LARAMIE, Wyo. — Wyoming gets the last laugh.

As Colorado State gets set to depart the Mountain West for what it believes are greener pastures in the new-look Pac-12, the Rams’ biggest rivals gave them a thorough beating on the way out the door.

In the 117th Border War and the final meeting between conference foes, the Cowboys rubbed salt in the wound in the wake of Jay Norvell’s firing with a 28-0 win on a gorgeous Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium.

“I know it’s easy to be frustrated if you’re a fan,” Summers said. “I know it’s easy to be frustrated to be a player. I understand all those things. In spite of that frustration, I am very, very proud of our players. It’s been a difficult and challenging week.”

After taking over in place of Norvell this week, Summers kept the message on keeping the Bronze Boot in Fort Collins after the Rams snapped up a three-game losing streak against Wyoming last fall. The trophy was in the middle of the CSU locker room all week, but the players had to watch as the Pokes sprinted across the field to grab the trophy from their sideline.

Summers’ only previous experience in the Border War was in 2015 during his first stint as the program’s defensive coordinator and that was also the last time CSU won in Laramie.

But Summers’ return trip across the border didn’t go as planned.

From the jump, the Cowboys were in complete control. 

After the two teams exchanged punts on their respective opening series, Wyoming scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives, twice capitalizing on interceptions by CSU quarterback Jackson Brousseau, who came into the game with zero interceptions.

But it’s not like the CSU defense did its part, either.

A Wyoming offense that entered the game 115th in the country in points per game found itself up 28-0 fewer than 5 minutes into the second half thanks to an untouched 37-yard touchdown run by running back Sam Scott on a play that perfectly demonstrated the gap between the two teams.

“We fired our head coach on Sunday, it’s hard,” Summers said. “It’s challenging. We’re having a tough year. I wish it were more competitive and I do think in the second half we played a lot better and I’m gonna be as proud of that as I can be.”

Where CSU goes from here will be interesting to watch.

An important coaching search for athletic director John Weber is already underway and a performance like this one against the program’s biggest rival — one that drops CSU to 2-8 in the last 10 Border Wars — is more than enough reason to clean house when the season concludes at the end of next month.

It would take a miracle for the Rams to win the final four games of the season — and that’s what’s required to make a bowl game in consecutive seasons for the first time in eight years — but Summers is going to try and squeeze everything out of this Rams team while he has the chance.

“Tonight, we didn’t play well. It is what it is,” Summers said. “We will get better. We’ll keep working. It’s challenging. For anybody that’s ever been in positions like this, whether you’re a player, whether you’re a coach, whether you’re a parent, it’s not easy. I didn’t see any flinch in the second half with our guys, which is probably what I’m most proud of. I didn’t see anybody fussing. You’ve got disappointed guys, for sure, but you don’t see guys finger pointing, you don’t see guys quitting.”

GAME RECAP

Wyoming 28, Colorado State 0

What happened: The Rams (2-6, 1-3 Mountain West) were dominated in the 117th edition of the Border War as the Cowboys (4-4, 2-2 MW) did everything they wanted to on the way to a convincing victory in the final meeting between these two programs as conference foes. It was CSU’s first game since Jay Norvell’s firing and interim coach Tyson Summers moves to 0-1 in his tenure.

On offense: CSU managed over 300 yards of offense, but a good chunk of that came in garbage time after backup QB Darius Curry replaced starter Jackson Brousseau. The redshirt freshman managed to rack up 112 passing yards despite entering the game in the fourth quarter. It is the first time the Rams have been shut out since the 2024 season opener at Texas, a 52-0 defeat to the Longhorns. 

On defense: After forcing a punt on the first drive of the game, CSU was little resistance to the Wyoming offense as the Pokes went on to score touchdowns on four of its next five drives (not including the kneel down to end the first half). The banged-up Rams allowed 372 yards in the game. Sophomore linebacker Owen Long continued his breakout sophomore season with a game-high 10 tackles. 

Quotable: “I’m very appreciative of everyone who’s here. I’m very appreciative of our players really trying to buy in and do what we’re supposed to. I’m very appreciative of our staff and our coaches. I’m appreciative of our administration, but I really haven’t had a chance to talk to my family all week. I’d like to thank my wife. My wife’s been with me for almost 20 years and 15 moves, so I think she’s pretty tough. My oldest son Jake texts me every day. My 15-year-old says, ‘Dad, you think we could talk tomorrow?’ My 12-year old cried on his way to school on Wednesday because he hadn’t heard from me since Sunday. So, I thank all of them. It’s hard, but I’m gonna continue to work hard for these kids.” — Summers
Up next: The Rams have some extra time to regroup after an embarrassing loss with their second bye week on the schedule next weekend. CSU returns to action on Nov. 8 with UNLV coming to Fort Collins.