LARAMIE — Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels’ numbers in last weekend’s season opener against Southern Utah were impressive.
And if the Cowboys are to have success Saturday at No. 5 Texas, it is a safe bet he’ll need a similar effort against the Longhorns. But the one thing Carta-Samuels and the rest of the Wyoming offense also will need is some balance, something that was definitely lacking against the Thunderbirds.
“I know we’re better (running the ball) than we were on Saturday,” UW coach Dave Christensen said.
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UW ran 25 times for 36 yards against Southern Utah, an average of 1.4 yards an attempt. College rushing numbers can be a little deceiving because sack yardage is included in the total, but Wyoming’s running backs ran 15 times for just 54 yards.
Christensen said everybody had a hand in the problem.
“We’ve got to block better,” Christensen said. “We also missed a few reads with the quarterback between the handoff and the read. Scheme-wise, we need to do a better job.”
The running game will get some help this week with the return of freshman running back Nehemie Kankolongo. Kankolongo, who was suspended for the Southern Utah game for a team rules violation, was the projected starter at running back through most of the summer.
The Longhorns gave up 88 yards rushing to Rice in a 34-17 win in Houston on Saturday. Last year, UW rushed for 85 yards against Texas in Laramie.
“I think we’re making some progress,” Christensen said. “Obviously, it’s going to take some time, as they all know and we all know. We just do the best we can, take it one day at a time and try to have some productive days.”
With the death of Wyoming freshman Ruben Narcisse in a car crash on Monday, the team has had some emotional practices this week.
“It’s therapy to come out and practice right now, and I thought the intensity level was good,” Christensen said. “It was another good day of practice and gets the game plan down.”
The last time Christensen was in Texas’ Memorial Stadium, it wasn’t too pleasant. The Longhorns, ranked No. 1 at the time, beat then No. 11 Missouri 56-31 in 2008 with Christensen serving as Mizzou’s offensive coordinator.
Since then, UT has renovated the stadium to its current capacity of 100,119, the sixth-largest college football stadium in the country.
The Cowboys have been pumping in crowd noise this week during practice to simulate the expected conditions on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a big crowd, and there’s going to be some noise factor involved in that,” Christensen said. “It’s still a 100-yard field; it’s just got a few more seats.
“Any stadium that’s full and the crowd gets crazy is going to give you problems. I’ve been in stadiums where there’s 30,000 that you can’t hear. The atmosphere’s going to be exciting for the kids, but they have to get focused in.”
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