in CFB, CFB ON Tap, College, Colorado State Rams

Rams Win Back the Bronze Boot

    Rams outlast Cowboys to Reclaim Border for First Time in 5 Years

For the first time since 2015, Colorado State beat the Wyoming Cowboys to be declared the winners of the Border War game in college football. For a number of reasons, Wyoming has gotten the better of Fort Collins in regard to the cross-state rivalry that had been turned into more of a snooze fest over the past few years. This was not the case as CSU scored early and often by setting the tone early and finishing strong.

The Cowboys stumbled out of the gate when QB Levi Williams got hit while he threw and was intercepted by senior Marshaun Cameron who weaved and bobbed 30 yards to the house to put CSU up 7-0 early. The Rams defense came back again and forced ANOTHER turnover on a strip sack of Levi Williams that setup the offense’s 1-play drive that was a 29-yard TD throw. The game continued to be quiet until halfway through the second quarter when Wyoming scored on a Trey Smith TD. The schools then traded another TD apiece to take the game into half with the score 14-24, CSU leading.

The game continued to be quiet until the end of the 3rd quarter where Senior Patrick O’Brien threw his 2nd TD of the night to Trey McBride to put the game at 31-17 heading into the 4th quarter. The Cowboys eventually responded with a TD of their own but it was inconsequential after the Rams had the second longest drive of the night that was 11 plays, and ate up 5 and a half minutes to kick a field goal and make it a 2-possession game that Wyoming could not overcome.

Some notable performances from this game include Patrick O’Brien’s 3 TD night where he threw 2 TDs and ran for one. Dante Wright also compiled 10 receptions for 146 yards and constantly moved the chains for the Rams. Xazavian Valladay was the best player for Wyoming on a night where he averaged over 5 yards per carry and collected a TD on 28 rushes. The Rams’ defense was the biggest factor of the night sacking Levi Williams 6 times and forcing 3 turnovers while scoring a TD of their own.

Ultimately the Cowboys lost the turnover battle 3-0 and that was the largest difference in a game where Wyoming was able to move the ball really well. The Rams played according to their lead really well and made sure that they weren’t going to make it 6 years in a row for Wyoming. This is a huge shot of confidence in new coach Steve Addazio who was welcomed to FoCo with a lot of question marks. This marks the first time Colorado State has beat Wyoming in the Border War in 5 years (and 6 years since they won in Fort Collins). Rams fans hope this is just the first of many Bronze Boot victories under Coach Addazio. This win puts CSU up 59-47-5 all time but they are still behind in the Bronze Boot history portion of the rivalry 28-25.

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Written by Kodey Stauffer