Texas vs. Wyoming: Preview, Prediction, and Game Odds
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the matchup between the Texas Longhorns and the Wyoming Cowboys.
Saturday, September 16; 7:00 p.m. CT; DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium; Austin, TX
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: Longhorn Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews)
Records: Texas (2-0); Wyoming (2-0)
Rankings: Texas No. 4 (AP); Wyoming receiving votes (AP)
Series History: Texas leads series, 5-0
Last Meeting: Texas 37, Wyoming 17 (2012)
Line: Texas (-28.5)
Fun Fact: Texas and Wyoming have played a total of five times, with four meetings taking place in Austin and just one meeting in Laramie, Wyoming. However, the one game in Laramie was the most-lopsided score in the series, with Texas winning 41-10.
QB Quinn Ewers
All offseason long folks, including myself, bought into the Texas hype, and a lot of it rested squarely on the shoulders of Quinn Ewers. After chopping off the mullet, Ewers has looked impressive and seems to have a better grasp of the offense in he second season. In a huge game against Alabama, Ewers went 24-38 for 349 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Longhorns to a double-digit win over the Tide. As he settles in, Ewers looks primed to have a career year for UT.
LB Anthony Hill
If you watched the Alabama game last week, you got a glimpse of Anthony Hill Jr., the freshman linebacker who will be an absolute force for the Longhorns for years to come. Against the Tide, Hill recorded six tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. Luckily for the Big 12, he’ll only be around for one season here, but that one season might be a big one for the former five-star.
QB Andrew Peasley
After taking down Texas Tech in Laramie to start the season, there were folks in the media comparing Cowboys’ quarterback Andrew Peasley to former Oklahoma quarterback, Baker Mayfield. While it wasn’t because of immense arm talent or a future Heisman trophy, it was because, despite all odds, he willed his team to a victory. Through two games, Peasley has thrown for 350 yards and five scores (one INT), while adding 111 yards and a score on the ground.
LB Shae Suiaunoa
Wyoming’s leading tackler in ’23, Shae Suiaunoa has 16 stops, one sack, and one PBU through two games, with 12 of those tackles coming against the Red Raiders. If Wyoming is going to push the Longhorns in Austin this week, it will require another big performance from Suiaunoa and the Cowboys’ defense. This will be the toughest offense, and opponent, that Wyoming faces all season, which means its biggest players have to show up in the spotlight.
Beware the letdown. In 2016, Texas opened its season with a 50-47 2OT victory over No. 10 Notre Dame, which elicited the famous, “Texas is back, folks!” comment from Joe Tessitore. Two weeks later, the No. 11 Longhorns lost 50-43 to California and lost six of their last nine to finish the season 5-7. I wholly believe this Texas team is for real, but they need to prove it to themselves, too. Go out against Wyoming and take care of business, and prepare for a tough Big 12 slate.
Wyoming has started off the season 2-0, but I’m not sure how confident I can be that they’ll overcome the talent gap that they’ll find in Austin this Saturday. Texas looks like one of the best teams in the country, and with that, they’ve got everything on the line. If Wyoming can hang around, it might have the tools to give the Longhorns a scare, and they’d love nothing more than to go 2-0 against the Big 12 in 2023.
If Texas comes out and plays like it did last week, this game will be extremely lopsided. However, I think things will start a little slow for the Longhorns with such a disparity between their opponent last week and this week. No doubt, this team has heard the noise and knows that they are the No. 4 team in the nation coming into this game. By the end of the game, they’ll look like it, but the first half might be a little shaky. Still, Texas wins, and is right at the line of covering a 28-point spread.
