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2012 Wyoming Cowboys Football: Statistical Profile

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Confused? See the glossary at the bottom.

2011 Schedule & Results

Record: 8-5 | Adj. Record: 1-12 | Final F/+ Rk: 103
Date Opponent Score W-L Adj. Score Adj. W-L
3-Sep Weber State 35-32 W 26.3 - 33.9 L
10-Sep Texas State 45-10 W 27.0 - 29.1 L
17-Sep at Bowling Green 28-27 W 24.4 - 29.3 L
24-Sep Nebraska 14-38 L 23.3 - 32.3 L
8-Oct at Utah State 19-63 L 27.5 - 33.0 L
15-Oct UNLV 41-14 W 25.1 - 25.6 L
29-Oct at San Diego State 30-27 W 30.7 - 31.3 L
5-Nov TCU 20-31 L 28.5 - 31.1 L
12-Nov at Air Force 25-17 W 25.0 - 20.9 W
19-Nov New Mexico 31-10 W 24.9 - 28.8 L
26-Nov at Boise State 14-36 L 22.6 - 28.9 L
3-Dec at Colorado State 22-19 W 25.0 - 30.5 L
17-Dec vs Temple 15-37 L 27.0 - 31.5 L
Category Offense Rk Defense Rk
Points Per Game 26.1 67 27.8 67
Adj. Points Per Game 25.9 88 29.7 95

2012 Schedule & Projection Factors

2012 Schedule
Date Opponent Proj. Rk
1-Sep at Texas 10
8-Sep Toledo 71
15-Sep Cal Poly NR
22-Sep at Idaho 118
6-Oct at Nevada 63
13-Oct Air Force 103
20-Oct at Fresno State 81
27-Oct Boise State 39
3-Nov Colorado State 102
10-Nov at New Mexico 124
17-Nov at UNLV 119
24-Nov San Diego State 86
Five-Year F/+ Rk 104
Two-Year Recruiting Rk 93
TO Margin/Adj. TO Margin* +12 / +5.8
TO Luck/Game +2.4
Approx. Ret. Starters (Off. / Def.) 13 (6, 7)
Yds/Pt Margin** -0.6

Offense

Category Yards/
Game Rk
S&P+ Rk Success
Rt. Rk
PPP+ Rk
OVERALL 59 94 94 89
RUSHING 34 86 88 78
PASSING 79 90 88 88
Standard Downs 95 105 90
Passing Downs 84 59 90
Redzone 102 100 103
Q1 Rk 74 1st Down Rk 106
Q2 Rk 78 2nd Down Rk 86
Q3 Rk 111 3rd Down Rk 79
Q4 Rk 94
Adj. Line Yards Rk 83
Adj. Sack Rate Rk 13

Quarterback

Note: players in bold below are 2012 returnees. Players in italics are questionable with injury/suspension.

Player Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Comp Att Yards Comp
Rate
TD INT Sacks Sack Rate Yards/
Att.
Brett Smith 6'3, 195 So. ** (5.4) 253 415 2,622 61.0% 20 11 10 2.4% 6.0
Colby Kirkegaard 6'3, 205 Jr. *** (5.5) 5 10 37 50.0% 0 0 1 9.1% 2.9

Running Back

Player Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Rushes Yards Yards/
Carry
Hlt Yds/
Carry
TD Adj.
POE
Alvester Alexander RB 152 695 4.6 1.4 6 -8.7
Brett Smith QB 6'3, 195 So. ** (5.4) 129 792 6.1 2.9 10 +7.5
Brandon Miller RB 6'0, 187 Jr. NR 66 364 5.5 2.2 2 -3.8
Ghaali Muhammad^ RB


60 379 6.3 2.9 2 +2.0
Kody Sutton RB 5'8, 194 So. ** (5.4) 30 146 4.9 1.2 0 -3.7
Sam Stratton WR 5'11, 182 So. ** (5.4) 16 49 3.1 0.8 0 -1.7
Nehemie Kankolongo RB 5'11, 205 So. *** (5.6)





Zaquoya Parham RB 5'10, 175 RSFr. ** (5.2)





Evan Williams RB 6'0, 190 Jr. ** (5.4)





^ Muhammad moved back to defense this spring after one year at running back.

Receiving Corps

Player Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Targets Catches Yards Catch Rate Target
Rate
%SD Adj. Yds/
Target
Mazi Ogbonna WR 74 40 430 54.1% 17.8% 52.7% 4.8
Robert Herron WR 5'10, 187 Jr. NR 70 43 379 61.4% 16.9% 52.9% 4.5
Dominic Rufran WR 6'0, 185 So. ** (5.4) 65 44 402 67.7% 15.7% 47.7% 6.1
Chris McNeill WR 6'1, 180 Sr. ** (4.9) 63 42 510 66.7% 15.2% 46.0% 7.6
Josh Doctson WR 53 35 393 66.0% 12.8% 62.3% 7.1
Brandon Miller RB 6'0, 187 Jr. NR 30 20 199 66.7% 7.2% 50.0% 6.2
Alvester Alexander RB 20 12 194 60.0% 4.8% 35.0% 6.0
Ghaali Muhammad RB


13 8 52 61.5% 3.1% 38.5% 2.0
T.J. Smith WR 6'3, 220 Jr. ** (5.2) 6 2 8 33.3% 1.4% 50.0% 1.4
Sam Stratton WR 5'11, 182 So. ** (5.4) 4 3 28 75.0% 1.0% 50.0% 7.0
Spencer Bruce WR 6'5, 225 Jr. ** (5.2) 4 3 27 75.0% 1.0% 100.0% 6.8
Trey Norman WR 6'1, 170 So. ** (5.4) 3 2 14 66.7% 0.7% 33.3% 4.7
James Caraway WR 5'11, 192 Sr. ** (5.1)






Josh Smith WR 6'3, 209 So. NR






Trent Sewell WR 6'2, 205 Fr. *** (5.7)






Eric Nzeocha WR 6'1, 200 Fr. NR






Offensive Line

Players Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Career Starts/Honors/Notes
Clayton Kirven LT 45 career starts, 2011 2nd All-MWC
Nick Carlson RG 6'4, 292 Sr. ** (4.9) 33 career starts, 2011 2nd All-MWC
John Hutchins RT 25 career starts
Josh Leonard RT 6'4, 296 Sr. ** (5.1) 13 career starts
Tyler Strong LG 6'3, 288 Jr. ** (5.3) 11 career starts
Brandon Self C 9 career starts
Zach Rushing LG 6'3, 295 Sr. ** (5.4) 4 career starts
Kyle Magnuson RG 6'6, 317 Sr. ** (5.2) 3 career starts
Daniel Fleischmann LT 6'6, 297 So. ** (5.4)
Travis Bogard C 6'4, 301 So. ** (5.4)
Connor Rains OL 6'7, 320 Jr. *** (5.6)
Walker Madden OL 6'8, 270 Jr. NR

Defense

Category Yards/
Game Rk
S&P+ Rk Success
Rt. Rk
PPP+ Rk
OVERALL 98 99 112 88
RUSHING 115 100 111 93
PASSING 30 95 105 83
Standard Downs 97 109 79
Passing Downs 112 116 109
Redzone 87 103 73
Q1 Rk 102 1st Down Rk 103
Q2 Rk 102 2nd Down Rk 110
Q3 Rk 105 3rd Down Rk 67
Q4 Rk 77
Adj. Line Yards Rk 112
Adj. Sack Rate Rk 62

Defensive Line

Name Pos Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals GP Tackles % of Team TFL Sacks Int PBU FF FR
Gabe Knapton DE 13 55.5 7.2% 8.5 6.5 2
Josh Biezuns DE 13 49.0 6.4% 11 5 3 5 2
Mike Purcell DT 6'3, 286 Sr. ** (5.4) 12 36.5 4.7% 3 2 1
Patrick Mertens (2010^) DT 6'5, 287 Jr. NR 12 26.0 3.6% 3 2
Ben Durbin^^ DE


13 20.0 2.6% 3.5 2 2 1
Kurt Taufa'asau DT 6'2, 279 Sr. *** (5.5) 13 19.5 2.5% 2.5 1 1 1
Mark Willis DE 6'4, 225 Jr. ** (5.2) 9 10.0 1.3% 2
Sonny Puletasi DE 6'3, 234 So. ** (5.4) 12 5.5 0.7% 2 2 1
B.J. Sumter DT 6'1, 296 Sr. ** (5.4) 8 3.5 0.5%
Patrick Mertens DT 6'5, 287 Jr. NR
Justin Bernthaler DE 6'3, 240 Jr. *** (5.5)
Sam Awrabi DE 6'3, 240 Fr. *** (5.6)


^ Mertens missed the 2011 season with illness.
^^ Durbin was Wyoming's starting defensive end last year and is eligible to play immediately at Iowa State.

Linebackers

Name Pos Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals GP Tackles % of Team TFL Sacks Int PBU FF FR
Brian Hendricks WILL 13 80.0 10.4% 3.5 1 4 2 1
Ghaali Muhammad (2010^) SAM 6'0, 221 Sr. ** (5.4) 11 59.5 8.2% 6 1 2 1
Devyn Harris MIKE 6'3, 225 Jr. ** (5.2) 13 47.0 6.1% 1.5 3 1
Korey Jones WILL 6'2, 225 Sr. *** (5.6) 13 46.5 6.0% 6 4 2 1
Oliver Schober (2010^^) MIKE 6'0, 235 Sr. ** (5.3) 12 33.0 4.6% 3 1
Todd Knight SAM 6'2, 210 Jr. *** (5.5) 13 10.5 1.4% 1
Alex Borgs WILL 6'2, 231 So. ** (5.4)
Zack Berg SAM 6'2, 226 RSFr. ** (5.4)

^ Muhammad was a running back in 2011 before shifting back to defense.
^^ Schober missed 2011 with injury.

Secondary

Name Pos Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals GP Tackles % of Team TFL Sacks Int PBU FF FR
Tashaun Gipson FS 13 83.5 10.9% 2.5 0.5 3 5 1 2
Luke Ruff FS 5'11, 195 Sr. ** (5.2) 13 78.0 10.1% 2 2 1 1
Luke Anderson NB 5'10, 195 Sr. ** (5.4) 13 63.5 8.3% 3.5 2 9 2
Blair Burns CB 5'10, 170 So. ** (5.4) 13 41.5 5.4% 1.5 4 4 1
Marqueston Huff CB 6'0, 189 Jr. *** (5.5) 13 37.0 4.8% 2.5 3 2 3
Kenny Browder FS 5'11, 175 Sr. ** (5.3) 10 13.5 1.8%
Mark Nzeocha^ SS 6'3, 220 So. *** (5.5) 10 11.5 1.5% 0.5 1 2
Darrenn White CB 6'0, 184 So. *** (5.5) 11 10.5 1.4% 1 1
DeAndre Jones CB 6'0, 180 So. ** (5.4) 13 10.0 1.3%
Chad Reese SS 5'11, 180 So. *** (5.5) 13 10.0 1.3% 1
Andrew Meredith SS 6'0, 200 Jr. *** (5.5) 13 4.5 0.6%
B.J. Hendrix DB 5'10, 188 Jr. NR

^ Nzeocha was a strongside linebacker last year.

Special Teams

Punter Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Punts Avg TB FC I20 FC/I20
Ratio
Austin McCoy 75 40.2 8 17 22 52.0%
Kicker Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Kickoffs Avg TB TB%
Daniel Sullivan 5'10, 185 So. 63 59.7 6 9.5%
Austin McCoy 1 57 0 0.0%
Place-Kicker Ht, Wt 2012
Year
PAT FG
(0-39)
Pct FG
(40+)
Pct
Daniel Sullivan 5'10, 185 So. 30-34 6-8 75.0% 1-3 33.3%
Stuart Williams 5'11, 175 So. 6-6 0-0 N/A 0-0 N/A
Returner Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Returns Avg. TD
Dominic Rufran KR 6'0, 185 So. 17 21.7 0
Ghaali Muhammad KR 6'0, 221 Sr. 12 21.0 0
Chris McNeill PR 6'1 ,180 Sr. 6 16.8 1
Blair Burns PR 5'10, 170 So. 6 13.0 0
Category Rk
Special Teams F/+ 97
Net Punting 56
Net Kickoffs 106
Touchback Pct 84
Field Goal Pct 86
Kick Returns Avg 77
Punt Returns Avg 16

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Glossary

Adj. Line Yards: A line measure derived from the formula found here. The idea is to divvy credit for a given rush between both the runner and the blockers.

Adj. Pace: Part of the offensive footprint, this takes into account both the number of plays a team attempts and the type of play. Since passes, on average, take up less time (thanks to the fact that 30-50 percent of them are incomplete and stop the clock), pass-heavy offenses are prone to run more plays, therefore limiting the effectiveness of a general plays-per-game measure. Adj. Pace takes a team's run-pass ratio into account.

Adj. POE: An opponent-adjusted "Points Over Expected" measure for running backs that looks both at what a runner gained and what would have been expected given the opponents involved. For more information, start here.

Adj. Points: A look at how a team would have performed in a given week if playing a perfectly average team, with a somewhat average number of breaks and turnovers. The idea for the measure is simple: what if everybody in the country played exactly the same opponent every single week? Who would have done the best? It is an attempt to look at offensive and defensive consistency without getting sidetracked by easy or difficult schedules. And yes, with adjusted score you can allow a negative number of points. For more, start here.

Adj. Record: See Adj. Points.

Adj. Sack Rate: An opponent-adjusted measure of sack rates.

Adj. Score: See Adj. Points.

Adj. TO Margin: What a team's turnover margin would have been if they had recovered exactly 50 percent of all the fumbles that occurred in their games. If there is a huge difference between TO Margin and Adj. TO Margin (in other words, if fumbles, dropped interceptions, or other unlucky bounces were the main source of a good/bad TO margin), that suggests that a team's luck was particularly good or bad and might even out the next season.

Adj. Yards Per Target: A look at a receiver's total receiving yards divided by the number of times he was targeted. Slight adjustments are made for the percentage of times a receiver was targeted on standard ("%SD") and passing downs. Players targeted more on passing downs are likely to have a lower overall per-target average, since passing is more difficult on passing downs.

Bend-Don't-Break: Part of the defensive footprint, this is a comparison of a team's Def. Success Rate (efficiency) to its Def. PPP (explosiveness). The higher the number, the higher percentage of a team's overall S&P was made up by success rate, i.e. the more willing a team was to sacrifice efficiency to prevent big plays. (The lower the number, the more likely a team was to take aggressive risks.)

Covariance: Covariance is a statistical tool that provides a measure of the strength of the correlation between two or more sets of random variates. For these purposes, it is used to compare a team's performance (using opponent-adjusted Adj. Score) to the quality of the opponent at hand. Some teams play their best games against their worst opponents, and some teams do the opposite. This measure is used for both the offensive and defensive footprint. For more, go here.

Go After the Ball: Part of the defensive footprint, this looks at a team's forced fumbles, interceptions and passes broken up. In other words, it looks at their ability to go after the ball. The higher the number, the more they got their hands on the football.

Highlight Yards: The portion of a given run that is credit only to the running back; after a certain number of yards, the line has done its job, and most of the rest of the run will be determined by the running back himself. For more information, start here.

Need for Blitzes: Part of the defensive footprint, this compares a team's standard downs sack rate to its passing downs sack rate. The lower the number, the more they were able to generate pressure on standard downs, and the less need for blitzes.

Turnovers Luck: Presented in Points Per Game fashion, Turnovers Luck looks at the difference between a team's Turnover and Adj. TO Margins and, using the average point value of a turnover (~5.0 points), projects how many points a team gained or lost per game last season.

Yards Per Point: A measure long tracked by Phil Steele as a means of looking at teams that were a little too efficient or inefficient the previous season. A positive YPP Margin means a team's offense was less efficient than opponents' offenses, and to the extent that luck was involved, their luck might even out the next year.