Wyoming Football: Three Keys to Success vs New Mexico

In the upcoming conference tilt between New Mexico and Wyoming there are three things that Wyoming has to accomplish when the Lobos visit War Memorial Stadium this Saturday.

Continue to run the football

Wyoming is hanging its hat on the ability to run the football. The Cowboys have been successful so far in 2015 averaging over 275 yards per contest and 5.5 yards per carry. Look for running backs Shaun Wick and Brian Hill to have nice games against a Lobo defense that has given up 205 yards per game. More snaps for an inexperienced offensive line can not have hurt. They've been bad so far, but they've been healthy.

Coffman has to continue to progress

A key component to a "west coast" power style offense is the ability of the trigger man to get the offense out of bad plays and into good ones at the line of scrimmage. There was noticeable increase in Wyoming's first and second down success against Washington State last week. Much of this can be attributed to Cameron Coffman's continually growing grasp on offensive coordinator Brent Vigen's system. Although Coffman is in his fifth year of NCAA eligibility, this is only his third career start for Wyoming. Looking back at the Washington State game, there were many times that Coffman made successful pre-snap checks that kept the Wyoming offense on schedule.

Wyoming must improve its pass defense

Wyoming defenders need to compete and win individual battles. This applies to rushing the passer: senior defensive end Eddie Yarbrough might need to put the defense on his back and lead by example; and to the secondary which must begin to play more aggressively and with more confidence. The Poke secondary is young, but more team speed could finally pay dividends as players settle into their roles.

Perhaps strong safety Marcus Epps' pick against Washington State will help the Wyo secondary's confidence and translate into more stops. Wyoming must get off of the field on 3rd down. Improving on an FBS worst 78.6% opponent completion will go a long way to help get the ball back into the hands of an offense that should be able to move the ball.