Pleading guilty to such charges can’t work in Washington’s favor and if he is dismissed from the team it would be quite the blow. He is currently the only experienced big man on the Cowboy roster and without him the Pokes could struggle mightily down low. I hope his ability as a basketball player isn’t a major factor in determining if he will remain on the team or not but it very well could be. Since Shyatt was aware of this situation before it became public yesterday, I would think if he was going to be dismissed it would have been done by now. Chances are Shyatt will give Washington a chance to make amends for his mistakes between now and the start of the basketball season. At least now we can’t say it has been a slow start of the summer in Laramie.

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I am happy college football has turned the corner on this topic but it may be too little too late. Without a playoff and the corrupt BCS system in place college football as we know it has been destroyed conference wise as teams changed affiliations to gain AQ BCS status (which will now no longer exist) and cash in on television revenue. If a college football playoff was in place years ago none of these changes would have occurred and the Mountain West would be as strong as ever with BYU, Boise State, TCU and Utah still under the MW banner. Now we are scrambling for (perceived) national relevance contemplating a merger with Conference USA while picking up doormats from the decaying WAC. A playoff is a good thing but will a team from the “new” Mountain West ever qualify for it? We can only dream…

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I am very excited about the defense under the new leadership of Dave Christensen’s hand selected defensive coordinator Chris Tormey. There were very few details given on how the defense will operate though. This is not a bad thing, no need to give our opponents this fall any idea at how the defense will look. All indications are the defense will be more multiple playing out of the 3-4, 4-3 and even the 4-2-5 depending on matchups and situations. This is a very wise “horses for courses” approach that I think will do UW well and play to their strengths. I’m sure the identity of the defense will become clearer when fall camp gets going and at that point my spring malaise will be long gone as Fall Saturday’s in Laramie are within clear view.

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In the short term the loss of the Mtn is a blow to you the fan. We do not know what the future will hold but it is a near certainty  that Wyoming games on television will decrease. You will no longer be able to see every Wyoming confernece game in football and men’s basketball on TV in the coming seasons. CBS Sports Network looks to be the new home of Mountain West sports and what ever form the conference takes in future seasons with the CUSA merger looming. You may able to see a Wyoming game or two on the network in the coming season but I fear we will never have access to Wyoming athletics on television as we did with the Mtn ever again. Perhaps the university will be able to expand its online presence and broadcast games through its online media hub “WYO Vision” in the future, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Longterm this move will more than likelly benefit the university through increased TV revenue as a new broadcast parternership is hammered out. More money in the hands of the athletic department is good news but this comes at the expense of the fans who will have less access to TV coverage of their Cowboys.

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- How comfortable will Colby Kirkegaard look at QB? Kirkegaard will get the snaps with the first unit due to Brett Smith’s recovery from hand surgery. This is an important spring for the back-up as he is just one hit away from being the Wyoming signal caller.

-Who will step up at RB to take the spot left by Alvester Alexander who unexpectedly decided to go pro? I am very high on Kody Sutton but help will be needed in the running game from others. Will Brandon Miller be back in the RB mix or will Kankolongo actually abide by team rules and get out of the doghouse?

-What does the defense look like with the new scheme by Chris Tormey being installed? Sounds like he plans on being very multiple, depending on match-ups. Does he have a plan to improve the run defense that has let the Pokes down the last few seasons?

All these questions and more will start to have some sort of answers starting tomorrow and I can’t wait to see! What do you want to see in tomorrow’s first spring scrimmage?

For the past ten years or more, Wyoming has been generally undersized on the defensive line. This lack of size on the defensive line has been a prime factor why Wyoming’s defense has done so poorly in stopping the run ranking 115th,106th and 90th in the country in rushing yards allowed the last three years. It looks like this problem may have been rectified though for 2012 season, with players currently in the program gaining weight and improved recruiting brining in freshman and JUCO transfers of Division I size. Take a look at the current weights of Wyoming’s defensive lineman as per the spring football roster:

 The Cowboys now have a stable of defensive lineman of Division I size and this can only help stopping the opponents running game moving forward. I concede the point that size is not everything for a defensive lineman as they must also have some skill and talent to make an impact but Wyoming’s newfound beef can do nothing but help us improve in stopping the run. I would expect this year’s rush defense to be much improved over the past few seasons and we will have the hard work of the coaches, players and training staff to thank.

Wyoming seems to be the more battle tested team having played in a better conference resulting in a higher RPI and tougher strength of schedule. This game is on the road though and the Cougars are 10-4 in Pullman so Wyoming will have to play one of their most complete games of the year if they are to make it into the next round. You can compare the two schools yourself in the chart below:

In Christensen’s third season the offense finally clicked and the Pokes improved their offensive output by over 100 yards a game from 2010.  With Brett Smith returning and with the other offensive pieces the Cowboys have put together, 2012 could see another per-game yardage spike.  The rock steady Brett Smith will be slinging the ball to mostly familiar faces this spring with Chris McNeill and Robert Herron being the two biggest returning contributors.  McNeill was steadily putting together a great season before suffering a season ending injury at Air Force and Herron showed flashes of brilliance and speed to burn in 2011.  Overall the Cowboys return a talented receiving corps, but they will be missing the big play ability of Josh Doctson who transferred to TCU.  Sam Stratton who came on late last season will also likely be out for 2012 after suffering a leg injury this offseason.

One of the major reasons for Wyoming’s offensive improvement last season came from the backfield.  The three headed monster of Miller, Muhammad and Alexander worked better than anyone could have imagined in the beginning, but by the end of the season Miller had been moved to receiver and Muhammad was lost to injury.  Things never got too bleak though, as steady Alvester Alexander was always there.  Now Alexander is gone, leaving the Cowboy backfield situation is a bit murky.  There have been whispers that Muhammad may return to the defense and rumors to counter suggesting he may stay in the backfield, Miller – well he will probably continue to line up all over the field.  That leaves Kody Sutton who burned his redshirt last season after the injury to Muhammad.  The talented sophomore from Texas will have the opportunity to shine for the Pokes this spring and if he does so he can solidify the Cowboy backfield moving into the fall.

Maybe the biggest surprise of 2011, minus Brett Smith who was without a doubt the biggest and best surprise Wyo Nation has seen in some time, was the emergence of a solid offensive line.  The Cowboys played 8 men up front and while they lose 3 starters to graduation they still return 5 lineman that contributed a great deal last season.  If the Cowboys can stay healthy up front then once again they should have a solid first line of protection for Brett Smith.

Spring football (for the fans) is all about learning new names and seeing if there are any diamonds in the rough that haven’t popped up on the radar yet.  In 2012, much of the production will come from familiar faces, but the progression and development of these players will certainly be worth watching.  With the pieces coming back and with Brett Smith and Gregg Brandon teaming up for a second season the Pokes will have a legitimate shot at improving their offensive numbers once again, placing them in an excellent position to make a run in the wide open Mountain West.

With the win the team has earned a trip to Pullman, Washington where they will take on the Washington State Cougars next Monday night. The winner of this match up will play the winner of TCU/Oregon State game, so a Mountain West matchup with the Horned Frogs one final time could take place. You can see the entire CBI bracket HERE if you are curious as to what other schools are still taking part in the third division of March Madness.