Gear Up For Game Day: Colorado State

FORT COLLINS, Colo., -- "I'm afraid the A.D. might start docking my pay here."

Joe Glenn, with that trademark smile of his, simply said "good" when he was told the north goal posts inside War Memorial Stadium were once again ripped from the earth. It was the second time in three weeks the student body carried the yellow pipes down Grand Avenue.

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Before that throng exited the stadium, they hoisted Wyoming's first-year head coach on their collective shoulders. The impromptu snow shower just added to the ambiance of the day.

This is the type of treatment you receive around here when you knock off your most-hated rivals.

BYU went down first. Quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, a two-time conference MVP, and defending Mountain West champion Colorado State were next.

It's moments like this that solidified Jovon Bouknight's decision to come here.

"The atmosphere was very vibrant," said Wyoming's current offensive analyst, who was a sophomore wide receiver that season. "I just remember everybody clicking on one cylinder. Everybody was playing together, man. I mean, you should have seen the atmosphere at halftime. Guys were as pumped as I had ever seen. It was just a wonderful feeling."

There's a good reason for that.

Before that 35-28 victory in 2003, the Cowboys' Border War rivals from Fort Collins had turned this series into a lopsided laugher, claiming four straight in the series and eight of the last 10.

Wyoming won just five games -- two of which came against 1-AA schools -- over the previous three seasons under head coach Vic Koenning.

That was all a distant memory after Casey Bramlet connected with wideout Malcom Floyd on a 51-yard fourth-quarter touchdown toss. The defense took care of the rest, bending but not breaking, as Chris Dixon batted down a desperation heave into the end zone.

"We knew those guys were really good, and we knew we had a fight coming in here," Bouknight said. "It was one of those deals where we knew we weren't going back down. We were going to show you what a rivalry is."

Running back Derek Armah finished with two touchdowns on the day. Bramlet also scored on the ground.

Floyd led the Cowboys with 143 yards on seven catches. Ryan McGuffey added 66 more. Fellow receiver Josh Barge chipped in with 54 and also snagged a 34-yard touchdown pass from Bramlet.

The Wheatland native completed 23-of-36 balls for 337 yards. CSU's secondary hadn't given up more than 200 through the air since late September.

"I can't describe it. This is the best feeling I've had since I've been here," Bramlet told the media postgame. "We wanted this so bad. We wanted the boot back and to go out my senior year and get it is the best feeling in the world."

Bouknight did it all, accounting for 192 all-purpose yards in that upset, 49 of which came on three reverses out of the backfield. He added 45 more on two receptions and 98 more on five kick returns.

He was almost a Ram.

Bouknight, who was offered by CSU out of Denver's Manual High School, was recruited to play quarterback for Sonny Lubick. Truth be told, he said, he wanted that, too. When he came on his visit, though, defensive coordinator Larry Kerr was interested in what the playmaker would look like in his secondary. Signing All-State signal caller Justin Holland solidified the deal.

Bouknight instead was coming to Laramie.

Here, he eventually did make a position switch. Why?

"I came here and I was a quarterback for that first year," he said. "Then I got introduced to Casey Bramlet and saw a couple of those guys. I said, 'let me go run this route.'"

Wyoming is sure glad he did.

Bouknight capped his career with 3,626 yards on 250 receptions. He is on the Mount Rushmore of pass catchers to come through the program, joining the likes of Ryan Yarborough and Marcus Harris, two guys, who at one time, owned the title of most-receiving yards in college football history.

Like Harris, a Biletnikoff Trophy winner in 1996, Bouknight beat CSU just one time.

He has a chance to do it again tonight inside Canvas Stadium as these two adversaries meet for the 116th time in history.

Bouknight said he'll take a backseat to his players if that does indeed happen, but what he can do is share the importance of what that traveling trophy really means.

"I think it's huge," he said. "(My teammates) can carry that with them to the grave and tell their children about it, as well.

"... It was unbelievable, man, just to hoist that trophy at the end of the game."

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Wyoming, CSU announce Border War series pact

* Show us your picks: Week 12

* A house divided: Three Pokes have crossed the border

* CSU running back Avery Morrow has Wyoming's undivided attention

* Pokes' new 'gunslinger' has brought clarity, renewed vigor

* Wyoming Cowboys in the NFL: Week 10

* Know Wyoming's Foe: Colorado State Rams

* Suiaunoa, Bertagnole looking to hoist Bronze Boot for fifth time

* GALLERY: Border War memories from the north side

* Wyoming Football: News and notes ahead of CSU

* A letter from Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman

* What happened to Wyoming's defense in Albuquerque?

* Breaking down why Sawvel and Co. waited to make move at QB

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

WHO: Wyoming (2-7, 2-3) at Colorado State (6-3, 4-0)
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 52, low 32, partly cloudy, wind 6 mph
WHERE: Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins, Colo. (41,000 capacity)
TRAVEL: CoDOT
STREAMING: CBS
TV: CBS Sports Network
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
TICKETS: Wyoming Ticket office
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / Colorado State
HISTORY: CSU leads the all-time series, 59-51-5
BETTING ODDS: CSU -10, O/U 47.5
HEAD COACHES: Jay Sawvel / Jay Norvell

Meet the Rams:

* Head coach: Jay Norvell (3rd year) 14-19 overall record, 10-10 in Mountain West play

* Offensive coordinator: Matt Mumme (3rd year); Defensive coordinator: Freddie Banks (3rd season)

* Record in 2023: 6-3 overall, 4-0 in Mountain West Conference

* Offense in 2024: Average 23.6 ppg, 363.4 ypg (180.7 rush, 182.8 pass)

* Defense in 2024: Allow 24.2 ppg, 408.2 ypg (144.7 rush, 263.6 pass)

* Key Players - Offense: Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (QB - 137-222, 1,611 yds, 7 TD, 5 INT; 36 rush, 61 yds, 2 TD), Avery Morrow (RB - 130 rush, 788 yds, 8 TD; 12 catch, 70 yds), Justin Marshall (RB - 107 rush, 477 yds, 3 TD; 5 catch, 34 yds), Caleb Goodie (WR - 17 catch, 339 yds, 4 TD), Armani Winfield (WR - 22 catch, 254 yds, 2 TD), Jamari Person (WR - 21 catch, 204 yds), Vince Brown II (TE - 15 catch, 159 yds, TD)

* Key Players - Defense: Buom Jock (S - 81 tackles, 2 PBU, INT, FR, FF), Chase Wilson (LB - 78 tackles, 2 PBU, 2 INT, FR), Henry Blackburn (DB - 54 tackles, 3 PBU, INT, FR), Dom Jones (DB - 40 tackles, 7 PBU, INT), Dominic Morris (DB - 37 tackles, 8 PBU, FF), James Mitchell (DL -32 tackles, 2 sacks, PBU), Elias Larry (DB - 32 tackles, 7 PBU, INT), Gabe Kirschke (DL - 27 tackles, 4.5 sacks, PBU, INT, 2 FF, FR)