Wyoming Travels to Texas for First-Ever Meeting with North Texas

Wyoming Travels to Texas for First-Ever Meeting with North Texas

Courtesy photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboys (0-3) head to Denton, Texas, this Saturday for their first-ever meeting with North Texas (2-1) inside DATCU Stadium. The Cowboys, coming off a 34-14 loss to BYU, will face a Mean Green team that is fresh off a 66-21 defeat at the hands of Texas Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

You can listen to the game in Sweetwater County on 104.9 FM and 1490 AM on KUGR. In Sublette County, you can listen on KFZE 104.3 FM.

Wyoming will look to rebound after a challenging start to the season that has seen the Cowboys’ opponents combine for a 10-2 record. Head coach Jay Sawvel’s squad will be relying on key defensive players like safety Isaac White, who returned from injury last week and recorded a career-high 10 tackles against BYU. White leads the team with 19 tackles on the season, averaging 9.5 per game.

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Defensive end Sabastian Harsh has also been a force for Wyoming, tallying 18 tackles and leading the team with 3.5 tackles for loss. He currently leads all defensive linemen in the Mountain West Conference in total tackles.

Despite the tough start, Wyoming’s defense has been a bright spot, especially on third downs. The Cowboys held BYU to just 2-of-11 on third down last week, and over the last two games, they’ve limited opponents to a remarkable 3-of-24 on third downs — good for third in the Mountain West and No. 24 nationally.

On the offensive side, quarterback Evan Svoboda continues to show improvement. He recorded a career-high 140 passing yards against BYU, completing 14 passes to 11 different receivers. Wide receiver Tyler King led the way with three catches for 52 yards, also contributing on special teams with a 25-yard kickoff return. King leads the Mountain West and ranks 13th in the nation in kickoff return average at just over 25 yards per return.

The Cowboys will face a North Texas team that ranks among the top in the nation in total offense, averaging 469 yards and 36 points per game. However, the Mean Green’s defense has struggled, allowing 41.3 points and 472 yards per game, ranking near the bottom in both categories. Despite last week’s struggles against Texas Tech, North Texas quarterback Chander Morris has been effective this season, completing 65.2% of his passes while averaging nearly 300 passing yards per game.

The matchup with North Texas will be the Cowboys’ second road game of the season and their first against a team from the American Athletic Conference. Wyoming holds an 8-6 all-time record against current members of the AAC, though most of those contests were against Tulsa.

Wyoming’s defense will need to stay sharp against the high-scoring Mean Green offense, and players like Harsh, White, and nickelback Wrook Brown, who recorded an interception last week, will be key in limiting North Texas’ explosive attack. However, Brown will miss the first half of the game due to a targeting penalty incurred in the second half against BYU.

The Cowboys will aim to secure their first win of the season before returning home for Mountain West Conference play.