"The Border War" are words that every Wyoming and Colorado State fan know. Saturday's game will mark the 109th time the Cowboys and Rams will play each other on the gridiron, and it will mark the 50th year they will play for the Bronze Boot.
Saturday's game kick off at 5 p.m., M.T., from Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium. Both the Cowboys and Rams are in contention for the 2017 Mountain West Conference Mountain Division title. Wyoming has a 5-3 overall record and a 3-1 conference mark entering Saturday's game, while CSU is 6-3 overall, and 4-1 in the conference. The only Mountain Division team ahead of them in the standings is Boise State, who is 6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
Tickets to Saturday's game may be purchased online at GoWyo.com/tickets, by calling (307) 766-7220 or by stopping by the University of Wyoming Athletics Ticket Office in the Arena-Auditorium. On Saturday, tickets will be available for purchase on the east side of War Memorial Stadium.
Since the end of World War II, the two border rivals have played every year without interruption beginning with the 1946 season. This will be the 72nd consecutive season the Cowboys and Rams will meet.
The series began in 1899 and has now been played in three different centuries.
Wyoming leads in the Bronze Boot portion of the series by one game, with 25 wins to 24 for CSU. Since 1946, the Pokes hold an 11-game advantage having won 40 times to the Rams 31 victories. CSU leads the overall series with 58 wins to Wyoming's 45. There have been five ties in the series.
There have been many memorable games through the years, including last year's 38-17 Wyoming win in the Mountain West Conference opener for the Cowboys. That win was the first of a five-game winning streak for the Pokes that set them on their way to the 2016 Mountain West Mountain Division title.
Wyoming's success in 2017 has been fueled by an outstanding defense. UW is ranked among the Top 25 teams in the nation in six statistical categories, including leading the MW and ranking No. 5 in the nation in pass defense, allowing opponents only 160.4 yards through the air per game. The Pokes also rank No. 2 in the conference and No. 23 in the NCAA in scoring defense, giving up only 19.2 points per game to opponents. The Cowboys rank No. 4 in the Mountain West and No. 25 in the nation in total defense (327.1 yards allowed per game).
The UW defense has been very disruptive, leading the conference in both tackles for loss (7.30 per game) and quarterback sacks (2.63 per game),while ranking No. 24 nationally in TFLs and No. 26 in sacks. Wyoming also leads the league in interceptions, with 14, and ranks No. 2 in the nation in that category. The Cowboys have recovered 10 opponent fumbles, placing them second in the MW and fifth nationally.
Among the Cowboy defenders who have been leading the way have been junior defensive end
Carl Granderson, junior strong safety
Andrew Wingard and senior cornerback
Rico Gafford.
Granderson leads the league in tackles for loss (1.6 tackles for loss per game) and ranks No. 12 nationally. Granderson also leads the league in sacks (averaging 0.94 sacks per game) and ranks No. 7 in the nation.
Wingard is 10th in the nation in solo tackles (6.1 per game) and is 18th in total tackles (9.6 per game). He and Gafford are tied for the team lead in interceptions with four each through the first eight games this season. That ranks the tandem tied for eighth in the country.
Colorado State's strength this season has been the play of its offense. The Rams are leading the league and rank 17th nationally in passing offense (306.1 yards per game). CSU is also atop the conference rankings in total offense (499.0 yards per game) and ranks 13th in the national rankings.
Rams' senior quarterback Nick Stevens leads the Mountain West in passing offense (306.1 yards per game) and total offense (315.3 yards per game) and ranks No. 12 in the nation in passing and No. 16 in total offense.
CSU senior wide receiver Michael Gallup is No. 1 in the nation in receiving yards, averaging 129.7 yards per game. He also leads the MW and is No. 3 in the NCAA in receptions, catching an average of 8.0 passes per game.
The ability of Wyoming's defense to limit big plays by Colorado State and to get pressure on Stevens could be key factors in Saturday's game.
The Cowboy offense has been very productive itself the last few games. Junior quarterback
Josh Allen and his offensive teammates scored 42 points in the first half of last Saturday's win over New Mexico. Allen was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week as he threw four TD passes and rushed for another touchdown. He passed for 234 yards and rushed for 20 yards to account for 254 yards of total offense. Allen also generated six explosive plays, with five long pass plays of 21, 31, 19, 38 and 18 yards and a running play of 11 yards.
Wingard was named the MW Defensive Player of the Week, intercepting two New Mexico passes. He added five tackles on the night. Of his five tackles, four of those limited the Lobos to gains of 0, 2, 2 and 5 yards.
Another factor that could be key to Wyoming's success on Saturday are turnovers. Wyoming's defense and special teams created a school record seven takeaways last Saturday vs. New Mexico. The Cowboys intercepted five passes and recovered two muffed punts against the Lobos.
This season, only two other schools have forced seven turnovers in a single game -- Utah State accomplished that vs. BYU and Cal forced seven turnovers vs. Washington State.
Wyoming has been very successful at forcing turnovers all season long. UW currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in forcing turnovers, with 24, and also ranks No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin (turnovers gained minus turnovers lost). The Cowboys have only committed eight turnovers themselves.
Saturday's game has the makings of another classic in the over 100-year history of "The Border War".
This year's Wyoming-Colorado State game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Cowboy Sports Network radio broadcast will begin at 4 p.m. this Saturday with the pregame show.
