Psychological Warfare: How CSU is preparing for a Wyoming team that hates their guts

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Any time that Colorado State and Wyoming get together, there is always potential for things to get chippy.

With over 100 years worth of history between the two programs and a lot of bad blood along the way, this rivalry is about much more than just any single football game. The Border War is about taking pride in representing your community.

Throughout the week, Bobo has talked about the importance of the rivalry from multiple perspectives. From the fans in the stands, to the generations of players that come before this team, it’s clear that he understands the magnitude of the rivalry.

“There are always teams that you dislike as a coach and a player,” Bobo said. “I had them as a player and you have them as a coach. I would say that with Wyoming-Colorado State is a we dislike each other rivalry.

Bobo explained that some rivalries are competitive but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is genuine hatred between the two sides. For example, Georgia and Auburn play each other on a yearly basis and the game typically impacts who ends up making an appearance in the SEC Championship Game. Even so, though, Bobo said that Georgia-Auburn is a “friendly little rivalry”. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech is a different story — Bobo said those two teams legitimately despise each other. The Border War, obviously, is more like the ladder of the aforementioned rivalries.

“I think they hate us. There’s no doubt about that. They hate everything about CSU,” Mike Bobo said of Wyoming.

To help get the team in the right mindset for Friday night, Bobo and the staff have been giving them subtle reminders throughout the week. For instance, on Monday the team practiced with this video of the Cowboys chanting that it “sucks to be a CSU Ram” playing on a loop in the background.

"It sucks to be a CSU Ram" @wyo_football players celebrate on CSU's turf #mwfb pic.twitter.com/85JYVD7Sn5

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) October 27, 2018

“I just wanted to remind the guys what it was like after the game,” Bobo said.

Then at Tuesday’s practice, CSU’s director of player personnel David Stenklyft had the Wyoming fight song playing on repeat. Bobo joked that having to listen to it all evening was still less annoying than when they would play “Rocky Top” before Tennessee games at Georgia. He also made sure to point out that Wyoming’s fight song was not as good as CSU’s — head coaching 101, always rep the brand.

When asked if he felt disrespected by Wyoming’s celebration antics from last season, Bobo said that he has no ill feelings for Craig Bohl or the program. As he sees things, Wyoming had the right to celebrate however they wanted.

“You’re playing for the Bronze Boot,” Bobo said. “It’s a rivalry game and they have a right to be excited. I didn’t take it as disrespect. They didn’t tear up the field or the stadium or anything — they were celebrating.”

Senior safety Jamal Hicks echoed his coach’s sentiment, telling DNVR Rams that it was really irritating to have to practice with video and fight song playing throughout practice, but that he did not feel like the Cowboys were out of bounds last season.

“They have that right, I can’t knock them. Honestly, I’d do the same thing,” Hicks said.

Not everyone was in agreement on this, though. Hicks’ companion in the secondary and fellow starting safety Logan Stewart told DNVR Rams that he felt disrespected by the way Wyoming celebrated last season. Stewart explained that this rivalry means a lot to him — as someone that grew up selling lemonade outside of Hughes Stadium, he’s cared about the Border War for as long as he can remember. So having to sit there and watch the Pokes dance and mock them on his own turf was not something he appreciated.

“Even though we lost, I still feel disrespected,” Stewart said. “I was on the sidelines during the game last year and saw all of that happen — I was definitely licking my chops knowing that next year I would get to play and change the results of the game.”

While they may disagree on whether Wyoming’s antics were appropriate or not, both guys definitely recognize that there is bound to be an electric atmosphere in Laramie, Wyo., Friday night.

“The game is going to be intense,” Hicks said. We’re playing in their house and there’s going to be a rowdy crowd. I just can’t wait to go out there and make them mad.”

Bobo on the other hand just wants his team to play sound football and take advantage of any opportunities that may come their way. He said that if they go out of their way to try and do something different because it’s the Wyoming game, they will only put themselves at risk to make more mistakes. Bobo wants his team to play with an edge but more important than anything is sticking to the game plan and not being affected by the moment.

“If we’re playing hard, we can have hatred, we can love them, I don’t care,” Bobo said. “I want to kick their butt and they want to kick ours. ”

With bowl eligibility on the line, CSU will attempt to play a more complete game than last Saturday’s showing against Air Force. Colorado State and Wyoming will kick off at 7:30 p.m. MT Friday night. And the annual rivalry game will be televised on ESPN2.