The Bronze Boot will keep it’s mantle in Laramie warm this winter as the Cowboys were determined to keep the Boot where it belongs. Another Border War has passed and the Cowboys have no won their third straight battle against the Sheep from Fort Collins. The Brett Smith to Josh Doctson connection proved to be invaluable as the pair hooked up for a pair of touchdowns.
Colorado State got on the board first with a field goal to go up 3-0. The Cowboys responded with Alvester Alexander scampering off on a 36 yard run, his longest rush of the season. Up 7-3 the Sheep kicked another field goal and trailed 7-6 in the second quarter. The Cowboys responded on the very next offensive play as Brett Smith tossed an 80 yard bomb to fellow freshman Josh Doctson. The Pokes would go into halftime up 14-6.
The second half of the Border War would prove to be an exciting finish in the 103rd edition of the game. The Sheep owned the 3rd quarter as they punched in a pair of touchdowns from running back Raymond Carter, including one drive that was capped off by a 16 play 87 yard drive that ate 7:27 off of the game clock. The Pokes were shutout in the third quarter and found themselves down 14-19 at the start of the 4th. Freshman Brett Smith wasn’t going to lose his first Border War as he led the Pokes on an 11 play 90 yard drive to give the Cowboys the lead 20-19, as Smith hit Doctson for a 2nd score from 35 yards out. The two point conversion failed. The Pokes sealed the game up with Mike Purcell blew up a screen pass with 2:43 left in the game and sacked Colorado State quarterback Garret Grayson in the endzone. Grayson was making his first Border War start, replacing the ineffective Pete Thomas mid-way through the season.
The Cowboys won their third straight Border War, their longest win streak since their run from 1987 – 1989 when Paul Roach was the head coach. The Cowboys now trail in the overall series 55-43-5, but lead the series since the Bronze Boot was introduced 23-21.
The Cowboys found out today they will be playing in the New Mexico Bowl for the 2nd time in three years as they will face off against the Temple Owls from the MAC. The Cowboys last played in the New Mexico Bowl in 2009, Dave Christensen’s first year, and defeated Fresno State in double OT. The Temple Owls finished their season at 8-4, 2nd in the MAC East division. The Owls are a run-heavy offense, 7th in the country at 256.7. They are 3rd in the country at points against, allowing 13.8 per game. The only common opponent between the two teams is Bowling Green, who defeated the Owls 13-10, but the Cowboys defeated 28-27. The game will be played December 17th at noon on ESPN. Cowboy fans can get their tickets to the game from the UW ticket office.
In other Poke news, the Cowboy basketball team is still rolling, pulling off a couple of more wins this week vs Utah Valley State and Bradley. The Cowboys are now 8-1 on the season and will face off against Colorado on Friday night in Boulder. The Cowgirl basketball team suffered another loss this weekend to the Montana Lady Griz. They are now 1-6 on the season. They will play next on Saturday against Maryville.
The Wyoming wrestling team also had a great week of wrestling as the team traveled to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational. The Cowboys finished the tournament in 3rd place, finishing behind Big 10 powers Michigan and Ohio State. Shane Onufer and Joe LeBlanc brought home individual titles for the Pokes, and a handful of other Pokes also brought medals home from Vegas. They will next be in action at Nebraska on Saturday in Lincoln.
Go Pokes!