At halftime in Boulder last week, Little Brother was whipping Big Brother, prompting a brief celebration that was both premature and unfortunate.
The celebrants were the Colorado State Rams, who held a 14-7 lead over eighth-ranked Colorado, and obliged a cheering knot of CSU fans stationed near the exit tunnel with a brief dance routine.Among the witnesses was CU coach Rick Neuheisel, who was not amused and promptly delivered a fiery halftime sermon to the repentant Buffaloes. This was accented by an animated stage performance from receiver Phil Savoy, who dramatically smashed two chairs against a convenient wall.
The second half, as Knute Rockne certainly could have told the Rams, would be a different story. An interception turned the tide, and Colorado recovered for a 31-21 victory.
It capped a dismal weekend for the WAC in "high-profile" games, as the two division favorites lost to Top 10 teams.
But the Rams fared significantly better than Brigham Young, which was shredded, 42-20, by Washington. The Huskies moved up to third in this week's Associated Press rankings, while the Cougars will spend an off-week licking wounds and making furious adjustments.
Thus, the '97 season has lurched from the gate in less-than-promising fashion, but commissioner Karl Benson bravely stated has belief that "those who are ready to stick a fork in the WAC are acting prematurely - there are still a lot of games left to be played."
"I am confident that we will once again have two Top 20 teams in our championship game and that by the end of the season, somebody from the WAC will be challenging for a Top 10 position."
Maybe so, but if the WAC is to ever achieve the status it seeks, it should drop the mentality that prompts celebrations of halftime leads against Big Brother.
Granted, the league might at this point issue itself "a commendation for bravery, having taken on four Top 10 teams in two weeks, with more coming up in the future. But as BYU's LaVell Edwards noted, "the point is to win some of these games - not just play them."
Or as another WAC minion noted last week, "We should just try to do our talking on the field and otherwise keep our mouths shut."