August 27, 2024 |
Photo – Cowboy logo and Sun Devil logo – Bigfoot99 file photo
Wyoming and Arizona State have not squared off on the football field since they were conference rivals in 1977.
The game was played on Saturday, November 5th.
From the Cowboys’ standpoint, it was a game to forget. The Sun Devils shut out Wyoming 45-nothing. Bill Lewis was the head coach that year, coming to Laramie after Fred Akers left for the University of Texas at Austin. Lewis led the Cowboys to a 4-6 and 1 year. After compiling a 13-21-1 record through 1979, Lewis was fired. It’s an era die-hard Wyoming fans would like to forget.
Saturday night’s matchup with be the curtain opener for a new era of Cowboy football. Jay Sawvel will be on the sidelines in his first game as 33rd Head Coach in Wyoming history. Sawvel served the previous two years as UW’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
Over his career, he has been part of 21 teams which advanced to post season play, including 14 bowl appearances and seven NCAA Playoff appearances.
Sun Devil Head Coach Kenny Dillingham revived an old tradition this summer, taking the team to iconic Camp Tontozona for three days early in August. The trip to “Camp T” was an attempt to reinstate a tradition started by legendary Sun Devil head coach Frank Kush back in 1959. The legendary trip to the mountain hideaway was discarded during recent Corona virus years, but Coach Dillingham is seeking to re-establish the tradition. The cooler mountain temperatures are a welcome relief for the players.
The Cowboys are riding into the matchup after a 9-4 season that they topped off with a one-point 16-15 win bowl as time ran out last December.
Arizona State will be looking to elevate their game after taking lumps in a 3-9 season last year when multiple players rotated through the quarterback position. They’ll be fielding a relatively inexperienced roster on Saturday night, especially on defense, when Wyoming under a new head coach and new quarterback come riding into Mountain America Stadium.
