After picking up potentially its biggest win in the Sarkisian era against Alabama, No. 4 Texas will return to Austin and turn its focus to Wyoming. Led by a seasoned coach in Craig Bohl that upset then-ranked Texas Tech in double overtime during Week 1, the 2–0 Cowboys will jump out as an early trap game opponent, and shouldn’t be looked at as a pushover.
Bohl, 65 years old and in his tenth season at the helm with Wyoming, called the victory over Texas Tech a “cowboy-tough win” in his postgame presser.
“We beat a good football team tonight,” Bohl said. “We have passionate fans. They were on pins and needles because they bleed brown and gold.”
After a decade spent as the head coach at North Dakota State, Bohl took the job at Wyoming in 2014 and has taken the Cowboys to five bowl games in nine seasons. The Cowboys got off to a rocky start under Bohl, going a combined 6–18 in his first two years, but have had winning seasons in six of their last seven.
Bohl got his start coaching in 1981 at his alma mater, Nebraska, as a graduate assistant, before bouncing around the collegiate ranks for roughly two decades as a defensive positional coach. He landed the head coaching job at North Dakota State in 2003, his second stint with the university, previously coaching the defensive backs in 1984.
Being the winningest coach in North Dakota State history with a record of 104-36, Bohl coached during North Dakota State’s move from Division II to Division Ⅰ in 2004 and helped the program to three consecutive FCS championships from 2011-2013. He’s a traditional, run-first coach who, while not leading an especially creative offense, has made Wyoming a solid program that perennially finishes in the upper half of the Mountain West Conference.
Buffalo Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen played under Bohl from from 2015-2017 and was named MVP of the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl before being selected seventh overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Additionally, Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, who led the team in tackles in 2022, played at Wyoming from 2015-2019.
Bohl will look to stifle the explosive offense the Longhorns showed they were capable of against Alabama and try to establish the run against Texas’ dominant front. Steve Sarkisian acknowledged Bohl’s acumen in Monday’s press conference.
“We’ve got a really tough opponent that challenges you in a lot of ways. Coach Bohl is a tremendous coach,” Sarkisian said. “They make things challenging on you because they execute really well on both sides of the ball and especially on special teams. Great challenge, a 2–0 team coming in here confidently.”
The Longhorns will tip off against Wyoming at 7 p.m. on Saturday as Bohl and the Cowboys look to knock off their second ranked opponent this year.
