BYU-Wyoming littered with history, hazy future amid college football's changing landscape

PROVO — All along the 408-mile drive along Highway 80 from Provo to Laramie are Wyoming fans, with a few BYU fans mixed in, especially along the western front of the Equality State.

Those numbers, though, can feel small at times for any Cougar aficionado that attempted those roadways during the two schools' 80-game shared history that dates back to 1922.

Just ask BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker.

"Every year, we have a family reunion on July 4 with all my cousins in Rock Springs. They are die-hard Wyoming fans," the former Bingham High standout recalled before Saturday night's kickoff (7 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network). "They kind of give me crap all the time about it.

"I would say I got a little extra juice going into this game, for sure; the whole family is going to be there."

Glasker has never been to War Memorial Stadium, and the Cowboys never recruited him out of South Jordan.

But coaches, players and current staff members have plenty of memories — some fond, others not so much — of the third-most played series in BYU football history, behind only in-state rivals Utah and Utah State.

From Wyoming fans yelling obscenities at the Cougars at 7,220 feet above sea level to BYU hatching an ill-fated attempt to leave the Cowboys in the Mountain West and take its Olympic sports team back to the Western Athletic Conference prior to going independent, the level of passion between the two fan bases is what made college football special for decades.

Even BYU players who didn't grow up around the rivalry are learning about the history.

"I don't know much, not enough," said BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who grew up in Corona, California, before deadpanning with tongue squarely in cheek: "Although I do know to not leave the locker room without a helmet on. That's the No. 1 thing I've heard.

"I know that it's a storied rivalry through the Mountain West days," he added. "And I know there's a good likelihood this is one of the last times we are going up there. I'm excited to go up there against a tough, physical team; they always play us tough. So I'm excited to go up there and try to go kick their butt."

BYU leads the all-time series 46-30-3, including the last game in 2022, a 38-24 win that featured a breakout performance from running back Miles Davis for 131 yards and wide receiver-turned-tight end Keanu Hill going for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

But behind the austere vitriol and occasional hate between two groups that routinely didn't like each other — including quotes from legendary BYU head coach LaVell Edwards about winning in Laramie and losing in Provo — there was also something of a kinship for two programs that traversed the Rocky Mountain, Mountain States, Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences hand-in-hand before BYU went independent in 2011 and joined the Big 12 a year ago.

At least, that's the feeling between BYU head coach Kalani Sitake and his Wyoming counterpart Jay Sawvel for a series that led to on-field drama and some off it, like Wyoming's "Black 14" that were dismissed from the program's for protesting policies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that owns BYU and only recently came back together in a full-circle moment of healing among all parties.

"Knowing the history of this rivalry, I know they have a passionate fanbase that loves the team, and I know they're looking forward to this game, too," Sitake said. "They are a really well coached team with tough kids and a great culture."

The Pokes are 0-2 after a loss to FCS Idaho heading into their first time hosting the Cougars in 15 years, and don't take that priority lightly.

There's no guarantee of a return trip for BYU to Laramie, a community of just over 32,000 people located 50 miles from the state capitol in Cheyenne. That was made more clear Thursday morning, when the current Pac-12 of Oregon State and Washington State announced the additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State in 2026 — and threw the Mountain West into the realignment chaos.

There's a lot to manage around college athletics in Laramie right now. Hosting an old rival, then, is a breathe of fresh air at elevation.

"This is a special game, really, when you get down to it for our players, for our program, for the state," Sawvell said. "They're not on any future schedule. I don't know when they (will) ever come back to War Memorial Stadium. I think because of that this will obviously be a big deal to everyone in the state of Wyoming."

The Cowboys are hosting a black-and-gold "stripe out" at the stadium for Saturday's kickoff, and are led by quarterback Evan Svoboda, a 6-foot-5 junior from Mesa, Arizona, by way of Snow College in Ephraim.

Wyoming will also be without senior running back Harrison Waylee, a Northern Illinois transfer and the Pokes' lead running back who had knee surgery to start the season and is out indefinitely (but not for the season, Sawvell has noted).

BYU will also be without its top two running backs in LJ Martin and Folau Ropati, with Davis and Enoch Nawahine set to guide the ground game behind an experienced offensive line of Connor Pay, Caleb Etienne, Brayden Keim, Weylin Lapuaho, Sonny Makasini and Austin Leausa.

But for two historic rivals whose paths have squarely split apart over the past two decades, Saturday's game means a little more.

History, after all, can't be ignored.

"It's really fun," Retzlaff said. "You get some extra energy, some extra juice. A lot of games have a lot of juice, but those rivalry games have more.

"It's a physical group; it's Wyoming. They're always going to play tough, and give BYU their best. We're ready for them to come out physically, and we're going to try to be more physical than them."

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