WYOMING COWBOYS VS. UNLV REBELS
Location: Laramie, Wyoming (War Memorial Stadium)
Date/Time: Saturday, October 4th at 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)
Television: CBSSN
Streaming: CBS Sports App
Radio: KOWB 1290 AM/95.1 FM/KOWB App (Cowboy Sports Network)
Head-to-Head: This has been a tightly contested series, with Wyoming holding a narrow 14-12 advantage. The two teams have split their last four meetings, with UNLV winning the most recent one in 2023, 34-14.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Wyoming: 2-2 (0-0 in MW), UNLV: 4-0
(0-0 in MW)
Mountain West vs. Mountain West
WYO: Head Coach Jay Sawvel (2nd Full Year, 5-11 Overall Record)
UNLV: Head Coach Dan Mullen (1st Full Year at UNLV, 107-61 Career Record)
Last Week
WYO: Had a bye, last played in a loss to Colorado 37-20.
UNLV: Also had a bye last week, last winning a thriller in the Midwest against Miami of Ohio, 41-38.
What Allows Wyoming to Win Saturday?
Play like a Cowboy and force the Rebels to win the trenches.
Despite holding a pristine 4-0 record, UNLV has managed to play no one.
Beat Idaho State by seven in the season opener.
Beat Sam Houston State by 17.
Beat a hapless UCLA program by seven.
Scrape out a three-point win against 1-3 Miami (OH).
One can make a pretty good argument that Wyoming is UNLV’s toughest opponent to date.
This is the type of game where the environment of Laramie’s uniqueness and the absurd elevation can play a sizable factor for the visitors, who house plenty of new entrants into the program.
No doubt about it, this is a “run their butts into the ground” type of game that the Pokes can win. Especially with the emergence of young running back Samuel Harris.
The Rebels are averaging over 200+ yards a game as a team on the ground.
Wyoming limits the run game, and I don’t see Anthony Colandrea winning this game with his arm.
What Allows UNLV to Win Saturday?
Force the Cowboys to march their way down the field with sustained offensive drives.
Even though Wyoming’s defense has held its end of the bargain in most of their games, the same cannot be said for their offense.
They have some great pieces – QB Kaden Anderson, RB Samuel Harris, WR Chris Durr Jr., and TE John Michael Gyllenborg.
But they can’t seem to put together cohesive and consistent drives that lead to points.
Whether it’s playcalling or inconsistent production from those on the field, the Rebels can use that to their advantage and make Wyoming grind out every yard.
They don’t need to force turnovers.
No dependency on flashy blitz packages is required.
Just keep the ball in front of you, make them dink and dunk, and unless they have figured out some magic elixir over the course of the bye week, they will fizzle out.
Who Pulls Out The Win?
This feels like a game where Wyoming can make a statement to the Mountain West that they are improved and ready to cause some chaos in conference play.
But that darn offense gives me so much pause.
UNLV will be sweating bullets for all four quarters, but I envision the Rebels finding a way to sneak out another win and, by some minor miracle, push their record to 5-0.
Petterson’s Prediction: UNLV to Win Outright, UNLV to Cover, and Take the Under.
FanDuel Odds: UNLV -3.5, Total of 49.5
UNLV Rebels 27 – Wyoming Cowboys 20
Let us at the Mountain West Connection know your prediction for Wyoming’s Mountain West opener against Dan Mullen and undefeated UNLV!
