despite Utah's recent domination of Wyoming, coach Kyle Whittingham agrees that Christensen has the Cowboys headed in the right direction.
"A much improved football team -- very well-coached," he said. "Dave has done a great job. Not that Joe Glenn didn't have some great teams. He had some teams achieve great things. But Dave has brought a toughness and discipline to their team."
Junior college transfer Robert Benjamin started the season at quarterback, but after a 24-0 loss at Colorado dropped Wyoming to 1-2, Carta-Samuels took over.
He guided the Cowboys to three straight wins -- a streak that ended with a 10-0 loss at Air Force two weeks ago.
"He's done a nice job of executing the offense," Christensen said, "and he's provided great leadership. ... He's the guy we've been able to rally around."
Carta-Samuels is one of four first-year freshmen who start for the Cowboys.
He picked Wyoming over schools like Air Force, Purdue, UNLV and San Diego State.
Carta-Samuels, who is from San Jose, Calif., was also recruited by Utah.
"I'd like to know where they stood on me," he said, laughing. "They offered a bunch of quarterbacks and had three early commitments. ...
"It's not that I didn't want to compete. It just looked like a place where a quarterback might have to wait three or four years to play."
Carta-Samuels decided to play on the high plains of Wyoming because of the reputation Christensen built as the offensive coordinator at Missouri.
"This is a great system and I thought there was a chance I could play early," Carta-Samuels said. "... I don't think there's a quarterback in the country who wouldn't want to play in the Missouri spread."
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Wyoming's offensive improvement since freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels became the starting quarterback after three games:
Rush Att.-Comp-INT Pass Total Pts
First 3 135.6 54-118-0 176.7 312.3 13.0
Last 4 146.5 83-139-2 219.2 365.7 24.2
Playing the Utes has been a scary enough proposition recently without adding ghosts, goblins and vampires to the equation.
Since 2000, the Cowboys are 1-8 against Utah. They have been shut out three times and, in the last two games, the 'Pokes have been outscored, 90-7.
Ninety to seven.
In Salt Lake City, Wyoming has lost four straight games by scores that would make Frankenstein scream: 35-0, 47-17, 43-13 and 50-0.
No wonder new coach Dave Christensen hasn't held any history classes this week, as the Cowboys prepared for Saturday night's game against 16th-ranked Utah.
"I have no clue what's happened in this matchup in the past," Christensen said. "... [But] I don't think history has any bearing at all on the outcome of football games. We're a new program, we're a different team."
The Cowboys are 4-3 and 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference. They are two wins shy of bowl eligibility.
"You know," said freshman quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, "I think it's a matter of discipline, discipline, discipline. ... Our coaches demand hard work. [Christensen] doesn't accept mediocrity. He doesn't accept you being less than what you can be."
Wyoming ended up 4-8 last season, despite a 13-7 win at Tennessee. But the Cowboys' inability to be competitive against conference bullies Utah, BYU and TCU cost
ex-coach Joe Glenn his job.
"It was a brutal year ... [but] that stuff's in the past," said Carta-Samuels. "I can't promise it's going to be different Saturday. We could come out and Utah could beat us 40-0 again. But I fully expect we'll be competitive."
Despite Utah's recent domination of Wyoming, coach Kyle Whittingham agrees that Christensen has the Cowboys headed in the right direction.
"A much improved football team -- very well-coached," he said. "Dave has done a great job. Not that Joe Glenn didn't have some great teams. He had some teams achieve great things. But Dave has brought a toughness and discipline to their team."
Junior college transfer Robert Benjamin started the season at quarterback, but after a 24-0 loss at Colorado dropped Wyoming to 1-2, Carta-Samuels took over.
He guided the Cowboys to three straight wins -- a streak that ended with a 10-0 loss at Air Force two weeks ago.
"He's done a nice job of executing the offense," Christensen said, "and he's provided great leadership. ... He's the guy we've been able to rally around."
Carta-Samuels is one of four first-year freshmen who start for the Cowboys.
He picked Wyoming over schools like Air Force, Purdue, UNLV and San Diego State.
Carta-Samuels, who is from San Jose, Calif., was also recruited by Utah.
"I'd like to know where they stood on me," he said, laughing. "They offered a bunch of quarterbacks and had three early commitments. ...
"It's not that I didn't want to compete. It just looked like a place where a quarterback might have to wait three or four years to play."
Carta-Samuels decided to play on the high plains of Wyoming because of the reputation Christensen built as the offensive coordinator at Missouri.
"This is a great system and I thought there was a chance I could play early," Carta-Samuels said. "... I don't think there's a quarterback in the country who wouldn't want to play in the Missouri spread."
_________
Wyoming's offensive improvement since freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels became the starting quarterback after three games:
Rush Att.-Comp-INT Pass Total Pts
First 3 135.6 54-118-0 176.7 312.3 13.0
Last 4 146.5 83-139-2 219.2 365.7 24.2
