WYOMING COWBOYS AT AKRON ZIPS
Location: Akron, Ohio (InfoCision Stadium)
Date/Time: Thursday, August 28th at 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)
Television: ESPN+
Streaming: ESPN App
Radio: KOWB 1290 AM/95.1 FM/KOWB App (Cowboy Sports Network)
Head-to-Head:
This is the first time that Wyoming and Akron have ever met between the hashes. The Zips are expected to return to Laramie for the back half of the home-and-home in 2028.TALE OF THE TAPE
Wyoming: 0-0, Akron: 0-0
Mountain West vs. MAC
WYO: Head Coach Jay Sawvel (2nd
Full Year, 3-9 Overall Record)
AKR: Head Coach Joe Moorhead (4th Full Year, 8-28 Overall Record)
2024 Highlights
WYO: Made QB Transition to Kaden Anderson, Won 2 of Their Last 5 After Starting 1-6, Lost to MW Champ Boise State by 4, Beat Washington State in Pullman on Senior Day, Finished T-10th in MW.
AKR: Doubled Win Total from 2 in ‘22 and ‘23 to 4 in ‘24, Won 3 of Their Last 5 (Including an OT Win Over Toledo), Finished 8th in MAC.
Key Returners (Offense)
WYO: QB #12 Kaden Anderson, LG #78 Wes King, RG #72 Caden Barnett, C #79 Jack Walsh, WR #8 Jaylen Sargent, WR #13 Chris Durr Jr., TE #84 John Michael Gyllenborg.
AKR: QB #10 Ben Finley, WR #7 Alex Adams, WR #5 Israel Polk, TE #88 Jake Newell, OL #56 Keylen Davis.
Key Returners (Defense)
WYO: DE #40 Tyce Westland, NT #94 Ben Florentine, DT #98 Jayden Williams, SS #3 Andrew Johnson, LB #6 Evan Eller.
AKR: DL #41 Bruno Dall, S #2 Daymon David, LB #23 Gage Summers, DB #11 Elijah Reed.
What Makes Wyoming Difficult to Play?
Interior toughness.
What makes Poke football go is the hard-nosed play that occurs within the trenches, both offensively and defensively.
Even before the Craig Bohl era, Wyoming has always been an opponent that everyone knows is not going to let you waltz your way around the field without feeling its wrath. There is a reason high-caliber programs have a devil of a time winning in Laramie despite serving as sizable favorites.
Now, with the trio of interior offensive linemen in LG King, C Walsh, and RG Barnett returning for another hurrah, Wyoming will attempt to ground-and-pound their way to yardage in a more efficient manner compared to 2024.
The same goes for Florentine, Williams, and Westland on the defensive side.
Wyoming makes you earn every blade of grass when they are playing at their best.
What Makes Akron Difficult to Play?
Roster turnover.
Seems mean, I know.
However, the Zips lost six starters on offense, 80% of their special teams players, and nine starters on defense. For a small program of Akron’s stature, losing that much production in one offseason can be an absolute killer for the upcoming fall.
And that doesn’t include the 2nd and 3rd-stringers who left in search of more playing time and larger opportunities.
Wyoming’s game film and analyst department must have had a field day trying to capture tape of *ahem* six offensive linemen, six defensive linemen, four receivers, two running backs, and two safeties that arrived by way of the portal.
Week one games are always a pain for coaching staffs, so whoever can make more on-the-fly adjustments will have the upper hand Thursday night.
Who Pulls Out The Win?
Call me a believer, but I really think that the Wyoming Cowboys are going to bounce back substantially in 2025 in no small part to the emergence of QB Kaden Anderson.
Point blank, the Pokes will go as far as Anderson can take them.
And considering the lackluster start Wyoming suffered in ’24, with a 1-6 record, there must be a sense of high internal pressure to start fast and successfully to prevent déjà vu from setting in.
The Cowboys ride off into the Ohio sunset winners of the season opener and 1-0 for the first time in the Jay Sawvel head coaching era.
It’s good for college football when Wyoming is respectable.
In this contest (courtesy of FanDuel), Wyoming is favored by 5.5, and the total is set at 48.5 points.
Petterson’s Prediction: Wyoming to Win Outright, Cover, and Take the Under.
Wyoming Cowboys 27 – Akron Zips 17
Let us at the Mountain West Connection know your predictions for Wyoming’s opener and the rest of the conference as college football returns in full once again!
