The Cowboys head to a conference clash with SJSU on Saturday

LARAMIE, Wyo. (October 14, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys made their first trip to conference play with a trip to the Bay Area to take on San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm MT. It will be the first road competition for Wyoming in nearly a month.

The competition will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and is also available on the MW app. The game will be televised locally by NBC Sports Bay Area, with Larry Beil on the phone and David Fales analyzing the action while Lindsay Pallares sits courtside. The game will also be available on The Cowboy Sports Network's 26 stations, with Keith Kelley on the phone, Kevin McKinney in color and Erick Pauley on the sidelines.

Tough in the backfield: Defensive end Sabastian Harsh was featured throughout the Cowboys' backfield against San Diego State. He recorded a career-high four tackles for loss. The four tackles for loss represented a school record seven times, the last coming in 2017 by Youhanna Ghaifan against Texas State. It was also the highest number of any MW player this season and the second most of any player in the country this season. He leads Wyoming with eight tackles and one loss this season. This number ranks second in the MW and 22nd nationally.

The offensive is picking up speed again: The Cowboys' offense posted another season-high on Saturday. After setting a season-high against Air Force, Wyoming rushed for a season-high 190 yards and passed for 191 yards, for a total of 381 yards of offense. UW also posted a season-best 72 total plays against SDSU. Wyoming had 361 yards in the win over Air Force.

Svoboda plays with arms and legs: Quarterback Evan Svoboda threw for a career-high 191 yards against SDSU. He threw a 70-yard strike for a touchdown one season, making it the longest pass of the season. He also recorded a 51-yard touchdown run, opening the fourth quarter for the longest run by a Cowboy this season.

Sargent scores the first touchdown: Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent recorded a 70-yard touchdown reception against SDSU. It was the first of his career and the longest reception of his career. He added two catches, tying a career high, and recorded a career-high 84 yards receiving in the contest. The 70-yard strike was the longest since John Michael Gyllenborg had an 89-yard reception against Hawai'i in Laramie last season.

Defense in the backfield: Wyoming's defense was in the backfield all night against SDSU. Wyoming tied a season high with 10 tackles for loss in the contest. UW had nine tackles for loss against Idaho earlier this season. UW has 36 this season, for a season average of 6.0 per game. Harsh led the team with four and Dante Drake, along with linebacker Shae Suiaunoa, set a career high with 1.5.

Another strong third quarter: The Cowboys defense had another strong third quarter. UW allowed just 21 yards of total offense in the quarter. UW allowed Air Force just 21 yards in the third quarter of the previous game.

Rushing defense stands out: The Cowboys defense was solid against one of the best defenders in the country against SDSU. Marquez Cooper averaged nearly 116 yards per game but was held to 87 yards on 27 carries. UW allowed just a season-low 102 yards on the ground.

The veterans on the defensive line: Wyoming's defensive line features a great mix of veterans and rookies. The group of defensive ends Sabastian Harsh, Braden Siders, DeVonne Harris, Tyce Westland and Jordan Bertagnole have combined for 89.5 tackles for loss in their careers. Bertagnole leads the group with 24.5, while Siders added 22 in his career. DeVonne Harris recorded 19 in the Brown and Gold category, Harsh recorded 17. Westland recorded seven in his young career.

Drake has career day: Defensive tackle Dante Drake had a career day for the Cowboys against SDSU. He recorded a career-best five tackles in the contest. He also recorded a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss for the Cowboys. He has made eight tackles this season, with 3.5 of those tackles resulting in a loss.

J Mike is a target for UW: Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg grabbed four catches for 48 yards to lead the Pokes against SDSU. He has had four or more catches in the last three games. He leads the Pokes with 13 catches for 174 yards and averages 43.5 yards per game this season.

Another big day for Scott: Running back Sam Scott had another strong day as he stepped up the football against SDSU. He gained 94 yards on the ground after rushing for 97 yards against Air Force. He leads the team in rushing this season with 274 yards, an average of 45.7 yards per game.

Thumbs up: Safety Andrew Johnson, playing with a broken thumb, contributed six tackles for Wyoming against SDSU. He had five or more tackles in three of his last four games. The six tackles were a season and career high. He has made 26 tackles this season, ranking fifth on the team.

Big game for Shae: Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa recorded 10 tackles against SDSU and missed most of the second half with an injury. He has recorded double-digit tackles in consecutive games for Wyoming and 23 in his last two games. He also added 1.5 tackles for loss in the game and had 4.5 tackles for loss in his last two contests.

Interior Youngsters Have Day: With the experienced Ben Florentine out due to injury, the interior defensive line rotation was young. But the battle of Dante Drake, Jaden Williams and Jayden Williams accounted for 11 tackles for the Cowboys on the night. Williams added three tackles each in the contest, while Drake recorded five tackles, a career-best.

Another solid day: Punter Jack Culbreath had another good day punting the football. He recorded seven punts, averaging 42.4 yards per punt. He had three kicks inside the 20-yard line and a length of 57 yards. For the season, Culbreath is averaging 42.7 yards per punt, including 11 inside the 20-yard line and eight punts of 50 yards or more.

Cowboy injuries: The Cowboys have been unlucky with injuries this season. The Pokes have 12 players from the top depth chart and 15 players with Harrison Waylee and Daiwaiian McNeely injured this season. This group has missed a total of 41 games.

Third-Down Defense: The Cowboys held BYU to 2 of 11 in the third period that night, North Texas to 4 of 14 in the third, AFA to 4 of 12 and SDSU to 3 of 13. Over the last five games, Wyoming held opponents to 22 percent shooting 14 of 63. UW ranks first in the MW and eighth in the nation holding teams to 28.6 percent on third downs.

About the Spartans: After a 31-24 loss at Colorado State, the Spartans (4-2 overall, 2-1 Mountain West) are 3-0 at home this season, including a thrilling 35-31 win over Nevada on Oct. 5 CEFCU -Stadium.

SJSU has used a two-quarterback system this season. Sophomore starter Emmett Brown has completed 59% of his passes for 1,551 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions this season, while junior Walker Eget has completed 71.1% of his passes for 397 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

The Spartans have a candidate for the Biletnikoff Award: quarterback and wide receiver Nick Nash, who leads the Mountain West with 62 receptions for 806 yards and 10 touchdowns. In SJSU's 27-21 win over Wyoming in 2021, Nash started at QB and finished the game with 150 yards passing and a touchdown and rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, junior linebacker Jordan Pollard leads the MW with 60 tackles and junior defensive back DJ Harvey returned a fumble for an 85-yard touchdown and also had an interception, a sack and seven tackles against the Rams.

The Cowboys lead the all-time series 7-6 but are looking to stop their two-game losing streak against the Spartans. UW's last win in San Jose was a 45-22 victory in 1996 en route to a 10-2 overall record. The first meeting between the programs came in 1959, when Bob Davaney's Pokes won 28-7 in San Jose.