September 13, 2024 |
Photo – Full stadium at the War – Courtesy gowyo.com
In an historic matchup, BYU travels to Laramie to face Wyoming tomorrow night in War Memorial Stadium.
The Cougars have not played in the War since 2009. Tomorrow’s matchup will be the 80th meeting between the two schools.
BYU is off to a 2-and-0 start. The Cowboys, at 0-and-2, are hungry for a win under a new head coach Jay Sawvel and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson. The Cowboys have not shown much offensive power this season under new quarterback Evan Svoboda, who came in late and powered Wyoming to a win at the Arizona Bowl last December.
While the Cougars and Cowboys have mirror-opposite records this year, ESPN’s Football Power Index, at the beginning of the season, gave the Cougars just a 31% chance of getting to bowl eligibility this year.
Last week, the Cougars traveled to SMU and upset the Mustangs as a double-digit underdog. A week earlier, BYU upset Southern Illinois. The same computer that gives BYU an 86.4% chance of beating the Cowboys tomorrow night. That’s up from a 60.9% chance when the computer cranked the numbers in the preseason.
The big question is what kind of game will Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff have tomorrow night. #12 has been less than steady, turning the ball over twice last week. Through two games, despite the turnover, Retzlaff averaged 275 yards and two touchdowns per game.
Here’s how Wyoming head coach Sawvel sizes up the competition.
At 0-and-2 and only 20 points scored on offense, the Cowboys are underperforming. Sawvel knows that. The head coach said Wyoming will have to play its best stretch of football of the year to come away with a win tomorrow night.
The Cowboys appear physically healthy headed into the matchup. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Bigfoot 99 will be on the air at 5:30 with the pregame show on Saturday night.
