Colorado State University Athletics
Memorable Moments: Border War
11/1/2023 2:00:00 PM | Football
The top 10 Border War Games by Decade
Volumes of words have been written about the 124-year rivalry between Colorado State and Wyoming. There have been so many great moments, or horrible moments, depending on which side of the border you reside. What makes this rivalry so intense is CSU and Wyoming have played for conference honors throughout most of its time, making one loss in the rivalry more important than a nonconference defeat. Then there is the hatred these two cities have for one another, let alone the players.
Each decade has its turnkey game, the one which means the most to every program whether good, bad or ugly. In this retrospective analysis, we look at the most pivotal game in each decade since the 1920s. One game, each decade and then discussion will ensue over whether it is the right game to choose from. No favors to Wyoming, this is a CSU story:
1923 – The rivalry could not even be called a rivalry in the 1920s because Wyoming was looked upon as a pre-season game to warm up for the tougher schools like CU, DU or even Colorado College. What makes the 1923 game so important is it was a warmup game before the Aggies headed off to play the Chicago Maroons, in Chicago. That trip and game against the legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg was to that point the most nationally recognized game by any Aggie team. Beating Wyoming and tuning up for Chicago and the rest of the season made it the most important "annual beating of Wyoming" in the Hughes Era.
1933 – While the annual game against Wyoming was still not a true rivalry in 1933, the game marked an important win for the season. The Aggies had a highly talented team led by halfback Wilbur "Little Red" White, Chester Cruickshank, Lewis Walt and Glenn Morris. Harry Hughes came out with a quote in the newspaper to say he knew Wyoming was tougher and it would not be an easy contest. The Dean of Coaches was right, the Aggies only score came thanks to an interception by Julius "Bud" Damman (Everyone had nicknames back then) and the ensuing drive to score the only touchdown and points in the game. The Cowboys played a tough game in a season where the Aggies won their seventh conference title.
1948 – This game can easily be labeled as the actual beginning of the Border War. Both teams were undefeated, and both had renewed interest in football coming out of WWII. The teams fought tooth and nail at Wyoming's old stadium, Corbett Field, on a cold afternoon. With Colorado A&M up 21-14, the Cowboys mounted a drive to score with little time remaining on the clock. The Rams' own Dale Dodrill blocked the PAT kick and the game ended 21-20 in favor of the Aggies. Afterwards, A&M students ripped down the Wyoming goalposts and a fight ensured on the field. A year later in Fort Collins, Wyoming fans tried to return the favor after their win over the Rams, but not only did a full brawl on the field ensue, Larimer County deputies pulled out teargas to disburse the crowd. The Border War had truly begun.
1955 – If the 1948 game was the beginning of the war, the 1955 game, played at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie solidified the war raged on with the players just as much as the fans. Again, both schools were playing for a conference championship and the Oct. 8 game proved to sway how the 1955 Skyline Championship ended in Colorado A&M's favor. It was the first Border War in which the outcome prevented or helped either school win a conference title or become bowl eligible, but it would not be the last. Led by Jerry Callahan at quarterback and Gary Glick at halfback, the Rams once again blocked a late PAT kick by Wyoming to win the game by one point.
1966 – No game before or since has ruined a Wyoming Cowboys season more than the scrappy, hard-fought game at Colorado Field in 1966. Wyoming was ranked No. 10 in the nation, undefeated and possibly heading toward a national championship if they could have beat the lowly CSU Rams. The Rams had not beat the Cowboys since 1955, but the '66 team had energy and the most talent of any CSU team during the decade. It took a bounce-pass trick play and the toughest defense CSU had played all year to hold Wyoming off. Speak with anybody in Laramie who was around in 1966 and they will still say the Rams cheated when they pulled off the bounce pass play. While the backward pass from quarterback Bob Wolfe that bounced off the grass and into the hands of Larry Jackson before Jackson passed to Tom Pack for a touchdown was indeed a legal lateral, CSU coach Mike Lude received telegrams and letters from Wyoming fans decrying the trick play. Wyoming didn't lose another game in 1966, possibly losing out on an undefeated season and national championship. Note: It took a field goal from Al Lavan to win the game, but the bounce pass just helped.
1974 – While the 1966 game and an upset loss in Laramie in 1967 brought about the Bronze Boot, CSU had not won a game since Dan Romero was actually using the boot while in the Army. There had been monumental games, all losses by the Rams up to 1973, but when first-year head coach Sark Arslanian realized how much he hated Wyoming after his first Border War defeat, he told his team the Rams would beat Wyoming the next three years. In 1974, he lived up to his promise, beating Wyoming 11-6 in a sloppy game. What made this game so important to the 1970s is it was the first time CSU had taken home the Bronze Boot. The rivalry truly heated up again while Coach Sark was in charge of the Rams.
1980 – Two years after a pre-game Border War brawl at Hughes Stadium, the Cowboys returned to Fort Collins after a loss on local television in 1979. Both teams were evenly matched in 1980 and traded scores throughout the day. When it looked like the Rams would lose with only 43 seconds left in the game, Rams quarterback Steve Fairchild engineered a drive like this year's Boise State comeback to beat Wyoming in the closing seconds of the game. It powered CSU to a second place finish in the WAC, finishing 6-4-1, bowl worthy in modern times.
1994 – No decade of the Border War was greater than the 1990s, making for several great games to remember. There was a 17-8 win over No. 19 Wyoming at Hughes Stadium which brought down the goalposts, a 14-7 nail-biter in 1997 and Clark Haggans, hobbling around War Memorial Stadium in 1999 to take home the Boot. No game in the 1990s was more memorable than the impossible comeback victory in 1994. The Rams had been ahead in the game but fell apart while Wyoming capitalized on numerous CSU mistakes. Then, a fake punt by Matt McDougal and enraged Cowboy players giving up several yards on penalties, fueled the comeback on ESPN national television. While the comeback was great, the need to win the game allowed CSU control of the WAC race because Utah had been upset in Albuquerque. Not only was this game important for the rivalry, seeing fans rush the field too early, but it also guided CSU toward their first WAC title.
2007 – This is one game many might argue over for the best and most important of the decade of the 2000s. However, while the dismal 2007 season meant little to either school, beating Wyoming and bringing home the Bronze Boot was extremely important to the CSU program simply because legendary coach Sonny Lubick was, at the time of the game, already fired from the program. It was not so much important to Lubick himself, but to the players and fans at a time of dissention among the ranks over whether a great coach, who the school had named the field after, should depart in such a manner. This discussion will not debate the firing, but rather make note of the importance of a program which had seen one of its worst losing streaks in many years and the departure of a beloved man as their coach win an important game in a rather horrible season.
2013 – A 52-22 walloping over the Cowboys was welcomed news after four consecutive losses. Jim McElwain, in his second season as the Rams head coach was turning around a program badly in need of not just a bowl season, but of beating conference rivals. A win over Colorado in 2012 and then a win over Wyoming and later Air Force in 2013, propelled the Rams to the New Mexico Bowl and one of the finest bowl wins in program history. Beating Wyoming had proven to liven up a team and in 2013, it defiantly livened them up to finish the season strong.
There will be debates over which games are best and worst, the 2020s are still fresh and there are a lot of games yet to be played. The strength of the rivalry held together in 2020 when the Rams beat the Cowboys in the only home game played during the pandemic-shortened season. After that game, the Bronze Boot was rebuilt and refinished by CSU so it can be the prized possession of the winning team for another 50 years strong.
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Each decade has its turnkey game, the one which means the most to every program whether good, bad or ugly. In this retrospective analysis, we look at the most pivotal game in each decade since the 1920s. One game, each decade and then discussion will ensue over whether it is the right game to choose from. No favors to Wyoming, this is a CSU story:
1923 – The rivalry could not even be called a rivalry in the 1920s because Wyoming was looked upon as a pre-season game to warm up for the tougher schools like CU, DU or even Colorado College. What makes the 1923 game so important is it was a warmup game before the Aggies headed off to play the Chicago Maroons, in Chicago. That trip and game against the legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg was to that point the most nationally recognized game by any Aggie team. Beating Wyoming and tuning up for Chicago and the rest of the season made it the most important "annual beating of Wyoming" in the Hughes Era.
1933 – While the annual game against Wyoming was still not a true rivalry in 1933, the game marked an important win for the season. The Aggies had a highly talented team led by halfback Wilbur "Little Red" White, Chester Cruickshank, Lewis Walt and Glenn Morris. Harry Hughes came out with a quote in the newspaper to say he knew Wyoming was tougher and it would not be an easy contest. The Dean of Coaches was right, the Aggies only score came thanks to an interception by Julius "Bud" Damman (Everyone had nicknames back then) and the ensuing drive to score the only touchdown and points in the game. The Cowboys played a tough game in a season where the Aggies won their seventh conference title.
1948 – This game can easily be labeled as the actual beginning of the Border War. Both teams were undefeated, and both had renewed interest in football coming out of WWII. The teams fought tooth and nail at Wyoming's old stadium, Corbett Field, on a cold afternoon. With Colorado A&M up 21-14, the Cowboys mounted a drive to score with little time remaining on the clock. The Rams' own Dale Dodrill blocked the PAT kick and the game ended 21-20 in favor of the Aggies. Afterwards, A&M students ripped down the Wyoming goalposts and a fight ensured on the field. A year later in Fort Collins, Wyoming fans tried to return the favor after their win over the Rams, but not only did a full brawl on the field ensue, Larimer County deputies pulled out teargas to disburse the crowd. The Border War had truly begun.
1955 – If the 1948 game was the beginning of the war, the 1955 game, played at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie solidified the war raged on with the players just as much as the fans. Again, both schools were playing for a conference championship and the Oct. 8 game proved to sway how the 1955 Skyline Championship ended in Colorado A&M's favor. It was the first Border War in which the outcome prevented or helped either school win a conference title or become bowl eligible, but it would not be the last. Led by Jerry Callahan at quarterback and Gary Glick at halfback, the Rams once again blocked a late PAT kick by Wyoming to win the game by one point.
1966 – No game before or since has ruined a Wyoming Cowboys season more than the scrappy, hard-fought game at Colorado Field in 1966. Wyoming was ranked No. 10 in the nation, undefeated and possibly heading toward a national championship if they could have beat the lowly CSU Rams. The Rams had not beat the Cowboys since 1955, but the '66 team had energy and the most talent of any CSU team during the decade. It took a bounce-pass trick play and the toughest defense CSU had played all year to hold Wyoming off. Speak with anybody in Laramie who was around in 1966 and they will still say the Rams cheated when they pulled off the bounce pass play. While the backward pass from quarterback Bob Wolfe that bounced off the grass and into the hands of Larry Jackson before Jackson passed to Tom Pack for a touchdown was indeed a legal lateral, CSU coach Mike Lude received telegrams and letters from Wyoming fans decrying the trick play. Wyoming didn't lose another game in 1966, possibly losing out on an undefeated season and national championship. Note: It took a field goal from Al Lavan to win the game, but the bounce pass just helped.
1974 – While the 1966 game and an upset loss in Laramie in 1967 brought about the Bronze Boot, CSU had not won a game since Dan Romero was actually using the boot while in the Army. There had been monumental games, all losses by the Rams up to 1973, but when first-year head coach Sark Arslanian realized how much he hated Wyoming after his first Border War defeat, he told his team the Rams would beat Wyoming the next three years. In 1974, he lived up to his promise, beating Wyoming 11-6 in a sloppy game. What made this game so important to the 1970s is it was the first time CSU had taken home the Bronze Boot. The rivalry truly heated up again while Coach Sark was in charge of the Rams.
1980 – Two years after a pre-game Border War brawl at Hughes Stadium, the Cowboys returned to Fort Collins after a loss on local television in 1979. Both teams were evenly matched in 1980 and traded scores throughout the day. When it looked like the Rams would lose with only 43 seconds left in the game, Rams quarterback Steve Fairchild engineered a drive like this year's Boise State comeback to beat Wyoming in the closing seconds of the game. It powered CSU to a second place finish in the WAC, finishing 6-4-1, bowl worthy in modern times.
1994 – No decade of the Border War was greater than the 1990s, making for several great games to remember. There was a 17-8 win over No. 19 Wyoming at Hughes Stadium which brought down the goalposts, a 14-7 nail-biter in 1997 and Clark Haggans, hobbling around War Memorial Stadium in 1999 to take home the Boot. No game in the 1990s was more memorable than the impossible comeback victory in 1994. The Rams had been ahead in the game but fell apart while Wyoming capitalized on numerous CSU mistakes. Then, a fake punt by Matt McDougal and enraged Cowboy players giving up several yards on penalties, fueled the comeback on ESPN national television. While the comeback was great, the need to win the game allowed CSU control of the WAC race because Utah had been upset in Albuquerque. Not only was this game important for the rivalry, seeing fans rush the field too early, but it also guided CSU toward their first WAC title.
2007 – This is one game many might argue over for the best and most important of the decade of the 2000s. However, while the dismal 2007 season meant little to either school, beating Wyoming and bringing home the Bronze Boot was extremely important to the CSU program simply because legendary coach Sonny Lubick was, at the time of the game, already fired from the program. It was not so much important to Lubick himself, but to the players and fans at a time of dissention among the ranks over whether a great coach, who the school had named the field after, should depart in such a manner. This discussion will not debate the firing, but rather make note of the importance of a program which had seen one of its worst losing streaks in many years and the departure of a beloved man as their coach win an important game in a rather horrible season.
2013 – A 52-22 walloping over the Cowboys was welcomed news after four consecutive losses. Jim McElwain, in his second season as the Rams head coach was turning around a program badly in need of not just a bowl season, but of beating conference rivals. A win over Colorado in 2012 and then a win over Wyoming and later Air Force in 2013, propelled the Rams to the New Mexico Bowl and one of the finest bowl wins in program history. Beating Wyoming had proven to liven up a team and in 2013, it defiantly livened them up to finish the season strong.
There will be debates over which games are best and worst, the 2020s are still fresh and there are a lot of games yet to be played. The strength of the rivalry held together in 2020 when the Rams beat the Cowboys in the only home game played during the pandemic-shortened season. After that game, the Bronze Boot was rebuilt and refinished by CSU so it can be the prized possession of the winning team for another 50 years strong.
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