Gear Up For Game Day: NDSU Bison

DENVER, Colo., -- Jay Sawvel said he hopes to "bore" the locals Saturday inside a sold-out Fargodome.

What does that entail?

Running the football. Converting third-down opportunities. Forcing 3-and-outs.

Think Idaho in Laramie back in 2024. And sorry for the reminder.

While the task sounds simple enough for the visiting Cowboys, it's anything but against an unbeaten North Dakota State team that every week is still looking to prove it belongs at the FBS level and should be considered a contender for a Mountain West title.

When it comes to boring, though, look no further than the first 30 minutes against this Bison team during the lone meeting between these two programs.

Wyoming, playing in front of more than 19,000 inside War Memorial Stadium on that sun-splashed September 2008 afternoon, rolled up a grand total of 58 yards of total offense behind quarterback Dax Crum. That equated to five punts, a fumble and a big fat goose egg on the home scoreboard.

In the meantime it was the top-ranked Bison, led by then head coach Craig Bohl, who took advantage of that historically bad offense, taking a 10-0 lead into the halftime locker room. The visitors would tack on three more on the opening drive of the third quarter, marching 78 yards on seven plays.

The Cowboys' offense would finally wake up on the ensuing possession. The lightning-and-thunder backfield combo of Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon, respectively, chewed up all 60 yards on that drive. Moore, the speedy one, had a 44-yard jaunt and finally crossed the goal line from two yards out.

Wyoming would add a pair of Jake Scott field goals, both from 28 yards, on the next two opportunities.

The dagger that day came with 2:02 remaining on the game clock. That's when NDSU signal caller Nick Mertens was picked off by Cowboy safety Derrick McMahen. That gift was exchanged inside the Bison 30-yard line.

“Everyone on D was looking for that big opportunity,” McMahen said. “Whoever it came to was going to take it, and it came to me.”

Four plays later, Scott boomed through a 29-yard field goal to preserve the win.

“This is a real confidence builder for him,” Glenn told the local media postgame. “He knocked them right down the middle. We really needed him.”

Moore led the Cowboys with 145 rushing yards and future UW Athletics Hall of Famer Chris Prosinski snagged a pair of interceptions.

Mertens connected on just 16-of-30 passes for 215 yards. He did throw one touchdown pass but was picked off three times as the Bison dropped their first game of the season. Wyoming moved to 2-1 overall.

“This is the first time since 2,008 years ago that somebody else rose from the dead,” Glenn joked. “We were out, and there was hardly anything left in our locker room. Then we came out and got a little rhythm.”

You might recall just how deficient that offense was in '08.

The Cowboys averaged only 12.7 points an outing, capping the season, Glenn's last at the school, with a 4-8 record. It wasn't the FCS victory that stood out, either. NDSU wouldn't become the program we now recognize until three seasons later when Bohl claimed his first of three straight national championships.

He would then bolt for Laramie where he roamed the sidelines at Wyoming for the next decade.

The stunner that fall came in Knoxville, where the Cowboys outlasted national-power Tennessee 13-7 on homecoming. With two more wins needed to clinch a berth in the postseason, Wyoming dropped an eight-point decision to UNLV and was handily beaten by Border War rival Colorado State in the finale.

That victory on Rocky Top wasn't enough to save Cowboy Joe's job.

Here is all you need to know -- and the links -- for Saturday's tilt vs. NDSU:

WHO: Wyoming (2-2, 1-0) at North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1:30 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 68, Low 42, Sunny, Wind 14 mph (Game indoors)
WHERE: Fargodome, Fargo, N.D. (18,700 capacity)
TRAVEL: NDRoads
STREAMING: The CW
TV: The CW
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
TICKETS: NDSU Ticket Office (Sold out)
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / NDSU
HISTORY: Wyoming leads all-time series, 1-0
BETTING ODDS: NDSU -16.5, O/U: 44.5
HEAD COACHES: Jay Sawvel / Tim Polasek