Meet Your Insider
Yep. I'm Colter Sprague, Wyoming insider at The Cover Window. Grew up on a cattle ranch outside Laramie. I scout in a Carhartt and chart wind gusts. I travel and live with this team.
On the show, I count my words. Record's 31. My editor says a report needs more than 31. So this one's going to hurt a little. I'll make every word count.
Rules I ride by. Every number has a source. If I don't know, I say so. No tall tales. I respect every opponent, I celebrate our players as good young men, and I thank the Lord for big sky and Friday football. Good team.
The School in 60 Seconds
Wyoming plays in the Mountain West and has won 14 conference titles. Home is War Memorial Stadium in Laramie. CFBD lists it as built in 1950 with 29,181 seats, at an elevation of about 2,200 meters. Thin air. Visitors notice.
Wyoming's known as a stepping-stone job. Bowden Wyatt, Bob Devaney, Fred Akers, Pat Dye, Dennis Erickson and Joe Tiller all coached here right before they made their names at bigger programs. Good coaches come through Laramie. Some of us stay.
Last five seasons: 7-6, 7-6, 9-4, 3-9, 4-8. This year's 4-3 already matches last year's win total. Fight song's "Ragtime Cowboy Joe," per Wikipedia's infobox. I hum it while I fix fence.
The Coach and the Scheme
Jay Sawvel runs the outfit. Wikipedia says he's been head coach since 2024, and CFBD records his hire date as Dec. 6, 2023. Before that he was Wyoming's defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2020 to 2023. He played at Mount Union from 1989 to 1993. He's also coached at Wake Forest, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Ferris State, Notre Dame and Eastern Kentucky. Lot of miles on that truck.
This year the Cowboys run the ball. Wyoming rushes for 186.7 yards per game (42nd in FBS). Passing is thin, at 146.4 yards per game (133rd). Scoring is 18.3 points per game, 127th. The defense allows 366.4 yards per game (82nd) but only 20.9 points (43rd). Pass defense ranks 46th; run defense ranks 101st, at 172.1 yards per game.
The sore spot: Wyoming is -7 in turnover margin, 131st in FBS. Gotta stop giving the ball away. Plain as that.
Players to Know
QB Tyler Hughes: 1,018 passing yards, three touchdowns, seven interceptions, 62.8% completions. He's also the leading rusher with five touchdowns. AP lists 470 rushing yards and ESPN 459, so that's conflicting. Against Northern Illinois he went 16 of 19 for 196 yards and ran 12 times for a career-high 183 yards and four touchdowns. 379 total yards. Tough kid.
RB Markell Holman: 14 carries for 80 yards against Northern Illinois.
RB Landon Sims: 11-yard touchdown run against NIU.
WR Kyle Frendt: team-leading 216 receiving yards on 11 catches. Nearly 20 yards a catch.
WR Eric Richardson: five catches for 77 yards against NIU.
K Erik Sandvik: two field goals against NIU.
Esaia Bogar: team-high 3.5 sacks.
Jones Thomas: team-high 50 tackles.
The Conference Picture
Wyoming is 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West. Perfect at home, 3-0. 1-3 on the road.
Losses came at Colorado State (35-13), at Central Michigan (24-10) and at North Dakota State (28-0). Wins: 21-13 over Northern Colorado, 27-10 over Hawai'i, 16-13 in overtime at San José State and 41-23 over Northern Illinois. Two straight wins now.
At 3-1 in league play, the Cowboys are right in the Mountain West mix. After Air Force come UNLV on Nov. 7, then UTEP on the road, and New Mexico and UConn at home.
This Week: Game Preview from Both Sides
Air Force (5-1) at Wyoming (4-3) · Friday, Oct. 23, 9:00 p.m. ET · War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyo. · The CW
Last time out. Wyoming beat Northern Illinois 41-23 on Oct. 17. Ran for 314 yards and outgained them 510-392. Air Force beat UNLV 41-31 the same day.
Wyoming's offense vs. Air Force's defense. Air Force's defense is good. It allows 295.7 yards per game (23rd) and 172.3 passing yards (24th). Its run defense is 43rd. So we run. Hughes and Holman. Then we hold on to the ball. Air Force's red-zone defense ranks 30th, and ours scores on 80.8% of trips (104th). Gotta finish drives.
Air Force's offense vs. Wyoming's defense. Air Force runs the option. 343.0 rushing yards a game, 2nd in FBS. Holds the ball 36:22 a game, 2nd. Converts 52.9% on third down, 10th. Our run defense is 101st. That's the whole ballgame. Tackle well. Get off the field. They haven't fumbled all year, per AP, so don't count on gifts.
Series. CFBD shows Wyoming 5-4 against Air Force from 2016 to 2025. Close series. We lead it in that stretch.
Availability. No official conference availability report has been published. No confirmed Wyoming injury news that I found.
Three questions that decide it:
1. Can our run defense handle Air Force's option?
2. Can Wyoming protect the ball after a -7 margin so far?
3. Can Hughes run like he did against NIU?
The Air Force insider gave me a call sign. "Quiet Man." Fair.
Local Flavor
Friday night in Laramie. Late kickoff, Rocky Mountain cold in late October. Dress warm. Bring a thermos. Be kind to the cadets and their folks; they serve the country. The band's called Western Thunder, per Wikipedia. Loud. Good. I'll share confirmed spots before kickoff. Not an ad. Go Pokes.
Word count for this report: a lot more than 31. Don't tell anybody.
My call: Air Force Falcons 26, Wyoming Cowboys 20.