Wyoming Cowboys at UTEP Miners

Wyoming and UTEP both spent 2025 near the bottom of the standings — now they meet as first-year Mountain West rivals with plenty left to prove.

Bush’s Picks

WYOUTEP

WYOUTEP

OverUnder

Best BetWyoming

Wyoming enters with the better recent track record and a healthier margin for error after avoiding Power Four opponents this season. UTEP's turnaround hinges on health and youth actually translating on the field, which is the shakier bet in a program replacing this much talent. Until the Miners prove the turnover issues are fixed, the Cowboys are the safer side to win outright.

Wyoming

• +28 returning lettermen plus 41 new signees
• +No Power Four games on 2026 schedule
• +Third year of stability under Sawvel
• −Just 4-8 (2-6 MW) a season ago
• −Long road trip late in the season
• −Roster overhaul still unproven on the field

UTEP

• +4th-best 2026 recruiting class in the Mountain West
• +Kam Thomas and Jaden Smith both back from injury
• +Sun Bowl homecoming atmosphere
• −Finished 2-10 in final CUSA season
• −FBS-high 20 interceptions in 2025
• −Brutal non-conference slate (Michigan, Oregon State) to open the year

Neither of these programs is walking into this season with much margin for error. Wyoming went 4-8 a year ago under Jay Sawvel, now in his third year trying to drag the Cowboys back to relevance, while UTEP closed out its final Conference USA season at 2-10 under Scotty Walden. Both are betting on turnover — Wyoming brings back 28 lettermen and added 41 signees through December and the portal, and UTEP is leaning on a top-4 recruiting class in the new-look Mountain West to fix a defense and offense that combined for an FBS-high 20 interceptions in 2025.

The Miners get a jolt of returning talent that simply wasn't available last fall. Kam Thomas tore his ACL after the opener and missed almost the entire season, and Jaden Smith sat out 2025 entirely — if both are back to form, UTEP's offense looks nothing like the group that turned the ball over at that rate. Wyoming, meanwhile, caught a break in its own scheduling: after facing Colorado and Utah last year, the Cowboys avoid Power Four competition entirely in 2026, which should make the win total easier to move even if the roster overhaul takes time to gel.

Show fees

11:00 PM CT

Spread

ML

Total

WYO Wyoming

UTEP UTEP

UTEP's non-conference slate is no joke — trips to Michigan and a home date with Oregon State bookend a schedule where five opponents made the postseason in 2025. That kind of gauntlet either toughens a team up or wears it down by the time the Mountain West portion of the season is in full swing, and this one lands deep into November, when depth and health start deciding these games as much as talent does.

Wyoming Cowboys

Nov 7?@ UNLV—

Oct 23?vs Air Force—

Oct 17?vs Northern Illinois—

Oct 9?@ San José State—

Oct 3?@ North Dakota State—

Sep 26?vs Hawai'i—

Sep 19?@ Central Michigan—

Sep 12?vs Northern Colorado—

Sep 5?@ Colorado State—

UTEP Miners

Nov 6?vs Hawai'i—

Oct 31?@ North Dakota State—

Oct 17?vs San José State—

Oct 9?vs Nevada—

Oct 2?@ New Mexico—

Sep 26?vs Oregon State—

Sep 19?@ Michigan—

Sep 12?vs Texas Southern—

Sep 4?@ Oklahoma—

Wyoming's own path runs through a Border War opener at Colorado State and a Paniolo Trophy game against Hawai'i at home, with UNLV and UTEP as the two swing road dates that likely decide whether the Cowboys are back in the conference title conversation or stuck treading water again. A split on those two trips would still represent progress from a 2-6 conference finish a year ago.

Wyoming Cowboys

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

UTEP Miners

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

By the time these two get on the field, both rosters should look considerably different from the ones that limped through 2025 — which is exactly why this is worth watching. It's not a marquee matchup, but it's a real litmus test for which rebuild is actually ahead of schedule.