There's nothing quite like a big college football game.

Everything about it is so much fun, the hype, the anticipation, and the excitement.

War Memorial Stadium will be electric come Saturday night at 5 p.m. when Wyoming and Boise State do battle. I can't wait.

These two teams have been the big dogs in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference for a couple of years now—the Cowboys won the division in 2016, the Broncos in 2017. Boise State, of course, has been the league's biggest dog since joining the MW in 2011. Since that time, it has lost just 11 conference games, while winning three championships.

Maybe this one Saturday might have produced a bit more drama had it been each team's last league game instead of its first. But It is a huge football game, nonetheless, providing a bunch of ramifications. The outcome might not define each team's season. But the winner will have the early inside track to a divisional title.

With few exceptions, Boise State has been the standard by which everyone in the MW is measured since it joined the conference. The Broncos have been nationally ranked at some point of the year for 17 consecutive seasons, and they have dominated the series with Wyoming since the two began playing on a regular basis in 2010. Leading the series, 11-1, the Broncos have had their way with the Pokes.

That is until the Bohl Era.

The complexion of the series has changed dramatically since 2016.

No Cowboy fan will ever forget War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 30, 2016. It will be forever known as the "safety-dance game" when the Pokes won 30-28, thanks to all kinds of heroics in the last few minutes of the game.

While not as dramatic, last year's game in Boise was every bit as competitive as the 2016 contest. The Broncos finally prevailed, 24-14 with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But the Cowboys were right there, and held a pair of second-half leads.

Do those two games mean the Cowboys have caught up to the Broncos?  Maybe, maybe not.  One thing is certain, these last two contests are a far cry from the lopsided whippings Wyoming endured earlier in the series, 51-6 (2010), 45-14 (2012), 48-7 (2013) and 63-14 (2014).

These current Cowboys believe they can play competitively with Boise State, because they have. Saturday in the War is their opportunity to prove that once again.

This year's scenario is an interesting one. These two were the pre-season picks to finish one-two in the Mountain Division. These two have the pre-season players of the year—Cowboy Andrew Wingard on defense, and Broncos Brett Rypien on offense and Avery Williams on special teams.

Both teams have had similar results against P-5 teams. Wyoming lost to both Washington State and Missouri, and Boise State lost to Oklahoma State. Both have enjoyed the same bye week, which is unusual. For both, the bye week couldn't have come at a better time. The Cowboys' injury list was extensive, and Boise needed time to lick its collective wounds after being soundly beaten by Oklahoma State's Cowboys.

Both have plenty of star-power on their respective sidelines. The Broncos return 10 starters on a defense which ranked 22nd in the country last season, and the Cowboys have eight starters returning from a defense that led the nation in takeaways.

If there is a decided advantage for one team, it's at quarterback where Boise State has a four-year starter in the senior Rypien while the Pokes' Tyler Vander Waal is four games into his first season as a redshirt freshman starter. How that matchup will turn out is a big question, and will probably go a long way in deciding the outcome.

Wyoming fans would love to see a repeat of Boise State's last visit to War Memorial Stadium.

That one will forever linger in our collective minds. It was a signature win for Bohl, and the program.

We all remember Josh Allen's touchdown pass to Tanner Gentry, and Scott Appleby's quarterback strip and safety to win the game in the final minutes.

But, here are a few of the things I had forgotten about that game, and maybe you had too.

I guess I put out of my mind that the Pokes were down by two touchdowns, twice, 14-0 and 21-7.

I had forgotten about Rico Gafford's pick with a minute-and-a-half remaining in the first half and his team down 21-10. Honestly, that turned out to be one of the biggest plays of the evening.  Not only did it prevent the Broncos from possibly adding to their lead, but it led to a Cowboy score two plays later when Josh Allen hit tight end Jacob Hollister for a 28-yard touchdown connection. Suddenly the Cowboys faced just a four-point deficit, and had re-captured momentum.

I didn't remember that the Cowboys had two more total yards of offense than did Boise State, 489 to 487.

I had forgotten that each side had a running back produce over 140 yards on the ground, Brian Hill, 146, and BSU's Jeremy McNichols, 143.

After Allen's remarkable touchdown throw to Gentry in the end zone trimmed Boise's lead to two, it was Jake Maulhardt who caught the game-tying two-point conversion.

I had forgotten that Allen threw three touchdown passes while Rypien did not throw one. Yet, Rypien out-slung Allen in the yardage department, 328 to 274. Each quarterback threw a pick.

I also had forgotten that prior to Appleby's historic play, it was punter Ethan Wood who buried the Broncos at their own 10 yard line, with an outstanding boot that led to the unlikely finish.

I had forgotten that Boise State was 2-for-8 on third-down conversions, while the Cowboys were 10-of-18!

But, what I do remember about the game, more than anything, was the resolve of the Brown and Gold.

The Pokes will need a ton of that same resolve and few mistakes to beat the Broncos Saturday. Boise State remarkably has won 18 consecutive league-opening games. That's in three different leagues (Big West, Western Athletic and Mountain West). That's amazing, and that's how dominating they've been, no matter the league.

It's safe to assume Saturday's contest will be a competitive, hard-fought battle, just like the two most recent meetings.

It should be some kind of college football game. We'll see you in the War!