Cougars on the air
BYU (2-0, 0-0) at Wyoming (0-2 ,0-0)
- Saturday, 7 p.m. MDT
- At War Memorial Stadium (capacity: 29,811)
- Laramie, Wyoming
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM
Wyoming
BYU football: Cougars are wary of 0-2 Wyoming's ability to pull off upsets, after the Cowboys surprised Texas Tech in an opener last year
LARAMIE, Wyoming — Wyoming football players, coaches and fans have spent a lot time the past week talking about how important BYU’s visit on Saturday is to them, and how great it would be if they could knock off their once-bitter rivals on the high plains of Laramie.
“They are a wounded dog right now, and we better be ready to go, because they have got great coaches, they have got good players, and they have got good schemes. So we gotta be ready for their best shot.”
— BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill
At least one Cougar knows that it isn’t idle talk. BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker’s father, former BYU and minor league baseball player Stephen Glasker, was born in Wyoming, and every year the family travels to Rock Springs, Wyoming, for a family reunion on Independence Day.
“All my cousins live there and they are diehard Wyoming fans, so they kinda give me crap all the time about (playing for BYU),” Glasker said. “I would say I got a little extra juice going into this game, for sure, just because the whole family is going to be there.”
They won’t be alone. Despite the Cowboys’ 0-2 start, and the embarrassing 17-13 loss to FCS Idaho last week, 30,000-seat War Memorial Stadium was close to being sold out as of midday Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Saturday and the game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network.
BYU leads the series 46-30-3 and has won the last nine matchups. The Cougars (2-0) are 10-point favorites and obviously have bigger games down the road in their second season in the Big 12, but Glasker says they won’t be looking past the Cowboys, after hearing from their own coaches who have played and coached in Laramie about how charged up the home team will be.
“Honestly, I have never been there, so I can’t really say too much, but I am excited just to see the atmosphere,” Glasker said. “I have heard it is crazy, so for sure.”
For BYU’s defense, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Glasker said the key to success is simple.
“Stop the run. That’s it. We are big on stopping the run,” he said. “Make them beat us over the top, mostly.”
Wyoming has one of the bigger quarterbacks BYU will face this season — 6-5, 245-pound junior Evan Svoboda of Mesa, Arizona. He won’t be an easy QB to bring down for a BYU defense that has posted five sacks through two games.
“I feel like we are not too worried about (Svoboda’s size). He is a pretty good quarterback on film. So mostly we need to just keep him contained, and if we just do our job, we are going to be all right,” Glasker said.
Both teams will be without their best running backs, as Wyoming’s Harrison Waylee and BYU’s LJ Martin are sidelined with injuries. BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Wyo’s offense is still capable of exploding for a big game, after a rocky start.
“They are tough guys up front,” said Hill, who will call plays from the press box after suffering a heart attack on Aug. 29. “They have not been necessarily rolling, putting up big numbers yet. … But they are a wounded dog right now, and we better be ready to go, because they have got great coaches, they have got good players, and they have got good schemes. So we gotta be ready for their best shot.”
BYU coaches have told their guys to remember what happened in an opener last year, when the Big 12′s Texas Tech went into Laramie as a 13-point favorite and was stunned 35-33 by the Pokes in double-overtime. Texas Tech took a quick 17-0 lead, but Wyoming roared back.
BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, a former BYU receiver and Utah assistant, said he’s seen firsthand how well Wyoming plays at home.
“First of all, every game in college football is huge. There is so much riding on every game. And you have to approach every single week the same way. And then going into Laramie, I have been trying to impress upon these guys what a (tough place that is). We are going to get their very, very best,” Roderick said. “They will play their best and their fans will be into it. This will be a hostile environment. … I have been up there a number of times, been in some really tough, dogfight games. … So I have been trying to make sure our players understand what they are up against.”
Roderick said Wyoming’s defense wasn’t totally to blame for Arizona State putting up 48 points on them in the opener in Tempe.
“I just go historically on how they have been. It is the same defense they have been running, and they are very good at it. Everyone is in their gap. Everyone knows what they are doing. They are very disciplined and tough, physically tough,” Roderick said. “They have a good defense.”
BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff proved he can win on the road last week at SMU, improving late in the game after committing three turnovers. Retzlaff grew up in Southern California and admits he knew nothing about the BYU-Wyoming rivalry until this week. The Jewish QB was not in the program yet when BYU beat Wyoming 38-24 in Provo in 2022.
“It is a storied rivalry from the Mountain West days, and I know there is a good likelihood this is the last time we are going up there. So I am excited to go up there. They are a tough, physical team. They always play us tough,” Retzlaff said. “And so I am excited to go up there and go kick their butt.”
Wyoming
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium | Fortune
Cheyenne, Wyoming, officials say Meta’s data center construction is responsible for the contamination of part of the town’s recycled water system.
The Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) traced the presence of a bacterium discovered in its wastewater treatment facility earlier this year to Goat Systems LLC, a Meta contractor for the tech company’s in-progress 715,000-square-foot data center campus, according to recent public notices from the BOPU.
The bacterium did not enter Cheyenne’s drinking water supply and was found in systems used for irrigation purposes only. Cupriavidus gilardii is a rare organism typically found naturally in water and soil. Infections from this bacterium are extremely rare, BOPU said, but can pose a threat to elders and immunocompromised individuals directly exposed to it.
It was discovered during routine testing in February, prompting BOPU to temporarily suspend the city’s reclaimed water irrigation program and terminate Meta’s discharge privileges.
The board also announced last week it would not accept industrial wastewater discharges associated with fill-and-flush operations—which circulates, then flushes purified water to eliminate construction debris and residue—nor closed-loop cooling systems popular in data centers that circulate coolants mixed with water.
The board classified the incident as “significant non-compliance with federal pretreatment regulations.”
“Over the past two months, BOPU staff have undertaken significant remediation efforts, including draining and disinfecting the entire reuse water system and Prairie View Pond to eliminate any remaining bacterial presence,” one notice said.
Cheyenne’s BOPU declined Fortune’s request for comment and said it will hold a press conference in the next week with additional details on the situation.
A Meta spokesperson told Fortune the company is supporting Fortis, its general contractor, in its efforts to resolve the problem, and that Fortis began testing its own water through a third-party environmental specialist, who found no traces of the bacterium.
“When the board shared that it found a substance in the city’s wastewater—not public drinking water—Fortis immediately stopped discharging industrial wastewater and began hauling it offsite,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Meta is committed to being a good neighbor in Cheyenne, including through the protection of local water resources, and will continue encouraging collaboration between Fortis and the board until this situation is resolved.”
Pollutants from data center construction and operations are part of the mounting anxieties Americans have around the exploding growth of AI infrastructure around the country. A recent Gallup poll found about 70% of Americans somewhat or strongly oppose the construction of data centers in their local area. While half of respondents cited environmental concerns, such as excess water usage and deforestation, 16% of respondents cited pollutants, including air and water contamination, among reasons for their opposition.
Meta announced the construction of the Cheyenne data center in July 2024, saying it would be the company’s 21st data center in the U.S. and 25th globally. According to the company, Cheyenne provided access to infrastructure and energy and had a large talent pool from which to recruit.
Meta projected that the $800 million investment would sustain more than 1,000 construction jobs at the height of the build and support 100 jobs once completed. The campus is one of 27 data centers in Cheyenne and 31 in Wyoming. By comparison, Northern Virginia has the most data centers in the country, with about 550.
The tech company, for its part, previously said it would allocate resources toward the energy grid and water-cleanup efforts, including working with Black Hills Energy and the Laramie County Conservation District to restore Crow Creek, which recharges the state’s Ogallala Aquifer.
“Meta wants to be a positive contributor in communities like Cheyenne,” the company’s announcement said. “And that includes investing in the energy grid and supporting local water restoration projects.”
Wyoming
Fourth Annual Wyoming Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo, Wyoming Governor’s Match returning to Casper July 18, 19
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation recently announced that the community is invited to a series of events happening on July 18 and 19.
The weekend will feature the Wyoming Governor’s Match, as well as the Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo.
A release from the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation says that the 10th Annual Wyoming Governor’s Match, hosted in partnership with the Casper Shooter’s Club, will run July 18–19 at the Stuckenhoff Shooters Complex, 10 minutes outside of Casper.
The event will bring together spectators, shooting sports organizers and elected officials to interact with more than 360 competitive shooters from across the country.
Eye protection is required for spectators, and ear protection is highly recommended.
Additionally, on Saturday, July 18, the fourth annual Wyoming Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo is taking place at David Street Station from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The expo is free and open to the public, and it will feature exhibitor booths, a legislative panel and family-friendly activities. It will also feature local food and drink vendors, including WY Knot Pretzel Co., The Dog House and Kuver’s BBQ.
Expo attendees will be able to explore products and gear and will be able to witness demonstrations by the following Wyoming-based brands and organizations:
- 3C Guiding LLC
- 9×19 Fabrication
- ACG
- Adventure Ready RV Solutions
- Cutting Edge Tactics and Training
- Diamond R Saddlery
- DVL Custom Lures
- FEROX
- Freedom Tactical Firearms
- Guardian Warrior Solutions
- Gunwerks
- High Carbon Mercantile
- Kimber Tracks Big Game Recovery/Rocky Mountain Big Game Recovery
- Lucid Optics
- Maven Optics
- MOD Outfitters
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Red, White and Blued
- Ridgeline Customs LLC
- Rocky Mountain Discount Sports
- Scouting America
- Sheridan Fly Rod Co.
- Thunder Beast Arms
- Wilkinson Tactical
- Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
- Wyoming Game & Fish Department
- Wyoming Gun Company
- Wyoming Motorcycle Trials Association
- Wyoming Patriots
The release notes that from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation will facilitate an Outdoor Recreation Legislative Panel on the lawn of David Street Station. The panel discussion is also free and open to the public and will offer legislators and elected officials an opportunity to discuss the importance of growing and sustaining the outdoor recreation and shooting sports industry.
To RSVP or learn more about the Wyoming Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo, visit wyorec.info/Expo2026.
To register or learn more about the Wyoming Governor’s Match, visit wyorec.info/GovMatch2026.
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