LARAMIE, Wyo. — It’s never too early to get ready for some Wyoming football. Luckily, the University of Wyoming, in conjunction with the Mountain West Conference, has already announced its 2025 conference and non-conference slate.

Aug. 28 at Akron

The Cowboys are set to begin their 2025 season away at the University of Akron. The Zips finished eighth in the MAC with a 4–8 season record. Akron earned 20.42 points per game to Wyoming’s 19.3.

Regarding first down opportunities, Akron and Wyoming are nearly evenly matched — Wyoming squeaked just 12 more yards rushing. The Pokes are a little more shy passing on first downs, though. The Zips were also a lot more efficient than the Cowboys this year with offensive in general. Learn more about Akron’s 2024 statistics here.

As the two Group of Five teams had similarly poor records in 2024, this will likely not mirror at all the blowout loss the Pokes came home with in the first game of the 2024 season against Arizona State, which is now in the College Football Playoffs.

Sept. 6 vs. Northern Iowa

The Northern Iowa Panthers are the University of Wyoming Cowboys’ first FCS opponent next year. Despite the team’s relegation to the subdivision below Wyoming and the rest of the FBS, the Pokes showed last season against the Idaho Vandals that FBS teams are not impermeable to an FCS upset.

The Panthers scored .8 points higher per game than the Pokes this past season, but are brandishing an identical 3–9 overall record. They are a lot more efficient offensively both passing and rushing than the Cowboys are. Northern Iowa is 194 out of 319 for passing attempts and rushed for nearly 2,000 yards this past season.

Comparatively, Wyoming was 181 out of 347 passing and rushed for 1,654 yards.

This will also be Wyoming’s home opener. While tickets for individual games are not yet on sale, those interested in purchasing season tickets can start by putting down a $170 deposit.

Sept. 13 vs. Utah

This will be the University of Wyoming’s first Power 4 opponent of the 2025 season. Despite high expectations set at the beginning of their first season in the Big 12 conference — the team just migrated from the now two-team Pac-12 — under the leadership of veteran QB Cameron Rising, the Utes finished with just a 5–7 record.

However, Rising will not be returning to Utah next season. The Utes did just pick up four four-star recruits this past signing period, though.

The team also has one of the worst-rated offenses in the entirety of FBS. It remains to be seen how a hard reset will impact Utah scoring, but this game will certainly be easier than the Pokes’ final non-conference game of 2025.

Sept. 20 at Colorado

The Buffs, also fresh from the Pac-12, are one of the big teams to beat. They just missed their chance for the Big 12 conference championship game and a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoffs.

Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter, coming off a Heisman-worthy season, has made no indication of transferring out of Colorado and has another year of eligibility.

Colorado is 9–3 overall in 2024 and steamrolled the only Mountain West team the school played this past season, Colorado State. The Buffs outscored their opponents throughout the season 34.5 to 22 and are especially efficient in passing plays.

Conference Play

The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference have not yet released the specific dates and times for conference games. However, opponents and venues have been announced.

Home games

The 2025 Border War against Colorado State — the last for two years while the rival school adjusts to life in the Pac-12 — will be hosted again at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The Rams took the boot this past season for the first time in four years.

The Pokes are still 12–8 against the Rams since 2005 and are still up in the series since the Bronze Boot trophy was introduced in 1968.

The Rams had a good 2024 season and were just one win away from appearing in the conference championship game.

The Pokes are also taking on MW Championship game loser UNLV at home next year. The Rebels had a 10–3 season and ranked 24th in the final CFP rankings, which means they were just 12 spots shy of appearing in the final series to determine a national champion.

However, the Rebels are losing head coach Barry Odom, as he is departing for a new head coaching gig at Purdue.

San Jose State is coming to Laramie next year as well. The Pokes took them on this past season and had an incredible chance to pull off a big win with repeated Spartan turnovers. They couldn’t get it done, though, and came home less than empty-handed — multiple Pokes were victims of locker room theft — with a 14–24 loss.

The Spartans finished 7–5 overall but kept it pretty close with their opponents stats-wise all year long; they have only three more touchdowns across the opponents through the season than their opponents had on them. With more opportunistic coaching from Wyoming and a similar level of play from the Spartans as this year, the Pokes could get the win.

Wyoming’s fourth home game will be against Nevada, a matchup that didn’t happen at all last season. The Wolf Pack is better than its 3–10 record suggests. The team kept a really close game against Boise State this season and also had some pretty tough matchups like Southern Methodist University (Currently in the CFP), Minnesota and UNLV.

Away games

The Pokes will hit the road four more times in conference play. Next year, they’ll revisit Air Force in Colorado Springs, which happens to be the only team on Wyoming’s schedule they defeated this past season. The team was 5–7 over the season, better than Wyoming’s record, and plays some physical ball.

Wyoming will take on the Fresno State Bulldogs for the last time before the team leaves for the Pac-12 for good. The Bulldogs had a .500 season, bagging them bowl eligibility at the least. The school is also facing a long list of portal departures, so Fresno State’s roster is going to look a bit different next year.

At some point during the 2025 season, the Cowboys are heading to Hawaii, but not for vacation. The Pokes are going to play the Rainbow Warriors for the first time since 2023. Hawaii has a 5–7 record in 2024 and took down a few of the teams Wyoming is looking to best next year, including Northern Iowa.

Finally, the Cowboys will take on the San Diego State Aztecs for the final team as conference opponents. They handed the Pokes a close loss this past season — the difference of a field goal — and let the Pokes show their fans that they could still run the ball. The Aztecs finished 3–9 overall last season.

For more information on the University of Wyoming’s 2025 football schedule, see the school’s athletic department’s web page.