LARAMIE – Border War games are special.
The emotions the Colorado State-Wyoming rivalry stir are what stick with you over the decades.
Legendary stories being passed down – a grandfather’s seething memory of the Bounce Pass game in 1966, a father retelling his play-by-play account of the Drive in 1996, a son’s connection to the Cowboys being spawned during the Snow Game in 2017 – are what connect past, present and future generations through the magic of the Bronze Boot.
There isn’t a more dramatic dichotomy of emotions on display than at the end of a Border War when one side grabs the Boot to relish in sweet victory as the other watches in the bitter agony of defeat.
“It’s a horrible feeling,” senior safety Andrew Johnson said of UW’s 24-10 loss in Fort Collins last season, which was the first Border War win for the Rams in front of their own fans since 2014. “In my time here, it has happened once. That’s plenty for me. I fully intend to go and grab it back and celebrate right in front of them just like they did to us last year.”
UW will host CSU in the 117th edition of the Border War at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
It has already been an emotional week on both sides of the rivalry with the Rams moving on from fourth-year head coach Jay Norvell and the Cowboys making a change at offensive coordinator with Jovon Bouknight to handle play-calling the rest of the season.
This will also be the final meeting between these two programs as conference rivals. UW will represent the Mountain West and CSU will be wearing a “Pac-12” patch when the next meeting occurs on Sept. 5, 2026, at Canvas Stadium.
“This is a special game and there is no denying it. I love this type of game,” UW head coach Jay Sawvel said. “When it’s state versus state those are the best games, those are the most special games because the fan base is locked in in a different way.
“I know what this means to the state of Wyoming. Our players know what this means to the state of Wyoming. Our number one job that we have this week is to put a team on the field that represents the state of Wyoming.”
Before the next chapter of the rivalry is written, let’s look back at five of the greatest CSU-UW games according to the co-authors of “The Border War” book – yours truly and Robert Gagliardi.
1. Nov. 16, 1996 – Wyoming 25, Colorado State 24 (Thorburn’s pick)
I covered this game for the Casper Star-Tribune as a cub reporter along with the newspaper’s longtime sports editor, Ron Gullberg, and it’s my favorite Border War because it can be summed up with two words:
The Drive.
Joe Tiller dialed up a brilliant 14-play, 96-yard march with quarterback Josh Wallwork picking the Rams apart before Marques Brigham’s game-winning touchdown run.
Safety Brian Lee’s interception clinched the one-point win and the Pokes’ spot in the WAC championship game against BYU.
“The Drive was a killer,” former CSU assistant Dan Hammerschmidt said. “I just remember Marcus Harris was such a stud. That was a tough one in 1996.”
Following UW’s 10-2 finish, Harris was a consensus All-American and won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver.
I distinctly remember trying to interview the legend in the visiting locker room at Hughes Stadium as his teammates shouted, “Harris for Heisman!” If only I had had a vote …
2. Nov. 4, 2017 – Wyoming 16, Colorado State 13 (Gagliardi’s pick)
Another Border War with an apt nickname: The Snow Game.
Before he was the NFL most valuable player, Josh Allen was a Bronze Boot hero after leading the Cowboys to a comeback win for the ages.
UW trailed 10-6 at the intermission and then 10-9 entering the fourth quarter as a heavy, wet snowstorm enveloped War Memorial Stadium. Then Allen lost a fumble and the visitors were dancing in celebration on the field following the turnover.
The Pokes came didn’t flinch and came up with a critical fourth-down stop, Allen completed a game-changing pass to diving fullback Drew Van Maanen to spark the offense and Kellen Overstreet capped the drive with the winning touchdown run.
“With these conditions and the first time I actually played in the snow, this will be a game talked about here for long time,” Allen said.
3. Oct. 28, 1978 – Wyoming 13, Colorado State 3 (Gagliardi/Thorburn joint pick)
I was not at the infamous “Brawl” before the Border War, but this was my favorite game to research and write about for the book.
CSU head coach Sark Arslanian, in an effort to spice up the rivalry with both programs struggling for most of the 1970s, decided to have the Rams make a dramatic entrance with the players coming down the stands at Hughes Stadium right before kickoff to meet the Cowboys on the field.
“They started trash-talking us,” UW’s All-American linebacker, Ken Fantetti, recalled. “There were twin brothers on the (CSU) team, Mark and Mike Bell, and both played in the pros. They started giving me some crap saying they were going to kick our asses. Being a Wyoming Cowboy, I said, bring it on!
“That wasn’t a smart thing to do since I was surrounded by 50 other people.”
The all-out fight – which legendary CSU sports information director Gary Ozzello likes to describe as a “donnybrook” – began moments later with police attempting to break it up. Memories are fuzzy on who threw the first punch.
“I think Fantetti was part of it,” Mike Bell said. “Once they saw us walking down the student section, their team came out there, and it didn’t take much. It got serious. It got to the point where I realized we’ve got to stop this or it’s going to be ugly. We got it calmed down.”
Once the dust settled after about 15 or 20 minutes of mayhem, the Pokes prevailed and went home with the Bronze Boot.
4. Nov. 1, 2003 – Wyoming 35, Colorado State 28
The Rams won the Mountain West in 1999, 2000 and 2002 while UW was struggling to find its footing in the new conference after the breakaway from the WAC following the 1998 season.
CSU head coach Sonny Lubick and quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt were pulling off wins against Colorado in front of large crowds in Denver during the era, which led to the in-state rivalry overshadowing the Border War for many Ram fans.
But during Joe Glenn’s first season, which included a home win over BYU, Cowboy fans tore down the War Memorial Stadium goalposts after UW snapped a four-game losing skid to their rivals from Fort Collins.
Casey Bramlet passed for 337 yards with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to send Van Pelt and the Rams home empty-handed.
“It was a tough trip back,” Van Pelt said. “I remember some Wyoming fan saying things to me as I was leaving the stadium with my father. It didn’t make me happy. Of course, I’m not a violent man so I didn’t do anything. But it’s things like that that I remember – how enthusiastic they were and how disappointing and difficult it was for us and myself leaving that field.”
5. Nov. 27, 2009 – Wyoming 17, Colorado State 16
Dave Christensen fully embraced the tradition of the Border War and needed a victory over the Rams to get UW bowl eligible in his first season as head coach.
Austyn Carta-Samuels produced one of the all-time Border War highlights by stiff-arming a would-be tackler to the ground while running for a 49-yard touchdown to give the Pokes a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t grab the face mask. I got it with my palm and pushed him down to the ground,” Carta-Samuels said. “It kind of propelled me forward. It was by far the most successful stiff-arm of my career.”
After CSU took a 16-14 lead on a 23-yard field goal, Carta-Samuels converted a third-and-11 with a 14-yard run and a fourth-and-6 with a 7-yard completion to Greg Bolling. Brandon Stewart’s 20-yard run set up a 33-yard field goal by freshman walk-on Ian Watts with 1:27 remaining.
The Rams were at midfield in the waning moments of regulation when Ghaali Muhammad sealed the win with an interception. UW accepted an invitation to the New Mexico Bowl and defeated Fresno State 35-28 in double-overtime.
Christensen hired Hammerschmidt as part of his first staff at UW and allowed the former CSU player and longtime assistant to diagram a special route on the white board before kickoff.
“Dave Christensen let me do the talk for the Border War before the game,” Hammerschmidt said. “So, I drew up this big drawing on the game-plan board and flipped it over and showed them exactly where the Boot would be. I drew that baby up and said, ‘Boys, it’s going to be right here, so when we win this sucker go grab it.
“Sure enough, they darted over there.”
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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