Can Wyoming, UTEP Actually Be Considered Rivals?

LAS VEGAS, Nev., -- Can Wyoming and UTEP really be considered a rivalry?

That's how the latter is viewing it as they enter their inaugural season in the Mountain West Conference.

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"!00%, yeah," UTEP's junior linebacker Jayden Wilson said Wednesday during conference media days in Las Vegas. "New Mexico and Wyoming, I think those are big games for us when it comes to a rivalry perspective. I know our fans are excited for that. I know it's going to be a fun time.

"... It's going to be a fun environment."

These two programs, who were league partners in the old Western Athletic Conference from 1968 to 1998, have met on the football field 33 times. The Cowboys hold a lopsided 26-6-1 advantage in the series, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. The one blemish was a 28-28 tie inside War Memorial Stadium.

The Miners claimed three straight victories from 1970-72 and haven't knocked off Wyoming since 1984. UTEP snapped a seven-game losing skid that November day at El Paso's famed Sun Bowl, aided by two late fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Jay Novacek and Co. overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit to take a one-point lead lead thanks to a Gerald Abraham score.

Wyoming has had a few memorable wins in the all-time series, including a 23-21 victory over the Miners in front of more than 19,000 fans in Melbourne, Australia. Tickets for the 1985 international event cost $10. That capped a 3-8 season, Al Kincaid's last as the head coach in Laramie.

Two seasons later, first-year boss Paul Roach was hoisted on the shoulders of his players and led off the playing surface inside the Sun Bowl after a 37-13 win that clinched an outright WAC Championship for the visitors.

Fast forward to the following November.

The field-goal posts on the high plains didn't stand a chance -- neither did Mitch Donahue's back -- after the Cowboys clinched their second consecutive league title with a 51-6 rout over the Miners. Wyoming's All-American defensive end did a backflip at midfield after the final whistle.

Wilson said local fans in the dusty west Texas town, especially the older generation, speak often about battles with the Cowboys. The excitement level of welcoming old friends to town hasn't been lost on the players. Coaches are embracing it, too.

"Our motto is new league, old rivalries," he added. "We made it a point. It's going to be fun."

Kam Thomas wasn't supposed to be part of this move.

The senior running back suffered a season-ending injury, giving the running back another year of eligibility.

"We're going to treat that game like any other game, but at the same time, it means a little bit more," the Alabama native said. "I think on that game week, it's probably going to hit us like, all right, this is rivalry week. They're probably doing the same thing."

Wyoming will face its oldest nemesis, Colorado State, in the season opener Sept. 5 in Fort Collins despite the Rams' move to the reimagined Pac-12. The two schools jointly announced the annual Border War will take place from 2028-35.

There is currently no game scheduled for '27.

The Cowboys will also hang on to meetings with conference foes like Air Force, New Mexico and others.

"When that game time comes, you know, it's going to be a little bit chippy. That's the point. That's part. That's part of the game that you love," Thomas continued. "The air is going to be a little bit different since it's rivalry week."

The Cowboys and Miners are scheduled to meet Nov. 14 in El Paso.

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