Pokes Headed to ‘Mitten’ For Saturday Afternoon Showdown

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboys hit the road for the second time this season with a trip Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas. The contest is slated for a 11 a.m. Mountain Time start and will be the first meeting between the two schools since the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2017.

Get our free mobile app

You might remember that one. It ended with the words: "I will be declaring for the NFL Draft."

Stream on ESPN-Plus
The contest will be streamed on the WatchESPN App and ESPN+. Doug Sherman will be on the call with Marcus Ray analyzing the action.,

Listen Live
The game will also be available on the 26 stations of The Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call, Kevin McKinney on color and Erick Pauley on the sidelines.

Football Hour with Jay Sawvel on Wednesday.
The second episode of this year's Football Hour with Jay Sawvel will be live on Wednesday, Sept. 9 on Cowboy Sports Network affiliate stations, beginning at 7 p.m. MT. The show will run each Wednesday throughout the season.

The show will be hosted by the Voice of the Cowboys Keith Kelley. Kelley and Sawvel will preview Wyoming's contest at Central Michigan. The show will also feature a Cowboy player and staff member.

Cowboy fans are also encouraged to attend the show live at Altitude Chophouse and Brewery located at 320 South Second Street in historic downtown Laramie.

Wyoming Notes
Strong Defensive Finish: The Wyoming Cowboy defensive finished the final 12 minutes in impressive fashion. The Pokes held Northern Colorado without any points in the final 12:30 forcing a punt with the Bears having the ball on the UW 32-yard line. In total, the defense allowed only three yards in the final frame of the contest with four yards passing by the bears and -1 rushing yards. The Pokes also recorded an interception in the final 12 minutes, forcing two punts, as well. "What the change really was, we put it on the front," defensive tackle Ja'Quan Redfern said. "Let's put it in our hands."

Holman in the Backfield: Running back Markell Holman had a solid game in his first contest inside War Memorial Stadium. He led the team with 80 rushing yards on 11 carries. He also added a team-high five receptions in the contest for 27 yards. He had 107 total yards on 16 touches in the contest. He is second on the team with 94 rushing yards this season. "It's the expectation," Holman said. "You know, I go in there with the mindset of, we're going to have a big game, every game, no matter who the opponent is. So, I have that chill and poise to me, but sometimes I do look back after the game, like, yo, I can't believe I made that play right there. That was crazy." On just 12 rushing attempts, the Philadelphia native has five explosive runs, meaning more than 10 yards.

Coenen with a Touchdown Snag: Wide receiver Charlie Coenen recorded his second career touchdown reception against Northern Colorado. It proved to be the game winner, as it was a 15-yard catch for the score. He had a career-high three receptions for 34 yard in the game. He is tied for the team lead with five receptions this season. He also added a touchdown last season in the win over San Jose State. "I thought Charlie ran a tremendous route, coming out the backfield," quarterback Tyler Hughes said. "He made a great catch over the shoulder. I mean, that's not a routine catch. That was very good by him."

Frendt Adds First Career Score: Tight end Kyle Frendt recorded his first career touchdown reception in the win over Northern Colorado. His diving catch in the end zone from 18 yards was also the longest reception of his young career in the Brown and Gold.

Stuhlsatz and Tackles: Linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz recorded 11 tackles to lead the team against Northern Colorado. He has recorded double-digit tackles in back-to-back games this season and has three in his career. He recorded seven tackles in the first half and opened the season with seven or more tackles in each of the first three halves of the season. He has 26 tackles on the season and his 13 per game leads the MW and ranks second nationally. The Wichita native suffered an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter. Sawvel said he could miss a day of practice this week, but he expects the middle linebacker to be in the lineup at CMU.

Thomas with the Picks: Safety Jones Thomas recorded a pair of interceptions for the Pokes against Northern Colorado. It was a career-high for Thomas, as he has an interception in two of the last three games dating back to last season. He had one in the contest at Hawaii to close the season. It was the most interceptions in a game since Andrew Wingard recorded two interceptions in a contest against New Mexico on Oct. 28, 2017. Thomas ranks first in the MW in interceptions per game which also ranks fifth in the nation.

Dunkley Adds Another Career Sack: Defensive end Jack Dunkley added a sack in a key situation late for the Pokes in the win over Northern Colorado. He has 15.5 sacks in his collegiate career and now has 26.5 tackles for loss in his career. He is tied for the team lead with Esaia Bogar in tackles for loss with 2.5 on the season, which ranks tied for second in the MW.

Bogar in the Backfield: Bogar recorded a sack in the game over Northern Colorado. It was his first of the season and the second of his career. He is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with 2.5 along with Dunkley. His tackles for loss with 2.5 on the season ranks tied for second in the MW. "He's our best defensive player through two games," Sawvel said of Bogar. "He's got the stats, for one, but also just the effort level, the way he plays and the motor: he's very impactful -- very, very impactful."

Perez Steps Up: Redshirt freshman linebacker Steven Perez had a strong game against Northern Colorado. He recorded a career-high six tackles in the contest and also added 1.5 tackles for loss, which was a career-high and added the first half sack of his career. The California product was inserted into the lineup for Gary Rutherford, who Sawvel said was playing "slow" last Saturday. "You can't really think of much, it's time to play now," Perez said of his mindset when he got the nod. "When you're on the football field, nothing's going to happen when you overthink. You just have to go play. You have to play fast."

Edmiston in National Rankings: Punter Bart Edmiston enters the week ranking first in the MW and second nationally, recording 49.4 yards per punt on the season. He was a Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List nominee.

The Offense in the Final 12 Minutes: The Cowboy offense came alive in the final 12 minutes of the contest against UNC. The offense recorded a pair of scores with 135 yards of total offense. UW had a truly balanced offense had 68 yards passing along with 67 yards rushing. Hughes was 8-of-10 passing with two scores in the final 15 minutes of the contest. He also rushed for 26 yards in the final frame, as Holman had 37 rushing yards to lead the team in the frame. "It really comes back to playing with the force and intent that we did the last 12 minutes of the game. Really, the whole football team," Sawvel added. "We found a level of urgency that we have to have all the time."

Against The MAC: The Cowboys are 13-6 all-time against teams from the Mid American Conference. Since 1996 when the Wyoming Cowboys first played a Mid American Conference team in Western Michigan. UW is 5-3 against MAC foes in Laramie, 5-2 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites. Wyoming fell in overtime against Ohio in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl 30-27 in 2022, but won 15-14 against Toledo in the same game the following season. Wyoming defeated Akron 10-0 last season in the season opener.

Last Contest Against CMU: The Cowboys were clicking on all cylinders in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22, 2017 with UW forcing a school record eight turnovers. Josh Allen was named the Most Valuable Player tossing three first quarter touchdowns. The Pokes finished the game as the national leaders in turnovers this season with 38 passing Central Michigan, who lead the nation heading into the contest. The eight turnovers was a Famous Idaho Potato Bowl record. Along with the eight turnovers, UW set a season-high with five sacks, as UW won the game 37-14.

About Central Michigan
Central Michigan heads into the contest with a 1-1 record after defeating Colgate 13-10 at home last Saturday. The Chippewas dropped their season opener at New Mexico 38-7 on Sept. 5.

Central Michigan is averaging 212.5 yards of total offense per game on the season rushing for 159.5 yards per game and rushing for 159.5 yards per contest. CMU allows 291.5 yards of total offense with teams rushing for 150 yards per game and rushing for 141.5 yards per game.

The CMU offense is paced by quarterback Angel Flores with 149 rushing yards on the season and one touchdown. He has a long rush of 50 yards. He has completed 10 passes on 19 attempts, passing for 71 yards on the season. Vaughn Blue has 52 rushing yards on the season to rank second on the team.

Central Michigan is led defensively by linebacker Xavier White with 17 total tackles on the season. Mayson Hitchens has 15 tackles on the season along with an interception. Safety Darrell Bryant Jr. has added 13 tackles and also has an interception on the season along with a forced fumble.

"I think their whole defense is pretty solid," Sawvel said. "... The linebackers, in particular, are very active. I think they've got a couple edge players that are disruptive, as well. In the secondary, they're going to challenge you. They're not sitting back in soft zones and stuff like that."

* A UW press release contributed to this article

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS.COM:

* Behind the Numbers: Turnovers Continue to Plague Pokes

* Making the Grade: Hughes 'Steps Up' Late in 21-13 Win

* Cowboys Rally For 21-13 Victory Over Northern Colorado

* Rants and Raves: Northern Colorado Edition

* FINAL LIVE FILE: Wyoming 21, UNC 13

* Gear Up For Game Day: UNC Bears

* Wyoming Couldn't Take Bogar Off The Field During Career Outing

* Panozzo Confident Despite 'Welcome to College Football' Moment

* Wyoming Football Lands On-Field Corporate Logos

* Jayden Williams Issues Apology For Altercations With CSU Fans

* PODCAST: Can't Let Border War Hangover Linger

* Know Wyoming's Foe: UNC Bears

* Bohl Says He Got 'Overzealous' With Fourth-Quarter Blitz