LARAMIE – Andrew Peasley deleted his social media following his first start at Wyoming.
 
One week after finishing 5-for-20 with an interception in a humbling 38-6 loss at Illinois, Peasley earned Mountain West player of the week honors after passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a team-high 45 yards in the Cowboys' thrilling 40-37 double-overtime win over Tulsa in the 2022 home opener.
 
Evan Svoboda, who also joined the program that season, remembers vividly how well his unflappable mentor handled the turbulence that comes with being QB1.
 
UW's new full-time starter is determined to orchestrate a similar turnaround after struggling during last week's cheerless 48-7 loss at Arizona State.
 
"It's funny that you mention that because after the game that's what I was thinking of," Svoboda said of Peasley's inauspicious start in Big Ten country. "Two years ago, after not playing the best on the road, I remember seeing Andrew come back and bounce back to have a pretty good year.
 
"I'm not going to get bogged down or dwelling on the moment. I'm just kind of focusing on the next week, the new opportunity and mindset of proving to yourself what you need to do."
 
Svoboda admittedly carried some extra pressure on his shoulder pads in the opener, which was played in front of his friends and family from his nearby hometown of Mesa, Ariz.
 
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior threw two interceptions, including a pick-six on his second pass, to put the Pokes in an early hole they couldn't dig out of.
 
"I know he will bounce back," true freshman wide receiver Chris Durr Jr., who caught a touchdown pass from Kaden Anderson in the final moments to get UW on the scoreboard, said of Svoboda. "I talked to him (Monday) morning, I talked to him after the game making sure he's OK. Everybody has a bad game, nobody is perfect, we're all human.
 
"I know he's going to be OK. We're going to bounce back, and we'll see Idaho on Saturday."
 
A sellout crowd is expected for UW's matchup with Idaho on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (1:30 p.m., truTV).
 
This will be Svoboda's first start at home. His first career start was last season filling in for an injured Peasley at Texas.
 
"It's going to boost us a lot," Svoboda said of playing at 7,220 feet in Laramie where the 2023 team went 7-0. "We definitely feel the energy from the fans, and we feel that atmosphere. I feel like we play a lot better off of it. It's definitely going to be a fun week at the War."
 
After Peasley's gutsy performance in his home debut two years ago, then-head coach Craig Bohl became emotional talking about his quarterback.
 
First-year head coach Jay Sawvel and the Cowboys have Svoboda's back.
 
"I can tell you this: Evan Svoboda is going to be a really good quarterback at the University of Wyoming. He really is," Sawvel said at his weekly press conference on Monday as the Pokes turned the page. "Was he last Saturday night? No. Will he be this Saturday? I hope. But there's going to come a time where we're all sitting there and we're all going to be really happy that he's the starting quarterback at Wyoming because of the skill set that has, because of the talent that he has and because of the investment and buy-in that he has.
 
"What we've got to do is help that come along."
 
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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