MWC football: Pokes look to build on success

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a nine-part series previewing each football team in the MWC.

Wyoming's first season under head coach Dave Christensen will go down as a success. The Cowboys went 7-6 overall, capping the year with a 35-28 double-overtime victory over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.

It wasn't enough, though, to satisfy the Pokes. Those who hang their hats in Laramie want more.

"We're working on it," said senior free safety Chris Prosinski. "As a program, we took a step last year, but we're definitely not at the place we want to be."

The Cowboys want to roam among the Mountain West Conference elite. To do so, Prosinski said, they "just have to keep doing what they're doing and stay focused."

Christensen and his staff certainly have the team's attention after guiding the program to its first winning season and bowl victory since 2004.

Prosinski credits the coaches for helping the players believe in themselves and in the schemes and responsibilities placed in front of them.

"I think it's just the mindset of the team," he explained. "I think Coach 'C' did a great job of just putting confidence in us, believing in us and showing that he believed that if we go out and do what he's saying, we can go out and win games.

"I'm not sure if we had that in years past," he added.

Prior to last season's breakthrough, Wyoming was just 19-28 overall since defeating UCLA in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl. The struggles led to Joe Glenn's ouster and the hiring of Christensen.

The latter, Prosinski said, altered the mindset and attitude of the team. In the midst of last season's 30-27 win over UNLV in the fourth week, he and his teammates remembered how enjoyable it felt to be competing again — and, even better, prevailing.

The victory over the Rebels ushered in a three-game run of success that lifted the Cowboys to a 4-2 midseason mark. Losses, which included a 41-10 setback to second-ranked Texas in Laramie on Sept. 12, grew down the stretch with Air Force, Utah, BYU and TCU on the schedule.

It didn't, however, put Wyoming in a complete spiral. The Cowboys closed out the season with wins over rival Colorado State and Fresno State. The modest two-game streak is the MWC's second-longest active run entering 2010.

Continued progress is anticipated when sophomore quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels (1,953 passing yards in 2009) and tackle leader Prosinski (67 stops) lead Wyoming into its season-opener against Southern Utah on Sept. 4.