Cowboys Host Idaho in Home Opener on Saturday for a Gold Out

LARAMIE, Wyo. (PRESS RELEASE) – The Wyoming Cowboys (0-1 Overall) will open the home portion of the 2024 schedule on Saturday hosting Idaho (0-1 Overall) inside War Memorial Stadium at 1:30 p.m. The contest will mark the 400th game in War Memorial Stadium, as fans are encouraged to Gold Out “The War”.

Ticket Information
Fans may order tickets online, via email or by phone at:
•Go to//GoWyo.com/tickets
•Emailtickets@uwyo.edu
•Call(307) 766-7220
•Stop by the UW Athletics Ticket Office on the West Side of the Arena-Auditorium on the corner of Willett Drive and 19th Street.

Gold Out

Saturday’s game will be a Gold Out as fans are encouraged to wear gold to War Memorial Stadium.

Where to Watch

Saturday’s contest will be televised on truTV and streamed on MAX with Ari Wolfe on the call and Darius Walker analyzing the action. truTV also runs a 30-minute pre and postgame show on the network.

Non-Conference Home Openers: The Wyoming Cowboys have had a successful run-in non-conference home openers over the years. Wyoming earned a thrilling overtime win over Texas Tech last season in a contest on national television. Wyoming is 52-11-1 winning 82 percent of the non-conference home openers. UW has won four-straight non-conference home openers and five-straight home openers overall as UW defeated Hawai’i during the 2020 season.

Recent Wins in Non-Conference Home Openers

Opponent Date Score

Texas Tech Sept. 2, 2023 W, 35-33 OT

Tulsa Sept. 3, 2022 W, 40-37 2OT

Montana State Sept. 4, 2021 W, 19-16

Mizzou Aug. 31, 2019 W, 37-31

The New Look War: The War will look a little different on Saturday against Idaho. The renovations to the West Side of War Memorial Stadium are moving along as scheduled. When complete, the experience for fans in the lower west side will be dramatically different with improved seating, wider rows, and improved concessions, restrooms, and lighting. Furthermore, a renovation to the press box/media area will enhance the image of the university.

Against the Big Sky: The Wyoming Cowboys have played eight of the current 12 football playing members of the Big Sky Conference and have a 63-14-3 record against those eight teams. Wyoming will face Idaho for the ninth time, as UW is 7-1 all-time against the Vandals.

Hoyland Looking for History: Senior kicker John Hoyland is once again being recognized as one of the elite place-kickers in college football. Hoyland was named to the 2024 Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List, which is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker as announced by the Palm Beach County Sport Commission. It marks the third-straight season that Hoyland has been named to the list. He was one of 30 players named to the preseason watch list. He has connected on 58 career field goals and is hitting at a rate of 79.5 percent. He is one field goal away from tying Cooper Rothe for the school record in career field goals.

Westland in Opener: Defensive end Tyce Westland had a strong start to the season for the Cowboys. He recorded three tackles in the contest including the first sack of the season for the Brown and Gold in the first quarter. It was his first solo sack of his career. He recorded 18 total tackles a season ago with four and half of those being tackles for loss.

Siders Brings Pressure: Defensive end Braden Siders added a sack for the first of the season for the junior at Arizona State. For his career, he has 11 sacks in his career and has recorded 18.5 tackles for loss.

Durr Jr. Has Strong Debut: True freshman Chris Durr, Jr. had a strong outing in his first career game. He led the Pokes with three catches on the night. He also hauled in his first career touchdown pass. Analyst and Cowboy Athletics Hall of Famer Jovon Boughknight caught a touchdown in his first career game as a redshirt freshman in 2002. He was the youngest wide receiver to catch a touchdown pass in the MW era until Durr, Jr.

Miles Stepping Up: Tight end Nick Miles is a veteran and set up in the absence of John Michael Gyllenborg at Arizona State. Miles hauled in a career high two passes in the contest for the Cowboys.

Safety Tandem: The safety tandem of Wyett Ekeler and Isaac White led the Cowboys in tackles at Arizona State with each player adding nine stops for the game. The duo has now combined for 331 career tackles. White has 171 in his career with Ekeler adding 160.

A Veteran Makes an Impact: Linebacker Connor Shay has made an impact for the Pokes in reserve and on special teams. He made his first career start at linebacker at Arizona State and recorded a career-high eight tackles in the contest. He had 15 total tackles last season for the Brown and Gold.

New Guys in the Interior: The Cowboys had a couple of new faces make an impact in the interior of the defensive line at Arizona State. Jayden Williams and Jaden Williams each recorded a career-high four tackles. Jayden Williams, who appeared in his first career game recorded a tackle for loss as well. Dante Drake also appeared in his first career game adding a tackle in the contest.

Culbreath Shows Off Leg: Grad student and VMI transfer Jack Culbreath made his debut for the Cowboys on Saturday. He punted the ball eight times averaging 47 yards per punt with three of 50 or more. He ranks seventh in the nation and leads the MW averaging 47 yards per punt.

About The Vandals: Idaho, which entered the season ranked No. 7 in the preseason FCS poll, pushed No. 3 Oregon, an FBS powerhouse, to its limits in a 24-14 loss last Saturday at Autzen Stadium. The Vandals limited explosive plays by the Ducks, who were held without a point over a 30-minute span after the new Big Ten member took an early 14-0.

Quarterback Jack Layne threw a touchdown pass in the third quarter and ran for another score in the fourth quarter to get Idaho within 17-14 before Oregon held on. Keyshawn James-Newby had two sacks and forced a fumble and Jaxton Eck racked up 14 tackles to lead the defense.

Wyoming leads the all-time series 7-1, but the Vandals have a history of pushing the Pokes to the limit. Craig Bohl’s 2019 team held on for a 21-16 home win, Dave Christensen’s 2012 team won a 40-37 shootout at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho, and Joe Tiller’s 1996 team outlasted Idaho 40-38 at War Memorial Stadium on the way to a 10-win season.

The Vandals, who played at the FBS level from 2001-2017, were picked to finish third in the 12-team Big Sky in the coaches poll after reaching the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs last season.

As of a Wednesday statement from the University, the game is trending to be a sellout.

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