Wyoming football and basketball mailbag: 1/15/20

-K.

Well … if it doesn’t happen this weekend at home against Fresno State, I don’t know if it will happen at all. Let’s take a look at the remaining schedule for the Cowboys (not including this weekend).

• At San Diego State (yikes)

• Vs. Utah State (also yikes)

• At San Jose State (perhaps, but SJSU is 5-6 at home with wins over New Mexico and Nevada)

• Vs. Boise State

• At New Mexico

• Vs. Colorado State (potentially)

• At Utah State

• At Air Force

• Vs. Nevada

• At Fresno State (perhaps)

So, the best chance is probably this weekend against the Bulldogs. If I had to rank the winnable remaining games, it would go, in order: Fresno State (both matchups), San Jose State and Colorado State. I would be hard pressed to see them winning any of the other ones, but I’ve been wrong before.

Have you purchased a pair of cowboy boots yet? If not, when?

-Justin

So, I’ll be honest with you. I … have not. I have never owned a pair of cowboy boots, nor have I ever put on a pair of cowboy boots. But I have been told by several sources that I need them for Frontier Days in July. It’s the most incredible dress code I have ever heard of: cowboy apparel, including a cowboy hat, which I also do not own. I’m going to be busy in a few months figuring out what any of this means and what looks most stylish. 

USC vs. Wyoming: who wins?

-Steven

I’m assuming this is for football, as one of my biggest agonies in life is being a USC football fan (in the grand scheme of things, it’s a good problem to have) and being extremely vocal about it on social media. Let’s play hypotheticals here: 2019 USC vs. 2019 Wyoming. I think USC is poorly coached; I think everyone knows how I feel on this front. I think Wyoming, on the other hand, is extremely well coached.

Where I think USC differentiates itself, however, is in the talent department. USC may lack a lot of things at the moment, but elite athletes are not among them. The roster is littered with four and five-star recruits, particularly at the skill positions. The Trojans boasted a pair of 1,000-yard receivers and another who came up less than 100 yards short of the mark; waiting in the wings are Bru McCoy, who was the national player of the year as a high school senior in 2018 and didn’t play a snap in 2019, and another five-star receiver in Kyle Ford. USC’s defense was far from spectacular this past season, but again, the talent is there to shut down a UW offense that at times struggled to gain traction.

UW had a somewhat porous pass defense in 2019, ranking 105th in the nation in passing yards per game allowed; USC runs an air-raid offense. I think the matchup of scheme and USC’s edge in talent would give the Trojans a fairly decisive victory. And if you think I’m being biased, trust me: I NEVER think USC is going to win games.