Cowboys and Rams Meet for the 116th Edition of “The Border War”

Nick Seeman, Assistant Athletic Director, Communications University of Wyoming Athletics

Contest is set for 6 p.m. on Friday in Fort Collins

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 11, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys head south for the 116th edition of “The Border War” on Friday evening inside Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins. It marks the 125th anniversary of the first meeting coming back in 1899.

The contest will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Chris Lewis on the call with Donte Whitner analyzing the action. The game will also be available on the 26 stations of The Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call, Kevin McKinney on color and Erick Pauley on the sidelines.

The annual Bronze Boot Run will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14 beginning at War Memorial Stadium., early in the morning with the University of Wyoming ROTC detachment running the game ball to the state border on U.S. Highway 287. The Bronze Boot Run Ceremony will take place at Noon at the state border with the two athletics directors, Tom Burman from Wyoming and John Weber from Colorado State, and the two head coaches, Jay Sawvel from Wyoming and Jay Norvell from Colorado State, participating in the ceremony.

Wyoming and Colorado State Meet in the 116th Edition of “The Border War” -- the Oldest Rivalry for Both the Cowboys and Rams Has Been Played in Three Different Centuries -- Battle for the Bronze Boot in 57th Year: The Wyoming Cowboys and Colorado State Rams will be playing for the 116th time this week in “The Border War”. The series is the oldest rivalry for both schools. Here are some notes on “The Border War” rivalry.

•”The Border War” series has been played in three different centuries, dating back to Nov. 30, 1899, when CSU won the first meeting 12-0 in Fort Collins, Colo.

•This year is the 125th anniversary of that first meeting.

•Since 1968, the two schools have battled for the “Bronze Boot” traveling trophy. This year will be the 57th meeting in the “Bronze Boot” portion of the series. Wyoming leads the Bronze Boot portion of the series 31-25.

•The Bronze Boot trophy was created from an actual boot worn in Vietnam by Dan Romero, a CSU ROTC instructor.

•Since the end of World War II, Wyoming and CSU have played every season for 79 consecutive seasons from 1946 to this season.

•Over the past 78 consecutive meetings, dating back to the 1946 season, Wyoming leads 46-32-0.

•Colorado State leads the overall series 59-51-5.

Anderson Named MW Freshman of the Week: Wyoming redshirt freshman quarterback Kaden Anderson was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week on Monday morning. It marks the first time this season a Cowboy has earned a weekly Player of the Week honor from the conference. Anderson, a native of Southlake, Texas made his first career start leading the Cowboys to a 49-45 win at New Mexico. He threw for a career-high 342 yards in the contest. It was the most passing yards by a Cowboy since Cam Coffman had 366 yards against New Mexico in 2015.

Suiaunoa Named Semifinalist for Butkus Award: Semifinalists for the 40th annual Butkus Award® honoring the nation’s best linebackers were revealed Monday by the Butkus Foundation. Wyoming linebacker Shae Suiaunoa was named a semifinalist for the award and is the only player from the Mountain West Conference on the list. Suiaunoa is the first Cowboy since Chad Muma in 2021 to be named a semifinalist for the award. Muma was one of six finalists during that season. He ranks ninth in the Mountain West and No. 65 in the nation with 7.8 tackles per game. He leads the Cowboys in total tackles with 70 to rank seventh in the conference. He is also tied for the Wyoming lead in tackles for loss on the season with 8.5.

Hoyland Named Nominee for Burlsworth Trophy: The 2024 list of nominees for the Burlsworth Trophy have been announced and Wyoming place-kicker John Hoyland is among this year’s nominees marking his third-straight season on the list. Hoyland, a native of Broomfield, Colo., recently became Wyoming’s all-time leader in career scoring with 346 points passing Cooper Rothe (342 points) with seven extra points at New Mexico. He also earlier this season set the Wyoming recorded for career field goals, as he now has 67 career field goals. He has hit four field goals five times in his career. Hoyland is 9-of-12 on field goals this season for 75 percent with a long of 48 yards. He is 6-for-6 this season inside the 40-yard line. He is also perfect this season in extra points.

Anderson Named Manning Award Star of the Week: Fans selected Wyoming quarterback Kaden Anderson as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. He earned the honor over seven other Manning Award Stars of the Week in the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s online fan voting contest. Anderson, a native of Southlake, Texas made his first career start leading the Cowboys to a 49-45 win at New Mexico. He threw for a career-high 342 yards in the contest. It was the most passing yards by a Cowboy since Cam Coffman had 366 yards against New Mexico in 2015. It is also the most by a true freshman or redshirt freshman in the MW era of Cowboy Football. Brett Smith threw for 341 yards in 2011 against San Diego State.

Sargent Racks Up Yards: Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent recorded a career-high six receptions along with a career-high 186 yards at New Mexico. He also added a score. It was the most receiving yards by a Cowboy since Robert Herron had 187 yards against San Diego State to close the 2012 season.

Waylee Makes His Return: Cowboy running back Harrison Waylee made a splash in his first game back in the Brown and Gold. He finished the game rushing for 170 yards with one touchdown. He also went over 3,000 career yards, as he now has 3,046 yards

Ferrell Gets it Done on the Ground: Running back Jamari Ferrell also had a career day. He rushed the ball a career-best 20 times for 89 yards including a score. He had a long of 23 yards in the contest.

The Turnover Titan Strike Again: Nickel Wrook Brown is called the turnover titan by his teammates. He leads the team with three interceptions this season and six for his career. He recorded interception for a score in the fourth quarter at New Mexico for the first touchdown of his career in the Brown and Gold.

Big Day for the Offense: The Wyoming offense had a big day in the win over New Mexico. Wyoming recorded 334 yard in the first half marking back-to-back halves with 300 or more yards. Wyoming had 314 yards in the second half against Utah State. The Cowboys recorded 35 points in the first half for the most in an opening frame since scoring 35 against Hawaii last season. Wyoming recorded 604 yards of total offense for the most since recording 604 yards on Nov. 20, 2021 at Utah State.

Mr. Durr Makes Great Catch: Freshman Chris Durr Jr. made an impressive one-handed catch at New Mexico that was one of three catches on the day. The one-handed grab was second ESPN’s Top-10 Plays.

A Ton of First Downs: The Wyoming Cowboys were moving the chains at New Mexico. Wyoming recorded 30 first downs in the game for the most in a game since having 34 against Hawaii on Nov. 23, 2013.

Through the Air: Quarterback Kaden Anderson recorded 342 passing yards for the most by a Cowboy since Cam Coffman had 366 against New Mexico in 2015. The Wyoming redshirt freshman has now throw for the most yards by a freshman or redshirt freshman in the Mountain West era of Cowboy basketball.

About Colorado State: The Rams (6-3 overall, 4-0 Mountain West) are bowl eligible for the first time since 2017 after a 38-21 victory at Nevada on Nov. 2. CSU, which does not play No. 12 Boise State or UNLV during the regular season, can reach the Mountain West championship game for the first time by winning its final three games.

Avery Morrow and Justin Marshall combined for 145 yards rushing and three touchdowns and Jordan Noyes made a 60-yard field goal to lead the Rams to the win in Reno. Sophomore quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi has completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,611 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions this season. Morrow is fourth in the MW in rushing with 788 yards and eight touchdowns. All-conference wide receiver Tory Horton is out for the rest of the season with an injury, but Caleb Goodie and Dane Olson combined for 111 yards on only three receptions against the Wolf Pack.

Defensively, the Rams are allowing 24.1 points (62nd) and 408.2 yards (104th) per game. Those numbers have improved dramatically since non-conference losses at Texas (52-0) and Oregon State (39-31). During the 4-0 start to conference play, CSU allowed only 16.0 points per game.