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A peculiar thing happened after Texas disposed of the overmatched and drowning Buffaloes 31-7 last weekend in Boulder.
The CU students rioted.
Now this wasn't Grandma's morning-after-Thanksgiving riot at Wal-Mart.
Cars were flipped and smashed. Street signs turned into assault weapons. Bonfires torched the intersection of College and 10th.
The S.W.A.T. team arrived just after midnight, and the scantily-clad cheerleaders fled from the riot gear-clad police with stun guns.
Oh, and everyone was in costumes. Goofiest riot in history.
Imagine Winnie the Pooh chugging the last bit of his beer before hurling the bottle at a cop and running from the tear gas. George Bush (a girl) and John Kerry (a guy) fleeing hand in hand. Michael Moore hiding beneath a concrete embankment. And KnightShark. Where's KnightShark?
It was bound to happen. Get 1,500 students gathered on one city block, add thin air, a few dozen kegs and a handful of police and tensions tend to boil over.
The football loss to Texas didn't trigger the riot though -- although the Longhorns do seem to bring out the worst of the Boulder Buffs. The last time CU students rioted - and Boulder officials bragged about this as if it was an annual event in other places - came after the Buffs upset Texas in the 2001 Big 12 Championship.
Rather, CU's gridiron ineptitude kept things from getting worse.
Either half the CU students came dressed up as bleachers for Halloween, or the north endzone of Folsom Field really was empty. Regardless, the Colorado students didn't care.
"The football program is in shambles right now, and I think there is a lot of pent-up aggression. Not really because they are angry, but they have nothing to go crazy about," a disgruntled chicken told me when he found out who I was -- a couple hours before things got rowdy. "If we had won today, they would probably be rioting by now."
"Probably a riot." The irony was almost sickening, but the chicken made a point.
The CU program is in shambles, and the students had a right not to show up to that game. Yes, head coach Gary Barnett has three conference titles to Mack Brown's none. But which is worse -- no conference titles or a scandal-ridden program spinning down the NCAA toilet?
Oh, Barnett refused to acknowledge the word scandal at this year's Big 12 Media Days in Kansas City, Mo. Count me in favor of Mack's program on the eternal brink of greatness over Barnett's "situation"-ridden team.
If Texas lost control of their program and started losing to Baylor (Barnett did last year, Dennis Franchione did last week), the Texas Exes riots would rival 1991 Los Angeles'.
But Texas hasn't lost control.
"I mean, you saw how many more Texas fans there were than us by the end of the game," the chicken continued.
It's true. The burnt orange section was loud and proud until the last feeble Colorado attempt to score on Texas' rock-solid defense fell short. This recent two-game road swing has brought out the best in Texas fans, and it has reflected in the team's play.
Longhorn faithful celebrated long after Red Raiders lined up for the exits in the third quarter, and showed up to Boulder, Colo., in droves. Meanwhile, the team has played perhaps its two most dominating games of the year.
But if the team seems to do better on the road, it shouldn't be a surprise. The last home game against Missouri rivaled Colorado's in the empty seat category, and the stadium was remarkably quiet for an 8-point win.
The small crowd and tepid enthusiasm that has permeated this campus is understandable, to a degree.
The last game was hot and the OU hangover inescapable.
Fans have had only one top-rated game to watch this year, and it turned into a shutout in Dallas.
And now, despite Texas' best efforts, the BCS appears primed and ready to squash Texas' Fiesta Bowl dreams all over again.
It's tease and frustration is expected.
But when your team is suffering through another top- 10 season, there really isn't a reason not to show up. Brown's coaching this year is arguably his best at Texas, yet there is less enthusiasm than any year since John Mackovic held office.
So here's why this game matters.
Cedric Benson -- perhaps the most underrated Heisman candidate still on the map - is bowling through nine-man fronts with unreal ease. Leading the nation with 1,297 yards, he may brush up against 2,000.
Derrick Johnson is staking his claim to rival Tommy Nobis as the best defender in Longhorn history. Best all-time. A Roy-Hobbes-best-there-ever-will-be linebacker. At least once a game, the pressbox lets out a collective "wow."
And Oklahoma State is good. They scored 35 on Oklahoma last weekend and need a win to pass Texas A&M for a better bowl.
So pop in a copy of "Rudy" to remember why college football in November is magical, enjoy the cooler weather and remember: It could be a lot worse. The tear-gassed chicken says so.
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