PROVO — Over the course of two decades, during the LaVell Edwards era, BYU and Air Force developed a good, clean rivalry on the football field.
Since Cougar coach Gary Crowton arrived on the scene two years ago, though, this rivalry has intensified. It's gotten personal, even turned a little nasty.
That's partly because the past two seasons the teams have taken turns humiliating each other. In 2001, BYU whipped Air Force 63-33 in Provo — marking the most points ever given up by the Falcons. Last season, Air Force returned the favor, crushing the Cougars, 52-9, in Colorado Springs — marking BYU's most lopsided loss in nearly 10 years. After that game, Falcon coach Fisher DeBerry admitted he and his team had been waiting, plotting and preparing for "365 days" to exact revenge.
Now, it's Crowton who has spent nearly 12 months looking forward to this payback opportunity.
"Our players were embarrassed last year. Two years ago, their players were embarrassed," Crowton said. "That's why this rivalry is emerging. It's a conference game and we're very familiar with each other." So, what can we expect when the Cougars and Falcons meet again Saturday (1 p.m., Ch. 14)?
"This year, it's going to be a war. That's the best way to describe it," said BYU defensive lineman Brady Poppinga. "It's not going to be a blowout by either side. We're going to play as hard as we can and they are going to play as hard as they can. Whoever's standing at the end is going to win."
The final scores of the last two meetings don't fully explain why these two programs are not fond of each other. Their mutual resentment goes much deeper than that.
In 2001, Crowton, then in his first season at the helm, was concerned about Air Force's ability to control the clock, so he wanted to seize an early lead. After scoring on their opening possession, the Cougars successfully executed an on-side kick and quickly scored again to put them up 14 points.
DeBerry apparently didn't appreciate that move and he didn't forget it, either. In 2002, after the Falcons scored a first-quarter touchdown, they also successfully executed an on-side kick that led to a touchdown.
In 2001, Cougar tight end Doug Jolley had a career day, hauling in three touchdown passes. What really irked DeBerry was that Crowton put Jolley back in the game late in the fourth quarter because he was two yards short of a conference receiving record. Jolley ended up breaking the record.
The Falcons were upset, too, when the public address announcer at Edwards Stadium announced to the crowd that the 63 points were the most ever surrendered by an Air Force team. They felt it was adding insult to injury.
In 2002, the Cougars received their comeuppance. Even with a big lead, DeBerry kept his first-stringers in the game and the Falcons continued piling on the points.
During that contest, Poppinga mixed it up with trash-talking Air Force quarterback Chance Harridge, who not only ran the option to perfection against the Cougars, but also provided a running commentary on his team's performance.
"I didn't like the way he was talking. The guy flat-out kicked our butts. We couldn't stop him at all," Poppinga remembered. "I felt that was the reason why he was talking. I was curious to see how he'd react if we were giving him a butt-kicking. I told him, 'I don't appreciate the way you're talking. I'm going to hit you and I'm going to find a time to hit you.' When I saw his number flash in front of me, I thought, 'Here it is.' Boom! And I hit him." But Poppinga hit him after the whistle and was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. "After that, (Harridge) actually calmed down," Poppinga said. "He tried to get me back. He tried cheap-shotting me. We were near a pile and he tried to put a shoulder in me and knock me down. I told him, 'Don't you dare.' He started being nice after that. He's just immature."
It's apparent that Crowton is still seething about last year's defeat. On Monday, he couldn't resist taking a jab at the Falcons. "Air Force is good, but my gosh. If we weren't 4-0 with that schedule right now, I'd be nervous as a head coach," he said, referring to Air Force's wins over lightly regarded Wofford, North Texas, Northwestern and Wyoming.
No, these teams don't like each other much.
AIR FORCE (4-0, 0-0) at BYU (2-2, 1-0)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
LaVell Edwards Stadium
TV: KJZZ, Ch. 14 (ESPN-plus)
Radio: KSL 1160 AM
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com