LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 16, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys hit the road for the second time this season heading to the Lone Star State for a meeting with North Texas of the American Athletic Conference on Saturday evening inside DATCU Stadium in Denton, Texas. It is the first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
The contest will kick at 5 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+ with James Westling calling the action with Leger Douzable analyzing the action. The game will also be available on the 26 stations of The Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call, Kevin McKinney on color and Erick Pauley on the sidelines.
White Returns to the Defensive Backfield: Safety Isaac White returned to the field for the Pokes against BYU and recorded a career-high 10 tackles and added a pass breakup late in the first half that halted a drive of BYU and held the Cougars to a field goal. He leads the team with 19 tackles on the season and is averaging 9.5 tackles per game for the season.
Against the American Athletic Conference: The Cowboys and North Texas will meet on Saturday marking the 15th meeting against a current member of the American Conference. Wyoming is 8-6 against the conference but has only played Tulsa as current members of the conference. UW is 1-1 in those two games.
Tackles at the Defensive End Spot: Defensive end Sabastian Harsh has been solid all around for the Cowboys. He has 18 tackles for the season, which is tied for second on the team. He also leads the squad with 3.5 tackles for loss. He leads all defensive linemen in the Mountain West Conference in tackles.
Turnover Titan Makes Play: Nickel Wrook Brown recorded an interception in the first quarter against BYU. It marked the first interception of the season for the Cowboys. It was the fourth of his career with the Cowboys. A native of Texas, he will return to his home state, but will miss the first half after a targeting penalty in the second half.
Another Tough Challenge: The Cowboys face another tough task on the road against North Texas. The Mean Green are 2-1 on the season. The four opponents on the Cowboy schedule so far this season at a combined 10-2 on the season.
King Makes Plays All Over: Wide receiver Tyler King was making plays all over for the Cowboys. He grabbed a career-high three receptions for a career-high 52 yards. That was a season-high receiving for a Cowboy this season. He also added a 25-yard kick return. He ranks first in the MW and No. 13 in the nation with just over 25 yards per return this season.
Svoboda Through The Air: Quarterback Evan Svoboda recorded a career-high 140 yards passing. He also added 32 yards on the ground. He had 14 completions for the second highest after having 17 against Texas last season.
Nanke Hauls in Pass: Tight end Clay Nanke added a 24-yard reception against BYU. It was the first of the season and career for Nanke. Wyoming’s tight ends have six catches for 55 yards through the first three games of the season.
Sargent Has Career Day: Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent added two catches against BYU tying a career-high he had against Ohio in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl in 2022. He had 18 yards against the Cougars with a career-best 12-yard reception.
Finding Different Targets: The Pokes had 11 different players record a reception against BYU. The most the Cowboys had last season was nine in a contest. It was the most in a game since Wyoming had 11 different players catch a pass against Texas in 2009.
Third Down Defense: The Cowboys held BYU to 2-of-11 on third down for the night. Over the last two games, Wyoming is holding opponents to 3-of-24 for 12.5 percent. UW ranks third in the MW and No. 24 in the nation holding teams to 28.2 percent on third downs.
About North Texas: The Mean Green (2-1) is coming off a 66-21 loss at Texas Tech last Saturday. Three turnovers by North Texas helped the Red Raiders score 35 points in the second quarter and 42 unanswered points to close the first half after a competitive first 15 minutes. Quarterback Chander Morris had two touchdowns and three interceptions before watching most of the fourth quarter from the sideline.
North Texas, which opened the season with a 52-38 win at South Alabama and defeated Stephen F. Austin 35-20 in Denton, enters the matchup with Wyoming ranked 34th in the FBS in scoring offense (36.0 ppg) and 24th in total yards (469.0 ypg). The Mean Green defense is 129th in points allowed (41.3 per game) and 127th in yards allowed (472.0 per game).
Morris, despite the rough outing in Lubbock, is completing 65.2% of his passes and averaging 299.7 passing yards per game with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. Wide receiver Damon Ward Jr. is averaging 93.7 yards receiving with two touchdowns.
This is the first meeting between UW and North Texas, which was a member of the Sun Belt Conference (2000-13) and Conference USA (2013-23) before joining the American Athletic Conference last season
