Wyoming-CSU notebook

The 100th edition of “The Border War” to be played Saturday
The Wyoming Cowboys and Colorado State Rams will be playing for the 100th time this week in the Border War. The series is the oldest rivalry for both schools.

The Border War series has been played in three different centuries, dating back to Nov. 30, 1899, when CSU won the first meeting 12-0 in Fort Collins, Colo. This year is the 109th anniversary of that first meeting.

Since the end of World War II, Wyoming and CSU have played every season for 63 consecutive seasons from 1946 to this season. Colorado State leads the overall series 54-40-5. Over the past 62 consecutive meetings, dating back to the 1946 season, Wyoming leads 35-27-0.

Beginning with the 1968 season, Wyoming and Colorado State have battled for a traveling trophy that was established by the ROTC detachments of both schools. That traveling trophy is the Bronze Boot. The Boot was originally worn by Colorado State graduate Jeff Romero Sr. in Vietnam. Since the Bronze Boot was established, the battle to take it home has been as close as a series can be. The Bronze Boot series is currently tied at 20-20.

The Matchup
This year’s meeting will pit the Cowboys, who are 4-7 overall and 1-6 in the Mountain West Conference, versus the Rams, who are 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the MWC. The Rams are trying to win a sixth game that would make them bowl eligible, while the Cowboys will try and play the spoiler role and deny their archrival of achieving bowl eligible status.

During the period that Joe Glenn has served as head coach at Wyoming, the Cowboys are 2-3 against the Rams. Glenn won his first meeting against CSU by a 35-28 margin in Laramie in ‘03. In 2004, the Rams won in Fort Collins, 30-7, and they captured the 2005 meeting, also in Fort Collins, by a 39-31 score. The 2006 season saw the Pokes shutout CSU 24-0 in Laramie. Last season CSU won by a final score of 36-28. The 2006 shutout by the Cowboys marked the first time UW had shutout Colorado State since 1959 when the Pokes won by a 29-0 score on Oct. 10, 1959, in Laramie.

Record day?
Wyoming senior running back Devin Moore needs just 20 more rushing yards to become Wyoming’s all-time leading rusher. He enters this week with 2,887 career rushing yards. He trails only Ryan Christopherson, who rushed for 2,906 rushing yards from 1991-94.

Fellow Cowboy senior Wynel Seldon can also move into the No. 3 spot on the UW career rushing list with 41 yards this Saturday. Seldon has run for 2,565 career yards in his college career.

A third senior, linebacker Ward Dobbs, needs only three tackles to take sole possession of fifth place on the Wyoming career tackle list. Dobbs will enter Saturday’s game with 332 career tackles.

Senior Day
A total of 15 Wyoming seniors will be playing their final game for the Cowboys on Saturday. Those seniors and their families will be honored on the field prior to Saturday’s game.

On TV
The game will be televised live on The Mtn. (Mountain West Sports Network). Saturday’s Wyoming-Colorado State game will be the first televised in High-Definition (HD) by The Mtn.The Mtn. (MountainWest Sports Network), in partnership with the Mountain West Conference, will broadcast in high-definition (HD) for the first time on Saturday, beginning with MWC Football Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Mtn. will telecast approximately nine hours of continuous high-definition programming throughout the day, encompassing the one-hour pregame show, MWC Football Saturday, leading up to kickoff in Laramie, Wyo., for the Colorado State at Wyoming game.

DIRECTV customers require a programming package (CHOICE or above in the MWC DMA or SportsPack for the remainder of the country) with HD Access and an HD-capable receiver to view high-definition programming.

Cable subscribers should check with their local service provider for service, availability and channel placement. The Mtn. will also provide an updated listing on its website: The Mtn. High-Definition Channel Listings.

Other promotions
Several special events will take place leading up to the game.

The annual running of the game ball by the ROTC detachments of both universities will take place on Friday. The two ROTC units are scheduled to meet at the Wyoming-Colorado border on U.S. Highway 287 at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wyoming’s Mounted Cavalry and Blackhawk Helicopters from the Colorado National Guard will be featured in the exchange of the game ball between the two schools. Once the ball is run from Fort Collins to the state line by the CSU ROTC members, the Wyoming ROTC members will run the ball on into Laramie and will present the game ball to Cowboy head coach Joe Glenn and the Cowboy team later in the afternoon. Media are welcome to attend Friday’s event at the state border.

Also taking place on Friday will be the “Border War” Blood Drive competition between the two schools. The friendly competition is a way for both universities to encourage their fans to donate blood. United Blood Services of Wyoming and Garth Englund Blood Donation Center of Fort Collins are coordinating the events in Laramie and Fort Collins. University of Wyoming fans, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to donate blood from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday in the lower level of Washakie Dining Center on the UW campus in Laramie.

The school that generates the largest number of donations will win the “Bronze Heart”. Individuals are invited to show up to donate at their convenience between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, or they can also reserve a time to donate in Laramie by going to www.bloodhero.com.

“Toys for Tots” of Albany County will be collecting toys Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. In order to ensure that all the children in Albany County will receive toys for Christmas this year, the Fleet Reserve Association Wyoming Branch and Unit 59, the Marine Corps League Detachment #777, UW’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Semper Fi Society will be sponsoring “Toys for Tots” this year. New, unwrapped toys, as well as monetary contributions, will be collected inside the gates of War Memorial Stadium prior to the Wyoming vs. CSU football game. All the toys collected at the Wyoming vs. CSU game will remain in Albany County to assist families in need.

For more information about the “Toys for Tots” drive or to inform “Toys for Tots” of the existence of a family who needs help buying toys this Christmas, contact Jim Marshall at (307) 637-6617.