Cowboys host Idaho in home opener on Saturday and take a Gold Out

LARAMIE, Wyo. (September 3, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys (0-1 overall) open the home portion of the 2024 schedule on Saturday, hosting Idaho (0-1 overall) at 1:30 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium. The game will be the 400th game at War Memorial Stadium, and fans are encouraged to broadcast “The War” with gold.

Ticket information
Fans can order tickets online, by email or by phone at:
•Go to GoWyo.com/tickets
• Email [email protected]
•Call (307) 766-7220
•Visit the UW Athletics Ticket Office on the west side of the Arena Auditorium at 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 at War Memorial Stadium.

Where can you watch?

Saturday's contest will be televised on truTV and streamed on MAX, with Ari Wolfe on the phone and Darius Walker providing analysis. truTV will also air a 30-minute pregame and postgame show on the network.

Home games outside the conference: The Wyoming Cowboys have had success in non-conference home openers over the years. Wyoming earned a thrilling overtime win over Texas Tech last season in a nationally televised game. Wyoming has a 52-11-1 record and wins 82 percent of non-conference home openers. UW has won four straight non-conference home openers and five straight home openers total when UW defeated Hawai'i during the 2020 season.

Recent wins in home openers outside the conference

Opponent Date Result

Texas Tech, September 2, 2023, pp. 35-33 OT

Tulsa, September 3, 2022, W, 40-37, 2OT

Montana State September 4, 2021 pp, 19-16

Mizzou August 31, 2019 W, 37-31

Against the big sky: The Wyoming Cowboys have played eight of the current 12 football teams in 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 has a 7-1 record overall against the Vandals.

Hoyland in search of history: Veteran kicker John Hoyland is once again being recognized as one of the best kickers in college football. Hoyland has been named to the 2024 Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List, given annually to the nation's top college kicker, as announced by the Palm Beach County Sport Commission. It is the third consecutive season Hoyland has been on the list. He was one of 30 players on the preseason watch list. He has made 58 field goals in his career and has a 79.5 percent field goal percentage. He is just one field goal away from tying Cooper Rothe and breaking the school record for career field goals.

Westland in the opener: Defensive end Tyce Westland had a strong start to the season for the Cowboys. He recorded three tackles in the game, including the Brown and Gold's first sack of the season in the first quarter. It was his first solo sack of his career. Last season, he recorded 18 total tackles, four and a half of which were tackles for loss.

Siders puts pressure on: Defensive end Braden Siders recorded the first sack of the season for the junior at Arizona State. He has 11 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in his career.

Durr Jr. makes a 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 caught his first touchdown pass of his career. 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.

Increase miles: Tight end Nick Miles is a veteran player who will fill in for Arizona State in John Michael Gyllenborg's absence. Miles caught two passes in the game for the Cowboys, a career high.

Safety Tandem: The safety duo of Wyett Ekeler and Isaac White led the Cowboys in tackles at Arizona State, with each player contributing nine stops in the game. The duo now has a career total of 331 tackles. White has 171 and Ekeler has 160.

What a veteran does: Linebacker Connor Shay has made an impact for the Pokes on the reserve and special teams teams. He made his first career start at linebacker for Arizona State and recorded a career-high eight tackles. He totaled 15 tackles last season for the Brown and Gold.

New guys in the interior: The Cowboys had a few new faces making an impact inside Arizona State's defensive line. Jayden Williams and Jaden Williams each made a career-high four tackles. Jayden Williams, appearing in his first career game, also recorded a tackle for a loss. Dante Drake also appeared in his first career game and added a tackle in the contest.

Culbreath Show Leg: Sophomore and VMI transfer Jack Culbreath made his debut for the Cowboys on Saturday. He punted the ball eight times and averaged 47 yards per punt, including three times of 50 or more. He ranks seventh in the nation and leads the MW with an average of 47 yards per punt.

About The Vandals: Idaho, which began the season ranked No. 7 in the preseason FCS poll, pushed No. 3 Oregon, an FBS stronghold, to the limit in a 24-14 loss last Saturday at Autzen Stadium. The Vandals limited explosive plays by the Ducks, who didn't score a point for 30 minutes after the new Big Ten member jumped out to an early 14-0 lead.

Quarterback Jack Layne threw a touchdown pass in the third quarter and ran for another touchdown in the fourth to bring Idaho within 17-14 before Oregon tied it. Keyshawn James-Newby had two sacks and forced a fumble, and Jaxton Eck collected 14 tackles to lead the defense.

Wyoming leads the all-time series 7-1, but the Vandals have always pushed the Pokes to the limit. Craig Bohl's 2019 team earned a 21-16 home victory, Dave Christensen's 2012 team won a 40-37 shootout at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho, and Joe Tiller's 1996 team defeated Idaho 40-38 at War Memorial Stadium to complete a 10-win season.

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