Good day, friends and football fanatics and welcome to TGS ULTIMATE TAILGATE ROADTRIP! Thank you for joining us on the seventh stop in a recurring series of articles brought to you by various writers and perspectives here at The Tailgate Society that will be covering a different marquee game each week of the college football season (as well as bowl games and playoffs). One rule we will stick to in these pieces is that the games must take place in a state that a current TGS member lives in. Here at the Tailgate Society, we love all things football: the pageantry, the rivalries, the controversies, the Cinderella stories and, of course – the upsets.

Week 1: Alabama v. Florida State

Week 2: Iowa v. Iowa State

Week 3: Oregon v. Wyoming

Week 4: Colorado v. Washington

Week 5: University of Louisiana – Lafayette v. Idaho

Week 6: ???

Week 7: Texas v. Oklahoma

As most of you are, or should be aware, we are just five short days shy of the greatest time of year that the good lord has given us – college football season – so what better way to celebrate than by taking a hypothetical roadtrip to visit some of the coolest stadiums and games in our backyards!?! Seeing as we’re now officially broadcasting/typing out of 15 football-friendly states, we’ll be going on a journey to various locations to show you what games we’ll be attending (or at least tailgating for).

Week 8: Wyoming @ Boise State

Late October is really the best time to exist in Boise. The City of Trees is at her prettiest—a riot of orange leaves and impossibly clear skies surrounding that stamp of blue turf. It’s hoodie weather, but a crisp breeze to the north can cause that all to change in a snap—one minute we’re baking in the sun, and the next we’re searching for a coat. It’s part of the charm of the place, and also one of the reasons some Broncos drink.

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On this particular late October Saturday, nothing will keep Bronco Nation from their appointment at Albertson’s Stadium, except maybe getting an elk down while hunting in the back-country that morning. Even then they’ll hustle to make the game. (You will think I’m joking, until the camera pans across a group of hunters covered in blood and dirt and safety orange in the crowd that night.) The reason is simple—Wyoming is coming to town.

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One of the most interesting things about Mountain West football is the tiny things between the teams and fan bases that histories are built on. Most other conferences have this stuff, and it flies under the radar due to the money and the fame and sheer amount of it. In the MWC, history is at a premium so every detail counts. Few teams have played each other further back than the 1970s. The Wyoming/Boise series started in 2002, and Boise has been straight disrespectful to the Cowboys pretty much the entire time. The series is currently 10-1 in favor of the Boys in Blue, with last year’s victory meaning a whole lot more to Laramie’s fan base than the loss did to Boise’s. The Pokes HATE Boise. The Bronco is the Cowboy’s natural adversary, after all. Boise is always doing Boise things like run up 63 points on ’em on national TV en route to a championship and a Fiesta Bowl.

Gah, Jay Ajayi made Statue look great in that game. Sure, the Pokes were used as a tune-up for the Bowl playbook. To the Broncos, that is just smart business. To Wyoming, it’s yet another slight.

In 2015, the Cowboys improved, but Boise still came out victorious. In 2016, the Pokes finally won one, even if they had to do a little dancing to get there.

This year’s version of this game should be excellent, seeing as Wyoming has a winning streak of one game on Boise, and the Broncos HATE losing. Especially like they did last season.

Josh Allen is a very good quarterback. Heisman worthy? First draft pick? Debatable. Brian Hill was an exceptional running back. Those two put on a show last year in Laramie, but only one of them returns, and Allen has a whole lot of unproven talent surrounding him. On the other side, Brett Rypien is also a very good quarterback. Championship caliber? Remains to be seen. Boise State is also debuting a lot of new faces, and is full of questions at almost every position. Somehow, last season, Wyoming managed to play a penalty-free game and ended up having a guy barely out of concussion protocol cause a safety on a sack to win, which, lets be fair, is extremely lucky. It’s silly to expect lightning to strike the same spot twice.

Wyoming is high on the hype train. They should be nice and derailed by this deep in the season, but either way, they’ll be ripe for the picking when setting foot on The Blue. Boise State defends that home turf viciously, and playing another penalty-free game would be a helluva trick. Bronco Nation will do their part to ensure that the illusion is blown.

Sept 4th #BlueTurf this 3rd lowest Decibel Meter read from cold 9 degree night will be broken #BoiseState plays #UW pic.twitter.com/r0U9JPcf24

— El VooDoo Daddy (@BSUPimp) May 5, 2015

But 123 decibels ain’t the loudest, you say, and that’s true. Oregon, Washington, LSU, and Clemson are all louder. But then you realize that…it’s louder than Michigan and Florida. Albertson’s Stadium is capable of hitting 126 decibels. That’s *only* 37,000 people, all making it impossible to hear yourself think. Your ears ring for hours and your voice is shot for days after. It’s an incredible cacophony of screaming and stomping and usually is loudest on touchdowns and defensive third downs. The false starts getting called only make the Bronco faithful louder. MWC football is loud and bright and crazy and innovative and worthy of cheering on all around, but this game on this night is going to be a doozy. Bohl vs. Harsin is a fascinating coaching matchup, and the proverbial chess game is almost better than the football game. Tune in because it’s probably going to be the last game on for the day, but stay for the incredible smashmouth football. This one could be close.

Game time has not yet been determined, because it’s ESPN, FFS. Most likely will be on ESPN2 at 10 pm Eastern because have you seen that weekend’s slate?

WVU/Baylor

Kansas State/Oklahoma

Michigan/Penn State

Louisville/FSU

Alabama/Auburn

Week 8 is an embarrassment of riches, and the third piece of pie you don’t really need but are totally going to enjoy is ending your evening by watching Wyoming and Boise square off on The Blue.