Cowboys Fall to Colorado State in Season Opener

Pokes at Home next Saturday

LARAMIE, Wyo.  (Sept. 5, 2026) – Wyoming opened the season with a 35-13 loss to rival Colorado State on Saturday at Canvas Stadium.

The Cowboys (0-1) had won eight of the previous 10 meetings with the Rams (1-0), including a 28-0 victory last season, before watching the rivals grab the Bronze Boot in front of a crowd of 40,546 on a hot evening in Fort Collins.

In his first start at quarterback for UW, Tyler Hughes passed for 130 yards and rushed for 52 yards. The Pokes were unable to overcome four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) that led to 14 CSU points.

"We made way too many mistakes in critical situations that killed us in that game," Sawvel said. "Frustrating. Just like we tell the players, we've got a lot of things to fix and need to stick together and do it."

Samuel "Tote" Harris had 63 yards rushing and Jacob Wilson had two receptions for 51 yards to lead the offense. Ethan Stuhlsatz had 15 tackles and Esaia Bogar added 11 for the defense.

Eric Richardson had a 56-yard kickoff return Hughes capped a 7-play, 55-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown scamper to get the Pokes within 14-13 with 10:59 remaining in the second quarter.

UW's defense forced a three-and-out and the offense was threatening to give the visitors the lead until an illegal man downfield penalty wiped out a completion from Hughes to Charlie Coenen that would have moved the sticks on third-and-16.

The Cowboys' third turnover of the game on the next snap led to a 57-yard touchdown pass by CSU quarterback Hauss Hejny to make the score 21-13 with 4:00 remaining in the third quarter.

Hajny threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and finished 214 yards passing and five touchdowns.

UW trailed 14-6 at the intermission after two offensive possessions ended with interceptions.

The Rams opened the game with a 10-play, 65-yard drive capped with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Hejny to Makih Johnson to make the score 7-0.

The Cowboys answered with a 13-play, 56-yard drive that stalled in the red zone. Erik Sandvik's 37-yard field goal cut the deficit to 7-3 with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter.

CSU capitalized on a turnover to take a 14-3 lead and had a chance to add to it, but Kali Nguma missed a 54-yard field goal with 33 seconds left.

After runs of 4 and 15 yards by Harris and a 15-yard scramble by Hughes down the visiting sideline, Sandvik drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired on the first half to make it a one-possession game at the intermission.

CSU leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1899, 61-52-5. UW has a 47-34 edge since the end of World War II and a 32-26 advantage since the Bronze Boot was introduced to the rivalry in 1968.

UW will play Northern Colorado in the home opener next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (2 p.m., MW+).

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