Wyoming shows up in Mount Pleasant with a nearly rebuilt roster and something to prove after two miserable seasons. Central Michigan just wants to show its 2025 turnaround wasn't a fluke.
Bush’s Picks
WYOCMU
WYOCMU
OverUnder
Best BetCentral Michigan
Central Michigan gets the nod here mostly on continuity — Drinkall's group already showed it can win games last season, while Wyoming is stitching together a new quarterback, a new coordinator and a roster full of transfers on the fly. New systems tend to look rough in September before they look good in November, and that favors the team that isn't starting from scratch.
Wyoming
+Transfer QB Tyler Hughes brings proven dual-threat production
+New OC arrives off Buffalo Bills staff
+Tote Harris returns after leading team in rushing
−Finished 4-8 overall, 2-6 in Mountain West last year
−Heavy roster turnover with 20 incoming transfers
−New QB and new coordinator still building chemistry
Central Michigan
+Coming off 7-6 bowl season under first-year coach Drinkall
+Langston Lewis returns after leading receiving production
+Added transfer RB Vaughn Blue from Liberty
−Lost leading receiver McIntosh for the entire season
−QB Jadyn Glasser missed 11 games last year with injury
−Unproven depth behind Glasser if health becomes an issue
This is a program-direction game more than a rivalry one. Wyoming enters with a transfer quarterback, a transfer-heavy two-deep, and a new coordinator pulled off an NFL staff — a full reset after finishing 4-8 a year ago. Central Michigan, by contrast, is trying to prove last year's 7-6 bowl season under first-year coach Matt Drinkall was the start of something instead of a one-off.
Tyler Hughes is the name to know for Wyoming. He transfers in off an All-CAA season at William & Mary, where he became the first quarterback in that program's history to top 2,000 passing yards and 600 rushing yards in the same year. New offensive coordinator Christian Taylor, hired off the Buffalo Bills' staff, is building around Hughes and returning running back Samuel "Tote" Harris, who led the Cowboys with 558 yards last season. It's a lot of new pieces asked to gel fast, and non-conference trips like this one are where that either clicks or doesn't.
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WYO Wyoming
CMU Central Michigan
Central Michigan's staying power hinges on health more than talent right now. Quarterback Jadyn Glasser looked sharp in his lone extended look last season — 7-of-9 passing in Week 2 against Pitt — before an injury cost him the final 11 games. He's back for spring and fall camp, which is the best news CMU could ask for, but a quarterback who's played essentially one healthy game in two years still carries some risk walking into September.
Wyoming Cowboys
Sep 12?vs Northern Colorado—
Sep 5?@ Colorado State—
Central Michigan Chippewas
Sep 12?vs Colgate—
Sep 5?@ New Mexico—
Recent form.
Wyoming Cowboys
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Central Michigan Chippewas
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
The receiving corps took a real hit when leading target McIntosh, who caught 31 passes for 422 yards last season, was ruled out for the entire 2026 campaign. That pushes more volume toward Langston Lewis, who caught better than 70% of his targets for 596 yards a year ago, and it opens a door for younger receivers like Justin Ruffin and Collin Payne to prove they belong. Add in transfer running back Vaughn Blue arriving from Liberty, and Drinkall's offense has its own set of new faces to sort out — just with a returning starting quarterback instead of an imported one.
Neither team is walking in with a settled identity, which is exactly what makes this one interesting for a September non-conference game. Wyoming is betting a transfer influx and a new play-caller can erase two years of losing in a hurry. Central Michigan is betting that last year's breakthrough was real and that better health at quarterback is all it needed. One of those bets gets validated first.
