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    Battle for the Bronze Boot: 110th Wyoming Vs. Colorado State game set for Friday night

    The annual Border War game between the Wyoming Cowboys and Colorado State Rams will kick off in a rare Friday night game this week from Fort Collins, Colo.  The 110th edition of the Border War will be featured in a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network beginning at 8 p.m.  The game will be broadcast on radio over the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m.

    Historical Series
    Not only will it be the 110th meeting in the series between the two border rivals, but for the 51st consecutive year the two teams will battle for the Bronze Boot traveling trophy.  The Wyoming Cowboys hold a 26-24 lead in the Bronze Boot portion of the series that began in 1968.  The two teams will be playing for the 73rd consecutive season as the series has been played annually without interruption since the 1946 season.  The Cowboys have won 41 of the last 72 consecutive meetings, with CSU winning 31 times since 1946.  The Rams lead the overall series 58-46-5.

    “The Border War” rivalry has been marked by a series of streaks over the past decade.  Colorado State won two in a row in 2007-08.  Wyoming then won four in a row from 2009-12.  CSU came back with three straight wins from 2013-15, and the Cowboys are currently on a two-game winning streak from 2016-17.

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    Annual Bronze Boot Run — Running of the Game Ball — This Thursday  
    The annual running of the game ball by the ROTC detachments of the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University will take place on Thursday, Oct. 25.

    Wyoming ROTC members will begin the run in Laramie, Wyo., on Thursday morning at 7 a.m.  They will deliver the game ball to Colorado State ROTC members at approximately 11:45 a.m. at the Wyoming-Colorado state border on U.S. Highway 287.

    After a brief ceremony and exchange of the game ball, CSU ROTC members will begin running the game ball from the border to Fort Collins about 12:20 p.m.  They are scheduled to arrive at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins at about 5:30 p.m.  on Thursday.

    The Bronze Boot Trophy will be located on the Wyoming sideline of Canvas Stadium during Friday’s game for the winning team to grab as soon as the game ends.

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    Memorable Games Include Last Year’s Snow Game, Won by Wyoming 16-13 in Laramie 
    There have been many memorable games in the history of The Border War and on Nov. 4, 2017, another memory was made as the Wyoming Cowboys came from behind to capture a 16-13 victory in a game played in a snowstorm in Laramie.
    With a little over seven minutes to go in the game, Colorado State held a 13-9 lead and had the ball at the Wyoming 35-yard line, facing a 4th down and six.  The Rams decided to go for it on fourth down, but Wyoming’s defense came up with a huge stop as defensive end Carl Granderson and nose tackle Javaree Jackson tackled running back Rashaad Boddie two yards short of the first down at the UW 31-yard line.
    The Cowboys took possession of the ball with 7:09 remaining and facing the challenge of going 69 yards to take the lead.  Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen hit fullback Drew Van Maanen for a 17-yard gain on first down, moving the ball to the Wyoming 48.  Redshirt sophomore Kellen Overstreet, who did not have a carry entering the fourth quarter, was inserted into the lineup and on his first carry gained 16 yards to the CSU 36-yard line.  At the end of the run, Colorado State was called for a face-mask penalty, moving the ball to the Colorado State 21.  On a third and three from the CSU 14, Allen carried for five yards to make it first and goal from the nine.  Allen would keep the ball on the next play and gain six down to the three-yard line.  Overstreet would carry the last three yards on the seventh play of the drive, and Wyoming would take its only lead of the game at 16-13, with 4:21 remaining.  That is how the game would end with a memorable Cowboy comeback win.

    Wyoming’s Nico Evans is the Mountain West’s Leading Rusher, Ranks Fourth in the Nation
    Cowboy running back Nico Evans’ outstanding season continues as the senior from Los Angeles enters this week ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 4 in the nation in rushing yards, averaging 133.8 yards per game.  He rushed for 133 yards in his most recent game vs. Utah State.  Evans has four 100-yard rushing games this season: 190 at New Mexico State, 141 vs. Boise State, 192 at Hawai’i and 133 vs. Utah State.

    He had rushed for 89 yards against Washington State in the second game of the season, before he was injured on the first possession of the third quarter, causing him to miss the Missouri and Wofford games.  Evans has rushed for a total of 803 yards this season, to lead the Mountain West and rank No. 9 in the NCAA in that category.  He also is averaging 142.5 all-purpose yards per game to lead the conference and rank No. 11 in the nation in that statistical category that combines rushing, receiving and return yards.

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    100-Yard Rushers Times Two 
    The Wyoming offense accomplished something last week against Utah State that it hadn’t since Oct. 12, 2013.  The Cowboys had two players rush for over 100 yards vs. Utah State.  Senior running back Nico Evans ran for 133 yards and true freshman quarterback Sean Chambers ran for 100.  The last time two Cowboys did that in the same game was against New Mexico in 2013 when QB Brett Smith ran for 138 and running back Shaun Wick had 116.

    Logan Wilson Sets Himself Apart Again Versus Utah State 
    Cowboy middle linebacker Logan Wilson is one of the top players in the Mountain West again in 2018.  The former MW Freshman of the Year (2016) and Second Team All-Conference selection (2017) as a sophomore, Wilson recorded 11 tackles,1.0 tackle for a loss and intercepted a pass that set up a field goal versus Utah State last week.  It was his fourth double-figure tackle game of the season and 10th of his career.  On the season, he ranks 10th in the league in tackles per game (8.4).

    Closing in on the Record Book
    Wyoming senior strong safety Andrew Wingard continues his assault on two defensive record books this week.  Wingard has 428 career tackles entering this week’s Border War game versus Colorado State.  The Arvada, Colo., native currently ranks third on both the Wyoming career tackle list and the Mountain West career tackle chart.

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    He is only 12 tackles away from tying Jim Talich (1994-97) for the No. 2 spot in Wyoming history, and trails Wyoming’s all-time leading tackler, Galand Thaxton, by only 39 tackles.  Wingard needs only five more tackles to tie former UNLV Rebel Adam Seward for the No. 2 spot on the Mountain West career list.  Wingard trails the Mountain West’s all-time tackle leader, Carmen Messina of New Mexico, by only 26 tackles.

    Next Up
    The Cowboys will return home on Saturday, Nov. 3 to host the San Jose Spartans in a game that will kick off at Noon, M.T., from Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium.  Tickets to that game may be purchased online at GoWyo.com/tickets, by emailing [email protected], by calling (307) 766-7220 or by stopping by the UW Athletics Ticket Office on the west side of the Arena-Auditorium on campus.

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