LARAMIE – There were more smiles in the High Altitude Performance Center on Monday.
 
And more players wearing casts and walking boots. Evan Svoboda wore a broken nose above his winning smile.
 
This open date is being welcomed with open arms by Jay Sawvel, who notched his first victory as Wyoming's head coach after his injury-plagued squad shined in the second half of a 31-19 triumph over Air Force in the Mountain West opener last Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium.
 
"This probably comes at a great time for us," Sawvel said. "I kind of wish that we were in a better overall physical state. This bye week will help us but there's still going to be a little bit of the time before we get a lot of the pieces back that we need to have back."
 
Sawvel printed out an injury report to read from before his weekly meeting with the media so he could provide updates on the long list of walking wounded.
 
On the offensive line, starting right guard Jack Walsh and starting left guard Wes King remain out. Both are expected to miss UW's next game against San Diego State on Oct. 12.
 
Starting center Nofoafia Tulafono, who was shaken up in the fourth quarter, will be able to practice this week.
 
The unit previously lost starting left tackle Nate Geiger to a season-ending knee injury at Arizona State. Jake Davies, also a redshirt freshman, has started the last five games. Rex Johnsen started against the Falcons for Walsh and Alex Conn filled in for King, who was carted off with a knee injury that is not season ending.
 
If Sawvel would have decided to keep the offense on the field for a fourth-and-3 at the Air Force 39 yard line when Tulafono was hurt, he would have had to call a timeout and move Johnsen to center and put redshirt freshman Quinn Grovesteen-Matchey in at right guard. Tulafono's backup, Luke Sandy, was unavailable against Air Force due to injury.
 
The Pokes opted to punt, and the Falcons were called for a personal foul that gave UW a first down and led to Svoboda's game-sealing 17-yard touchdown run with 2:13 remaining.
 
"There's a lot of mechanics that have to be worked out right now," Sawvel said of the focus for the revamped offensive line this week.
 
UW's secondary is also adjusting after a cluster of injuries to safeties Wyett Ekeler (two broken thumbs), Isaac White (foot) and Andrew Johnson (broken thumb).
 
Ekeler is questionable, White is doubtful and Johnson probable for the Aztecs.
 
"The attempt will be to cast him and give him finger movement on one of his hands to be able to play against San Diego State. We're going to have to judge that and see where he's at with that," Sawvel said of Ekeler, who did not play against North Texas or Air Force after having surgeries on his thumbs. "Andrew Johnson is going to get a procedure done on hand this week, put a pin in, so he won't practice this week, but he will be able to play next week."
 
Starting nickel back Wrook Brown will be getting more work at safety and cornerback Caleb Merritt will practice at nickel this week. Sawvel also noted it will be important for young cornerbacks Ian Bell and Keany Parks to continue improving before facing SDSU's spread offense.
 
"We've got a lot of secondary work to do this week," Sawvel said. ".We know there's improvements to be made coming out of the bye."
 
Punt returner/wide receiver Caleb Cooley (ankle), fullback Caleb Driskill (thumb) and defensive end DeVonne Harris (arm) are on the mend but questionable for SDSU.
 
The target date for Harrison Waylee's return from a knee injury is the Oct. 26 home game against Utah State. The starting running back plans to play in four games, maintain his redshirt and return to UW in 2025. Dawaiian McNeely is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury but also plans to return healthy next fall.
 
Svoboda, despite having his nose broken during the game, completed 71.4% of his passes for 165 yards and rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns against Air Force. Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg had a 33-yard reception, wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. had a 32-yard reception and wide receiver Will Pelissier had a 29-yard reception.
 
The patchwork offensive line paved the way for Sam Scott to rush for 97 yards and a touchdown. Tyler King added a 13-yard reception and a 3-yard rushing touchdown.
 
"We have the ability to make big plays," Sawvel said. "We have some receivers on the outside that run well, we've got a back that will hit it. We need to do a good job blocking."
 
UW piled up 283 yards in the second half and the offense was not called for a penalty in the game. The defense limited the Falcons to one score after the intermission as the Pokes outscored the visitors 24-6 over the final 30 minutes.
 
"The second half response defensively was a critical factor," Sawvel said. UW allowed only 103 yards after trailing 13-7 at the break. "We got in a rhythm offensively and we were able to stay in a rhythm offensively."
 
The Cowboys will have three practices this week. The players will get some extra days of rest starting Friday while the coaching staff hits the recruiting trail.
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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