Laramie in the fall is usually magic. There’s that crisp mountain air, the smell of tailgate smoke, and the sound of "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" echoing off the Snowy Range. But man, the 2025 season was a tough pill to swallow for the Pokes. If you were looking at the university of wyoming football schedule 2025 back in August, you probably saw a path to a bowl game. Maybe even a run at the Mountain West title. Instead, fans got a front-row seat to a rebuilding year that felt more like a construction zone—both on the field and literally inside the stadium.
Jay Sawvel’s second year as head coach didn’t exactly go to plan. After taking over for the legendary Craig Bohl, Sawvel had the impossible task of keeping that "grind-it-out" identity alive while the roster went through a massive transition.
Let's be real: finishing 4-8 is never the goal. Especially not when you have one of the most intimidating home-field advantages in the country at 7,220 feet. But the schedule makers didn't do Wyoming any favors this year. Between a punishing non-conference slate and some heartbreaking one-score losses in conference play, the Cowboys were fighting an uphill battle from the jump.
Breaking Down the university of wyoming football schedule 2025
The season kicked off with a rare Thursday night trip to Akron. Honestly, it was a weird way to start, but a 10-0 win is a win. It wasn't pretty. It was typical Wyoming—suffocating defense and just enough offense to get by. When they came back to Laramie and handled Northern Iowa 31-7, the hype was real. People were starting to think this team could actually make some noise.
Then the "Power Four" reality check hit. Hard.
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Hosting Utah on September 13th was supposed to be the "measuring stick" game. It turned out to be more of a "how far we have to go" game. The Utes came into War Memorial and put on a clinic, leaving town with a 31-6 victory. A week later, the Cowboys traveled down to Boulder to face Colorado. That 37-20 loss was closer than the score looked, but it started a tailspin that the team struggled to pull out of for the rest of the autumn.
The Mountain West Grind
Conference play is where things usually get interesting for the Pokes, but the 2025 slate was a gauntlet. Here is how that stretch actually shook out:
- UNLV (Oct 4): A 31-17 loss at home that felt like a punch to the gut.
- San Jose State (Oct 11): The highlight of the month. A 35-28 shootout win where the offense finally looked like it found a rhythm.
- Air Force (Oct 18): This one hurt. A 24-21 loss at the Academy. Losing to the Falcons is always tough, but losing by three points is a special kind of sting.
- Colorado State (Oct 25): The Border War. The only game that really matters to some folks in Laramie. Wyoming showed up and blanked the Rams 28-0. It was the peak of the season, hands down.
After the high of the Border War, the wheels kinda fell off. A road trip to San Diego State resulted in a 24-7 loss, followed by a 24-3 drubbing at Fresno State. By the time Nevada came to Laramie in late November, the bowl hopes were dead. That 13-7 loss to the Wolf Pack was a slog in the cold, and the season-ending 27-7 loss in Hawaii was just the final garnish on a disappointing 4-8 campaign.
The "New" War Memorial Stadium Experience
If there was one bright spot for fans, it was the house they were sitting in. If you haven't been to Laramie lately, the west side of the stadium looks completely different. The university finally finished those massive renovations that had been in the works for years.
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They added these new premium loge boxes and a massive indoor club area. Honestly, it's a bit of a weird contrast—you have these high-end luxury seats with full-service bars and "gameday gold" finishes, while the team on the field is struggling to find the end zone. But from a long-term perspective, it’s what Wyoming needs to stay competitive in the NIL era. You need that donor money, and you get it by selling those fancy seats.
The new LED lighting system also made those night games look incredible on TV. Even if the scoreboards weren't showing what we wanted, the "Restore the War" campaign definitely succeeded in making the venue feel like a top-tier FBS facility.
Why the Offense Stalled Out
You can't talk about the university of wyoming football schedule 2025 without talking about the lack of points. The Cowboys averaged about 16 points per game. That’s... well, it’s bad. Ranked 131st out of 136 teams bad.
Coach Sawvel is a defensive mind at heart. We knew that. And the defense actually held its own most of the time, ranking 30th in the nation for points allowed. But you can't ask a defense to be perfect every single Saturday. The transition in the offensive coordinator booth hasn't been seamless, and the lack of a consistent vertical threat made it way too easy for Mountain West defenses to stack the box and dare the Pokes to throw.
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It’s a bit of a "chicken or the egg" situation. Did the tough schedule break the offense, or was the offense just not ready for that level of competition? Probably a bit of both. Playing Utah and Colorado in back-to-back weeks is enough to rattle any group of young players.
Looking Toward 2026: What Happens Now?
So, where does this leave the program? Jay Sawvel isn't on the hot seat yet—replacing a legend like Bohl takes time—but the pressure is mounting.
The 2025 season showed that Wyoming can still beat its rivals (looking at you, CSU), but it also exposed a massive gap between the Pokes and the top tier of the Mountain West. To get back to winning 7 or 8 games a year, some serious soul-searching needs to happen on the offensive side of the ball.
Practical Next Steps for Fans and Analysts:
- Watch the Transfer Portal: With the season over, keep a close eye on the quarterback and wide receiver positions. Wyoming needs an infusion of speed if they want to improve on that 16-points-per-game average.
- Review the 2026 Recruits: Sawvel’s staff has been hitting the regional trail hard. Look for "under-the-radar" interior linemen who fit the Wyoming mold but bring a bit more athleticism.
- Plan Your 2026 Travel: The schedule usually flips, meaning some of those tough road games from 2025 will be back in Laramie next year. If you didn't get a chance to see the new west-side renovations, next season is the time to do it.
The 2025 season might have been a "rebuilding" year, but in the modern era of college football, you don't get many years to rebuild before the fans start getting restless. The bones of a good program are there—the stadium is beautiful, the defense is stout, and the culture is tough. Now, they just need to find a way to put some points on the board.