LARAMIE – Jay Sawvel and the Cowboys will have to beat this week's opponent.
 
They're likely not going to get any help from the Falcons.
 
Entering Wyoming's pivotal Mountain West game against Air Force on Friday at War Memorial Stadium (7 p.m., The CW), the visitors have run 431 offensive plays this season without losing a fumble.
 
In fact, the Falcons (5-1, 3-1) have not fumbled since the second quarter against New Mexico in 2025, a streak of 549 total plays.
 
The Cowboys (4-3, 3-1) did not have a turnover during the 41-23 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
 
"We're going to have to play our best game of the season this year to have success," Sawvel said at his Monday press conference. "We've got a lot of work to do for this game this week, but it's fun to be at this part of the year and have big games. This is a big deal, and we're looking forward to it."
 
In recent history, the home team has found ways to win close games in this series, which Air Force leads 32-28-3.
 
The Pokes haven't won at Falcon Stadium since Josh Allen was the quarterback in 2017. Last year's 24-21 defeat was one of the more excruciating losses of the Sawvel era and resulted in significant changes on the offensive side of the ball within the program.
 
Those changes, including the hiring of offensive coordinator Christian Taylor from the Buffalo Bills and the addition of quarterback Tyler Hughes, are starting to pay dividends.
 
Hughes was named the MW offensive player of the week after completing 16 of 19 passes for 196 yards and rushing for 183 yards and four touchdowns against the Huskies.
 
UW finished with 510 total yards and went 5-for-5 in the red zone.
 
"Offensively, I think a lot of the things that we have seen on tape, we know that we're really close," Hughes said. "(Against NIU) we executed. Five hundred yards and four touchdowns? Was I thinking about that? No, my job is to come out here and be my best self for my teammates."
 
Defensively, Air Force is allowing 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).
 
"We've got a great deal of respect for their program, for Coach (Troy) Calhoun, and Mike Thiessen's a great dude, and he's a great guy. He's a great football coach, tremendous offensive coordinator," Sawvel said. "They've diversified over the last two years and are really doing it at a high level right now."
 
The Falcons, coming off an impressive 41-31 win over UNLV, are off to the program's best start since opening the 2023 campaign 8-0.
 
Quarterback Evan Medders, who has taken over for injured starter Liam Szarka, ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way.
 
"He's faster than Szarka," Sawvel said of Medders, who led Air Force to a 28-7 win at NIU in his first start. "That creates a challenge in and of itself. His speed is something that you notice. I mean, he's averaging 7 yards a carry and there's a reason for it."
 
The Falcons finished with 430 rushing yards against the Rebels after racking up 439 yards against the Huskies the week before. Air Force ranks 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.
 
The Falcons are second nationally in time of possession, averaging 36:22 per game.
 
"In the last nine times that we've played Air Force, if they have four drives or more of eight or more plays, we've only won one game," Sawvel said. "Last week against UNLV they had five drives of eight or more plays. So, how do you get that done? Well, you've got to tackle great, you've got to play with great force up front."
 
Air Force hasn't won at War Memorial Stadium since 2012 and is 11-16-2 all-time in Laramie. The average margin of victory for the Cowboys during their five-game home winning streak against the Falcons is 7.2 points.
 
Calhoun has downplayed this Front Range rivalry due to the annual Commander-in-Chief's Trophy competition against Army and Navy, but everyone in the High Altitude Performance Center understands the importance of the game.
 
"In this program, it's a rivalry and we work with it that way," Sawvel said. "Our players will be excited to play. We've got to execute really well; we're going to have to play great. We know that this is a big game."
 
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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