(Editor's note: UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl announced on Tuesday that sophomore quarterback Levi Williams will get the start in this Saturday’s game at San Jose State.
Williams will be making his first start of the 2021 season and the seventh start of his Wyoming career.
The native of Canyon Lake, Texas, made his first career start in the 2019 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. He led Wyoming to a 38-17 win over Georgia State in the Arizona Bowl. In that game, he completed 11 of 26 passes for 234 yards and threw three touchdown passes. Williams added 53 rushing yards and scored one rushing TD in the win and ended the day with 287 yards of total offense.
Williams also started the final five games of Wyoming’s COVID-shortened season of 2020. His career record as a starter is 3-3 entering this Saturday’s game at San Jose State.
The sophomore’s career totals include, completing 82 of 172 pass attempts for 1,303 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 311 yards and has scored seven rushing touchdowns, including three TD runs at UNLV in 2020. Williams has accounted for 1,614 yards of total offense in the 12 career games he has played in as a Cowboy.
The game will kick off at 2 p .m., Mountain Time from CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., will be televised on FS2 and broadcast on radio over the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network. The radio broadcast will begin 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
The Cowboys bring a 4-3 overall record and an 0-3 record in the Mountain West into Saturday’s game. San Joe State is 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the MW.
Wyoming has had a 2021 season that has been filled with streaks. Wyoming began the season with four consecutive wins. Over the last three weeks, UW has suffered three consecutive losses.
The Cowboys have shown an ability to bounce back in recent seasons.
Wyoming began the 2017 season 4-3 -- the same start that the Cowboys are experiencing in 2021. That 2017 Cowboy squad, quarterbacked by Josh Allen, went on to post an 8-5 season and won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
In 2018, UW was captained by among others Marcus Epps, Logan Wilson and Andrew Wingard. The 2018 Cowboys began the season 2-6, before rallying to win their final four games of the season and earn bowl eligibility at 6-6.
Wyoming’s defense continues to be one of the best in the nation, ranking No. 3 in the nation in pass defense and No. 16 in total defense in 2021. The Cowboys are allowing only 152.0 passing yards per game and are holding opponents to only 311.1 yards of total offense per game.
Cowboy linebacker Chad Muma continues to be one of the top defenders in the nation. Muma currently is tied for No. 1 in the nation in interception returns for touchdowns, with two. He ranks No. 4 nationally in solo tackles (6.7 per game) and is No. 10 in the country in total tackles (9.7 per game).
Wyoming-San Jose State Meet for the 12th Time This Saturday in San Jose, Calif.
The Wyoming Cowboys and San Jose State Spartans will be meeting for the 12th time this Saturday.
Wyoming holds a 7-4 advantage in the series. The Spartans joined the Mountain West Conference for the 2013 season. SJSU leads the MW portion of the series 3-1 over the Cowboys.
The Pokes and Spartans also met each other twice when both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference. Those two meetings in 1996 and ‘97 were both won by Wyoming.
The Cowboys won the last meeting in the series in 2018 (24-9) in Laramie. The Spartans won the last meeting in San Jose in 2017 (20-17).
Below is a breakdown of the overall series history between the Cowboys and Spartans.
∙Wyoming leads the overall series 7-4
∙Wyoming trails in the Mountain West series 1-3
∙Wyoming led the WAC series 2-0
∙Wyoming led in non-conference meetings 4-1
∙UW’s leads the series vs. San Jose State in Laramie 3-2
∙UW’s leads the series vs. San Jose State in San Jose 4-2
