Gear Up For Game Day: Boise State

LARAMIE -- As always, I love to utilize this space each week during the season to not only give you the important info -- game time, TV channel, betting lines, etc. -- but also drop a bit of randomness on your plate.

So here goes.

Get our free mobile app

This could be Boise State's last ever visit to War Memorial Stadium once it makes the move to the new-look Pac-12 ahead of the 2026 season.

Hallelujah, am I right?

Wyoming has dropped 16-of-17 all-time meetings against the Broncos. That program almost single handedly kept Craig Bohl from ever hoisting a Mountain West championship trophy.

Close, but no cigar. Time and time again.

The one victory -- which you all surely remember -- came back in 2016, coincidentally the only time the ol' ball coach made it to the title tilt. That win is still amazing to me all these years later. Why? That defense, despite being loaded with future NFL talent, gave up an awful lot of yards and points.

UNLV put 69 on the scoreboard in a triple-overtime thriller in Sin City. New Mexico rushed for 568 yards, still a single-game conference record, in a lopsided 56-35 win two weeks later. Nebraska also scored 52 earlier that season.

Boise State went up 21-7 on that late October evening in Laramie.

Game over, right? Wrong.

Josh Allen connected on a pair of touchdown tosses to tight end Jacob Hollister and hooked up with his favorite target Tanner Gentry from 27 yards out midway through the fourth quarter. That embattled defense allowed just one second-half touchdown. Chase Appleby cemented this improbable upset of the No. 13 team in the land when he strip-sacked quarterback Brett Rypien with 1:25 left in regulation.

The ball skidded out of the back of the end zone. Edge rusher Josiah Hall coined the safety dance. The student section flooded Jonah Field.

All the good feelings in this series basically end right there.

I think back to Cooper Rothe's missed 37-yard field goal in overtime back in 2019. It should've never even come to that. The following December, with COVID-19 running roughshod over the globe and Laramie taking on the appearance of a real-life snow globe, Wyoming could manage just three John Hoyland field goals in a one-possession loss.

The next meeting on the high plains was arguably the most painful of them all.

George Holani simply never fumbled. He did on that frigid night.

Wyoming defensive end DeVonne Harris scooped up the loose change and rumbled 18 yards down to the Broncos' 21-yard line with just 45 ticks left on the game clock. He gets a block, he likely scores. The Cowboys, though, trailing by just three, were already well within Hoyland's range.

Bohl, who later admitted his roster was too banged up to survive an overtime period, went for the win.

It didn't work.

Jayden Clemons, who was making what would be his only collegiate start under center, threw a pass into the back of the end zone into triple coverage. Boise State safety JL Skinner snagged the errant pass to secure the win and punch the visitor's ticket to the championship game.

Wyoming, again, was left out in the cold.

I remember there was a time I thought it would eventually strike midnight for that team. When the Broncos entered the Mountain West back in 2011, I recall thinking, "now they'll see what real football looks like."

Silly me.

Why did I have that false sense of hope?

The Cowboys were one of a couple of teams to even hang in the same stratosphere back in 2006, the same year unbeaten Boise State shocked Oklahoma -- and the college football world -- in the Fiesta Bowl.

Wyoming limited Jared Zabransky and Co. to just a touchdown and a field goal in a seven-point victory in Laramie. Boise State's signal caller completed just 12-of-20 throws for 116 yards that afternoon. Ian Johnson, the recipient of that "Statue of Liberty" two-point conversion against the Sooners, rushed for 119 yards.

What ultimately buried the Cowboys was when Jacob Doss heaved a pick-six in the second quarter and threw another interception inside visiting territory late in the fourth.

Joe Glenn's team lost by just 10 the following season inside Albertsons Stadium. The Broncos were on borrowed time, I told myself.

Wyoming (2-8, 2-4) is a 23.5-point home underdog Saturday. Absolutely no one is giving the Pokes a chance as Boise State (9-1, 6-0), once again ranked in the Top 15, inches closer to the game's biggest stage.

This would be the miracle of all miracles. It would also cost this conference millions of dollars in revenue, not to mention likely be the end of Ashton Jeanty's Heisman campaign.

Would anyone be sad about that? I didn't think so.

Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Show us your picks: Week 13

* Scary injury sidelines Gyllenborg in Fort Collins

* Know Wyoming's Foe: Boise State Broncos

* Wyoming Cowboys in the NFL: Week 11

* UW Football: News and Notes Ahead of Boise State

* Sawvel on Waylee: 'He's got to get the ball more'

* Turning point, unsung hero and what's next for UW Football

* Tuck's Take: Where on earth was Harrison Waylee?

* Rams run roughshod over Pokes in 24-10 Border War win

* Rants and Raves: Colorado State edition

* LIVE FILE: Wyoming vs. Colorado State

* 7220sports Kickoff Show: Can UW make it four in a row over Rams?

Here is all you need to know -- and the links -- for Saturday's tilt in Laramie:

WHO: Boise State (9-1, 6-0) at Wyoming (2-8, 2-4)
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 56, low 36, partly cloudy, wind 22 mph
WHERE: War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyo. (29,181 capacity)
TRAVEL: WyoRoad
STREAMING: CBS Sports Network
TV: CBS Sports Network
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
TICKETS: Wyoming Ticket office
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / Boise State
HISTORY: Broncos lead the all-time series 17-1
BETTING ODDS: Boise State -23.5, O/U 57.5
HEAD COACHES: Jay Sawvel / Spencer Danielson

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players