Bronze Boot is afoot for Rams and Cowboys in league opener

fort collins» seems odd to some.

As Mountain West play begins for Colorado State, the Rams are preparing to take their best step forward against their oldest and most despised rival, Wyoming. A game this steeped in tradition has the feel of a cold, November afternoon, not the first night of October with Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium the setting for the affair on national TV (8:15 p.m. on ESPNU).

Still, the 108th meeting of the Border War is set to commence in front of what promises to be a sellout crowd, and if the players aren’t ready, something is very, very wrong.

“It seems weird that we’re already here,” CSU running back Dalyn Dawkins said. “I remember being there last year. I’m glad we are here, and I’m glad it’s against Wyoming. It adds to that. It’s that, it’s a rivalry, a conference game, an ESPN game. If you don’t have any juice for that game, you shouldn’t be out there.” The timing

Both teams exit nonconference play at 2-2 on the heels of losses, both with high hopes of making a statement in the Mountain Division. The Colorado State defense has to play much better this week than last, when it amassed more than 20 missed tackles and allowed Minnesota to rush for 243 yards and four scores.

Wyoming back Brian Hill can do that all on his own, which the Rams know. They also have limited him, which happened last year in a 26-7 victory in Laramie where Hill was held to 65 yards on 21 carries.

“You look at last year, I think we did a nice job of penetrating and gang tackling,” CSU coach Mike Bobo said. “He’s going to get his carries, and he’s going to get yards. The only way you get a back down like that is you get a number of hats to the ball and try to get him off track early by getting penetration up front. We’ve got to do a nice job up front of getting penetration, and we’ve got to do a nice job of gang tackling. One guy is not going to be able to tackle him.”

When the Rams move aggressively and close gaps up front, it helps to make up for their lack of size. Tackling well helps, too, as does having a healthy Josh Lovingood up front.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder is one of the few Rams on the defensive line who actually fits the bill, and having him in the lineup all year has made a difference. His career to this point has been a series of runs, with the ones in the training room longer than those on the field.

“It was frustrating. You just take it in stride,” Lovingood said. “You have setbacks every day. It’s a very physical sport; injuries are going to happen. I had to learn how to take that and use that as incentive and push to try to stay healthy for the rest of the season and next season.”

The teams have played for the Bronze Boot traveling trophy the past 48 years, and each team has hosted it at their place 24 times. The Rams snapped a four-game skid in the series with three consecutive victories, and the goal is to keep the run going.

That, and take a positive first step into conference play.