Two for two.
Utah’s excursion into Laramie will be contested for a while until the Utes pull out the hammer, and Utah State hopes to ride Bronco Mendenhall’s success over Air Force in another home victory in Maverik Stadium Saturday night.
Utah is almost a four-touchdown favorite over longtime nemesis Wyoming, but when this game is in Laramie, it can have twists and turns and a lot of emotion.
There is no question that Wyoming fans, coaches and players will be sky-high to face the Utes. There is plenty of fodder.
- Getting a ranked team in War Memorial Stadium high in the Rockies.
- Facing a program that abandoned the Mountain West for the Pac-12 back in 2010, leaving Wyoming and other league entities to fend for themselves.
- Just general interstate animosity from the old days. Wyoming, the state’s only major sports program, doesn’t really like Utah ... or BYU.
- Memories of November 2007 when Cowboy Coach Joe Glenn flipped off Utah coach Kyle Whittingham from across the field after the Utes executed an onside kick with a 43-point lead.
These are the underpinnings for this matchup.
Fortunately for Wyoming, Utah has agreed to come to town.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Utah is more talented, deeper, faster, bigger and will ultimately win, likely by a big margin, and without an onside kick.
Wyoming is a stout team with a lot of pride. And the Cowboys will play hard.
The Cowboy defense is ranked sixth in total defense after two wins over Northern Iowa (31-7) and Akron (10-0), allowing 191.5 yards per game. Wyoming ranks No. 17 just ahead of Utah in rushing defense, allowing just 74 yards on the ground per game.
This will be a good visual for Ute QB Devon Dampier and company.
Northern Iowa’s coach, Todd Stepsis, was impressed with Wyoming’s offensive line.
“Their O-line is all over 300 pounds or more. We’re going to have to send waves at those big guys. They have dynamic athletes on the edge on offense and they’ve got a receiver that gets the ball in his hands, and you take a deep breath.”
In Logan, Utah State has not had a good record against the option attack of Air Force, going 3-5 in recent history. Conversely, Mendenhall went 6-1 against AFA while at BYU and beat the Falcons last year in his only year at New Mexico.
The Falcons’ impressive option attack took a hit when the NCAA ruled that cut blocks, so important to what AFA does, are illegal and banned for safety reasons. Since 2022, cut blocks outside the tackle box have not been allowed. It was a key ingredient Falcon offensive linemen used to create quick openings. This was key in their blocking schemes to get opposing linebackers and defensive ends out of the play.
This week’s predictions
- Utah State 31, Air Force 28
- UCLA 17, New Mexico 14
- Arizona State 27, Texas State 17
- Pittsburgh 24, West Virginia 21
- Baylor 42, Samford 7
- Arizona 28, Kansas State 21
- Houston 24, Colorado 21
- Texas A&M 34, Notre Dame 31
- Texas Tech 37, Oregon State 17
- Georgia 31, Tennessee 28
- Alabama 24, Wisconsin 21
- Clemson 31, Georgia Tech 24
- Oregon 42, Northwestern 7
- Utah 37, Wyoming 14
Last week: 11-4; overall: 20-6 (.769)