Best thing about UW football is its youth

The last time the University of Wyoming football program had as much positive energy surrounding it as it does today, "Independence Day" – the first one – was the top movie, the Macarena was something we hadn't started making fun of yet, and the 1996 Cowboys were in the midst of a 10-1 season.

Joe Tiller was the coach of that team before heading for Purdue when it was over.

Tiller, despite the acrimonious ending in Laramie, had such a soft spot for the Cowboy State that he settled in the northwest part of the state upon retiring from coaching.

Talking with the former Cowboys coach last week about Wyoming's return to a conference championship game for the first time since 1996, he had nothing but glowing things to say about current coach Craig Bohl, the team and the direction of the program.

He did, however, offer up that his team in 1996 would probably beat the 2016 Cowboys head-to-head.

That's what the old guard does, right? Everything gets better with age.

But here's the truth:

The 1996 team was a better team than this year's squad. They had All-Western Athletic Conference picks running all over the field, and most of them were seniors who helped build the Pokes into a Top 25 program.

This year's team also has a senior group to be remembered in the likes of center Chase Roullier, wide receiver Tanner Gentry, linebackers Lucas Wacha and D.J. May and nose tackle Chase Appleby.

But maybe the most tantalizing thing about Wyoming's resurgence in football this fall is that most of the team will be back for more in 2017.

Wyoming's opening-night starting 22 had 15 underclassmen and seven seniors listed.

The breakdown shows even more how young the Cowboys were this season, with nine sophomores starting, along with two true freshmen and four juniors.

Will the senior class be hard to replace? Absolutely.

Wyoming will need to find a whole new receiving group with Gentry, receiver Jake Maulhardt and tight end Jacob Hollister leaving. That's 132 receptions and 23 touchdowns out of the team's total this year of 193 and 27 not coming back.

The middle of the UW defense also takes a big hit with Wacha and May moving on.

And Wyoming will again need to find a center after Roullier moved there at the beginning of the season. All the Savage, Minnesota, product did was produce an all-conference season.

But is there anyone who doesn't believe that Bohl and his coaching staff won't continue to show they not only know how to recognize talent, but are able to develop that talent as well?

The biggest question – and biggest cause of consternation for all connected with Wyoming football – over the next few weeks will be what Brian Hill decides.

Hill, who has clearly established himself as one of the top running backs in the country, will have until Jan. 16 to decide if he will enter the NFL Draft early.

If Hill does leave, that could leave an awfully big hole in the UW backfield. Wyoming's running backs totaled 410 carries this season, with Hill and senior Shaun Wick handling all but 11 of them.

Even if Hill leaves, there's no doubt the excitement for Wyoming football in 2017 will be as big as it's ever been come next summer.

A win against BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl would only escalate the expectations and euphoria.

The 2017 season begins with a road game in Big Ten country at Iowa, and also includes a trip to Laramie by the Oregon Ducks.

It takes a veteran team to handle those types of games, plus all of the expectations likely to be heaped upon the team over the summer and early fall.

The 1996 team handled those expectations and produced one of the best regular seasons in UW history.

Maybe the best thing about what happened this season is most of the central figures in Wyoming's resurgence will have a birthday between now and then.

The freshmen will all become sophomores, the sophomores become juniors, and so on.

Most of those who helped get Wyoming football back to respectability return.

That didn't happen in 1996.

Maybe that makes this year's Cowboys the better team after all.