LARAMIE, Wyo. — And then the lights came on.
Which, for Wyoming, wasn't a good thing.
With one game left in the regular season, one thing seems clear: Neither rain, sleet, snow or even blown transformers can keep the Utes from their appointed rounds. The Utes clinched their first back-to-back conference title in 51 years Saturday night, trouncing Wyoming 45-28.
Rain? None whatsoever. Snow? Nada. Cold? Naturally.
But dark of night? There
was plenty of that. Twenty minutes before kickoff time, about two-thirds of the stadium lights went out when a fuse blew and a transformer burned out — pitching the stadium into semi-darkness. After a one-hour and 39-minute delay, they started the game with only part of the lights on. Then some of the power kicked off again.
So there in the dimly lit stadium, the Utes went to work, squashing the Cowboys the same way they squashed nine other opponents. Ten minutes gone: 14-0. Early second quarter: 24-7. When the full lighting was finally restored in the third quarter, it was 31-7.
Apparently even power outages don't affect Utah's offense.
Does anything?
"We're just getting started," said defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham. "We have a lot more to accomplish."
Even so, somewhere Charles Kalani, Tom Dublinski, Weston Gardner, Robert Morris, Don Rydalch, Don Peterson, Frank Branham, Dick Bubak and James Durrant are smiling. They thrived a half-century ago when the Utes were a monster in the market. Back in the day of the full-house backfield, helmets without a facemask and, well, daylight football.
No wonder it seems a lifetime since the Utes won back-to-back conference championships. For many, it is. In 1953 "Cactus" Jack Curtice was the coach, and the Utes — who at the time weren't even known as the Utes — were wrapping up a string of three consecutive Skyline Conference titles.
Now it's happening again, in a different league, in a new era, under a coach with an equally intriguing name. Urban Meyer is now two-for-two in Utah.
For long, long, longtime Ute fans, that's a huge deal. For the rest of the Mountain West, it's bad news. You think any of the teams Utah beat this year are really rooting for the Utes? Please. Not for a million bucks.
Though the Utes were happy, they weren't exactly giddy after Saturday's win. They did give Meyer the traditional Gatorade dousing with 3:30 left. Still, as Whittingham said, they have business remaining.
Quarterback Alex Smith called the season "amazing" but added that the importance of playing BYU next week is "self-explanatory." He also made note of the BCS ramifications.
As for Saturday, it was a difficult win in a hostile environment.
Yes, it was a night game in November, when your opponent may not be the biggest challenge. It's also the wind in your face, and sometimes the snow at your feet. November football in Wyoming is the ultimate in multitasking.
You play the game, but you also play the weather. You memorize plays, get your execution down, then pull on your long undies and play.
You gear up for two opponents — the guy across the line and Old Man Winter.
If, as Vince Lombardi said, fatigue makes cowards of us all, what about the cold? Does it make us crybabies?
On Saturday, there was also this: What if you're afraid of the dark?
By the time the game actually kicked off it soon became obvious the Utes would win, no matter what the conditions. The teams could have played at 4 a.m. under the light of the silvery moon and Utah would still have won big. It was that convincing. Heisman candidate Smith had the Utes moving as usual. A 27-yard touchdown run by himself. Two interceptions by the defense in the first half. Touchdowns so easy, the scorer goes in standing up.
A night for asserting authority. And connecting with their history.
If it makes the Cowboys feel any better, they only need know the Utes have moved this well against everyone.
Remember that song that says, "Turn out the lights, the party's over?"
It seems when you're playing against the Utes, even that doesn't work.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com