In each program’s history, Texas and Wyoming football have only met five times. In these few encounters, the Longhorns have defeated the Cowboys every game, averaging 32.6 points per game against their opponent.
Ranked as No. 2 in 2009, Texas and then-quarterback Colt McCoy came back from a slow start to win 41-10, the largest margin of victory between the two teams. Though the game was at 13-10 at the end of the first half, the Longhorns came back to score touchdowns in three out of their four possessions in the third quarter.
In their second most recent matchup, back in 2010, then-No. 5 Texas beat the unranked Cowboys 34-7. The background was similar: Texas was looking to remain undefeated with a three-game win streak, while Wyoming had a 1–1 record. Colt McCoy, who led Texas to the 2009 Big 12 Championship the season prior, had since graduated and quarterback Garrett Gilbert took over, passing for 222 yards and a touchdown.
The last time the two teams met was in 2012 when then-No. 15 Texas defeated Wyoming 37-17 in Austin during the Longhorns’ season opener. Wyoming started with the lead, taking charge of the game 3-0, but was down 7-3 by the end of the first quarter and went dormant for the remainder of the game until its final touchdown in the fourth.
Head coaches Steve Sarkisian and Craig Bohl will meet for the first time on Saturday. Bohl was hired at Wyoming in 2013, the season following the teams’ last matchup, while Sarkisian is heading into his third season at Texas after joining the Longhorns in 2021.
In the last matchup, former head coach Mack Brown led Texas into his 13th season and Dave Christensen led Wyoming. Both coaches left their respective jobs less than two years later, with current coach Bohl replacing Christensen and Charlie Strong taking charge of the Longhorns.
Heading into the weekend, both teams hold a 2–0 record. In their home opener, Wyoming defeated Texas Tech 35-33 in overtime, followed by another 33-10 home win against Portland State. Texas started the season with a 37-10 win against Rice and made history by defeating Alabama 34-24 and ending the Crimson Tide’s 21-home win streak in Tuscaloosa. Texas has scored 112 points on the Cowboys from 2009 to 2012, versus a total of 34 points on Wyoming’s end, making the Longhorns a predicted victor come Saturday.
This matchup will mark the fifth time the two meet at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium, as the series has only flown to Laramie, Wyoming once, in 2009. Royal, who gave the stadium its name, was Texas’ coach in the teams’ first matchup in 1974.
Now ranked No. 4, the Longhorns will attempt to extend its streak and reach a 3–0 record for the first time since 2012 as it faces Wyoming for the first time in 11 years, with both teams looking to continue being undefeated this season.
