LARAMIE – The Pokes took 'em to the deep end of the mine shaft.
 
Wyoming, which wore black "Cowboy & Coal" uniforms to honor the state's coal mining industry, recaptured the Bronze Boot with a resolute 28-0 razing of Colorado State on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 25,609 at War Memorial Stadium.
 
The Cowboys won eight of the last 10 Border War games against the Rams as conference rivals with CSU set to leave the Mountain West for the remnants of the Pac-12 in 2026.
 
As UW's players celebrated with the student section and the Boot, former head coach Craig Bohl watched from the window inside the High Altitude Performance with a special sense of pride.
 
It was the first Border War shutout for the Pokes since the 44-0 win in 2010. This was also the second shutout of the season for UW defense, a feat not accomplished since 1966.

Bohl's son, Aaron Bohl, is head coach Jay Sawvel's defensive coordinator.
 
"My job is to help our players achieve success. To see them react that way and see them that happy … then I come here after in the building and there's Craig Bohl and the first thing he can say is, 'You enjoy every single one of these,'" Sawvel said. "There's no doubt. This is a big game for the entire state. I just appreciate being a part of it, I appreciate the way our team played tonight, I appreciate how together our team is through everything."
 
With legendary wide receivers Ryan Yarborough and Marcus Harris in attendance, Jovon Bouknight called a vintage game in his debut as the offensive coordinator.

There were plenty of new wrinkles, including having backup quarterback Landon Sims run the ball five times out of the shotgun for 31 yards and a touchdown, as the Cowboys finished with 372 total yards.
 
More importantly, there was balance as Kaden Anderson passed for 154 yards and two touchdowns and five running backs combing for 182 rushing yards and a touchdown.
 
"He had a handle on everything, every part of it," Sawvel said of Bouknight's game plan and play-calling. "I thought he was really, really good. He has a directness with players, and I appreciate that and I think you can see that in the way they performed."
 
Sam Scott broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown to give the Pokes a 28-0 advantage with 10:51 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Cornerback Markie Grant intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart the Rams' best scoring chance. It was the third pick of the night for CSU quarterback Jackson Brousseau, who was then pulled and replaced by freshman Darius Curry.
 
UW's defense put an exclamation point on the victory by keeping CSU out of the end zone by stopping a fourth-and-goal from the 5 with 1:51 remaining.
 
"We weren't just defending our home field we were defending this entire state," nose tackle Ben Florentine said. "That was the big feeling we wanted to get across to the guys and on the scoreboard, they understood it."
 
The Cowboys dominated the first 30 minutes and led 21-0 at the intermission after racking up 228 yards and holding the Rams to 62 yards.
 
On third-and-12, Anderson escaped pressure and flipped a pass to Samuel "Tote" Harris for 14 yards. Scott broke around the left side of the line of scrimmage for a 27-yard scamper to move the sticks on a third-and-1.
 
The drive was capped with a 1-yard touchdown run by Sims on fourth-and-goal to give UW a 7-0 lead with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter.
 
"Landon Sims is a talented player," Sawvel said of using two quarterbacks to give the position more of a dual threat. "Every athlete we've got that can help us in a situation, let's use them, and Landon Sims was part of that."
 
Nickel back Desman Hearns came up with the Pokes' first interception which led to a 22-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Michael Fitzgerald II to make the score 14-0 with 14:15 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Safety Jones Thomas, who grew up in Fort Collins but was overlooked by CSU during the recruiting process even though his grandfather and father played for the Rams, intercepted Brousseau to give the offense another short field.
 
"I'm glad to say I'm the first Thomas supporting the right side. I'm glad we got it done," Thomas said. "Seeing them run across last year (to grab the Boot) hurt and it was a horrible feeling. It was a really good feeling and it's almost better knowing they're going through what we went through last year and even a little worse with that goose egg (on the scoreboard)."
 
Jaylen Sargent had a 22-yard reception and somehow recovered his own fumble as two Rams appeared to be in position to fall on a potential momentum-changing turnover.
 
Anderson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Durr Jr. moments later to extend the lead to 21 points before halftime.
 
"Ryan Yarborough talked to us, Marcus Harris talked to us, President Trump shouted us out on the video board, I mean, this was a crazy environment tonight," center Jack Walsh said. "Having black unis, it was insane. I'm just so thankful to play for the University of Wyoming."
 
The Pokes ran to the visiting sideline as time expired to grab the Boot and avenge last year's deflating 24-10 defeat at Canvas Stadium.
 
Sawvel made the team workout in the weight room in front of an empty trophy case for almost a year. This week he had the players watch Rams highlights from the 2024 meeting.
 
There was no way UW was going to lose the 117^th edition of the Border War after that.
 
"If you were around this week seeing just seeing Coach Sawvel's whole mindset and his whole attitude, you could tell that he was itching to get to game time," Walsh said. "He put that type of attitude in us. I'm so happy for Coach Sawvel. He's an amazing coach, he's an amazing person, he cares so much about us, and it was a great night."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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