LARAMIE – Singing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" in the visiting locker room is something Jay Sawvel has enjoyed three times as a head coach.
 
Wyoming, which won at New Mexico and Washington State last November, opened the season with a 10-0 victory at Akron last Thursday.
 
The Cowboys (1-0) returned to the practice field in full pads Monday to continue preparing for Northern Iowa this Saturday inside a newly renovated War Memorial Stadium (2 p.m., Altitude).
 
UW finished 1-5 at home in 2024. Four of those bitter defeats – to Idaho (17-13), San Diego State (27-24), Utah State (27-25) and Mountain West champion Boise State (17-13) – were by a combined 13 points.
 
"We've won three of our last four road games in this program. Now we've got to get this home thing solved," Sawvel said during his weekly press conference. "The emphasis we made the other day with our players was talking about the fact that we don't walk into War Memorial Stadium with a 7-to-nothing lead; we walk in 0-0. If it was that way, a year ago we would have been 5-1. Instead, we were 1-5."
 
In other words, the Pokes will not be overlooking the FCS Panthers (1-0).
 
UNI opened the season with a 38-14 victory over Butler in Ceder Rapids, Iowa, outscoring the Bulldogs 21-0 in the second half and out-gaining them 448-336 in total yards.
 
Quarterback Matthew Schecklam was 15-for-25 passing for 214 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Harrison Bey-Buie had 12 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown, Bill Jackson added 12 carries for 76 yards, and the Panthers averaged 6.9 yards per rush as a team for 213 yards.
 
Defensively, UNI was led by linebackers Tucker Langenberg (12 tackles) and linebacker Ryan Crandall (10 tackles) and cornerbacks Jonathan Cabral-Martin (one interception) and Joe Hall (one interception).
 
"Northern Iowa is a traditionally good program," Sawvel said. "They've got a new coaching staff that has had success where they've been. They'll be ready to play when they come here, and their players are going to be excited to come here. We need to make sure that we do our part within that.
 
"Our players will be ready. We respect Northern Iowa. All of our coaches have a great deal of respect for that place and that program."
 
UW offensive coordinator Jay Johnson played quarterback at UNI from 1989-92. He passed for 8,341 yards and 60 touchdowns before handing the reins over to Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Warner.
 
The Pokes had 426 total yards but only two scores against Akron. Wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. (146 yards receiving, one touchdown) and Sam Scott (132 yards rushing) had big nights, but Sawvel expects more skill players, particularly tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, to have a greater impact.
 
Converting short-yardage situations will be critical for the Cowboys after getting stopped on several key third- and fourth-down opportunities in the opener.
 
We need far better performance offensively this week and going forward with more people stepping up, more people doing the right things all the way through the course of the game," Sawvel said. "We'll get to that. I have seen us perform far better on a practice field and in scrimmages, then all of a sudden, the lights come on and we had some guys not play as well."
 
Sawvel was pleased with the defense, which posted its first shutout for second-year defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl. The Zips were held to 228 total yards and 3.5 yards per play.
 
Linebacker Brayden Johnson intercepted Ben Finley in the end zone to thwart Akron's best scoring opportunity. A total of 22 players were part of the defensive rotations and defensive end Esaia Bogar and linebacker Gary Rutherford are expected to be worked in this week as they recover from injuries.
 
Sawvel, the defensive coordinator in 2023 when the Cowboys went 7-0 at home and capped the Craig Bohl era with nine wins, said the most players he played on defense in a game that season was 17.
 
"That pays dividends in multiple ways," Sawvel said of the improved depth on this year's unit. "Number one, when you come back to practice today and come back to prepare for an opponent you have a lot of guys who are now preparing to play because they know they are going to play. So that's a big piece of it. The second piece of it is it helps you if you get an injury, you're not putting a guy in that hasn't been in a game."
 
The Pokes hope to sing the fight song after a win Saturday to set the stage for the Week 3 reunion with Utah at the War.
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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