The Wyoming Cowboys meet the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday in Week 8 Mountain West college football action from War Memorial Stadium. New Mexico is coming off a game versus Colorado State. In that one the Lobos took a blowout loss. As for the Cowboys, they played Fresno State this past weekend. Wyoming ended up losing in a shutout there. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
New Mexico opened the year with two wins, taking out Houston Baptist 27-17 and New Mexico State 34-25. After that the Lobos hit the skids. They lost to Texas A&M 34-0, UTEP 20-13, Air Force 38-10 and San Diego State 31-7 in succession.
Last weekend versus Colorado State, the Lobos gave up 23 unanswered second-half points in an eventual 36-7 loss. QB CJ Montes had just 11 yards and two interceptions. Aaron Dumas led the rush with 68 yards on 14 carries.
Over on the Wyoming side, they kicked off the year with a four-game winning streak. The Cowboys dispatched Montana State 19-16, Northern Illinois 50-43, Ball State 45-12 and UConn 24-22 before a 24-14 loss to Air Force on October 9.
In the Fresno State game, the Cowboys ended up falling 17-0 in a futile offensive effort. QB Sean Chambers put up 111 yards and three scores, while also leading the rush with 51 yards. Ayden Eberhardt caught two balls for 45 yards to top the receivers.
The Lobos are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games on turf and 16-35 ATS in their last 51 overall. New Mexico is also 8-22 ATS in their last 30 conference games.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games on turf and 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games. Wyoming is 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games overall as well.
PICK: I’m probably sticking with Wyoming. Both these teams need good bounce-back efforts, though. The Cowboys outpaced Fresno State in most key categories during their last outing, but Wyoming also coughed up five turnovers that really killed their momentum.
As for the Lobos, there aren’t many positives to take from the Colorado State game; New Mexico had just 79 offensive yards, 11 first downs, three turnovers and a dismal 2-of-12 mark on third downs. I like the Lobos to be more competitive here, but it’s probably still Wyoming’s cover if they’re playing well.