Fort Collins – Joe Glenn didn’t just have faulty recall last week when he said Colorado State wide receiver David Anderson was shaking the Bronze Boot last year.
It was more like a premonition of Saturday’s continuation of the Border War.
After Anderson set up Kory Sperry’s first go-ahead touchdown with a 45-yard, third-quarter catch and then extended a play 82 yards for a touchdown when two Wyoming defensive backs nearly knocked each other out, there was no doubt who would claim the traveling trophy after CSU’s 39-31 victory before a season-high 32,801 at Hughes Stadium.
“Some younger guys wanted to run with it, but I smacked it out of their hands and said ‘Yeah right,”‘ Anderson said. “I was going to make a spectacle, but decided it wasn’t in my best interest.”
Anderson stood on the CSU bench with the trophy on top of his helmet for the final play and ran the boot to coach Sonny Lubick. But when Anderson shook hands with Glenn, the CSU senior took the high road.
“I said ‘Great game, Coach, and good luck the rest of the year.’ That’s a good football team and they might go to a bowl game,” Anderson said.
Unlike last year’s 30-7 win, the Rams had to work for this one. It was televised on ESPN Classic but was more deserving of Instant Classic status.
CSU had to overcome another sluggish offensive start and a three-touchdown, 187-yard effort by Wyoming receiver Jovon Bouknight. And just to show CSU he could pass the ball after the Rams unsuccessfully recruited him as a receiver/defensive back, Bouknight, a former Manual quarterback, opened the scoring with a 16-yard pass to Jason Wallace off a lateral.
CSU (4-3, 3-1) is a game behind Texas Christian in the Mountain West Conference standings, while Wyoming (4-4, 2-3) dropped its third straight.
The Cowboys, who had nine turnovers in the previous two games, added five more.
“When you get (five) turnovers from a team, you ought to win by more,” Lubick said. “But I want to give Wyoming credit. They came down here and played so hard.”
The Rams had only a field goal to show after Matt Rupp returned a fumble to the Wyoming 2 and defensive tackle Blake Smith returned an interception to the Cowboys 15.
But when CSU’s Joey Rucks recovered Hoost Marsh’s fumbled punt return at the CSU 18, the Rams needed only one play to make a statement.
CSU quarterback Justin Holland, who had a career-high 419 yards passing, found Anderson just past midfield. Wyoming safety John Wendling glanced off Anderson and collided with teammate Brandon Bell like two outfielders going for a flyball. Anderson kept going for a 33-24 lead with 13:06 left in the game.
“I fit it in between three guys and (Anderson) did the rest,” Holland said. “They got a good lick on him, but David, as small as he is, he’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever seen.”
“I heard it behind me,” Anderson said of the collision. “I thought I better run, because if I got caught by (a linebacker), they weren’t going to put me in anymore.”
Wyoming answered with a 74-yard drive and Bouknight’s third TD catch to pull within 33-31. CSU needed Sperry’s 31-yard TD reception on fourth-and-7 to ice the win with 5:51 left.
Wyoming’s next drive ended with CSU freshman Klint Kubiak recovering a Bouknight fumble.
If Glenn was trying to incite his team with his recollection that Anderson waved the boot in his face a year ago, it backfired. Anderson never had the boot in 2004.
“He said the wrong things,” Anderson said. “I had a pretty good week of practice and I was fired up for the game. I told everyone I was going for at least on 150 (yards) and a touchdown because there was no way they were going to keep me out (of the end zone).”
Said Holland: “All week Dave knew he was getting called out and he called them out. … When Dave plays with a chip on his shoulder, he’s that much better.”
CSU sidelines
KEY PLAY
CSU was trailing 24-13 and had driven to midfield with about 15 seconds left in the first half when Rams QB Justin Holland launched a Hail Mary to the right corner of the end zone for Dustin Osborn. But CSU wide receiver Luke Roberts saw that it was underthrown, cut off his post pattern and hauled it in to score the touchdown that cut Wyoming’s lead to 24-20.
TURNING POINT
The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead and were looking comfortable after a Rams field goal had cut it to 10-3 early in the second quarter. Then QB Corey Bramlet rifled the ball into the left flat and into the hands of Rams cornerback Darryl Williams, who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. That opened the gates to a flood of Cowboys turnovers that cost them the game.
UNSUNG HERO
Rams tight end/H-back Kory Sperry had only four catches in the game, but two of them went for touchdowns, including the one to seal the victory.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
