The Wyoming Cowboys are having a miserable 2024 season.
When longtime head coach Craig Bohl announced his retirement after the 2023 season and the school promoted defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel to head coach, an adjustment period was expected for the first-year head coach.
After starting 0-4, the Cowboys got in the win column against the Air Force Falcons on September 28. That remains their only win of the season, as Wyoming has dropped its past three games to fall to 1-7.
A win looked possible over the weekend against the equally hapless Utah State Aggies, who had just one win coming into the contest, but the Aggies left Wyoming with a 27-25 victory.
The win wasn’t without controversy, though.
Early in the fourth quarter, Wyoming held a 22-17 lead. The Cowboys seemingly stopped the Aggies on 3rd-and-2 and were set to get the ball back with a chance to put the game on ice. The incomplete pass came with a defensive pass interference call, which Sawvel disagreed with to such an extent that he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. In all, Utah State gained 30 yards on the play in penalties and scored a touchdown three plays later to go up 24-22.
Sawvel didn’t hold back after the game, calling both himself and the officials ‘horse****’
“Right now, I’d say I’m a horse-shit head coach, and I think we’ve had some horse-shit officiating.”
-Jay Sawvel after tonight’s loss to Utah State
— Alex Taylor (@alex_m_taylor22) October 27, 2024
On Sunday, the Mountain West reprimanded Sawvel for violating the conference’s rules against publicly criticizing the officials.
Sawvel and Wyoming were not fined, just reprimanded. Wyoming will look to get back in the win column on November 2 when they travel to New Mexico to face the New Mexico Lobos.
