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Cowboys Fall at NDSU 28-0
FARGO, N.D. (Oct. 3, 2026) – FARGO, N.D. – The Battle of the Basins Trophy will stay here.
Wyoming lost 28-0 to new Mountain West rival North Dakota State on Saturday in the sold-out Fargodome.
The Cowboys (2-3, 1-1 MW) only had eight first downs and 162 yards of total offense compared to 23 first downs and 407 yards for the Bison (5-0, 2-0 MW).
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"Credit to North Dakota State. They did a really good job defensively," UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. "They did a good job in the second quarter at times running the quarterback on some designed quarterback runs, some things there that gave us some problems with that. They're a good football team."
NDSU opened the second half with a 15-play, 74-yard drive for a 37-yard field goal to make the score 20-0 with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter.
UW linebacker Steven Perez, who led the team with 11 tackles, recovered a fumble to set the offense up at the Bison 35-yard line. The Pokes had a false start on third-and-goal at the 1 and Tyler Hughes' pass on fourth down fell incomplete with a chance to chip away at the deficit.
The Bison tacked a late touchdown and 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys trailed 17-0 at the intermission after getting out-gained 231 to 66 in total yards.
NDSU came up with an interception on the first play of the game and took advantage of the short field with an 8-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Nathan Hayes.
"That was something that set a tone for how we were going to play offensively and how they were going to play defensively," Sawvel said.
UW's punt team did its part to flip the field in the first half.
Jarell Gary downed a 42-yard punt by Bart Edmiston on the 3-yard line, but the Bison answered the challenge with a seven-play, 97-yard caped with a 14-yard touchdown run by Hayes to make the score 14-0.
Later in the second quarter, Edmiston boomed a 59-yard punt. Jackson Williams was belted by Jett Vincent after an 11-yard return, and Gary returned what was initially ruled a fumble for a 12-yard touchdown.
After looking at video replay, the official determined Williams was down before the ball came loose.
NDSU marched 68 yards in 12 plays for a 31-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the half.
The Pokes will turn the page quickly with another road game at San Jose State Friday at CEFCU Stadium (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
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