Thought Id post this up since they are a critical part of our OOC this year. A win against them would do a lot for our Bowl Chances.

Transition in the works at Wyoming

April 21, 2009 8:38 PM

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The old way of doing things at Wyoming is over, that much is clear.

Coach Dave Christensen has been pushing his team to get more physical this spring.
New head coach Dave Christensen has brought in a new way of thinking and while it doesn't always sit well with his players, it is making them a better team.

Spring practice wraps up Saturday at Wyoming and Christensen said his team isn't exactly where he expected it to be, but it's on the right track. Progress has been hampered by multiple injuries, including some that were career-ending. There were 53 healthy players at practice on Tuesday, 17 either in a red jersey denoting injured or not dressed in football attire at all. When I walked into Christensen's office early Tuesday morning, he showed me an injury list that was 15 players long. He said he added two more sometime between when we talked at 9:30 a.m. and when practice began at 3:30 p.m. The Cowboys are down to three healthy linebackers and four total. The defensive line is chewed up. Even the team's best kicker is nursing a leg injury.

The Cowboys don't even have enough players to conduct a proper spring game and have recruited nine alumni players to plug holes.

But those injuries seem to be the cost of getting back to being "Cowboy Tough," a slogan that was once synonymous with Wyoming football and Christensen is trying to resurrect it.

"We were not a very strong football team, we were not a very well-conditioned football team and we've worked extremely hard since January to get there," Christensen said. "I've had some guys come in as freshmen bench more and lift more than some of our seniors. We're trying to change these guys athletically and they're working hard and we're getting those changes, but they don't happen in a short period of time. The effort's there, but it doesn't happen overnight."

Even though the Cowboys aren't quite there physically, they're doing their best to replicate the offense that Christensen became famous for at Missouri. The plays are similar, the structure of practice is similar, even the team's slogan, "It's All About The Ball" is the same as the slogan Missouri had during the 2007 season when it won the Big 12 North title and the Cotton Bowl.

Christensen said he's not trying to be Missouri and he resists any joking inference that he's stealing ideas. In reality, the practice structure that Wyoming uses is the same one that Don James used at Kent State in 1971 when Missouri coach Gary Pinkel was a player there. Obviously, the offense is more modern, but the disciplines are the same and Christensen said those aren't going to change.

"It's a philosophy, a system that worked at Kent State with Don James, at Washington, it worked there and then Gary Pinkel took it to Toledo and it worked there, and we took it to Missouri and it worked there," Christensen said. "It's the structure and philosophy of the program. So it's been a number of places. It's not Missouri. It's the Don James program."

With a walk-through practice and the spring game remaining, Christensen said he hopes his team is starting to understand what it takes to be a high-level competitor. While there are still lapses, there's a definite change in the attitude and the dedication of the team. Each of the players are staying this summer to get stronger, nurse injuries and learn the system that has been successful everywhere it's been employed.

"We've put in a lot of work, starting since coach C got here, and with football and with weight training and getting in condition and throwing and timing and that kind of stuff, you could really lose that stuff fast," backup quarterback Dax Crum said. "If we go home and take a month off, we'll be surprised at how much work we'll lose from this semester. So, we're trying to prevent that and keep building up for the fall season

Wow, looks like they had a rough Spring to say the least…minor version of  "Junction City Boys" going on out there in Laramie…

Texas plays them 3 weeks before FAU. I wonder if Howard will even bother to look at the game tape of a soft team playing Wyoming?

BingoBango said

Texas plays them 3 weeks before FAU. I wonder if Howard will even bother to look at the game tape of a soft team playing Wyoming?

Nah, he has plans to re-watch the infamous 1995 OU-Texas tie game…….

Florida_Owl said

BingoBango said

Texas plays them 3 weeks before FAU. I wonder if Howard will even bother to look at the game tape of a soft team playing Wyoming?

Nah, he has plans to re-watch the infamous 1995 OU-Texas tie game…….

Interesting game…….Howard had the higher ranked team, his team had 100 yards more of offense, his team was penalized half as much as Texas, and he still needed a miracle comeback to squeak out a tie.

Howard has been off his A game for a long, long, long time.

BingoBango said

Florida_Owl said

BingoBango said

Texas plays them 3 weeks before FAU. I wonder if Howard will even bother to look at the game tape of a soft team playing Wyoming?

Nah, he has plans to re-watch the infamous 1995 OU-Texas tie game…….

Interesting game…….Howard had the higher ranked team, his team had 100 yards more of offense, his team was penalized half as much as Texas, and he still needed a miracle comeback to squeak out a tie.

Howard has been off his A game for a long, long, long time.

That is one of the most ridiculous comments I have seen on here. He has built a program from scratch and what does he have to show for it??

1. Two straight bowl wins (still undefeated in bowls)
2. A conference championship
3. Fastest team to beat a 1-A opponent
4. Top four finish in 1-AA with one of the youngest programs in 1-AA

I guess you are right, he is off his A game.  :-X

GO OWLS!!!

BingoBango said

Florida_Owl said

BingoBango said

Texas plays them 3 weeks before FAU. I wonder if Howard will even bother to look at the game tape of a soft team playing Wyoming?

Nah, he has plans to re-watch the infamous 1995 OU-Texas tie game…….

Interesting game…….Howard had the higher ranked team, his team had 100 yards more of offense, his team was penalized half as much as Texas, and he still needed a miracle comeback to squeak out a tie.

Howard has been off his A game for a long, long, long time.

Really………..

Dont feed the troll.  ;)

owlfan1 said

BingoBango said

Florida_Owl said

BingoBango said

Texas plays them 3 weeks before FAU. I wonder if Howard will even bother to look at the game tape of a soft team playing Wyoming?

Nah, he has plans to re-watch the infamous 1995 OU-Texas tie game…….

Interesting game…….Howard had the higher ranked team, his team had 100 yards more of offense, his team was penalized half as much as Texas, and he still needed a miracle comeback to squeak out a tie.

Howard has been off his A game for a long, long, long time.

That is one of the most ridiculous comments I have seen on here. He has built a program from scratch and what does he have to show for it??

1. Two straight bowl wins (still undefeated in bowls)
2. A conference championship
3. Fastest team to beat a 1-A opponent
4. Top four finish in 1-AA with one of the youngest programs in 1-AA

I guess you are right, he is off his A game.  :-X

GO OWLS!!!

FAU fastest team to attend a bowl and win it in the history of 1A division.

4) Top four finish in 1-AA with one of the youngest programs in 1-AA


Also going to the 1-AA Championship Game.  ;)