Cowboys in Honolulu: Wyoming looks to play spoiler in faceoff with Hawai’i

WYOMING COWBOYS AT HAWAI’I RAINBOW WARRIORS

Location: Honolulu, Hawai’i (Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex)

Date/Time: Saturday, November 29th at 9:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)

Television: Spectrum Sports/Mountain West Network

Streaming: Mountain West App

Radio: KOWB 1290 AM/95.1 FM/KOWB App (Cowboy Sports Network)

Head-to-Head: Wyoming holds a six-game edge in the all-time series, leading 17-11. The Cowboys have won three of the last four meetings, including their most recent matchup in 2023. Between 1978 and 1997, these two programs met every single year before a hiatus that lasted up until 2013.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Wyoming: 4-7 (2-5 in MW); HAW: 7-4 (4-3 in MW)

Mountain West vs. Mountain West

WYO: Head Coach Jay Sawvel (2nd Year at Wyoming, 7-16 Overall Record)

HAW: Head Coach Timmy Chang (4th Year at Hawai’i, 20-29 Career Record)

Last Week

WYO: Fell to Nevada, 13-7, on the day they retired Josh Allen’s jersey number with the Bills QB in attendance. The Pokes’ offense was maligned once again, now scoring seven or less points in three straight games and, to no surprise, three straight losses. QB Kaden Anderson passed for less than 160 yards while the entire rushing attack combined for a measly 68 yards on 23 carries, good enough for just three yards per carry. With last week’s loss, Wyoming has now officially been denied bowl eligibility in back-to-back seasons, the first time since 2014-2015.

HAW: Gambled in Sin City and lost their hand in a 38-10 drubbing by way of UNLV. Quarterback Micah Alejado had his second-worst statistical game of the season, managing just 163 yards and one touchdown pass. This was the first time since Hawai’i’s game against Fresno State back on September 20th that Alejado recorded less than two passing TDs. And if the Rainbow Warriors can’t move the ball down the field via the pass, then there isn’t much movement at all considering their rushing game ranks 125th in the country with 101.8 yards per game.

Send the house at Micah Alejado.

If you let the freshman quarterback sit in the pocket and survey the field, you are going to get sliced and diced.

The kid is just that good.

But it is notable that while he has been quite a stat-stuffer this season, he does suffer from some consistent flaws.

One is his inability to throw a clean game with zero interceptions. In his nine starts, he has thrown at least one interception in six of those contests. Additionally, he has been prone to being sacked. Early in the year, Alejado was on the ground more times than you could keep up with as he was sacked 12 times in his first three starts. In the second half of the season, he has been kept upright much more, but Utah State was able to wrangle him down five times and UNLV three times last week.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl has had difficulty getting his Cowboys schemed into the backfield, averaging just 1.55 sacks a game and ranking outside the top 100 in FBS. But if there is ever a game to be creative with your blitz packages and stunts, this is the game to do it.

If not, it’s going to be a long day on O’ahu.

Play fast, loose, and free…because you will get plenty of possessions.

There’s not many matchups where the teams at play contrast so much stylistically.

Wyoming – the grind-it-out, snail’s pace, methodical offense that needs everything to go right to score.

Hawai’i – the high-flying aerial assault that plays at a breakneck pace and can score or punt in seconds.

While neither one is wrong in the theoretical sense, the Rainbow Warriors afford themselves more bullets to shoot, even if it means a turnover or two pops up.

The Pokes have to be so precise with their shots that any misstep derails a drive.

Emphasis on the precise part, which Wyoming has not been in 2025.

If the Cowboys stay true to form in the season finale, then Hawai’i will have plenty of drives to exert their helter-skelter style.

Who Pulls Out The Win?

This game has a Hawai’i blowout written all over it.

In the best season of the Timmy Chang era, there is no doubt that those within the program want to send off their seniors with a prideful win in front of their fellow Hawaiians.

With an eighth win, that total (before a potential ninth win in a bowl game) would be the highest since the 2019 campaign when they reached the Mountain West championship game.

Wyoming is playing for pride, but last week took the wind out of their sails.

Last week was the one to win on Senior Day in front of Wyoming icon Josh Allen. If they couldn’t manage to score more than seven points then, it would come as a shock to see them find their offensive rhythm when traveling three time zones back.

Give me Hawai’i to run rampant in Honolulu.

Petterson’s Prediction: Hawai’i to Win Outright, Hawai’i to Cover, and Take the Under.

FanDuel Odds: Hawai’i -7.5, Total of 44.5

Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors 28 – Wyoming Cowboys 7

Let us at the Mountain West Connection know your prediction for Wyoming’s season finale with the Rainbow Warriors in the comments!