Pokes, ‘Bows Set to Hook Up Saturday For 30th Time

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboys open the Mountain West schedule on Saturday hosting Hawai’i inside War Memorial Stadium on Homecoming at the University of Wyoming.

The contest will be a Gold Out, as it is slated for 1 p.m. kick on The CW.

Gold Out
The Gold Out will take place on Saturday afternoon as fans are encouraged to wear gold to the contest against the Rainbow Warriors.

Ticket Information for This Season
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.

Contest on The CW
Saturday’s contest will be televised on The CW with Chris Fisher on the call with Cody Kessler analyzing the action along with Marshall Newhouse on the sidelines. Fans can also stream the contest on the WatchESPN App.

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.

Wyoming Notes
Saturday’s meeting between the Wyoming Cowboys and Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors will be the 30th in history between the old rivals: Wyoming leads the overall series 17-12 and also leads in games played between the two teams since both have been members of the Mountain West Conference.

The Cowboys lead the MW series 5-4. In the previous 13 games played in Laramie, the Pokes hold an 9-4 advantage.

The Cowboys and Rainbow Warriors will be competing for the Paniolo Trophy for the 28th time. Wyoming and Hawai’i first played each other in football back on Nov. 18, 1978, with Hawai’i winning that first meeting in Honolulu by a score of 27-22. The Paniolo Trophy has been a part of the series since 1979.

In the second year of the series, a group of Hawai’ian residents, with roots in Wyoming, donated a statuette of a Cowboy preparing to toss a lariat. At the time the traveling trophy was introduced to the rivalry both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference, as Hawai’i joined the WAC in 1979. Wyoming leads the Paniolo Trophy portion of the series with 17 wins to Hawai’i’s 10 victories. The traveling trophy was named the Paniolo Trophy as Paniolo is the Hawai’ian word for Cowboy.

When Hawai’i was invited to join the Mountain West Conference, beginning in 2012, the two schools began discussion of a renewal of the Paniolo Trophy competition. But over that 15-year timespan the Paniolo Trophy was lost, which became a story in itself. Each school searched for it, but it was not to be found.

Enter a new group of Hawai’i fans to continue the tradition. The Paniolo Preservation Society, a group dedicated to preserving Hawai’i’s rich Cowboy heritage, proposed a new trophy. Led by the Society’s President, Mrs. Patricia C. Bergin, a bronze maquette, featuring Hawai’ian native Ikua Purdy roping a wild stag bull, was donated to the two schools in 2013 to mark renewal of the series.

Purdy became the first Hawaiian inducted into the National Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1999. The bronze is a reproduction of a larger work by noted western sculptor Fred Fellows. The reproduction measures approximately 20” long and 12” high.

Conference Openers: The 2026 season marks the 28th season of the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming is 14-13 in Mountain West openers. UW is 10-7 when opening MW play at home and is 4-6 when opening on the road.
Homecoming All-Time: This week’s game versus Hawai’i will mark the 101st Homecoming game in University of Wyoming history.

UW’s Overall Record in Homecoming Games: 50-47-3
UW’s Homecoming Record in War Memorial: 45-28-2

Frendt Has Career Day: Wyoming tight end Kyle Frendt had a career day for the Pokes at Central Michigan. He recorded four catches for the Cowboys for 95 yards, which were both career highs for the sophomore. He also grabbed a 39-yard reception in the contest, which was a career long catch. He is second on the team with seven catches for 128 yards and he adds 18.3 yards per catch for the season, which ranks second in the MW this season. He could've had an even bigger day if Hughes spotted him all by himself over the middle in the second half. "There's not much I can do, you know? I just do my job," he said postgame. "So, if the ball comes me or it doesn't, I just do my job. All of our job is to get open, right? If it's a pass play, we're all supposed to get open, so that's all I can do."

Rutherford Racks Up Stops: Linebacker Gary Rutherford recorded a career-high 13 tackles for the Cowboys at Central Michigan. It marked the third-straight game a Poke linebacker had 10 or more tackles in a game. He leads the team this season with 27 tackles for nine per game, which ranks fourth in the MW and No. 21 in the nation. "It was just like, just play. Just have fun. Just stop thinking and play how you have normally been playing," Rutherford said on Monday. "That's what it really was when we went down to Central Michigan."

Bauman in Double-Digits in First Career Start: Linebacker Dash Bauman recorded a career-high 12 tackles for the Cowboys at Central Michigan. He recorded nine of those stops in the first half of the game. He also added a tackle for loss in the contest for the first of his career. He earned his first career start, as UW’s leading tackler on the season linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz was out with an injury. "I feel like right now we're in a situation where we know we can play good ball. We've seen it. We've seen it in the fourth quarters," Bauman said postgame. "We've seen that we can be a good football team and move the ball and stop the ball. Now it's just the fact that we got to do it for four quarters."

Stuhlsatz Back?: Sawvel admitted last Saturday evening he "lied" to the media about the availability of starting middle linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz. Doctors and trainers told him it didn't look promising after he suffered an ankle injury late in a home win over Northern Colorado. He spent last week in a walking boot. The Wichita native did make the trip to Mount Pleasant and took part in warmups. That's when it was determined he couldn't play. That could change this Saturday against Hawaii, Sawvel said. Stuhlsatz's status is to be determined.

Two? Only Two?: Central Michigan ran the ball and eye-popping 59 times last Saturday for 339 yards. That's the most rushing yards a Wyoming defense has given up since 2023 against conference-rival Air Force. Despite a run-heavy attack, the Cowboys managed just two tackles for loss. There should've been more. Way more. Nine missed tackles, Sawvel said, played a major role in the setback at soggy CMU.

Drake and Williams Add Stops: Wyoming defensive tackles Dante Drake and Jayden Williams had career days for the Cowboys at Central Michigan. Each added a career-high seven tackles in the contest for the Brown and Gold.

Hughes on the Ground: Quarterback Tyler Hughes led the Cowboys in rushing at Central Michigan. He recorded 78 yards in the contest, which is a career high in the Brown and Gold. He added 7.8 yards per rush in the contest and also added a game long rush of 21 yards. He leads the team in rushing this season with 156 rushing yards, as he rushes for 52 yards per game.

In the Fourth Quarter: The Cowboys recorded 145 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter against Central Michigan, as UW finished the game with a season-high 342 yards of total offense. In fact, the Cowboys have recorded 280 yards of total offense in the final quarter over the last two contests. That marks 45 percent of the Cowboys yards in the last two games in just those two quarters.

Wilson Adds to Offense in Different Ways: Tight end Jake Wilson has become a versatile piece of the Cowboy offense this season. He leads the team with nine receptions for 117 yards. He had four catches for 31 yards at Central Michigan and also added a rush for 20 yards in the contest.

Holman finds the End Zone: Running back Markell Holman found the end zone for the Cowboys at Central Michigan. It was his first touchdown of the season and marked the 14th of his collegiate career. He has rushed for 132 yards on the season and leads the team with 6.3 yards per rush on the year.

Third Downs: The Cowboys were 6-of-13 on third down at Central Michigan and are 33 percent on third down this season. In the last two games the Pokes are 11 of 25 on third down for 44 percent. The Pokes opened the season going 0-of-8 on third down at Colorado State. Three of those conversions came in the fourth quarter.

Injury Bug: Sawvel announced Monday that starting center Jason Maciejczak will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The junior transferred to Laramie from Nebraska in the offseason. Chandler Donaway will slide into the middle of the Cowboys' offensive line.

Give Them a Hand: Hand injuries will also shutdown cornerbacks Tyson Shamsid-Deen and Kendall Griffin for an extended period of time. Both will undergo procedures. very big losses, you know. "They are both very talented people," fellow defensive back Therman "Boogie" Williams said on Monday. "So it's not only a big thing on me to make sure that I step up, but the other guys in the room. We all have to step up."

Turnovers, anyone?: Wyoming gave away the ball twice last Saturday, bringing the grand total of turnovers to eight. Hughes is responsible for seven of those. He tossed two interceptions in Mount Pleasant, bringing his season total in that category to five. He only threw three all of last season at William and Mary. "No," first-year play-caller Christian Taylor said when asked if he has pondered going to the bullpen. "He is the guy ... no doubt about it. I haven't even thought about that."

About Hawai’i
Hawai’i enters the contest after a bye week with a 1-2 overall record following a 29-19 home win over New Mexico State in its last outing. The Rainbow Warriors are 0-1 in Mountain West play after losing 21-6 to UNLV on Sept. 5.

Hawai’i is led offensively by the MW Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, sophomore quarterback Micah Alejado. Alejado has thrown for 794 yards including two touchdowns and an interception so far this season. Sophomore running back DeVon Rice leads Hawai’i’s rushing attack, as he has poured in 167 yards and three touchdowns on 42 rushing attempts.

As a team, the Rainbow Warrios are averaging 346.3 yards of total offense per game and 20.67 points per outing.

"I think they're a good team," freshman cornerback Therman "Boogie" Williams said. "It is basically the opposite from last week, so, you know, a different game plan and a different mindset going into the game. But for me, man, I'm ready for it. I think it's gonna be a good opportunity, a good challenge, and you know, I'm up to that challenge."

Defensively, Hawai’i is allowing opponents to score an average of 25.67 points per outing while giving up 404 yards of total offense per game. The Rainbow Warriors are led on that side of the ball by junior defensive back Kona Moore, who has recorded 30 tackles so far this season, including 19 solo stops and 11 assisted.

Football Hour with Jay Sawvel Starts on Wednesday
The fourth episode of this year's Football Hour with Jay Sawvel will be live on Wednesday, Sept. 23 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 season opener at Colorado State. 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.

* A UW press release contributed to this report

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Wyoming OC on Tyler Hughes: 'He's The Guy ... No Doubt About It'

* Hawaii Notebook: About Those UW Receivers

* Wyoming Loses Starting Center for Season With Injury

* Behind the Numbers: Missed Tackles Mount in Mitten

* Making the Grade: What's Up With Wyoming's Wideouts?

* Pokes Gashed on Ground in 24-10 Setback at CMU

* Turning Point, Unsung Hero and What's Next for UW Football

* Rants and Raves: CMU Chippewas Edition

* FINAL LIVE FILE: Central Michigan 24, Wyoming 10

* Wyoming Wideout Injured After Being Struck by Vehicle

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players