Colter Sprague. Laramie. I don't say much. My wife says I say "yep" about 40 times a day, and I said, "Yep." But my editor tells me a column needs more than one word, so I'll stretch it out. Pull up a hay bale.
Two things to talk about. Saturday, the Cowboys beat Northern Illinois. Friday, Air Force comes to town. Both are worth some words. Not too many. But some.
Part 1: Wyoming 41, Northern Illinois 23
On Oct. 17 at War Memorial Stadium, Tyler Hughes ran for a career-high 183 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 196 more, and Wyoming beat Northern Illinois 41-23.
Did he play well? Yep.
Erik Sandvik opened with a 37-yard field goal. Then Hughes took off on a 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He went 24 yards for another score in the second quarter, and Sandvik added a 24-yarder at the half to make it 20-6. In the third quarter, Hughes scored from 6 yards. In the fourth, he scored from 11. Landon Sims added an 11-yard touchdown run, the fifth rushing touchdown of the day.
Hughes completed 16 of 19 passes for 196 yards. That's 84 percent. Per the AP, he just missed a 200-200 game. He had 379 yards of offense by himself. He ran 12 times. He averaged 15.3 yards a carry. I've had horses with less get-up.
Wyoming ran for 314 yards and gained 510. Markell Holman ran 14 times for 80 yards. Eric Richardson caught five passes for 77 yards. And the Cowboys did not turn the ball over or commit many penalties, just three for 23 yards. Clean as a fresh-brushed saddle.
Per the AP, Wyoming is now 3-0 all time against NIU.
Honest part. NIU ran for 176 yards on 29 carries, 6.1 per carry, and Telly Johnson Jr. had 139 yards. The Huskies kicked three field goals because our defense stiffened in the red zone. Good. But giving up 6 yards a carry to a winless team won't fly against Air Force. Nope. Not this week.
The defense did make some plays. Jones Thomas broke up three passes. Gary Rutherford and Kevin Sjogren each had a sack. NIU's Taron Dickens completed 24 of 44 passes, and the Huskies went 4-for-14 on third down. That's a defense that gets off the field when it has to. It'll have to a lot on Friday.
Wyoming is 4-3 and 3-1 in the Mountain West. The Cowboys lost 35-13 at Colorado State, beat Northern Colorado 21-13, lost 24-10 at Central Michigan, beat Hawai'i 27-10, lost 28-0 at North Dakota State, won 16-13 at San José State and beat NIU. Two in a row. Yep.
Part 2: Air Force at Wyoming
Friday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. Eastern, on The CW, at War Memorial Stadium. Air Force (5-1, 3-1 Mountain West) at Wyoming (4-3, 3-1).
Who's Coming
Air Force runs the ball. Then it runs the ball. Then, for variety, it runs the ball. The Falcons run for 343.0 yards per game, second in FBS. They hold it for 36:22 a game, second. They convert 52.9 percent of third downs, 10th. Per the AP, they haven't fumbled once this season, through 431 plays. That's respectable. I'll tip my hat.
Then I'll put it back on and look at the other column. A team that doesn't fumble is a team that doesn't give you free possessions, and that means we have to earn every one of ours. Air Force throws for 65.0 yards per game, 138th in FBS. Sixty-five. I've thrown a calf farther than that in a day. Their leading passer, Liam Szarka, has 296 yards for the season, one touchdown and four interceptions, completing half his passes. Their leading receiver, Simon Kibbee, has seven catches. All year. Yep.
What We've Got
Hughes runs for 470 yards and five touchdowns and has thrown for 1,018. Kyle Frendt has 11 catches for 216 yards, almost 20 a catch. Wyoming runs for 186.7 yards per game, 42nd. The defense allows 20.9 points per game, 43rd, and 194.3 passing yards per game, 46th. Against an offense that barely throws, the pass defense can come up and help.
Honest Part
I'll say it plain. Wyoming throws for 146.4 yards per game, 133rd. It scores 18.3 per game, 127th. The turnover margin is minus-7, 131st, and Hughes has thrown seven interceptions. The run defense allows 172.1 per game, 101st. Against the second-best rushing offense in the country, that's a fence with a hole in it, and the cattle know where the hole is.
So the plan's simple. Hold the ball. Score in the red zone, where we rank 104th. Don't give the ball away. Make Air Force throw.
The Series
CollegeFootballData.com has Air Force ahead 32-28-3. Wyoming won 31-19 in 2024. Air Force won 24-21 last year. Close series, close games. Yep.
Town Report: Laramie vs. Colorado Springs
Laramie. Population 31,407 at the 2020 census. Elevation 7,200 feet. Laramie came to life in 1868 when the Union Pacific Railroad reached the Laramie River, and it sits in the Laramie Valley, with the Snowy Range on one side and the Laramie Range on the other. Wikipedia says the city draws outdoor enthusiasts with its abundance of outdoor activities. I'd say that's an understatement. Twenty-one sites in Laramie are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary, which now shows off a frontier community of the late 1800s. You can tour the old prison. Everybody gets out by suppertime.
Here's the history I'm proudest of. In March 1870, five Laramie residents became the first women in the world to serve on a jury. On Sept. 6, 1870, Laramie's Louisa Swain became the first woman in the United States to cast a legal vote in a general election. Before anybody else did it, Laramie did it. Yep.
War Memorial Stadium went up in the spring and summer of 1950, and at 7,222 feet it's the highest stadium in FBS. Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs is second, at 6,621. Six hundred feet lower. The Falcons fly, sure. But they fly lower than we sit.
Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs is a big, pretty place. 478,961 people at the 2020 census, and Wikipedia says the city "stands over 1 mile above sea level." They're real proud of that mile. They put it right up top in their description. Laramie's at 7,200 feet. We don't brag about the mile. We passed it a while back and kept climbing.
Colorado Springs is also, per Wikipedia, the most extensive city by area in Colorado. That's a polite way to say it takes a while to drive across. In Laramie, you can get from one end of town to the other before your coffee cools. In Colorado Springs, you need a second thermos.
And the city's nickname is "Olympic City USA." Fine. In Laramie, we just call it home.
Last Word
Friday night. Late October. 7,222 feet. Maybe cold, maybe windy. Hold the ball, protect it, and make the Falcons throw. If they won't throw, stuff the run. If they do throw, catch it.
That's about all I've got. Yep.
My call: Air Force Falcons 26, Wyoming Cowboys 20.