By Woodrow Carroll
The University of Wyoming football program should say “thanks” to the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
In a season of COVID uncertainty and other concerns, the Wyoming Cowboys closed out the this season with a final record of 7-6 which was capped off by a 52-38 victory over Kent State (MAC) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The conquest of Kent State made it a winning record for Wyoming which got off to a hot start then faltered badly.
Four games into the season, Wyoming’s record was 4-0. The Cowboys took the scalps of Montana State, Northern Illinois (50-43) Ball State (45-12) and Connecticut. Northern Illinois and Ball State are both members of the MAC.
Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference. Life in the Mountain West took a bad turn for Wyoming once conference play kicked in. By the end of Wyoming’s eight-game conference schedule, the Cowboys were only 2-6 in the conference
Six overall victories, however, are the benchmark for bowl-game eligibility and Wyoming qualified with a final regular-season record of 6-6. From there it was on to Boise and a bowl game with Kent State, and winning season.
Wyoming’s season-opening game with Montana State merits a look.
A FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) side, the Montana State Bobcats lost, 19-16, to Wyoming then reeled off nine straight victories before falling, 29-10, to in-state rival Montana in its final scheduled game.
Undaunted by the Montana loss, the Bobcats knocked off three foes in the FCS playoffs and earned the right to face FCS power North Dakota State, Jan. 8, 2022, in Frisco, Texas for the FCS championship.
Frisco is in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, Frisco has become a football destination. Already this season, Toyota Stadium in Frisco has been host to the Frisco Bowl and the Frisco Football Classic. Toyota Stadium was built for soccer with seats for 20,000 and features a natural grass surface which makes it football-friendly.
The Frisco Football Classic -was added so no FBS team with six or more victories was left out of a bowl game this year
There has been a hue and cry over the proliferation of bowl games. Still, making it to a bowl game is the aim and we understand the thinking involved.
One thing many failed to grasp has been the specter of COVID-19 and its variants. As the bowl games came upon us, we started to see teams and games reconfigured. Last season, with its limited number of bowl games, should have prepared us for hard times ahead. Sadly, there appears to be little preparedness.
Do you think the quest for the national championship will be knocked out? It is one thing for ‘lighter-than-air bowl games such as the Military Bowl and Fenway Bowl to be called off for fatuous reasons. When it comes time for Alabama and Cincinnati (Cotton Bowl) and Georgia and Michigan (Orange Bowl) to take the field, do you expect the game to be called off?
It was only a few years back that a handful of collegiate players pulled out of their respective bowl games ostensibly to prepare for the National Football League draft.
Because we live in the age of the monkey-see- monkey do sports era we would see more collegiate athletes doing the same. Just look at the number of withdrawal of players this bowl season.