The 117th Border War was fraught with changes in coaching staff for both teams, but in the end, the Wyoming Cowboys were firing on all cylinders to completely dominate the CSU Rams and roll to a 28-0 victory. It was the first shutout for the Pokes over their most bitter rival since 2010, and their largest margin of victory under Jay Sawvel to help bring the Boot home.
“I’m really happy for our players, and everybody associated with our program,” Sawvel said after the game. “It’s a great night for the Cowboys.”
The Pokes went into the week with a big shakeup offensively after Javon Bouknight was named the new playcaller for Wyoming, taking over for Jay Johnson. On the other side of the border, it was a much larger change, with head coach Jay Norvell being relieved of his duties last Sunday. The stage had been set for an exciting Border War, and the last with both teams being in the Mountain West.
Bouknight’s offense came out of the gates with some heat, and backed by a stout defense, got the Pokes rolling from the beginning. In their second drive, a 27-yard burst from RB Sam Scott set Wyoming up in the redzone, and the offense kept inching the ball to the goal line. On a gutsy 4th down play at the 1-yard line, backup QB Landon Sims ran a keeper behind Sam Scott into the endzone to put Wyoming ahead 7-0.
Two plays later, Wyoming CB Desman Hearns read CSU QB Jackson Brousseau’s eyes perfectly and jumped in front of the receiver to get a big takeaway and give the Pokes the ball at the CSU 49 right after their opening score.
Landon Sims became a playmaker for Wyoming, and even after his TD run, he was incorporated into the offense. After another 13-yard Sims rush to the CSU 22, Anderson found Michael Fitzgerald for a precise TD toss that put Wyoming up 14-0 with 14 minutes left in the second.
“Landon Sims is a talented player,” Sawvel said. “Every athlete that we got that can help in a situation, let’s use them.”
Wyoming continued to click offensively, and the defense kept setting them up for success. On the ensuing drive, S Jones Thomas, a Fort Collins native whose father and grandfather played for the Rams, would be the man to step up. He picked off Brousseau for the second time and got the ball back to the offense with 3:15 in the 2nd quarter, this time at the Wyoming 44.
Even after an untimely Sargent fumble at the CSU 22, he somehow retrieved the ball to keep the new look offense rolling. Two plays later Anderson found the superstar WR Chris Durr Jr. for a 9 yard TD that had the crowd roaring. After the PAT, Wyoming was up 21-0, and Anderson was 14/17 with 129 yards and two TDs.
That would be the last score before the half, and through 2 quarters, the Bouknight reign at OC was going splendidly. The Pokes scored 3 TDs on 5 drives, and with the defensive help, the Border War was easily in the hands of the Wyoming Cowboys. Scott, Kellman, and Sims all had over 20 yards rushing in the first half, and Chris Durr reeled in 6 receptions and the TD to make it 21-0 Pokes. In the first half, Wyoming had 228 total yards to CSU’s 62, and 12 first downs to the Ram’s 4. In short, the offense was grooving.
“I think we didn’t change a whole lot offensively tonight,” Anderson said. “Playmakers made plays tonight.”
Even if that’s the case, something was clicking that hadn’t been there in weeks past for Wyoming.
The Rams received the ball out of the gate, but as was customary, had a quick three-and-out before punting the ball to Wyoming. Out of 6 drives for CSU, only 2 had gone past three plays up to this point. After popping down to the CSU 37 yard line in just 4 plays, Sam Scott burst out from behind the line and dashed for a 37-yard score to make it 28-0 and really put the game out of the reach of the Rams.
CSU showed flashes late in the game, but they would be denied over and over again, and the defense wouldn’t budge a bit to allow points.
“Tonight we weren’t just defending our home field,” Ben Florentine, senior DT said. “We were defending this entire state.”
That emotion carried the Pokes to post a shutout, the first in 15 years against the Rams and the second shutout of the season, something that hasn’t been done since 1966. Evan Eller racked up 7 tackles and a sack, while the secondary reeled in 3 picks to leave the visitors with a 0 on the scoreboard.
“Our players had to look at an empty trophy case in the weight room,” Sawvel said. “Every time they walked in there to work out there was a trophy case where that Boot was supposed to be.”
Even with his first Border War win under his belt, Sawvel continued to point to his players and opened up about his mindset as a coach.
“My job is to help our players achieve success,” he said. “I always want [the Boot] to be here, I never want to lose it again.”
Kaden Anderson shared a similar sentiment after regaining the trophy he lost in his first season as Wyoming’s QB in the game he called his “toughest loss” he’d had in all his years playing football.
“I have two more years here,” he said. “I got two more Boots to bring back home.”
Wyoming is now 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West. Up next is the red hot San Diego State Aztecs, who are 6-1 and undefeated in the conference. The Pokes have to hit the road next week, but are up for the challenge to stay competitive late into the season. They kickoff at 5 PM on Nov 1.
