We all want to make a difference.

We want to leave something better than we found it.

The 2018 senior class did that.

Last Sunday was a sad day for Wyoming football, no doubt. Everyone wants to put the finishing touches on a season with a bowl game. That did not happen for the 2018 Cowboys, and that's too bad. The Pokes finished the season just the way you want to finish. They picked themselves up off the turf after a rocky start and finished with four consecutive wins. They earned bowl eligibility. Hopes were high for one more game.

But the season abruptly came to an end on Sunday, and that end was far beyond the control of everyone in this athletics department or the Mountain West Conference. A couple of ESPN guys back east made that call. That's the world in which we now live.

I felt bad for the Cowboys. They deserved a better fate, one more chance to play the game they love with their teammates.

The initial reaction is anger and frustration. We have experienced that before. The 1996 Cowboys finished the season 10-2, and stayed home. It was a different landscape then. For one thing there weren't near as many bowl games. But it stung just as much then as it did Sunday. 

The next reaction, however, is the better way to go, the high road. It is to remember all of the good things this Cowboy team accomplished through the season. And there were many. Our media relations office released a piece this morning with all of those accomplishments listed, so I won't. Suffice it to say, the list was impressive, and the memories were rich.

For me, this season was more significant because of the Cowboys' senior class. After it was clear Sunday that Wyoming's football year had come to an official end, I got to thinking about the Cowboys who played their last game in War Memorial Stadium with that memorable come-from-behind win over rival Air Force. That game summed up the senior leadership in a nutshell.

I will forever be thankful for the 2018 senior class. There are 16 Cowboys in that class, nine who were recruited in Craig Bohl's first class and redshirted—Chavez Pownell, Jr., Tyree Mayfield, Conner Cain, Marcus Epps (a walk-on), Nico Evans, Austin Fort, Sidney Malauulu, Nick Smith and Adam Pilapil. Seven were among the 2015 class and played as true freshmen—Carl Granderson, Kaden Jackson, James Price, Kevin Prosser, Pahl Schwab, Zach Wallace and Andrew Wingard. There are two others from the 2015 class who were redshirted this year because of injury—Antonio Hull and Josh Harshman.

It took a special work ethic and dedication for those 16 guys to follow their head coach's lead and get this program jump-started. It took some time for them to get it going, but once they did, they were instrumental in 22 wins over the last three seasons, and some of the most memorable in program history. Their work produced three bowl eligible seasons and two bowl games.

I have a truck-load of memories thanks to those Cowboys: Wingard flying around Jonah Field, blond hair flowing; Wallace ever the shy offensive lineman, hating to do television interviews; Jackson playing in the middle of that same line when you could tell he was hurting; Malauulu's infectious smile or Nico's incredible resolve. I will always remember Epps, his positive attitude, and his special ability to handle real life with class and dignity; and the unbounding pride that Fort always demonstrated as a guy from Wyoming, playing for Wyoming.

Let's face it, when Bohl came here in 2014 the program was in bad shape, three losing seasons in the previous four. In short, it was going nowhere.

Bohl took the job knowing there was a tremendous amount of work to be done. But he understood Wyoming's tradition, and the passion the state had for its football program. He knew changes had to be made. He also knew it was going to take a tremendous commitment from him, his staff, the state of Wyoming and most importantly a special recruiting class.

If the kids didn't buy in, it wasn't going to get done.

These young men who just completed their final year as Cowboys were willing to make that commitment. They were willing to sacrifice and push themselves to turn it around. The state and friends of this program did their part by building the High Altitude Performance Center.

I'm so happy that these seniors were able to experience the new facility. After all, they were the catalyst for its construction.

They earned it!

And, so it's good bye to a group of guys who will always have a special place in our tradition for what they did. They breathed life into a program that was on the operating table.

Okay, they didn't finish their careers with a bowl game. That's a shame. But, big picture, no one can ever take away from them what they accomplished for this program. It's now up to the guys remaining in that locker room to keep it going.

I'm pretty sure each of those 16 seniors will be successful in whatever they decide to do. While they taught us about hard work and believing, I'm also sure they learned a great deal too. We all have benefitted from the experience.

I will look forward to seeing those guys again when they return to campus and remember what they built here.