Utah State at Wyoming: How to watch, listen to or stream the game

Published: Oct 21, 2022, 7:45 p.m. MDT

Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Andrew Peasley (6) throws the football during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 in Provo, Utah. Tyler Tate, Associated Press

By Trent Wood

Trent Wood is a sports writer for the Deseret News.

Utah State (3-4) at Wyoming (4-3)

Kickoff: Saturday, 7:45 p.m. MDT

Venue: War Memorial Stadium, Laramie (29,181 capacity), Laramie, Wyoming

TV: Fox Sports 2

Livestream: Fox Sports Live

Radio: 1280 AM/97.5 FM

Series: Utah State is 40-27-4 all-time against Wyoming, including 13-15-3 on the road. The Aggies have won six of the last nine meetings. Utah State and Wyoming will be meeting for the 72nd time in series history this weekend in what is the fourth-most played rivalry in USU school history.

Weather: Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low-50s at kickoff, with a 0% chance of precipitation and winds (12 mph) out of the southwest.

The trends

For Utah State: The Aggies are 3-4 overall, riding a two-game winning streak after victories over Air Force and Colorado State. USU is right in the middle of the race for the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference and now has a 37% chance of becoming bowl eligible, per ESPN.

For Wyoming: The Cowboys are 4-3 this season, with losses to Illinois, BYU and San Jose State, a trio of teams that are a combined 14-6 on the year. Wyoming has won multiple closely contested game this season — against Tulsa and Air Force — and has an 87% chance of reaching the six win mark.

What to watch for

Colorado State’s Troy Golden tackles Utah State quarterback Bishop Davenport during an NCAA college football game in Fort Collins, Colo., on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. | Jon Austria, The Coloradoan via Associated Press

Everything for Utah State comes down to who is playing quarterback.

Since Cooper Legas took over for the injured Logan Bonner, the Aggies have been a different team, losing a competitive game against BYU before notching wins over Air Force and Colorado State.

Legas is questionable to play against Wyoming, though, after suffering a concussion early in the win over the Rams.

Backup quarterback Levi Williams is also questionable, after suffering an ankle injury later in the CSU game, putting the ball in the hands of true freshman Bishop Davenport.

All three signal-callers are capable runners with big arms, but the experience of Legas or Williams would go a long way in helping the Aggies pick up yet another victory.

That and another standout performance by the Utah State defense, which has improved week-by-week this season, particularly against the run, although still rates as the second worst rushing defense in the MW.

As for Wyoming, the Cowboys are led by former USU quarterback Andrew Peasley, who has done an admirable job. Wyoming is a middle-of-the-road MW team in almost every facet, save for pass defense (Wyoming is dead last in the league) and turnovers (Wyoming has committed just six turnovers all year, compared to 18 for Utah State).

The Cowboys ran all over the Aggies last season, but thus far aren’t close to the same kind of running team, averaging 150 yards per game.

Wyoming is averaging 23.3 points and 297.3 yards of total offense per game (150.1 rushing, 147.1 passing) and has allowed opponents to score 26.3 points per game and 387.9 yards of total offense (147.4 rushing, 240.4 passing).

Key player

Wyoming running back Titus Swen carries the ball during an NCAA college football game against Illinois Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, in Champaign, Ill. | Charles Rex Arbogast, Associated Press

Titus Swen, RB, Wyoming: The Aggies might still have nightmares regarding Swen. The junior running back rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns to lead Wyoming to victory over Utah State last season. Wyoming rushed for 380 total yards in that upset victory, running roughshod over USU.

This season, Swen leads the Cowboys in rushing with 505 yards on 115 carries (an average of 4.4 yards per carry and 72.1 yards per game) with four touchdowns.

Swen has been up-and-down this season, but when combined with Dawaiian McNeely, has given Wyoming a similar one-two punch in the run game that the Cowboys had a season.

Throw in Peasley mobility, and Wyoming has the potential to have a dynamic rushing attack.

Quotable

“They had a ton of guys leave to the portal and ... they still are playing at an extremely high level. They’re well-coached, they don’t make many mistakes, they are extremely disciplined, they play downhill, big-boy, hit-you-in-the-mouth football, and that’s who he (Craig Bohl) is. He’s won more game than most people in the country could even think of winning.” — Utah State coach Blake Anderson

“Utah State has flipped the script and really turned into a good football team. The win over Air Force was really impressive and they came through a lot of adversity to beat Colorado State. I think that is a testament to Coach (Blake) Anderson and the leadership in their program. They’ve got some really talented players. ... They are trending up. Great deal of respect for their program.” — Wyoming coach Craig Bohl

Next up

Utah State has its last bye week of the season before kicking off the final month of the season. Wyoming, meanwhile, travels to Hawaii to take on the struggling Warriors on Saturday, Oct. 29.