Looking at the Bright Spots Through Wyoming’s First Three Games

Sep 20

4 min read

Updated: Sep 21

Wyoming quarterback Tyler Hughes (#6) carries the ball while looking upfield against Central Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Photo courtesy of UW Athletics.

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Three games into Wyoming’s 2026 season, and there is no shortage of things to work on.

The Cowboys are now 1-2 after Saturday’s 24-10 loss at Central Michigan. So far this season, they have fallen behind by double digits in all three games, committed costly turnovers, and struggled to consistently put together complete offensive performances.

Three games have also provided some glimmering reasons to believe the Cowboys have some pieces they can build around.

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Tyler Hughes has shown another dimension

Through three games, Hughes has become a big part of Wyoming's running game.

He rushed for 52 yards against Colorado State in his first start as a Cowboy, 26 against Northern Colorado, and then led Wyoming with 78 rushing yards against Central Michigan.

The passing game remains a work in progress, but Wyoming has already seen what he can provide when things are working.

Against UNC with Wyoming trailing 13-7 late, Hughes helped engineer consecutive touchdown drives. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Both touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, Hughes completed 8 of 10 passes for two touchdowns and rushed for 26 yards. Wyoming generated 135 yards over the final 12 minutes, with 68 through the air and 67 on the ground.

Wyoming has options at running back

Samuel “Tote” Harris entered the season as Wyoming's established running back, but Markell Holman has quickly given the Cowboys another option.

Harris rushed for 63 yards on 16 carries against Colorado State and scored Wyoming's first rushing touchdown against Northern Colorado. Holman then broke out against the Bears with 80 yards on 11 carries and led Wyoming with five receptions.

Holman followed that by scoring Wyoming's only touchdown at Central Michigan, a six-yard run on the opening play of the fourth quarter.

The tight ends are becoming weapons

Jake Wilson opened the season with two catches and 51 yards against Colorado State.

Kyle Frendt has also emerged since then.

Frendt caught the game-clinching 18-yard touchdown against Northern Colorado for his first career touchdown reception. A week later at Central Michigan, he caught four passes for 95 yards, including a 39-yard reception that moved Wyoming into the red zone late in the first half.

The Cowboys showed a glimmer of response

In week two, Wyoming showed it can fight back.

Against Northern Colorado, the Cowboys trailed 13-7 before scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Wyoming put together an 82-yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:06 before Hughes found Charlie Coenen for a 15-yard touchdown. After getting the ball back, Wyoming needed only 54 seconds to travel 38 yards, with Hughes finding Frendt from 18 yards out for the final score in a 21-13 victory.

Even in Saturday's loss, Wyoming was significantly more productive after halftime.

The Cowboys trailed Central Michigan 17-0 after being outgained 246-113 in the first half. Wyoming finished the afternoon only 29 yards behind the Chippewas in total offense, 371-342, while averaging 5.8 yards per play compared with CMU's 5.6.

There are defensive playmakers

Ethan Stuhlsatz opened the season with a career-high 15 tackles against Colorado State and followed with 11 against Northern Colorado. Esaia Bogar had a career-high 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against CSU before recording a sack against UNC, and was out due to injury against CMU.

Jones Thomas delivered one of the biggest defensive performances of the young season against Northern Colorado with two interceptions and five tackles. Steven Perez added a career-high six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack, while Jack Dunkley also recorded a sack.

Against Central Michigan, linebackers Gary Rutherford and Dash Bauman were busy, finishing with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.

The issue isn't whether Wyoming has players capable of making plays. It is getting enough of those plays collectively to prevent long drives and explosive gains.

Special teams have provided consistency

Bart Edmiston Jr.'s punting was an early bright spot.

Through the first two games, Edmiston averaged 49.4 yards on nine punts, with five traveling at least 50 yards and four being downed inside the 20. He averaged 53.5 yards per punt against Colorado State and placed three inside the 20 against Northern Colorado. His main issue has been three kickoffs out of bounds so far this season.

Placekicker Erik Sandvik has been on the money this season. He has made all three of his field goals and has gone five-for-five on extra points.

Pulling it together

Wyoming's first three games have produced very different stretches of football.

The discouraging part is that those things haven't happened together often enough. Three games into the season, Wyoming does need to search hard for positives. The challenge now is turning those lmited positives from isolated stretches into four quarters of football.