Opening this series up with a game that has as much rich history as the Border War is a difficult task as there is. The now 127-year rivalry between Wyoming and Colorado State has plenty of well-documented contests that live in either esteem or infamy, depending on which side you look from. 

For this specific piece, I felt it best to look at both sides of that spectrum, as UW has grasped plenty of historic wins as much as it has suffered plenty of heartbreaking losses. 

Oct. 29, 1966 

It's been 60 years since the Rams bested a then 10th ranked UW team, giving the Pokes their only blemish on an otherwise perfect season. Although that is reason alone for this contest to serve as a painful memory of a season of what could have been, there's a much more controversial element to this game—that being the infamous 'bounce pass'. 

No, we are not talking about a basketball game. 

The Rams scored their only touchdown that day on a meticulously designed trick play on a crucial fourth down, one where CSU quarterback Bob Wolfe threw a pass in the backfield which bounced off the ground and into the arms of tailback Larry Jackson. In what was seemingly an incomplete pass, Jackson sold the trick play with a fit of frustration aimed towards his quarterback. Unbeknownst to the Cowboys, the play was indeed still live because the pass was considered a lateral. Jackson, who had fooled just about everyone besides CSU head coach Mike Lude—who drew up the play—then passed downfield to tight end Tom Pack who scored a wide-open touchdown to give the Rams a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. 

Funnily enough, the Rams had tried the same play on the third down prior, but Wolfe had botched the play by not bouncing the ball to Jackson, who simply caught the ball in the air and was tackled on a live play. 

The Cowboys answered in the fourth quarter with a field goal that allotted them a 10-9 lead, but a fumble by defensive back Dick Speights led to a field goal by the Rams, who took a 12-10 lead late in the fourth before coming away with an interception that would seal the win for them, and the first loss of the season for the Cowboys. 

UW still went on to have one of the most successful seasons in program history that year, beating Florida State in the Sun Bowl to cap off a 10-1 season. The Cowboys featured a potent offense that year, scoring an average of 32.3 points per game while winning by a margin of around 24 points per game.  

It isn't the 10 points the Cowboys were able to muster that day at Hughes Stadium that stunted an otherwise perfect season, but the six points they gave away in a fashion no one expected. 

Nov. 16, 1996 

It's been 30 years since UW completed a miraculous comeback against the Rams to secure the Pacific Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Just one point decided this contest at Hughes Stadium, as a 96-yard drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter pushed the Cowboys over the Rams in a 25-24 thriller. 

The sequence that won it all, affectionately known as "The Drive" amongst fans, is something that won't soon be forgotten, even after three decades. 

Before that point, though, the Cowboys were putting together a rather forgettable performance for a game with WAC championship implications on the line. Despite taking a 13-0 lead at halftime, the Cowboys had committed five turnovers in the contest, which led the Rams to score 24 unanswered points to take an 11-point lead. UW scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter to draw closer and it 24-19, but the offense was forced to set up shop around its own four-yard line on the next drive with eight minutes left in the contest. 

Then came The Drive. 

A 14-play, 96-yard drive that took a little over six minutes capped off by a six-yard scoring run by freshman running back Marques Brigham gave the Cowboys a one-point edge over the Rams after a failed two-point conversion. However, it was an interception by junior safety Brian Lee that sealed the Pacific Division title in a contest that is forever etched within the lore of Wyoming football. 

That win also marked the last time the Cowboys have ever reached 10 wins in a single season; a feat UW will have the chance to achieve this season, starting in Fort Collins, the very same place they last did so.