Recap: Wyoming vs. Colorado State

Laramie, WY (Sports Network) - Brett Smith threw for 235 yards and four touchdowns as he guided the Wyoming Cowboys to a 45-31 win over the Colorado State Rams in the 104th installment of the annual Border War at War Memorial Stadium.

Brett Smith completed 19-of-32 passes for the Cowboys (2-7, 1-4 MWC) as they snapped a four-game slide and won for just the second time this season and the first in Mountain West Conference play. Brett Smith also ran the ball eight times for another 27 net yards and a score.

The Rams (2-7, 1-4) were led by Conner Smith who threw for a career-high 326 yards and tallied a pair of touchdowns as he converted 13-of-23 passes. Conner Smith was sacked once and had a pass picked off as CSU bowed for the seventh time in the last eight outings. Thomas Coffman caught four passes for a game- high 146 yards and a score, while Donnell Alexander turned 20 rushing attempts into a game-high 114 yards and a TD as well.

On their first possession of the day the Cowboys took the ball 75 yards in 10 plays and celebrated with a 26-yard TD pass from Brett Smith to Chris McNeill to take an early lead.

On their first play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, the Rams countered with a 75-yard TD pass from Conner Smith to Coffman to tie the score at 7-7.

Wyoming then rattled off three straight touchdowns to take over the contest, beginning with a 16-yard touchdown reception by Brandon Miller. At the 3:27 mark of the first quarter, Blair Burns picked off a pass just shy of the goal line and took it 99 yards the other way to give the Pokes a 21-7 advantage.

Early in the second frame Robert Herron reeled in a nine-yard TD pass to make the score 28-7.

With just under three minutes left in the first half, CSU responded with an 11-yard TD run by Alexander, but still the visitors trailed by double digits at the break.

The Rams cut into the deficit with the first points of the third quarter, a 30-yard field goal by Jared Roberts, but again Wyoming responded with three straight scores of its own.

The run for the hosts began with a five-yard TD run by Brett Smith, continued with a three-yard TD catch by Dominic Rufran and was capped with a 31-yard field goal by Stuart Williams early in the fourth, by which time the score was 45-17 in favor of the Cowboys.

Colorado State managed to add a 31-yard touchdown reception by Kivon Cartwright and a three-yard scoring run by Joe Brown, but the visitors simply ran out of time as they fell by 14 points.

The Rams converted just 2-of-10 on third down yet somehow managed to produce 512 yards of total offense on just 58 plays in the losing cause.