LARAMIE, Wyo.  (Oct. 3,2023) – The national spotlight will be on Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium and the Mountain West Conference tonight as FOX Sports will televise the Wyoming-Fresno State game before a national television audience with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
 
The game can be heard on the 26 affiliates of the Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call and Kevin McKinney on color with Erick Pauley on the sidelines.
 
Ticket Information
Fans may order tickets online, via email or by phone at:
      •Go to GoWyo.com/tickets
      •Email tickets@uwyo.edu
      •Call (307) 766-7220
      •Stop by the UW Athletics Ticket Office on the West Side of the Arena-Auditorium on the corner of Willett Drive and 19th Street.
 
The Cowboys will enter the game with a 4-1 overall record and a 1-0 record in the Mountain West Conference.  Fresno State will bring a 5-0 record and a 1-0 conference mark into tonight's game.
Both the Pokes and Bulldogs have recorded big wins early this season.  Wyoming opened the season with a win over then No. 24 ranked Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference.  Fresno State went on the road and defeated Purdue of the Big Ten Conference in the Bulldogs' season opener.  Fresno State also went on the road and defeated Arizona State of the Pac-12 Conference.
 
Wyoming's four victories this season have come against Texas Tech (35-33 in double overtime), over Portland State (31-17), against Appalachian State (22-19) in a dramatic comeback win and against Mountain West rival New Mexico (35-26).  The Pokes' only loss this season came on the road at then No. 4 ranked Texas (31-10).  Wyoming entered the fourth quarter against Texas with the game tied at 10-10.
Fresno State began the '23 season by defeating Purdue on the road by a score of 39-35.  The Bulldogs pulled out a double overtime win over Eastern Washington (34-31), followed by a dominant shutout win at Arizona State (29-0), a home win vs. Kent State (53-10); and a victory over MW opponent Nevada (27-9) in Fresno last Saturday.
 
This Week's National Rankings
Entering today's game, the Fresno State Bulldogs are ranked No. 24 in both the Associated Press Media Poll and the AFCA Coaches' Poll.
 
The Wyoming Cowboys enter today receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches' Poll.
The third Mountain West Conference member school receiving votes in both the Associated Press and AFCA polls this week is Air Force.
 
Wyoming Looks to Build on Four-Game Home Winning Streak, Fresno State Holds 14-Game Winning Streak
The Wyoming Cowboys have won each of their four home games this season and will be looking to extend that home winning streak to five today.  The last home game the Cowboys lost was the final home game of the 2022 season when Boise State notched a narrow 20-17 victory over the Pokes in Laramie.
 
Fresno State enters today's game with a 14-game winning streak in all games -- home, away and neutral-site.  That is the nation's second longest current winning streak among FBS schools.  Only defending National Champion Georgia has a longer current winning streak at 22 games.
 
Winning the Close Ones
Through the first five games of the 2023 season, both Wyoming and Fresno State have had two of their five games decided by a touchdown or less and the Cowboys and Bulldogs have both won all of those close games.  Below is a breakdown of those close finishes in 2023.
 
Final Scores and
Wyoming Opponents (Date and Location)         Margins of Victory
Texas Tech (Sept. 2 in Laramie, Wyo.)                W 35-33, +2 (2 OTs)
Appalachian State (Sept. 23 in Laramie, Wyo.)          W 22-19, +3
 
Final Scores and
Fresno State Opponents (Date and Location)    Margins of Victory
Purdue (Sept. 2 in West Lafayette, Ind.)             W 39-35, +4
Eastern Washington, (Sept. 9 in Fresno, Calif.)          W 34-31, +3 (2 OTs)
 
Comeback Cowboys
It takes a great deal of confidence and perseverance to be able to comeback in a college football game.  The 2023 Wyoming Cowboys possess both of those qualities and have put those qualities on display multiple times early this season.
In the season opener, Wyoming trailed Texas Tech 17-0 at the end of the first quarter, and in the second overtime the Pokes trailed 33-27 and faced a fourth and seven at the Texas Tech 11-yard line.  UW quarterback Andrew Peasley connected with tight end John Michael Gyllenborg to score the game-tying touchdown and running back Sam Scott scored the game-winning two-point conversion to give Wyoming a 35-33 double-overtime win.
Against Appalachian State, the Cowboys faced their largest deficit of 12 points (19-7) with only 11:42 remaining in the game.  But the Pokes battled back.  Running back Harrison Waylee exploded for a 75-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 19-14, and then with only 1:52 remaining in the game defensive end DeVonne Harris blocked an App State field-goal attempt and cornerback Jakorey Hawkins picked up the ball and returned it 68 yards for what would be the winning touchdown.
 
Easton Gibbs Rising Up Wyoming's Career Tackle Chart
Wyoming middle linebacker Easton Gibbs is making his mark on the Wyoming record book.  Gibbs is only seven tackles away from breaking into Wyoming's Top 15 in school history in career tackles.  See UW's all-time leading tacklers below.
 
Player, Position            Years Played           CareerTackles
1.   Galand Thaxton, lb                    1984-87          467
2.   Andrew Wingard, s                    2015-18          454
3.   Jim Talich, lb                             1994-97          440
4.   Logan Wilson, lb                       2016-19          421
5.   John Salley, s                            1979-82          379
6.   Chris Prosinski, s                       2007-10          373
7.   Gabe Knapton, lb/de                 2008-11          368
8.   Ken Fantetti, lb                         1975-78          352
9.   Lucas Wacha, lb                        2013-16          344
10. Ward Dobbs, lb                         2005-08          343
11. Tyler Gottschalk, lb/de              2000-03          334
12. Marcus Epps, fs                         2015-18          325
13. Mike Schenbeck, lb                   1985-88          324
14. Bruce Mowry, lb                       1981-84          311
15. Brian Brown, lb                         1996-98          303
Easton Gibbs, lb                              2019-Present  296
 
Winningest Active FBS Football Coaches
(By Total Victories)
The winningest active Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) coaches include Wyoming's Craig Bohl, who is currently No. 12 on the list, and Fresno State's Jeff Tedford, who is No. 20.  The list below is compiled by the NCAA.  The coaches listed include all active FBS coaches who have coached at an FBS school at least five years.  The number of wins below include all of the coaches' wins at four-year colleges and universities.
Rank, Coach, Current School                 Total Victories
1. Nick Saban, Alabama                         284
2. Mack Brown, North Carolina              278
3. Brian Kelly, LSU                                 276
4. K.C. Keeler, Sam Houston                   259
5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa                              202
6. Willie Fritz, Tulane                             201
7. Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan      187
8. Terry Bowden, ULM                           180
9. Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State       176
10. Jerry Kill, New Mexico State             167
11. Dabo Swinney, Clemson                   164
12. Craig Bohl, Wyoming                       160
13. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State           158
Lance Leipold, Kansas                            158
Kyle Whittingham, Utah                        158
16. Dave Clawson, Wake Forest             152
17. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan                   134
18. Troy Calhoun, Air Force                   126
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M                       126
20. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State                123
Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)                   123
Bold indicates current Mountain West Conference coaches
 
Waylee Nearly Gets 200: Running back Harrison Waylee had another big day rushing the ball for the Cowboys against New Mexico. He finished with 191 rushing yards and a score. It was a career-high in rushing in a Cowboy uniform for Waylee. He averaged 10.6 yards per carry and had a TD run of 46 yards and had another rush of 66 yards.
 
Century Mark Rushing: Running back Harrison Waylee rushed for 191 yards against New Mexico. It marked his third-straight game with over 100 yards rushing. That is the first time a Cowboy has done so since Xazavian Valladay did so five-straight times in 2019. Waylee is second in the conference and No. 22 in the nation in rushing yards with 457 through three games for 152.3 per game, if eligible would lead the nation in yards per game.
 
Spreading The Ball Around: The Cowboys had nine different receivers haul in a catch against New Mexico. It was the most receivers to have a catch in a game since the Cowboys had nine against New Mexico in 2017 with Josh Allen at quarterback.
 
Ekeler In the Backfield: Safety Wyett Ekeler recorded the first sacks of his career against New Mexico. His two sacks put him with four tackles for loss on the season, which is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss.
 
Bohl Coaching His 250th Career Game: Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl will coach in his 250th game on Saturday. Bohl will coach his 114th game as the head coach of the Pokes. His first game came against Tusculum College on August 31, 2003.
 
Ekeler Named MW Defensive Player of the Week: The Wyoming Cowboys saw another defensive player earn honors from the Mountain West this week with safety Wyett Ekeler being named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first time he has earned the award in his career. Last week, nickel Wrook Brown was named the MW Defensive Player of the Week. Cornerback Jakorey Hawkins earned Special Teams Player of the Week with kicker John Hoyland earned that honor after the Texas Tech game earlier this season for Three of the five weeks this season has seen a Cowboy garner recognition from the league. Ekeler recorded a pair of sacks in a win over New Mexico. It was the first two sacks of his career in the Brown and Gold. Both came in timely situations. His first came on third down to halt a Lobo drive and his second came via the strip sack, as he recovered the fumble to stall a New Mexico drive in the closing minute of the first half. He finished the contest with four tackles along with a pass breakup.