Lobos Pack: Wyoming Game Preview and Prediction

What:

Wyoming Cowboys vs. New Mexico Lobos

When:

Saturday, October 8^th, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time

Where:

University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM

Coverage:

The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. On the radio waves, the game is on the Lobo Sports Radio Network, the flagship is 770 AM/96.3 FM KKOB in Albuquerque.

Series:

Wyoming leads the series, 38-36. Last season the Lobos won 14-3 in Laramie.

Breakdown:

The Wyoming Cowboys pay the New Mexico Lobos a visit on Saturday night for a Mountain West Conference game in Albuquerque.

The Lobos come into the contest with a 2-3 overall record and are 0-2 in the MWC following a 31-20 loss to the UNLV Rebels last Friday night. In that game the Lobos blew a 17-0 first quarter lead.

The Cowboys are 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in the MWC standings. Wyoming is coming off a 33-16 loss to San Jose State last week.

Interesting Stats:

The Cowboys will be looking for their first road win of the season. To date, they are 0-2 on the road, with losses to Illinois and BYU. Wyoming has four more games on the road, including this one.

The Lobos will be seeking their third straight win in the series. The last time they won three in a row against Wyoming was 2014, 2015 and 2016.

What to expect from New Mexico:

The Lobos had a slight change in offense last week against UNLV. UNM decided to utilize different packages for two of its quarterbacks, CJ Montes and Miles Kendrick. Kendrick got the start, but during many of the drives in the ballgame, Montes came in as a different wrinkle. It seemed to pay off early as the Lobos raced out to a 17-0 lead before the offense became non-existent.

The plan, for now, appears to be the same entering this week. With Kendrick starting and Montes coming in with certain packages. The Lobos hope to keep defenses off balance with the differing looks.

Both Kendrick and Montes have similar passing and running style, so it will be interesting to see who passes more and who runs more.

What to expect from Wyoming:

The Cowboys offense has struggled to find any kind of consistency this season. Last week against San Jose State, the Cowboys were held to 110 yards on 8-of-22 passing. In fact, only once this season, a 40-37 win over Tulsa, has Wyoming cracked the 200-yard passing barrier.

That leaves the hope to the Wyoming running game, which New Mexico defends extremely well. Last week against UNLV, the Lobos allowed just 123 yards on the ground. If Wyoming wants to really push UNM to its defensive limits, it will have to find a way to throw the ball with consistency, if not, it could be a long day at the office.

Final Thoughts and Prediction:

If you love defensive slugfests, may I suggest tuning into the Lobos and Cowboys on Saturday night. This one may have more punts than points. Both offenses are struggling to find any consistency in either category.

Wyoming is a 3 1/2 -point favorite as of this writing on DraftKings Sportsbook. I actually like the underdog here given the fact that Wyoming struggles to throw, and relies on the run more, which UNM defends well. I like a low scoring affair, give me the Lobos 16-13.