Wyoming Cowboys Travel To Utah State For 71st Meeting Versus The Aggies On Saturday

This Saturday, the Wyoming Cowboys will make their final regular-season road trip of the 2021 season, traveling to Logan, Utah, to face long-time rival Utah State.

JO
Jimmy Orr

November 19, 20214 min read

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This Saturday, the Wyoming Cowboys will make their final regular-season road trip of the 2021 season, traveling to Logan, Utah, to face long-time rival Utah State.  Saturday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m., Mountain Time from Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.

Wyoming will enter Saturday’s game with a 5-5 overall record and a 1-5 Mountain West Conference mark.  Utah State is 8-2 on the season and 5-1 in Mountain West play.

Where to Watch and Listen

Every Cowboy Football game is broadcast live on the 26 radio affiliates of the Cowboy Sports Network.  Announcers are Dave Walsh, Play-by-Play (38th year), Kevin McKinney, Color Analyst (24th year) and Reece Monaco, Sideline Reporter (11th year).  The pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

Saturday’s game will also be televised on the CBS Sports Network.  Announcers will be Chris Hassel (Play-by-play), Aaron Murray (Color Analyst) and Amanda Guerra (Sideline Analyst).

Career Milestones Reached by Cowboys Valladay and Muma

Two Cowboys reached exclusive milestones last week.  Running back Xazavian Valladay became only the second player in University of Wyoming history to rush for 3,000 career yards.  He has rushed for 3,008 yards as a Wyoming Cowboy.  The only other Poke to accomplish that was Brian Hill, who ran for 4,287 yards during his college career from 2014-16.

Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma exceeded 100 tackles for the 2021 season in last week’s game at Boise State.  Muma now has 103 tackles this season.  That ties him for No. 43 on the Wyoming list for best single-season tackle totals, and Muma still has two games remaining this season to add to that total.

Wide Receiver Isaiah Neyor is Emerging as One of the Top Receivers in the Mountain West Conference  

UW sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Neyor is emerging as one of the top receivers in the Mountain West this season.  He has caught nine touchdown passes to rank No. 2 in the Mountain West and No. 6 in the nation.  He is also averaging 18.38 yards per reception to rank No. 3 in the MW and No. 29 nationally.  Here are Neyor’s rankings this season.

Individual Category            Statistic                                          MW Rank         NCAA Rank

Receiving TDs                         9 total                                            No. 2                No. 6

Yards per Pass Reception      18.38 yards per reception              No. 3                No. 29

Total TDs (Rush and Rec.)      10 total                                          No. 3                No. 38

Total Points Scored                  60 total points                               No. 8                No. 94

Scoring                                     6.2 points per game                      No. 10              NA

Receiving Yards                       588 total receiving yards               No. 11               No. 80

Receiving Yards per Game      58.8 yards per game                      No. 13              NA

Strength Against Strength 

Saturday’s match-up of the Wyoming Cowboys and Utah State Aggies will feature one of the nation’s top defenses in Wyoming and one of the nation’s best offenses in Utah State.  Here is how the two Mountain West teams compare against one another

Wyoming                                                                      MW Rank         NCAA Rank

Passing Defense, 162.6 yards allowed per game         No. 1                No. 4

Pass Efficiency Defense, 117.03 rating                         No. 3                No. 20

Total Defense, 330.8 yards allowed per game               No. 4                No. 27

Utah State                                                                    MW Rank         NCAA Rank

Passing Offense, 321.0 yards per game                      No. 3                No. 12

Pass Efficiency, 152.24 rating                                       No. 2                No. 24

Total Offense, 473.3 yards per game                            No. 1                No. 13

Wyoming-Utah State Series Among the Longest for the Cowboys                 

Wyoming’s series with Utah State ranks as the fifth longest series vs. any opponent for the Cowboys.  Wyoming’s longest rivalry is versus Colorado State.  The Cowboys and Rams have played 113 times.  UW has played Utah 83 times and Brigham Young University 78 times.  Wyoming and New Mexico played earlier this season for the 74th time.  This week’s meeting between the Cowboys and the Utah State Aggies will be the 71st in the two schools’ histories.

Last Three Wyoming-Utah State Games Decided by One Possession

The last three meetings between the Wyoming Cowboys and Utah State Aggies have all been decided by just one possession — eight points or less.

Season             Score and Margin of Victory

2017                 Wyoming won 28-23 (+5) in Logan

2018                 Utah St. won 24-16 (+8) in Laramie

2019                 Utah St. won 26-21 (+5) in Logan

2020                 Didn’t play due to COVID

Common Opponents 

The Wyoming Cowboys and Utah State Aggies have played four common opponents thus far in 2021 — Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State and San Jose State.  Wyoming has a 1-3 record against those opponents.  Utah State is 3-1 versus those four common opponents. 

Common

Opponents                Wyoming vs.                   Utah State vs.

Air Force                     L 14-24 (-10), Away          W 49-45 (+4), Away

Boise State                 L 13-23 (-10), Away          L 3-27 (-24), Home

Colorado State           W 31-17 (+14), Home       W 26-24 (+2), Home

San Jose State           L 21-33 (-12), Away          W 48-17 (+31), Away

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Authors

JO

Jimmy Orr

Executive Editor

A third-generation Wyomingite, Jimmy Orr is the executive editor and co-founder of Cowboy State Daily.