LARAMIE, Wyo. — Utah State wants what Wyoming has.
The Cowboys are 4-0 in Mountain West play, 6-2 overall, and have managed to pull out close wins each of their last three games. In doing so, they've earned a spot atop the Mountain Division.
At the bottom of that division are the Aggies, whom Wyoming hosts at 8:15 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2). Last year, Utah State beat the Cowboys and they beat them handily, winning 58-27 in Logan, Utah. The Aggies finished the season tied for second in the Mountain Division at 5-3 while Wyoming's 2-6 conference mark was worst in the division.
If it wasn't already evident, an upset of No. 13 Boise State last week made it perfectly clear: These Wyoming Cowboys are not what they once were.
Utah State has reached a bowl game in each of the last five seasons. They're scuffling to keep that streak afloat. Wyoming hasn't played in a bowl since 2011. This year it will.
The differences between the 2015 Cowboys, who finished with a 2-10 record, and this year's team are numerous, but it's not too hard to boil down to one word.
Winning.
"It's a legal and lethal drug — NCAA-approved — when you get it," Utah State coach Matt Wells said in his weekly news conference. "We're searching for that and Wyoming has that right now. We need it."
In October, Wyoming did not lose a game. That's something the Cowboys hadn't done since October of 1998, excluding months with one or fewer games. Utah State's only October win came against Fresno State, which has had more head coaches than wins this season.
November will help determine just how far this ride will go for the Cowboys, who sit in the driver's seat in the Mountain Division. Should Wyoming win out, it would play in the Mountain West championship game for the first time.
Utah State is currently 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West.
"That's where we're at right now, so the tape says who we are," Wells said. "We're not hiding from it, but I want that feeling back of winning and making those plays as bad as anybody. Talent only takes you so far. We've got enough talent and there are other teams in this league that have similar talent as us, and when you get on a roll, you get confidence and you're starting to win."
That's what Wyoming is currently experiencing. The Cowboys defeated rival Colorado State by three touchdowns to open conference play and held onto close wins against Air Force, Nevada and Boise State, the last of which gave Wyoming its first win against a ranked opponent in 14 years.
Of course, after such an exhilarating win, there's always the danger of a letdown in a game in which Wyoming is favored.
"We addressed that," Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. "We got onto Utah State pretty fast, and I think our guys recognize that we've got a lot to play for. The best thing we can do is get focused on getting ready to play for these guys."
It might help that Wyoming is out for some revenge today. In last year's game, Utah State scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns after already establishing a two-touchdown lead.
"We always forgive, but we never forget," Wyoming cornerback Robert Priester said. "We owe them boys big time, so they're going to get what they deserve coming into Saturday.
"... Our goal is to take no game lightly. Every game is a big game for us, especially Utah State, because the way they did us last year is real disrespectful, but we can't blame them. That's how they play, and we're going to control what we can control. But we're going to most definitely go into this game with a chip on our shoulder remembering what happened last year."
The Aggies put up 58 points on 592 yards of total offense that day, both of which were season-worsts for the Cowboys.
"They rolled up on us," Bohl said. "... I understand that's last year, but I just want to make a point. They have really good players."
This year, so do the Cowboys.
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