THERE ARE really only two kinds of football fans. There are those who love a defensive struggle. Who rhapsodize over a 9-3 game and would rather watch them play in mud. Who long for the days of leather helmets and think Bronko Nagurski was the best player ever. Who consider the forward pass some sort of gimmick that isn't going to last, and think teams who have to outscore the opposition - instead of stopping it - are misguided.
Then there are the other fans. The ones who would just as soon see a score that looks like your social security number. Who want the stat crew to go home exhausted. Who, if they don't see at least a half-dozen touchdowns in a game, act like they're hyperactive. Who figure the only good game is a 100-point game and would rather watch six hours of the infomercials than sit through a 9-3 game.For those in the latter category, there is always the San Diego State-BYU series.
If there is a higher-scoring, more breathless series in America, the Cougars and Aztecs want to know about it. It started in fourth gear and continued from there. It's a series of footballs filling the air and players wearing the paint off end zones and running out of oxygen and losing track of the score.
"First of all, for some reason, there's a strong competitive feeling between the teams," said former Cougar assistant coach Dick Felt.
Saturday night in Cougar Stadium, the teams resumed where they left off last year, which is to say, at full speed. After a sluggish first half, in which the Aztecs held a 7-6 lead, the series returned to normal. By the time it was over, it was business as usual: BYU 31, San Diego State 19.
Want single-digit scores? Call up the Big 10. This one has always been about numbers. It's football for the hyperactive.
Last year the Cougars had a seemingly safe 35-14 lead in the fourth quarter, when suddenly the Aztecs rushed back with two straight touchdowns. For thosewho stayed by their television sets, they were accommodated with the usual BYU-SDSU game, with the Cougars hanging on for a 35-28 win.
Such scoring and suspense isn't unusual. In 1993 the Cougars managed a 45-44 win at San Diego. The year before, it was SDSU 45-BYU 38. In 1991 they scored 104 points between them and ended up in a tie. In 1990, San Diego State racked up an impressive 34 points . . . and lost by four touchdowns.
BYU has averaged 47 points and SDSU 38 in the last six years. Four times in the 22-game series, one of the teams - or both - has scored over 50 points.
The series began in 1947 - an era of smash-mouth football and low scores - with San Diego rolling up 32 points against the Cougars. It was a harbinger of future games. The series really got rolling in 1979 when BYU racked up a 68-14 win. Soon it was clear that any time these teams met, you'd want to make sure all the light bulbs in the scoreboard were working.
With one WAC loss already behind it and an 0-2 record, BYU came into the game knowing that a slump this week would do major damage to its Holiday Bowl plans. Consequently, when the Cougars came out for warmups, they showed a look they've never had before: all-blue uniforms.
"The players apparently have wanted it for years," said media relations director Ralph Zobell, "and LaVell just decided todo it tonight."
All-blue uniforms notwithstanding, the teams began the game looking like they needed a map to find the end zone. The Cougars scored a touchdown on an 84-yard punt return, only to watch as the Aztecs followed with a 15-yard scoring pass. When the PAT missed, the scored stood BYU 7, SDSU 6.
Even as late as the start of the third quarter, the Aztecs were clinging to a 12-10 lead after completing a 42-yard field goal.
But once the final quarter arrived, the Cougars were suddenly back to scoring touchdowns. Hema Heimuli dived in for one touchdown and TimMcTyer ran back an interception 60 yards for another. The scoreboard was waking up. The old, familar numbers were starting to show. Trailing 24-12, the Aztecs answered with a 43-yard score of their own.
BYU put a wrap on the outcome on a 19-yard scoring pass put the game out of reach. It was all over but the trash-talking. Even so, the Aztecs finished the game on the BYU 10, trying to run a fumble in for a score.
They didn't run out of energy, just time.
So with such a long legacy of unbridled scoring behind them, the teams again resumed their prolific series. They didn't get 50 points each, but only because of the slow start. In the end it was obvious they had come, calculators in hand.
Which wasn't anything unexpected. As history will show, if you're going watch these two teams, it isn't just a matter of knowing your football. It's also a matter of knowing your math.