Wyoming Football: 3 takeaways from the win over New Mexico State

Tyler Vander Waal will be just fine as the replacement for Josh Allen

Losing Josh Allen was honestly never going to be as big an issue as it would seem when a team’s starting quarterback goes No. 7 overall in the NFL Draft. The quarterback regressed last season, and matching his production was never going to be as big a deal as it was to find a solid running game once again to balance out the offense.

That said, redshirt freshman Tyler Vander Waal played well beyond expectations in his first college start. Vander Waal finished 13-of-22 for 137 yards, slowing down after a hot start. But that also coincided with fewer called passes as the game started to get out of reach. Vander Waal is going to be a great new addition to the game, and he could soon surpass what Allen brought to the team.

That said, Vander Waal was hardly perfect. For instance, a 3rd-and-goal attempt on the first play of the second quarter fell incomplete as Vander Waal overthrew Raghib Ismail Jr. The receiver was streaking open into the endzone, and the Cowboys to take a field goal to go up 12-0 instead of taking a 16-0 lead. But that was also Vander Waal’s first incompletion of the night, after completing all of his first eight passes of the game.

Ultimately it didn’t matter in terms of the final result, and those mistakes were few and far between. The redshirt freshman was bound to have some growing pains in his first action at the college level. Those moments were few and far between for Wyoming’s three-star recruit. As he continues to develop, Wyoming looks to have a new star in the making.