Pokes, Bison Meet Saturday in First-Ever Battle of the Basins

LARAMIE -- It's the Battle of the Basins.

Wyoming will travel to unbeaten North Dakota State Saturday, meeting at 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time in front of a sold-out Fargodome. The winner of this annual Mountain West matchup will be the proud new owner of a drill bit, a traveling trophy concocted by the North Dakota Petroleum Association.

This is the second all-time meeting between these two programs. The first, back in 2008, resulted in a 16-13 Cowboy victory inside War Memorial Stadium.

Contest on The CW
Saturday’s contest will be televised on The CW with Jack McMullen on the call, Cody Kessler analyzing the action, along with Bryan Walters on the sidelines. Fans can also stream the contest on the WatchESPN App.

Listen Live
The game will also be available on the 26 stations of The Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call, Kevin McKinney on color and Erick Pauley on the sidelines.

Wyoming Notes
Cowboys and Bison to Battle for Battle of the Basins Trophy: The Wyoming Cowboys will play for another trophy this week, as Wyoming Athletics in conjunction with North Dakota State University announced the start of The Battle of the Basins Trophy that will go to the winner of the contest each season.

The trophy, which will feature a wood base and both the iconic Steamboat logo and the NDSU logo, will also feature a drill bit from an oil field on top to honor the rich history of the petroleum industry in both states. The game will celebrate football along with the great work of the petroleum industry in both states.

“We are excited to add the traveling trophy with a natural rival in NDSU, as our universities and state have so much in common with each other,” UW Director of Athletics Tom Burman said. “The Battle of the Basins will be an excellent way to celebrate a conference football game along with great traditions of the petroleum industry in both Wyoming and North Dakota.”

Wyoming Ties with NDSU: The ties between the University of Wyoming and North Dakota State are plenty. NDSU head coach Tim Polasek was the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys under former head coach Craig Bohl, who was also the head coach at North Dakota State. Safeties coach Jason Petrino spent time as the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State, as well, prior to joining the staff at UW. Numerous coaches on staff at North Dakota State also spent time on staff at UW. Grant Olson spent the 2015 campaign in Laramie as a graduate assistant under Bohl. He is now the offensive coordinator at NDSU. Cornerbacks coach Eric Amoako was also a graduate assistant at UW in 2020-21. Sam Ojuri, the running backs coach in Fargo, was also on the staff as a graduate assistant in 2019-20.

Where Does Bohl's Loyalty Lie: With his son, of course. Yes, Bohl roamed the sidelines in Fargo for 11 seasons, bringing that program three national titles before bolting for Laramie. But he spent the last decade of his Hall of Fame career at Wyoming -- the place where his son is the current defensive coordinator. "Obviously, he's fully supporting us in every way possible," Aaron Bohl said on Monday. "But he has a lot of great friends on that (NDSU) staff. Outside of even the fact he coached at both spots, you look across their coaching staff, and it is so many players that he coached. He spends a lot of time with both staffs, and he's really excited just to watch a great game."

Not Too Far Away: Wyoming defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl played his college football at Minnesota State Moorhead, whose stadium is just over five miles away from the Fargodome. As a linebacker, he started all 11 games each of his four seasons. Bohl earned Second Team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) honors his senior season. Assistant linebackers coach Abe Roehrich also played for the Dragons. Roehrich played for the Dragons from 2013-17 as a defensive back and linebacker. He was a two-time NSIC North Division Second Team honoree and also was north division honorable mention twice. He finished with 304 career tackles at MSUM.

The Breakup: Wyoming safety Jones Thomas recorded a career-high three pass breakups against Hawai’i. He currently has recorded eight in his career and matches his total from last season with four on the year. He ranks sixth in the nation and leads the MW in passes defended this season with six.

Chunk Plays: The Pokes recorded a season-high 13 chunk plays on offense with six through the air and seven on the ground. In total, 248 yards came off of chunk plays. Tote Harris recorded four of those chunk plays with three coming on the ground and one coming through the air.

Boogie Wonderland: Wyoming cornerback Therman “Boogie” Williams recorded a career-high six tackles for the Cowboys against Hawai’i. It was his second career start as a true freshman. He also added a pass breakup, as UW recorded five on the day.

Williams in the Backfield: Wyoming defensive tackle Jayden Williams recorded his first career sack against Hawai’i. It came on a third down, as UW recorded a season-high three sacks in the contest. He certainly caught the eye of Polasek. "Their D-tackles -- they have three or four guys playing -- they can pose a problem if they're humming, they're playing and their bio-rhythms are right. That's a tough outfit."

Tote Note: Wyoming running back Samuel "Tote" Harris recorded a season-high 94 yards rushing against UH. He did so on 11 carries for 8.5 yards per rush. He had a 31-yard rush, which was the longest for the Pokes this season. He also added 36 yards receiving as he tied a career-high with four catches. He recorded 130 yards of total offense in the contest.

Bogar and Tackles for Loss: Wyoming defensive end Esaia Bogar recorded a sack along with 1.5 tackles for loss against Hawai’i. For the season, Bogar leads the team with four tackles for loss and two sacks. He ranks first in the MW in tackles for loss per game and ranks fourth in the conference in sacks.

Holman for Six: Wyoming running back Markell Holman finished the game with Hawai’i with 87 rushing yards for a season-high. He also added two rushing scores in the contest. It marked the fourth time in his collegiate career that he has rushed for at least two scores in a game.

Perez Finds Tackles: Wyoming linebacker Steven Perez, who redshirted last year has found a groove for the Pokes over the last three games with 18 tackles, as he has six tackles in each contest. He has also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss on the season to lead the linebacker room. "The Perez kid," Polasek said during his weekly press conference, "if you went off of that game (Hawaii), he plays the game the right way. There's an edge. There's a spirit. There's an energy."

Stuhlsatz Expected to Start: Wyoming's starting middle linebacker and unquestioned leader of the defense, Ethan Stuhlsatz, suffered an ankle injury late in a Week-2 win over Northern Colorado. Though he attempted to play seven days later in Mount Pleasant, it wasn't in the cards. He returned last week against Hawaii, tallying a modest three tackles. Thanks to a lopsided score, he was able to rest an injury he said he "tweaked" during an attempted field-goal block. This Saturday in Fargo, he is adding some reinforcement to that foot and said he's feeling much better than the admitted "70%" he played at against the 'Bows. "He's a good player," said Polasek, who joked that he didn't want to mispronounce Stuhlsatz's name.

Dainsus Returns: Wyoming cornerback Dainsus Miller returned for his fifth collegiate season against Hawai’i. Miller was ruled eligible to play for the Cowboys in the contest against Hawai’i on Saturday. An Indiana judge granted a preliminary injunction involving the fifth-year player on Wednesday that cleared Miller to return to the Brown and Gold. He had four tackles against the Rainbow Warriors. In 2025, Miller appeared in 11 games for the Cowboys with seven starts earning Honorable Mention All-MW honors. He finished the season with 27 total tackles with 19 solo stops and eight assisted tackles. He also forced a fumble and recorded five pass breakups during the season.

Offense Was Clicking: Wyoming’s offense recorded a season-high 27 points and recorded a season-high 387 yards of total offense. The balanced attack featured 204 passing yards and 183 rushing yards. Hughes found nine different receivers in the contest and Samuel Harris and Markell Holman combined for 181 yards rushing in the contest.

Sandvik is Perfect Thus Far: Wyoming Kicker Erik Sandvik connected on a pair of field goals against Hawai’i. He is a perfect 5-of-5 in field goals this season for the Pokes with a long of 48 yards. He is tied for the national lead at 100 percent percentage this season.

Pokes and Travel: Wyoming opens a two-game road swing this week and over that road stretch will travel 1,950 miles over the two weeks with the trip to Fargo and San Jose.

Road Woes: Under Sawvel, Wyoming has been less than impressive away from home, sporting an unflattering record of 3-11. The Cowboys have lost both road games this fall, dropping a 35-13 decision at Colorado State and a 24-10 setback at Central Michigan. For comparison sake, Bohl's teams didn't exactly take care of business outside of War Memorial Stadium, either. During his decade-long stint in Laramie, Wyoming was 21-43 on the road, counting bowl games. In 2021, the Cowboys were 4-3 away from home.

Health Checkup: Sawvel said Monday that 18 of his players were battling some kind of fast-spreading illness. Coaches weren't immune. The third-year boss actually asked to wrap up his own press conference early because he didn't know if he would "throw up." He said later that day he was fine and expected everyone to be available at Tuesday's practice.

About NDSU:
North Dakota State heads into the contest fresh off a bye week. The Bison are 4-0 on the season and own a 1-0 mark in conference play. NDSU is receiving votes in both the Coaches and Associated Press Polls

NDSU averages 35 points per game on the season and allows 12.3 per contest. Offensively, NDSU adds 370.5 yards of total offense per game with 211.8 passing yards per game and 158.8 rushing yards per game. Defensively, NDSU allows 254.8 yards per game. Opponents are rushing for just over 100 yards per game, as NDSU allows 154.5 yards through the air.

The Bison offense is led by quarterback Nathan Hayes averaging 202 yards passing per game with 808 total yards through the air, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. DJ Scott adds 56.3 yards rushing per game to lead the team. He has three scores on the season. Wide receiver Jackson Williams has 18 catches for 283 yards for 70.8 yards per game. Tight end Reis Kessel has 11 catches for 106 yards.

"Making contested plays in the pass game," Bohl said is one of his keys to success in Fargo. "The receivers are making contested catches, and that's the thing that -- credit to them -- I wasn't expecting them to be as efficient as they were in the pass game. Between the quarterback and the receivers, they do an unbelievable job."

The NDSU defense is led by linebacker Donovan Woolen at 24 tackles. He also has two pass breakups. Darius Givance has 20 tackles and a fumble recovery. Kelston McCaslin leads the team with 2.5 sacks.

Check out these numbers:

* Defensive touchdowns - No. 1 in FBS - 3

* Interceptions - No. 1 - 7

* Passing yard allowed - No. 22 - 154.4 per game

* Red-zone defense - No. 4 - 5-of-9

* Rushing defense - No. 37 - 100.2 yards per game (allowed just 207 at AFA)

* Scoring defense - No. 18 - 12.3 points per game

* Total defense - No. 18 - 254.8 yards per game

* Turnover margin - No. 5 - plus-8

* Turnovers gained - No. 2 - 10

"It's a big, big opportunity for our program," Sawvel said. "It's a big challenge, as well. Go to a place that's had tremendous success. You know, home record, very difficult place to play. We're going to have to deal with a lot of things from a noise perspective. It's their first conference home game, so, obviously, their people are going to be very amped up. They've had an open date. Everything from that perspective, too.

"So, look, this is what college football is. You get a chance to go do things that are difficult. This is difficult."

* A UW press release contributed to this report

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