LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboys return to War Memorial Stadium Saturday to host Northern Illinois at 1:30 p.m., opening a two-game home stand after playing four road games in their first six contests.
The game will be carried on the 26 stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, with Keith Kelley handling play-by-play, Kevin McKinney providing color commentary and David Settle reporting from the sidelines. The contest also will be televised by The CW and streamed through the WatchESPN app. In Sweetwater County, you can listen to the game on KUGR 104.9 FM and 1490 AM.
Wyoming enters the matchup at 3-3 overall and 2-1 in Mountain West play after earning a 16-13 overtime victory at San Jose State last Friday. Northern Illinois is still searching for its first win of the season after falling 28-7 to Air Force in its Mountain West debut.
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The game marks the first meeting between the teams since Wyoming defeated the Huskies 40-34 in triple overtime in the 2016 season opener at War Memorial Stadium. That contest lasted 4 hours, 14 minutes, making it the longest game in Wyoming history. Quarterback Josh Allen scored the winning touchdown on a scramble in the third overtime.
Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel also has ties to Northern Illinois, where he served as the secondary coach and special teams coordinator from 2008-10. The Huskies went 11-3 in 2010 and appeared in three bowl games during his time with the program.
The Cowboys head into Saturday’s game with momentum after rallying to tie San Jose State late in the fourth quarter before winning in overtime. Wyoming put together an 18-play, 75-yard scoring drive, with quarterback Tyler Hughes connecting with tight end Jake Wilson for an 8-yard touchdown on third-and-goal to even the score at 13-13.
Hughes finished with a career-high 27 carries for 92 yards, including a 12-yard run in overtime that helped set up Erik Sandvik’s 21-yard game-winning field goal. Sandvik made all three of his field-goal attempts against the Spartans and was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday. The junior is 8-for-8 on field-goal attempts this season.
Wilson also had a career day against San Jose State, catching seven passes for 39 yards and recording his first career touchdown reception. Wyoming finished with 345 total yards, including 231 rushing yards.
The Cowboys’ defense also delivered one of its strongest performances of the season, recording four sacks and seven tackles for loss against the Spartans. Defensive end Esaia Bogar posted a career-high 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, while defensive tackle Dante Drake recorded his first career sack on San Jose State’s opening possession.
Bogar leads Wyoming with 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss this season. He ranks first in the Mountain West with 1.08 tackles for loss per game, while the Cowboys have totaled 33 tackles for loss, including 19 over their last three games.
Safety Brooklyn Cheek recorded a career-high eight tackles against San Jose State, matching teammate Jones Thomas for the team lead. The defensive line has recorded nine sacks over the past three games and 12 for the season.
Northern Illinois enters the contest following its loss to Air Force, which ran for 439 yards against the Huskies. NIU has struggled offensively, averaging 12.4 points and 290.8 yards per game. The Huskies are allowing 34.6 points and 396.6 yards per contest.
Running back Telly Johnson Jr. leads Northern Illinois with 319 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Taron Dickens has completed 69.3% of his passes for three touchdowns and three interceptions, while receiver DeAree Rogers has scored twice.
Defensively, cornerback Yassine Falke has recorded three interceptions. Freshman linebacker Jack Murray and junior safety Kyon Conyers lead the Huskies with 36 tackles apiece.
Northern Illinois opened the season with losses at Iowa and Arizona before continuing its difficult schedule with a 28-7 defeat against Air Force. The Huskies will look to secure their first victory of the year against Wyoming.
