Coming off a bye last week, the Wyoming Cowboys return to Mountain West Conference play on Saturday when they travel to Logan, Utah, to play the Utah State Aggies in a game that will kick off at 2:30 p.m., Mountain Time.  Wyoming is 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the MW.  Utah State is 3-3 and 1-1 in the Mountain West.

Saturday's game will be televised live on Facebook.  The telecast will be produced by Mountain West Conference television partner Stadium.  Wyoming fans may listen to the game on one of the 26 Cowboy Sports Network affiliate stations, beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday.
  
This year's meeting between the Cowboys and Aggies will be the 68th in the series.  Wyoming won last year's game in Laramie by a score of 52-28.  The series dates back to 1903.  Since 2013, the two teams have played for a traveling trophy, the "Bridger Rifle", which is a .50-caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken rifle that was popular among mountain men of the 1800s, and is widely considered to be the rifle carried by the legendary Jim Bridger.  "Bridger's Battle" was chosen as the name for the new series due to Bridger's ties to the Wyoming-Utah region.

Wyoming and Utah State have taken similar paths this season.  Both have recorded a non-conference home win over a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team – Wyoming defeated Texas State in Laramie and Utah State defeated BYU in Logan.  Both have convincing home wins over Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams – Wyoming won 27-0 over Gardner-Webb and Utah State defeated Idaho State 51-13.  The Cowboys and Aggies both lost two games to Power Five conference teams – Wyoming lost at Iowa and at home to Oregon, while Utah State lost on the road at Wisconsin and at Wake Forest.  Finally, each team opened Mountain West Conference play with victories.  Wyoming defeated Hawai'i 28-21 in one overtime in Laramie.  Utah State won 61-10 at San Jose State.  The only difference in UW's and USU's records is the Aggies one loss in conference play last week to Colorado State by a score of 14-27.

Wyoming's defense has performed well this season, ranking No. 2 in the league and No. 36 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents only 20.8 points per game.  The Pokes are also No. 2 in the league and No. 12 in the NCAA in pass defense (161.0 yards per game) and No. 4 in  MW and No. 33 nationally in total defense (345.6 yards per game).
           
The defenses for the Cowboys and Aggies both rank among the top teams in the nation in defensive touchdowns scored.  Utah State is tied for the No. 1 spot in the NCAA, scoring four defensive TDs this season.  Wyoming has scored two defensive touchdowns in 2017 to tie for 13th in the country.
           
Two defenders in Saturday's game are also ranked among the nation's best in career defensive TDs.  Utah State senior cornerback Jalen Davis has scored four career defensive touchdowns, including three this season, to tie for second among all active NCAA players.  Wyoming sophomore middle linebacker Logan Wilson has scored three career defensive TDs, one this season and two in 2016, to tie for eighth in the nation among active players.
           
Both defenses also rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in terms of forcing opponent turnovers.  Utah State has forced 16 opponent turnovers this season with nine forced fumbles and seven interceptions to rank No. 3 in the nation.  Wyoming has forced 12 opponent turnovers (six forced fumbles and six interceptions) to tie for No. 2 in the league and No. 21 in the country.
           
Offensively, the two teams are led by veteran quarterbacks.  Wyoming junior QB Josh Allen had one of his best days of the season in UW's most recent win over Texas State.  Allen completed 14 of 24 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns in helping lead the Cowboys to a 45-10 victory.  Utah State senior quarterback Kent Myers completed 17 of 29 passes for 152 yards and threw one touchdown pass last week in a 14-27 home loss to Colorado State.
           
Special teams have played a key role for Wyoming thus far this season.  The Cowboys lead the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 35.1 yards per return.  UW also leads the Mountain West and ranks 21st nationally in punt returns (12.8 yards per return).  Individually, Wyoming sophomore cornerback Tyler Hall leads the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 44.0 yards per return, and he is tied for the nation's lead in kickoff return touchdowns, with two.  Cowboy wide receiver Austin Conway ranks No. 2 in the MW and No. 17 nationally in punt returns, averaging 12.8 yards per return.  Utah State is one of the top teams nationally in kickoff return defense, allowing opponents only 14.4 yards per return to rank No. 2 in the conference and No. 5 in the country.  USU also ranks No. 3 in the Mountain West and No. 29 nationally in punt returns (11.4 yards per return).  The Aggies' top individual punt returner has been wide receiver Jordan Nathan, who averages 8.9 yards per return, placing him third in the conference and 28th in the nation.
           
This week marks only the second road trip of the season for Wyoming.  The Cowboys began the season losing on the road at Iowa, but followed that up with four consecutive home games.  Utah State is playing its fourth home game of the season, and third consecutive home game.  USU is 2-1 at home this season, having defeated Idaho State and BYU in Maverik Stadium in Logan before falling at home to Colorado State last Saturday.
           
Over the next five Saturdays, Wyoming will play all five of its MW Mountain Division opponents in consecutive weeks – at Utah State, at Boise State, vs. New Mexico in Laramie, vs. Colorado State in Laramie and at Air Force – before finishing its season against MW West Division foes Fresno State in Laramie and at San Jose State.