Bowl or Bust

Cowboys set to Gamble their Mountain West Hopes in Las Vegas 

Photo by Rylee Lingenfelter

After a three-game winning streak, the Cowboys, on fresh legs after the bye week, are set to travel down to Las Vegas on Saturday for a primetime showdown against UNLV. 

The game has major implications for seeding in the Mountain West Championships, with both teams sitting at 3-1 in the conference. A loss for either team would essentially remove them from contention of making the championship game. 

“We don’t put up a slide of the standings of the conference. We don’t need to do that,” Sawvel said in an interview with Pokes Insider. “We know there’s two teams that have one loss in the conference that are going to play Saturday night in a big game.” 

No. 22 New Mexico currently sits at the top of the conference, and at 7-1 overall, 4-0 in conference, they are the frontrunners for one spot in the Mountain West Championship game on Dec. 4. The other spot is fully up for grabs, and both the Cowboys and Rebels are looking to take the first step forward into claiming that spot this Saturday at 8:30p.m. 

The Rebels, coming into the game, have a nearly identical resume to the Cowboys, sitting at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in conference. They have notable wins over North Dakota State and Cal but lost a tight contest to Air Force on October 17^th. 

This makes for an intriguing matchup this Saturday. The Cowboys beat Air Force, but lost to North Dakota State, which is opposite results from UNLV. That means the question all comes up to stylistically who matches up better on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. 

“We’re going to have to figure out a way to outplay them, and we’re going to have to figure out a way to make the least mistakes in the game, and we’re going to have to figure out a way to execute at a high level,” Coach Sawvel said earlier this week. 

There is optimism to be had. Going into Saturday’s game, the Cowboys have the second-best rushing attack in the Mountain West, highlighted by the conference’s third leading rusher, quarterback Tyler Hughes. The Rebels have the second worst defense in the conference against the run, allowing almost 200 yards per contest. 

Against a comparable run defense three weeks ago against Northern Illinois, Hughes ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns. 

However, the concern for the Cowboys is their defense. UNLV has the second most yards per game in the Mountain West, and the Cowboys haven’t faced an offense as high flying as the Rebels yet this season. 

With a win on Saturday, Sawvel and the Cowboys become bowl eligible for the first time since 2023 and put themselves in prime position to claim a spot in the Mountain West Championships. Catch the action on CBS Sports. Kickoff from Las Vegas is 8:30p.m. Mountain Time.