Wyoming bullies Colorado State in a lopsided Border War

LARAMIE — It was fun while it lasted. 

Colorado State (3-6, 2-3) held the Bronze Boot for a calendar year. Unfortunately, on Saturday afternoon it was taken back by Wyoming (5-4, 1-4), as the ‘Pokes’ completely owned the Rams at War Memorial Stadium, defeating CSU 31-17 in their first conference win of 2021. 

After coming out on top, Wyoming has now won five of the past six contests against their rival from the south. They also snapped a four-game losing skid against Mountain West teams this season.  Here’s how it all went down. 

Simply put, Wyoming did pretty much whatever they wanted to in this one, including run the ball at will against a thin Rams defense. With Dequan Jackson (LB) injured last week and Bam Amina (LB) injured this week, CSU’s defensive depth was definitely a concern and Wyoming was able to exploit it with some massive runs. 

At halftime Wyoming had already racked up 253 rushing yards on 26 carries. What was crazy, though, was the fact that Wyoming had a pair of players go over the century mark in the first two quarters and neither of them was Xazavian Valladay. The Cowboys’ superstar running back did have a touchdown early but also fumbled twice — a big reason why Wyoming didn’t lead by more than a single score at the break (17-10). That said, even with the turnovers, a couple of explosive runs from QB Levi Williams and an 87-yard scamper from Titus Swen really set the tone for what was a strong showing by the Pokes on the ground. In total, Wyoming recorded 387 rushing yards on 56 carries (6.9 yards per attempt). It was total domination in the trenches. 

CSU, on the other hand, failed to get much of anything going with its rushing attack. The Rams featured a heavy dose of David Bailey, the problem was that Wyoming was having none of it. Play after play the Rams attempted to try and run the ball between the tackles, and for the most part, the results were always the same. 

The Rams did have a promising drive in the third quarter that started with eight straight designed runs, most of which were successful, chain-moving plays. As soon as CSU got to the Red Zone, though, the positive momentum was quickly smothered by Wyoming’s defense. And what’s worse, the Rams didn’t even come away with points on the drive because Cayden Camper doinked a 24-yard field goal attempt off of the right upright. 

From there, Wyoming pretty much stepped on the throat with 25-yard and 15-yard touchdown receptions by Isaiah Neyor (WR). The Cowboys defense did their part late as well, intercepting Todd Centeio (QB) on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter.

Aside from getting Dante Wright (WR) a couple of receiving touchdowns and allowing Trey McBride (TE) to become the program’s all-time leader in receiving yards by a tight end, there was very little to be pleased about offensively. CSU looked lethargic on most of its possessions and basically got punched in the mouth by a Wyoming defensive unit that just looked like they wanted it more. The Rams were bad on third down, inconsistent at best in the Red Zone and they never really established an identity on the ground or through the air.

Following Saturday’s disappointing showing, CSU must rebound quickly with Air Force coming to town next weekend. Another loss would eliminate the Rams from bowl eligibility and the Falcons are one of the better teams in the league. Now on a three-game losing streak, though, it might be time to put a fork in the Green & Gold. They’re done.