Laramie, Wyoming – The 2017 Border War marked the 109th meeting between Wyoming and Colorado State and their 50th battle for the “Bronze Boot”. The game was played under wet conditions with what was first light rain that turned into sleet, and then snow, and then really heavy snow that lasted midway through the 4th quarter. The weather was somewhat normal in the first half and the teams played an even first half that saw the Rams lead 10 to 6 at halftime based on the strength of an Izzy Mathews 1-yard touchdown run.
The second half saw the arrival of the heavy snow and it had a major impact on the game. After attempting 10 passes in the first half, CSU and QB Nick Stevens only attempted four passes in the second half. They instead relied on their running game that saw the slippery Dalyn Dawkins run for 157 yards on 29 carries. The Rams could not turn that production into scores though as the Wyoming defense made plays when it mattered holding the Rams to 5 of 14 on 3rd down conversion and 1 of 3 on 4th down conversions. They even picked up QB Josh Allen, stopping the Rams on 4th and 6 on the Wyoming 35 after the Wyoming signal caller fumbled the ball while running down the east sideline of War Memorial Stadium. The offense would cash in on the very next drive giving Wyoming the 16 to 13 win based on the key series outlined in the section below.
This will be a Border War that will live in the memories of the 22,840 who were in attendance (for better or worse depending if you were in brown and gold or green and gold) for years to come. It’s certainly a big win for the Wyoming football program who is still in the mix for a Mountain Division title being just one game behind Bosie State with three games in the season left.
Key Series
In the 4th quarter with 7:09 on the clock and trailing by a score of 13 to 9 the Cowboys went on a seven play, 69-yard scoring drive that gave Wyoming a 16 to 13 lead with 2:48 left in the game. The highlight of this drive was a 17-yard diving catch by fullback Drew Van Maanen from Josh Allen, on the first play of the possession. Van Mannen would reveal in the post-game that he suffered stingers in both shoulders on the play and lost feeling in both his arms. His teammates also said that his catch gave the team a spark and they knew they would go on to win the game.
Quotable
“We talked about the weather in our pregame meal. I was a young coach but I once heard Woody Hayes, the old Ohio State coach, say that if you are going to play in the North Atlantic then practice in the North Atlantic. If you are going to play in Wyoming you have to train in Wyoming. That’s one of the reasons we go outside and mix it up in all these elements.”
Wyoming Football Coach Craig Bohl
Snap Analysis
– The Cowboys now have a record of 6-3 on the season and have become bowl eligible in back to back seasons for the first time since 1987 and 1988 when Paul Roch took Wyoming to consecutive Holiday Bowls. The Pokes still have bigger goals this season but another December bowl trip is something Wyoming fans can be proud about.
– With seven rushes for 43 yards and the game-winning touchdown all in the fourth quarter. Look for RB Kellen Overstreet to get more carries in the final 3 Wyoming football games and possibly become the starter over true freshman Trey Woods as Wyoming looks to establish the running game in the final part of this season.
– We all know Andrew Wingard is a gamer and is already an all-time Cowboy great but he is now racking up the stats to prove it. With 6 tackles today, Wingard now has 336 career tackles which ranks him 9th all-time in Wyoming history.
– Do you want to know if this Wyoming defense is for real? Sure it was in the snow, but Wyoming held the Rams to just 345 yards of total offense which was their lowest offensive output of the season. Their second-lowest total offensive yards for the season is 391 against some school named Alabama.
– Wyoming’s rushing total of 156 rushing yards was their second-highest total of the season, only behind the 177 yards gained in the victory over Hawaii.
Quick Box Score
|
Score by Quarters |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Colorado State |
3 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
13 |
|
Wyoming |
0 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
16 |
QB Josh Allen: 10 / 20 – 138 passing yards, 12 carries – 73 rushing yards
RB Kellen Overstreet: 7 rushes – 43 yards, 1 TD
FB Drew Van Maanen: 2 catches, 28 yards
DT Youhanna Ghaifan: 8 tackles, 1 sack
LB Logan Wilson: 14 tackles
K Cooper Rothe: 3/3 FGs from 25, 43, 32
Up Next…
Wyoming will travel to Colorado Springs on November 11th to take on Air Force (4-5) in another Mountain West divisional game. Kickoff is at 8:15pm MT and the game can be seen on ESPNU.