Craig Bohl on UW’s Passing Game: ‘The Needle Needs to Move’

LAS VEGAS -- The question remains.

Unfortunately, so does the answer.

Craig Bohl was asked by a reporter at Mountain West Media Days about his team's "offensive woes and lack of a passing game." The query: what has this staff done to fix it?

It's been asked before. It's warranted.

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This was framed as a question from a fan. I'm sure it was. He also threw in a dig, saying Wyoming is the "G5 equivalent of Iowa."

That's not too far off, either.

"Whoever this fellow is ... I can appreciate the fans," UW's veteran head coach joked from the podium in Las Vegas. "There's no doubt we need to improve. There are many things that go into that."

Bohl talked about needing better quarterback play, distributing the ball to certain receivers and solid protection up front. The next line might sound familiar.

"To say that we're going to go in and radically change and all of a sudden you're going to see us play with four wide receivers and an empty backfield, that's not going to be accurate," he said. "But the needle needs to move."

Is anyone really clamoring for that?

This, on the other hand.

"Tim (Polasek) and I have had some really candid conversations," Bohl continued, referring to his third-year offensive coordinator. "We've done a deep dive and I'm confident that we're going to improve in that area, but we're going to be balanced between running and passing."

The Cowboys' offensive attack has been anything but balanced since Bohl arrived on campus in 2014. Here's the play-calling splits in that timeframe.

2014: 375 pass, 448 rush

2015: 308 pass, 478 rush

2016: 379 pass, 628 rush

2017: 348 pass, 446 rush

2018: 276 pass, 495 rush

2019: 256 pass, 575 rush

2020: 134 pass, 275 rush

2021: 297 pass, 543 rush

2022: 304 pass, 479 rush

The real issue lies within this number: 52.8.

That's the combined completion percentage of Bohl's quarterbacks, the best mark coming in 2015 when Cam Coffman hit better than 63% of his throws. The low point came in 2019 (not counting the 46.3 completion percentage during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign) when Sean Chambers, Levi Williams and Tyler Vander Waal combined to complete just 120-of-255 throws for 1,770 yards in 13 games.

Need a visual?

2014: 56.5%

2015: 59.4%

2016: 55.4%

2017: 56%

2018: 48.9%

2019: 46.9%

2020: 46.3%

2021: 54.5%

2022: 51.3%

Andrew Peasley connected on 52.4% (144-of-275) of his passes during his first season under center in Laramie. The Utah State transfer tossed 10 touchdowns and added nine interceptions.

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When he was on, he was on.

During a three-game stretch last September, Peasley completed nearly 70% of his throws in victories over Tulsa, Northern Colorado and Air Force. The 6-foot-2, 213-pound Oregon product also tacked on three touchdown passes and just a single pick. Aside from that one mistake against the Falcons, Peasley finished 18-of-23 for 162 yards in that 17-14 upset. That's a completion percentage of 78.3.

When it was bad, it was bad.

Peasley's debut was a forgettable one, connecting on just 5-of-20 throws for 30 yards and an interception in the season opener at Illinois. Three other times during the season he failed to crack the 100-yard mark through the air. He was picked off six times over his last four starts.

"First of all, for him to have a better understanding of our offense and decision making. Not that he was off the mark a great deal, but he needs to improve," Bohl said when asked what Peasley needs to accomplish in 2023. "... He has had a good spring. He's picked up some good weight. He's more comfortable leading our offense and I think he's poised to have a great year."

So does the man himself.

Peasley said he has ditched the bulky black brace that engulfed his right leg a season ago. He feels more mobile, free and faster. He wants to run more zone-reads and maneuver around the pocket with added efficiency.

Trust will be another factor, Peasley said. In baseball terms, he feels more confident "shaking off" his coaches if he isn't comfortable with the play.

Adding experienced outside weapons in Ayir Asante (Holy Cross) and Devin Boddie Jr. (Vanderbilt) should help, too. Gunner Gentry is also back on the practice field after suffering consecutive season-ending knee injuries.

"I think I just need to make better decisions," he said. "And I think coach Bohl and coach Polasek trust me more. So, you know, we'll see how it goes. I know we have some game plan stuff that's really good. I can't really get into that, but I think all around it'll be a lot better. Obviously, we were known for our running and that's what has won us a lot of games. So I'm not going to sit here and say, 'I wish we'd pass the ball more,' because I just want to win. That's what I'm focused on and that's what our team is focused on."

About that comparison with the Hawkeyes.

Scoring offense: UW 21.2 ppg; Iowa 17.7

Passing offense: UW 132.2 ypg; Iowa 156.7

Completion percentage: UW .513; Iowa .550

First Downs: UW 208: 112 rush, 81 pass, 15 penalty; Iowa 180: 72, 94, 14

Third-down conversions: UW .349; Iowa .278

Those numbers rank both teams in the 100's out of 131 FBS teams. Not ideal. Before Polasek's arrival in Laramie before the '21 season, he ironically served as the offensive line coach in Iowa City from 2017-20.

"We certainly have to improve our explosiveness on offense, whether it'd be big plays or just competency with more touchdowns," Bohl said. "Now, we don't need urban renewal, but we've got to improve there. So, between improving some on defense, getting the ball more and scoring some more points -- and I think our league is fairly balanced -- we're not that far away, yet we were somewhat away last year.

"So, you know, we're striving to win the conference championship."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players