FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the first time in 10 years, the Rams celebrated a Border War victory here with their fans.
 
Colorado State, which last hoisted the Bronze Boot during the 2020 season in an empty Canvas Stadium, recaptured the hardware with a 24-10 victory over Wyoming in front of a raucous crowd of 36,720 under the Friday night lights.
 
The Cowboys, who had won seven of the previous eight games in the rivalry, vowed to use the painful postgame scene – the Rams rushed over to grab the prized traveling trophy from the visiting sideline – as motivation for next year's rematch.
 
An emotional Jack Walsh emerged from the somber visiting locker room and said he felt "terrible" for the seniors who walked off the field after their final Border War cloaked in disappointment.
 
"They were 6-3, and they just rushed the field after beating us when we were 2-7," Walsh said after UW's offensive line was only able to pave the way for 117 yards rushing. "This rivalry means so much, and I just feel absolutely terrible. I feel like I let those guys down. It's tough to look at them in the face, because you want everybody to go out the right way as a senior. You never want them to feel down about their season."
 
CSU racked up 276 yards of offense in the first half but only led 17-3 after the Pokes made two goal-line stands late in the second half.
 
The Rams scored a touchdown on their first drive in the third quarter but were held to five punts and a missed field goal the rest of the way.
 
However, the magic Kaden Anderson and the offense had during the 49-45 victory at New Mexico did not carry over through the open date. The redshirt freshman finished 13-for-30 for 120 yards with no passing touchdowns and a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
 
UW's running game was never on track and several wide receivers dropped passes to kill drives. Jamari Ferrell had a 62-yard run to set up Anderson's score, but Harrison Waylee and Sam Scott combined for 26 yards on only 15 attempts.
 
"Of all my years playing football, this is probably the toughest loss I've had personally. That hurt a lot," Anderson said. "Sometimes they get your number and tonight they had our number. We've just got to come back next week and start preparing for Boise."
 
The Cowboys (2-8) finish Jay Sawvel's first season as head coach with the home final against No. 13 Boise State next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (5 p.m., CBS Sports Network) followed by a road game at No. 19 Washington State on Nov. 30.
 
UW athletics director Tom Burman and CSU counterpart John Weber announced a football scheduling agreement Thursday to continue the series from 2028-35.
 
Next season's Border War in Laramie will be the last meeting as Mountain West rivals with the Rams leaving for the Pac-12 in 2026.
 
"It's a hard lesson for a lot of people in our program to learn," Sawvel said of Friday's bitter defeat. "I feel for our seniors because we've had that boot for three straight years. We don't have it now. And to the underclass players I'd just say look across that field and see what that looked like because you're going to see it all offseason in the weight room, you're going to see it all offseason in everything we do. We've got to get a lot better in a lot of things."
 
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