Behind The Numbers: Only Thing Missing Was a Trademark High-Step

LARAMIE -- "When we execute, it's a beautiful thing."

Says who?

Deion Sanders said that in his postgame press conference after his Buffs scored 21 first-half points and tacked on 497 yards of total offense.

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Kaidon Salter was a surgeon under center last Saturday night, dissecting Wyoming's secondary to the tune of 304 yards passing and three touchdowns in front of a capacity crowd inside Folsom Field. He completed 18-of-28 throws. The senior, who was named one of the Manning Award Stars of the Week and landed an Earl Campbell Award honorable mention nod, capped the 37-20 victory with a 35-yard untouched jaunt into the end zone late in regulation.

Salter led all Colorado rushers with 86 yards on 11 attempts.

"That's the guy that we wanted to see and that we're seeing," said "Coach Prime," referring to the Cedar Hill, Texas product. "I'm glad you're getting the opportunity to see him at his best. He hasn't reached that potential yet, but he's getting more and more comfortable with everything."

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The Cowboys' coverage unit, unsurprisingly, finished with the lowest score of any position group -- 51.8 -- according to Pro Football Focus.

Redshirt freshman Markie Grant brought up the rear with a 40.4, allowing two catches on the same number of targets on just eight pass-coverage snaps. Playing with a bulky black tape job on an injured right hand, one Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said should be healed up during the team's bye week, the Houston native was also flagged for pass interference in the end zone late in the first half.

Simeon Price put the ball over the white stripe two plays later, giving Colorado a 21-3 advantage.

While Grant may have earned the worst grade of anyone on the visitor's backend, Jones Thomas, to the naked eye, had the most forgettable outing. The sophomore safety from right up the road from Boulder in Fort Collins, gave up two catches -- both long touchdowns.

He was also partially responsible for a third, though the official stat keepers -- and his head coach -- said a 68-yard pitch and catch between Salter and the speedy Sincere Brown (the 6-foot-5 senior finished with the fastest top-end speed of any player in college football last week at 22.3 miles per hour), one that was credited to linebacker Evan Eller, was just improvisation at its best.

Jones had enough stains on his résumé.

"You're going to have to come back and you gotta learn why you did not make these plays," Sawvel said postgame. "I mean, he gave up two deep touchdowns and on one he's the middle-third player in cover-three (defense). We get beat on a post. That should have been an interception, right? Then, the other one, like, he's the vertical-carry player, he's looking in the backfield too long and then doesn't get to his carry.

"He'll be OK -- he will -- but what he's got to do, he's got to learn why these mistakes matter. When you play someone that has good skill and talent, and you are a step off, or you are a step late, that's what happens, you know? When you're going to win this type of game, You're good players -- and he's played well for three weeks -- are going to have to step up and play. We had a few of them tonight that, you know, didn't get to the positions that we needed to get to."

Here's the first example:

And the second:

Cornerback Tyrese Boss was targeted seven times, giving up four grabs for just 29 yards. The redshirt freshman earned a pass-coverage grade of 63.2, the second-best mark on the defense, per PFF. Desman Hearns landed a 60.8, allowing two catches for 18 yards on four attempts. Safety Andrew Johnson gave up a pair of completions on two throws. Those went for 22 yards.

"In the secondary, we didn't play very well tonight," Sawvel continued outside the visiting locker room. "You know, we went three games and hadn't allowed a 25-yard play, and tonight we allowed a few of them (29, 68 and 47), right? Like I said, we had a couple people that did not perform to the level that we were going to need them to perform at in order to win this game."

Here are some other PFF grades from a long night in Boulder:

75.4

That's the overall grade for the Cowboys' run defense last Saturday night inside Folsom Field. Sure, Salter did roll up 86 yards with his legs, but 35 of that came on one play late in the fourth quarter. The exclamation mark in this one, if you will. Colorado's other 20 rushing attempts amassed just 107 yards. That's an average of 5.3 yards per carry. Weakside linebacker Brayden Johnson led the way with six solo tackles, including one for loss, but it was cornerback Dainsus Miller who was the highest-graded defender with a 90.7. The Mercer transfer was on the field for 21 rushes, finishing with two tackles, including forcing a Micah Welch fumble late in the third quarter.

73.2

Wyoming's pass protection was solid in Boulder, allowing just four total pressures, including a pair of sacks. One of those was costly. Nate Geiger suffered a left knee injury (the same one he hurt just 10 snaps into the 2024 campaign) when Arden Walker and Keaten Wade combined for a nine-year takedown of Wyoming quarterback Kaden Anderson early in the second quarter. Geiger, the Cowboys' starting left tackle, missed nearly all of last season with a torn ACL. Sawvel said Monday he will likely miss an extended amount of time. Caden Barnett was the highest-graded pass blocker with an 87, according to PFF. The senior right guard didn't allow a sack, a pressure, a hit or a hurry on 32 attempts. Geiger was second -- on just eight dropbacks -- with an 82.7. Center Jack Walsh landed a 79.6.

59.3

That was Anderson's grade after completing just 11 of his 25 throws on the night. The Southlake, Texas product did throw for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 41-yard strike to Eric Richardson. While the stats aren't eye-popping, the sophomore signal caller showed marked improvement in the second half, bouncing back from a 4-for-11 start that amassed just 49 yards through the air.

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56.1

Running back Sam Scott was the highest-graded pass catcher against the Buffs, snagging two passes for 36 yards, including a perfectly-executed screen in the fourth quarter that went for 23. Clay Nanke hauled in his lone opportunity, too. This unit was charged with six dropped passes. Fair or not, Jaylan Bean couldn't come down with a contested toss in the end zone. Richardson also didn't bring down a throw deep in CU territory. The least-surprising thing you'll read today, Chris Durr Jr. led all wideouts with five catches for 50 yards. One of those was a seven-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter, capping a controversial 13-play, 80-yard drive that milked 6:49 off the game clock.

32:04

A week after allowing Utah's offense to stay on the field for 35:30 in a 31-7 home loss to the Utes, Wyoming's ball control was much better in Boulder. Of course, three pass-interference calls on the Buffs -- all coming on third-and-longs, no less -- helped in this category. A third-down targeting call in the third quarter also helped the Cowboys' cause.

5-of-13

That's Wyoming's third-down conversion rate against CU. And that's coming off a week in which Utah limited Anderson and Co. to just 3-of-12 on that all-important down. That means the Cowboys have converted -- on their own -- just 8-of-25 attempts in back-to-back losses. This unit is ranked 83rd in the nation (21-of-55) out of 134 FBS programs in this category.

126

This Samuel Harris kid looks like he belongs, huh? The rookie running back they call "Tote" rushed for 126 yards on just 19 carries last Saturday night, again being named the Mountain West's Freshman of the Week. Harris averaged 6.6 yards per carry and busted a 50-yard run during the second quarter, finally giving Wyoming's offense some life after a first frame that saw that group pick up nine total yards. After receiving just 10 carries over the first two weeks, the Cibolo, Texas speedster has burst on the scene with 231 yards of total offense against the Utes and Buffs, a pair of Big XII schools.

70.8

Linebacker Ethan Stulsatz was the highest-graded Wyoming defender in Boulder, tallying one tackle and a quarterback hurry on just 13 snaps. Ben Florentine, who was on the field for 44 plays, landed in second with a grade of 67.5. The senior nose guard finished with two tackles and a hurry.

2-for-2

Erik Sandvik is quietly having a solid start to his Wyoming career. The sophomore placekicker booted through both of his attempts in his home state -- one from 28 yards out and another from 38 -- bringing his season total to 4-of-5. His one miss was from 48 yards out against Northern Iowa. Sawvel said he kicked the turf before getting his toe on the ball on that attempt.

4

That's the number of blocked kicks Wyoming has through the same number of games. That puts this team all alone in first place in the country, one block ahead of Maryland, Rutgers and Texas Tech. Aneesh Vyas, for the second straight week, got his big mitt on a kick, rejecting an Alejandro Mata try from 34 yards out early in the fourth quarter. Vyas, a defensive tackle transfer from Bucknell, has now blocked four field goals in his career.

49

That's where Bart Edmiston Jr. ranks in the nation in punting after four games. The junior transfer from Jones College is averaging 43 yards per kick on 22 attempts with a long of 62 against Northern Iowa.

-PRESS PASS: Roaming The War