* A University of Wyoming press release contributed to this report

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboys return to action after the bye week hosting San Diego State on Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. start. It is the first meeting between the two schools since 2019 and the first in Laramie since the 2016 season.

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UW will celebrate Energy Day inside War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

The contest will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Chris Lewis on the call along with Taylor McHargue analyzing the action.

Ticket Information
Fans may order tickets online, via email or by phone at:
• Go to GoWyo.com/tickets
• Email tickets@uwyo.edu
• Call (307) 766-7220
• Stop by the UW Athletics Ticket Office on the West Side of the Arena-Auditorium on the corner of Willett Drive and 19th Street.

First Meeting in a While: Wyoming and SDSU will play for the first time since 2019. It is also the first meeting in Laramie since the two teams played twice in three weeks inside War Memorial Stadium in 2016 with Wyoming taking the first game and San Diego State winning the Mountain West Championship game hosted by the Cowboys.

 

Milestone Win for Sawvel: Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel got his first win with the Pokes against Air Force. It also marked his 200th career win in college football. He recorded 199 career wins as an assistant coach for 29 years with the first win coming against Samford on Sept. 10, 1994 while at Eastern Kentucky.

 

First Win for Sawvel: Head coach Jay Sawvel earned his first win against Air Force. Other notable first wins against Air Force included Paul Roach in 1988 and Craig Bohl earned his first conference win for the Brown and Gold against Air Force in 2014

 

Svoboda Leads Balanced Attack: Quarterback Evan Svoboda led a balanced attack for the Cowboys against Air Force. Wyoming passed for 188 yards and rushed for 173 yards. Svoboda finished his night with a career-high 165 yards passing completing 71 percent of his passes going 15-of-21. He also recorded a career-high 70 yards rushing with a career-best to rushing scores.

 

Great Scott: Running back Sam Scott had a career day for the Brown and Gold against Air Force. He recorded 97 yards on the ground with a career-high 19 carries. He also added his first rushing score of the season and first for a UW running back. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry on the night for the Cowboys.

 

Suiaunoa All Over the Field: Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa had a great day for the Cowboys against Air Force. He recorded a career high 13 tackles and a career-high three tackles for loss. It was the most tackles for the Pokes since Easton Gibbs had 13 against Colorado State in 2013 and the three tackles for loss were the most since Braden Siders had three against Ohio in the 2022 Arizona Bowl. Suiaunoa leads the Pokes with 40 tackles.

 

Florentine Solid in the Middle: Nose tackle Ben Florentine was a force in the middle against Air Force’s option attack. He recorded seven tackles in the game including six in the first half. He has 16 tackles for the season, which is a career-best. Sawvel said this week the junior would miss the SDSU game with an injury.

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Big Day for the Offense: The Cowboys offense recorded a season best 361 yards of total offense and recorded a season-high 31 points including 24 in the second half. Wyoming had over 275 yards in the second frame. UW had 188 yards through the air and 173 on the ground in the win over the Falcons.

 

Cowboys Dominate Second Half: The Cowboy offense recorded 278 yards of total offense in the second half against Air Force. Wyoming also added 24 points for the first 20 or more points in a half since the Nevada game last season with 21 in the second half. UW also held on to the ball for over 22 of the 30 minutes of the frame.

 

A Note on the Youngster: Wide receiver Chris Durr, Jr. recorded a career-high three catches for a career-high 71 yards against Air Force. He had a long of 32 yards in the game and racked up 62 yards after catch in the contest for the Brown and Gold to lead the team.

 

Offensive Line Steps Up: The Cowboys offensive line was without starter Jack Walsh against Air Force. Later in the contest the team lost Wes King. With both veteran guards out, backups Rex Johnsen and Alex Conn stepped in and helped Wyoming’s offense score 24 points in the second half. Johnsen made his first career start for the Cowboys.

 

TK and TD’s: Wide receiver Tyler King found the end zone once again Air Force. He scored on a three-yard rush in the second half for his first rushing touchdown of his career. He added a 100-yard touchdown kick return the previous week for the Cowboys.

 

Chunk Plays: The Pokes recorded a season-high 13 plays of 15 or more yards against Air Force. Wyoming had nine in the second half and six in the third quarter. The Pokes had seven rushing plays of 15 or more and six passing plays. One back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Evan Svoboda found Chris Durr, Jr. for 32 yards and John Michael Gyllenborg for 33 yards. Wyoming had 18 chunk plays for the season heading into the contest with Air Force.

 

Owning The Clock: The Cowboys won the battle in time of possession against Air Force. UW held onto the ball for 31:28 in the game and over 22 minutes in the second half. Wyoming had the ball for over 10 minutes in each quarter in the second half.

Injuries Piling Up: Wyoming will be without three running backs -- Harrison Waylee (knee), Dawaiian McNeely (knee, out for season) and DJ Jones (personal) -- for Saturday's matchup with the Aztecs. Offensive linemen Wes King (knee), Luke Sandy (unknown), Jack Walsh (shoulder) and Nate Geiger (knee) are also on the shelf, along with both starting safeties Isaac White (foot/ ankle) and Wyett Ekeler (thumbs). Nose tackle Ben Florentine (Unknown) is also expected to miss this one. So is edge rusher Tyce Westland (Unknown). Fullback Caleb Driskill (thumb) and cornerback Tyrese Boss (hand) are still unavailable, too.

Who's Playing: The news isn't all bad on the injury front. Despite having a pin surgically placed in his right thumb last week, safety Andrew Johnson is expected to play. So is defensive end DeVonne Harris, who has missed the last four games with an elbow injury. Return man Caleb Cooley (ankle) will also return to action against SDSU.

Who's Playing Where: Ready for some musical chairs? Sam Scott will get the start in the backfield, followed by Jamari Ferrell. If anything happens to those two, enter Jake Wilson, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end. Rex Johnsen will once again fill in for Walsh at right guard and Iowa Western transfer Alex Conn will suit up at left guard, replacing King. Johnson will start at strong safety and nickel Wrook Brown will man the free safety spot. Malique Singleton will step in for Brown in the secondary. His backup is now Caleb Merritt, who came to Wyoming as a three-star receiver before being moved to cornerback. He will now make the permanent move to nickel. Dante Drake, Jayden Williams and Jaden Williams, along with Jordan Bertagnole, will rotate at the defensive tackle spot. Sawvel said he's in hopes that his lineup is more intact by the time the Cowboys host Utah State on Oct. 26.

Beet Wyoming: San Diego State's football team, like its men's hoops team has been known to do, will consume beet juice pills this week in preparation of playing at 7,220 feet above sea level. “We leaned on the knowledge and the wisdom here from going up there in the past,” Sean Lewis this week told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “then, obviously, having lived up there at altitude myself, we had a daily regimen of beet juice when we were at Colorado. We’re going to start implementing that this week, so that our guys are good.” Beets are loaded with nitrates, which are converted by the body into nitric acid, which helps it deliver oxygen to the muscles, the local newspaper added.

Flag On The Play: Only Mountain West foes New Mexico (59) and Nevada (53) have more penalties this fall than SDSU (52). The Aztecs have marched backward to the tune of 489 yards in five games. Wyoming was in this conversation through the first few weeks of the regular season, but has committed just seven total infractions over the last two outings. Sawvel's Cowboys rank 38th in the nation with just 27 flags in five games.

Who's Kicking: SDSU has used two kickers this fall. That duo -- Gabriel Plascencia and Nick Lopez -- have combined to connect on just 4-of-7 attempts. Lopez missed a pair of fourth-quarter attempts from 33-and 28-yard in a one-point loss at Central Michigan. Plascencia earned the job last week against Hawaii, drilling both attempts, including one from 43 yards out. He was also a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points.

Louis Brown IV is Back: The former Colorado State wideout is already making a big difference in sunny southern California, hauling in 21 balls for 349 yards and a pair of touchdowns. During Brown's time in Fort Collins, he faced the Cowboys twice. Both losses. He did snag five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, though, in Laramie last November.

About SDSU: The Aztecs (2-3 overall, 1-0 Mountain West) opened conference play with a 27-24 home victory over Hawaii last Saturday night. Marquez Cooper ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns to help SDSU bounce back from a last-second 22-21 loss at Central Michigan the previous week.

Cooper has three 100-yard rushing games this season and 20 for his career.

SDSU freshman quarterback Danny O’Neil, who passed for 224 yards and a touchdown against Hawaii, is completing 62.8% of his passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Aztecs rank 113th in the FBS in scoring (20.6 points per game) and total yards (322 yards per game).

"They're really good at what they do and (SDSU head coach Sean Lewis) is really good at what he does," Sawvel said. "You know, they stress you in a lot of different ways, with not only the tempo, but they execute at a really high level. You know, they mix in enough, (run-pass option) game, screens and all that other stuff, to keep you from loading the box on the running back like they have. So, there's a challenge in it."

Defensively, Trey White has been dominant with three sacks and four tackles for loss in each of the last two games. White is averaging 1.8 sacks through five games which is on pace to the NCAA record held by former Arizona State star Terrell Suggs, who averaged 1.71 sacks in 2002 (24 sacks in 14 games).

Both O'Neil and White earned Mountain West Weekly honors for their performance against Hawaii.

The all-time series between Wyoming and SDSU is tied 19-19 with the Aztecs winning the last two meetings: 26-22 in 2019 and 27-24 in the 2016 Mountain West championship game. The Cowboys won the regular season meeting in 2016, 34-33, at War Memorial Stadium.

This is likely the last matchup between the programs in Laramie for the foreseeable future with SDSU announcing it will join the Pac-12 before the 2026 season.

Does that move add any extra motivation?

"I mean, it's not like we're going to secretly sit in our room in here and have some crusade against the people that that left," Sawvel joked. "I mean, look, we just need to try to win a game. I'm looking at it like we have to do everything we can to try to win this game, this week, in the condition we're in."

That's a no.

Meet the Aztecs:

Head coach: Sean Lewis (1st year) 2-3 overall record, 1-0 in Mountain West play

Offensive coordinator: Sean Lewis (1st season); Offensive analyst: Ryan Lindley (3rd season); Defensive coordinator: Eric Schmidt (1st season)

Record in 2023: 4-8 overall, 2-6 in Mountain West Conference

Offense in 2024: Average 20.6 ppg, 322 ypg (130.6 rush, 191.4 pass)

Defense in 2024: Allow 22.4 ppg, 376.2 ypg (162.6 rush, 213.6 pass)

Key Players - Offense: Danny O'Neil (QB - 71-113, 791 yds, 5 TD; 23 rush, 16 yds), Marquez Cooper (RB - 126 rush, 583 yds, 5 TD; 10 catch, 58 yds), Jaylon Armstead (RB - 13 rush, 42 yds), Louis Brown (WR - 21 catch, 349 yds, 2 TD), Jordan Napier (WR - 10 catch, 134 yds, 2 TD), Ja'Shaun Poke (WR - 16 catch, 130 yds), Jude Wolfe (TE - 11 catch, 95 yds, 2 TD)

Key Players - Defense: JD Coffey III (S - 29 tackles, PBU, INT, TD), Trey White (LB - 28 tackles, 9 sacks, PBU, FF), Tano Letuli (LB - 24 tackles, sack, INT, FR, TD), Chris Johnson (CB - 22 tackles, 2 PBU, 3 FF), Eric Butler (S - 21 tackles, 2 PBU), Marlem Louis (Edge - 9 tackles, 3.5 sacks)

Injured/ questionable: Brayden Bryant (Center), Kenan Christon (Running back), Joe Borjon (Left tackle), Owen Chambliss (linebacker)

University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

The rules are simple: What was the player's impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.

This isn't a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220's Cody Tucker are Robert GagliardiJared NewlandRyan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.

We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS -- only we hope this catalog is fairer.

Don't agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports - #Top50UWFB

Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

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