North Dakota State Notebook: Place Your Bets

LARAMIE -- Place your bets.

Wyoming offensive linemen Josiah Petaia and Johnathan Bush are supposed to go head-to-head tonight in a chicken wing-eating challenge at an establishment in Laramie.

If there was money riding on this matchup (there isn't) Ethan Stuhlsatz said he's taking Bush. It's easy to see why. The big Texan tips the scales at 310 pounds and is just eccentric enough -- some say downright crazy -- to dominate in a competitive endeavor like this one.

Petaia, the smiley Samoan, weighs 313 pounds. He simply said, "we'll see."

There's only one problem with that selection: Bush is one of 18 players on this current Wyoming roster battling a fast-spreading flu-like illness. Kalvin Janssen, a 307-pound redshirt freshman, is getting the call from the bullpen in place of Bush.

Deion DeBlanc knows both have a big appetite, but he's going with Petaia. "That's a beast right there," the speedy wideout added.

Coaches are not exempt from sickness.

Roughly 21 minutes into his weekly press conference, Jay Sawvel broke the silence as the microphone was passed around, asking the local media for a favor: To hurry up!

"What other questions we got?," the third-year head coach said with an uneasy smile. "I don't know how much time I've got. I'm going to go throw up, I think, here in a minute, so let's get this wrapped up."

Sawvel has since told 7220sports.com he is feeling much better aside from some body aches. In fact, he said most of the unwell players he has spoken with on Monday are also on the mend and should be ready to practice on Tuesday.

Fans in the area can attend the bout tonight at the Wing Shack on Grand Avenue. "Kickoff" is set for 5:30 p.m.

Here are some other news and notes from Sawvel's presser:

* The narrative this week, of course, will revolve around all the characters who have coached in both Laramie and Fargo. That conversation begins and ends with former head coach Craig Bohl, who spent 11 seasons at North Dakota State and led the program to three national championships. He accepted the job at Wyoming in 2014 and led the Cowboys to six bowl games and an appearance in the Mountain West title game back in 2016. "Obviously, he's fully supporting us in every way possible," said Aaron Bohl, Craig's son and Wyoming's current defensive coordinator. "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."

* There are other ties, too. Current NDSU head coach Tim Polasek was the offensive play-caller at UW from 2021-23 under Bohl. When the latter retired at the end of the '23 campaign, Sawvel was given the reins to the Cowboy football program. Was there ever a scenario where Sawvel would've kept Polasek on his new staff? "Yeah," he said, bluntly. "I got the job and Tim and I were talking that afternoon." The Bison brass would soon swoop in, flying to Laramie and coaxing Polasek to fill its vacancy. He did just that 11 days later. "Tim got a great opportunity at a place that he loves, a place that he's worked at before and had success. It was great move for him. It was tremendous."

* Jason Petrino, Wyoming's safeties coach, spent the 2023 season in Fargo under then head coach Matt Entz.

* 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.

* This budding rivalry between the Pokes and Bison now has a name: Battle of the Basins. It's an ode to the booming oil industry in both states. The teams will not play for a "drill bit" trophy. "It's news to me: I didn't know there was a trophy," Stuhlsatz said. "That's awesome."

* Wyoming and NDSU have met just one time on the football field. That came inside War Memorial Stadium way back in 2008 when Joe Glenn and Co. escaped with a 16-13 victory. Three years later, Bohl led the Bison to its first of three national titles.

* 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. "We talked about that with our players last night," Sawvel said. "This is what college football is, right? Texas had to go to Tennessee and go win a game. Oregon had to go to USC to go win a game. It's not jumping out of a plane at 30,000 feet without a parachute and landing and surviving. You have to go do these things -- and it's doable."

* 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. That was the only time Bohl finished above .500. "That's been the knock at Wyoming for a long time, right?," Sawvel said. "We play well at home, we don't on the road. I mean, that was when I first got here as an assistant. Everybody said that same thing. We've got to fix that."

* The Cowboys (2-2, 1-0) and Bison (4-0, 1-0) are slated to kickoff Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time inside the Fargodome. The game will be televised on The CW.

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* The Roaring Repeater Podcast, fueled by Laramie Range Ford, will be produced this Tuesday. Jared Newland and I will hit record around 12:15 p.m. Mountain Time. If you have any questions you want answered, send them via social media or to cody@7220sports.com.

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