Cowboys Seek Third Straight Border War Win [VIDEO]
After coming close last week, the Wyoming Cowboys look to break a four-game losing skid in their rivalry game at Colorado State Friday night.
Wyoming (2-6, 0-4) hasn’t won a game since Sept. 15 in a comeback against Wofford. Now they’ll try for their third straight victory in the Border War.
Colorado State (3-5, 2-2) comes off a blowout loss at Boise State last Friday, 56-28. Prior to that, the Rams had won two conference games over San Jose State and New Mexico.
Now the 110th edition of the rivalry is renewed in a night game at CSU’s new Canvas Stadium.
Senior Conner Cain is one of 24 Cowboys that hail from the state of Colorado. KOWB’s David Settle caught up with him to talk about the rivalry from a Colorado native’s perspective and preparing for this game.
Last year’s game was a classic. The Cowboys rallied in the snow in Laramie for a 16-13 victory. This year Wyoming’s trying to get off the bottom of the Mountain West Mountain Division standings.
After struggles on offense the previous few games, UW found a spark last week in freshman quarterback Sean Chambers. He accounted for 162 yards in the 24-16 loss to Utah State. The Pokes finished with 331 yards on offense, 258 of which came in the second half. The Wyoming defense held the Aggies down to just 194 total yards.
Looking to build on those performances, the Cowboys face a Colorado State team that has a potent offense that averages 421 yards and 25 points per game. The Rams might play two quarterbacks in K.J. Carta-Samuels and Collin Hill. They are led on the ground by Izzy Matthews, while Preston Williams already has 61 receptions for 825 yards and eight touchdowns. The Rams defense allows 449.5 yards and almost 38 points per game.
In practice leading up to the Border War, Wyoming held an open competition between Chambers and redshirt freshman Tyler Vander Waal to see who will be the starting QB. Head coach Craig Bohl said early in the week it would be a game-time decision.
No matter who starts, UW will be playing another team that went to a bowl game last season. This is the eighth in the first nine games this year. The Pokes opponents this season are a combined 34-17 or have a winning percentage of .667. That puts UW in a tie for 17th when it comes to the toughest schedules in the FBS this year.
This is a rivalry, which means, throw out the records and anything that has happened before Friday night. The Cowboys take on the Rams in a series that dates back to 1899. This will be the 73rd consecutive year they’ve played since the end of World War II. Since that time, Wyoming leads the series 41-31, but Colorado State holds the overall series lead at 58-46 with five ties.
The schools play for, the “Bronze Boot,” a traveling trophy added to the series in 1968. UW leads that portion of it, 26-24. Friday will be the 51st game that involves the trophy going to the winner.
The game starts at 8 p.m. in Fort Collins. The radio broadcast will be on KCGY or Y95 Country (FM 95.1). Coverage begins at 7 p.m. The game is being televised by CBS Sports Network.