The Bronze Boot. The Run. The Rivalry.
All of the traditions, all of the theatrics, all for a chance at glory — with an opportunity to be cemented into history — it all goes down against Wyoming under the Friday night lights for the annual Border War.
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“(The) University of Wyoming has our full attention now,” coach Jay Norvell said. “We have a challenging Border War game Friday night.”
Offense
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi struggled with turnovers early but has been disciplined with the ball recently. Throwing just one interception in the previous three weeks, the gunslinger seems just about ready to break out.
If a breakout is to happen, it probably has to happen with Tory Horton on the field. Horton was on and off the field against Air Force before finally being knocked out for the rest of the game in the third quarter. Horton’s status is still unsure for Friday’s game.
If Horton is unable to go, it will likely be Dallin Holker who steps into the main receiving role. He is currently in the running for the John Mackey Award and would be the second Mackey winner for Colorado State University in the past three years.
While the passing game has been lethal for most of the season, the running game is starting to gain some traction with Vann Schield behind the line. Averaging nearly 5 yards per carry, Schield has been good for the Rams’ running game, which has dealt with a lot of injuries this season.
“We would like to have some punch in our running game, and it really compliments what we do passing-wise,” Norvell said. “Vann has been really good. I’m really proud of Vann — he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do.”
Watch: The O-line
The CSU offensive line has been much improved this season, and it will be crucial that Fowler-Nicolosi has a clean pocket if the Rams want to return home with the boot.
“We have our own communication, we understand each other’s tendencies,” Jacob Gardner said. “There’s always going to be work to do, but it’s nice just having the same five guys up there.”
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Defense
The defense has been the story for the Rams this season. They have forced 15 turnovers so far this season — the same amount of turnovers they had all of last season.
“We just talk about it all the time,” Henry Blackburn said. “We watch the cut up on Fridays before the game of takeaways in the league (and) takeaways in the conference, and we just put it on our minds. … We continue to talk about it, punching at the ball, going and attacking the ball when it’s in the air. And it’s starting to show up — we’ve got really good players on defense too. It’s nice having a D-line that does what they do because they cause a lot of takeaways for our defense.”
One thing Wyoming does really well is not turn the ball over. Andrew Peasley has been efficient for the Cowboys, only throwing three interceptions to his 13 touchdowns.
Not only has Peasley done it through the air, but he’s gotten it done on the ground as well. However, one of the strengths of the Rams defense has been their ability to stop the quarterback run.
“Our defense has really done a good job of adjusting to the different styles of offenses that we’ve seen,” Norvell said. “We’ve played against this quarterback before, so we’re familiar with him, and we know he’s dangerous throwing and running.”
Watch: The turnover battle
One of the keys for the Rams on Friday against Wyoming will be the turnover battle. Both sides of the ball has done their jobs the past couple of weeks, and it will be crucial that they continue to do so in the Border War.
“This is the type of games we love — this is Colorado State, that’s what we do,” Blackburn said. “We play tough-ass football. … We pride ourselves on being a tough-ass team, and that’s what we want to do. These are the type of games that we love; these are the types of games we play for.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
