LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 19, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowboys are set for a Friday evening Clash with Air Force in a 7 p.m. start on Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. The Cowboys will wear special Cowboys & Coal jerseys against the Falcons on Friday. Wyoming Athletics partnered with the Wyoming Mining Association for a special jersey that that honors the State of Wyoming's rich coal mining history, as the partnership enters its second season.
The game will also feature pregame and in-game salutes to the coal mining industry. Fans are encouraged to wear black to the contest against Air Force. The Brown and Gold Outlet has Cowboys & Coal gear at their locations in Laramie and Cheyenne and online on the link here.
Ticket Information for This Season
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.
Contest on The CW
Friday's contest will be televised on The CW with Chris fisher on the call with Isaiah Stanback analyzing the action along with Bryan Walters on the sidelines. Fans can also stream the contest on the WatchESPN App.
Listen Live
The game will also be available on the 26 stations of The Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call, Kevin McKinney on color and Erick Pauley on the sidelines.
Back in Black (Cowboys and Coal): Wyoming will wear black for the second-straight season in the contest against Air Force as part of the Cowboys and Coal game. The Adizero Electric Jersey produced by Adidas and designed by Wyoming Athletics is black and white and will feature script font that spells out Wyoming on the chest. The main feature of the jersey is a coal print on the lower part of the jersey and top of the pants. The coal print represents pieces of coal, as the State of Wyoming leads the nation in coal production. It is joined by the Adidas logo on the left and Mountain West logo on the right. The player's name will be joined on the back of the jersey along with a Steamboat logo. The stripe on the pants will be both white and dark grey and will be joined by logos. All marks on the jersey have a charcoal gray outline. The helmet by Riddell will feature a white stripe down the middle along with a white Steamboat logo. The color of the helmet is ultra-flat black with a standard black dipped facemask and a black chinstrap.
Hughes Named MW Offensive Player of the Week: University of Wyoming quarterback Tyler Hughes was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. It marks back-to-back weeks that a Cowboy player has earned a weekly Mountain West honor, as kicker Erik Sandvik earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors last week.
Hughes rushed for 183 yards in the contest against Northern Illinois along with four touchdowns. He was also 16-of-19 passing for 196 yards. Hughes' career-high 183 yards in the contest was the most by a Cowboy quarterback since Levi Williams rushed for 200 yards against Kent State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2021. His four touchdowns were also the most since Williams had four in that contest.
It was the first 150-yard rushing game for the Pokes since Harrison Waylee had 191 against New Mexico on Sept. 30, 2023. It was the 14th best rushing performance by a quarterback in MW history.
He helped lead the Wyoming offense to a season-high 41 points along with a season-best 510 yards for the most in a game for the Brown and Gold since 2024. UW is off to a 3-1 start in conference play and hosts Air Force on Friday evening.
Markell Goes Over 2,000: Wyoming running back rushed 14 times for 80 yards in the contest against Northern Illinois. He went over 2,000 yards in his collegiate career. He now has ruched for 2,043 yards in his collegiate career. He went over 2,000 career yards on the Pokes second drive of the game. He has rushed 72 times this season for 402 yards.
Pokes Over 300 on the Ground: Wyoming had a big day on the ground against Northern Illinois rushing for 314 yards. Wyoming rushed for over 300 yards since rushing for 365 against Hawai'i Oct. 29, 2022. Hughes led the team with 183 yards on the ground with Markell Holman adding 80 and Nico Hamilton adding a career-best 31 yards on eight carries. Wyoming has rushed for 545 yards over the last two games.
Getting to the Quarterback: Wyoming recorded a season-high five sacks in the contest against Northern Illinois. It was a season-high for the Brown and Gold, as five different players recorded a sack in the contest. UW is third in the MW and No. 38 in the nation with 2.4 sacks per game for the season. The Pokes have had 14 sacks over the last four games.
Tackles for Loss: Wyoming recorded six tackles for loss in the win over Northern Illinois. The Pokes rank third in the MW this season and No. 58 in the nation with 5.6 tackles for loss per game this season. Wyoming has 25 over the last four games.
Sandvik with Another Big Week: Wyoming kicker Erik Sandvik had another solid week for the Brown and Gold. He hit a pair of field goals in the contest and is a perfect 10-for-10 this season to lead the nation in field goal percentage, as he is one of 12 players in the nation to not miss a field goal this season. He also booted seven touchbacks on seven kickoffs in the contest.
New Faces Earn Sacks: Wyoming recorded five sacks in the win over Northern Illinois on Saturday. What was imoressive was that two Cowboys earned their first career sacks in the game. Defensive end Kevin Sjogren added his first along with defensive tackle Tani Maafala-Barabasa. Defensive tackle Ja'Quan Redfern and linebacker Steven Perez recorded their first solo sacks of their career.
Friday Night Lights: Wyoming will play its second of three games on Friday this week with the contest against Air Force. Wyoming won at San Jose State in overtime on Friday, October 16. Wyoming will also face New Mexico in November on a Friday night.
Richardson's Career Day: Wyoming wide receiver Eric Richardson had a solid day for the Pokes. He hauled in five passes for a career-high in the Brown and Gold and also had 77 yards receiving for a career-high for the Cowboys. He grabbed a 40-yard reception in the second half for a season-high reception for the wide receiver room.
Thomas and Deflections: Wyoming safety Jones Thomas recorded a career-high three pass breakups in the contest against Northern Illinois. He has broken up a career-high nine passes this season and also has two interceptions. He ranks first in the Mountain West and third in the nation in 1.57 passes defended per contest this season. He also leads the Pokes with 50 tackles on the season.
Big Day for the Offense: Wyoming's offense had a big day against Northern Illinois scoring a season-high 41 points to go along with a season-high 510 yards of total offense. UW rushed for over 300 yards in the contest and had 10 plays of 10 or more rushing yards. The Wyoming offense recorded 500 yards of offense for the first time since recording 604 yards at New Mexico on Nov. 2, 2024.
Coenen on Offense and Special Teams: Wyoming wide receiver and punt returner Charlie Coenen had a strong day in both departments. He recorded a season-high 24-yard punt return to set up a score to close the half and added two catches for 20 yards. He ranks third in the MW and top-40 in the nation with 9.4 yards per punt return this season.
Pokes in Conference Play: Wyoming is off to a 3-1 start in conference play for the best start in the Mountain West since the 2022 season, which the Pokes opened conference play with a recorded of 5-1.
Chunk Plays on the Ground: Wyoming recorded 10 rushes of 10 or more yards in the contest against Northern Illinois. Those 10 plays came up for 215 yards of total offense. Wyoming headed into the game with 39 rushes of 10 or more yards this season and now have 49 on the season with ranks in the top-10 in FBS this season.
About Air Force
The Falcons, coming off an impressive 41-31 home victory over UNLV, are off to the program's best start since opening the 2023 campaign 8-0.
Quarterback Evan Medders, who has taken over the triple-option attack for injured starter Liam Szarka, ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way.
Air Force finished with 430 rushing yards against the Rebels after racking up 439 yards in a 28-7 win at Northern Illinois the week before. The Falcons rank second in the FBS in rushing (343.0 ypg) behind rival Army (357.5 ypg).
Szarka passed for 296 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions before suffering a season-ending injury. Medders is 5-for-10 passing for 65 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions this season.
Air Force has run 431 offensive plays this season without losing a fumble. The Falcons have not fumbled since the second quarter against New Mexico in 2025, a streak of 549 total plays.
Defensively, Air Force has allowed 19.7 points (38th) and 295.7 yards (23rd) per game. Senior linebacker Blake Fletcher is second in the MW in tackles per game (10.67).
