Simulating BYU at Wyoming with EA Sports College Football

Casey Lundquist | Sep 13, 2024

Sep 24, 2022; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars running back Miles Davis (19) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Wyoming Cowboys at LaVell Edwards Stadium. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

On Saturday evening, Kalani Sitake and the BYU football program renew an old conference matchup with the Wyoming Cowboys. FPI gives BYU an 86.5% chance to leaving Wyoming with a win. We used EA Sports College Football to simulate BYU-Wyoming 10 times. BYU won 9/10 games. The details of those simulations are below.

Simulation #1 - BYU 17 | Wyoming 9

In the first simulation, BYU won a low-scoring affair, totaling 233 yards of total offense including 143 on the ground.

Jake Retzlaff was 10/24 for 90 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception.

Simulation #2 - BYU 37 | Wyoming 30

In the second simulation, BYU was cruising to a victory before Wyoming put up 27 points in the fourth quarter. The comeback attempt fell short and BYU held on for the win. The Cougars had 402 yards of total offense in this simulation.

Jake Retzlaff was 16/23 for 263 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

Simulation #3 - BYU 45 | Wyoming 16

A dominant showing from BYU in the third simulation. BYU score 45 points and Wyoming only scores one touchdown on offense.

Simulation #4 - BYU 27 | Wyoming 19

A comeback win, BYU goes on a 10-0 run in fourth quarter to pull out the victory. A 14-yard touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Hill gave BYU a lead with 2:05 remaining.

Simulation #5 - BYU 31 | Wyoming 38

Wyoming's only win out of 10 simulations. BYU squandered a 31-14 lead. Wyoming outscored BYU 24-0 in the second half for the comeback win.

Simulation #6 - BYU 23 | Wyoming 17

A low-scoring game goes BYU's way. Jake Retzlaff was 8/16 for 171 yards before getting hurt, including a 73-yard touchdown pass to Chase Roberts.

Simulation #7 - BYU 26 | Wyoming 21

This is the type of game that BYU fans fear: Retzlaff goes 16/34 for 199 yards, 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. BYU's defense leads the Cougars to a victory.

Simulation #8 - BYU 34 | Wyoming 23

A dominant ground attack leads BYU to a win. BYU rushes for 188 and 3 scores.

Simulation #9 - BYU 22 | Wyoming 17

BYU overcame a slow start in this one, trailing 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars outscored Wyoming 22-3 from that point on to pull out the win.

Simulation #10 - BYU 38 | Wyoming 22

A dominant performance by the BYU offense leads to the win. Jake Retzlaff threw for 404 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 38-22 victory.