All bets are on once former Buffs and Rams become Broncos. When they were college rivals, trash talk was frowned upon by their coaches. Now the smackdown comes in one big happy Broncos locker room.
“BVP (quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt) shoots his mouth a little bit. He’ll get his on Saturday,” said former Buffs offensive lineman Matt Lepsis, referring to the former CSU star.
Van Pelt serves as an annoying reminder to Lepsis that the nature of the rivalry has changed in recent years.
“We used to kill ’em,” Lepsis said of the lopsided scores in the 1990s. “We’d have our third team in there by the second half.”
Linebacker Jashon Sykes, a former CU standout, is already counting the money he expects to collect from Van Pelt and former Rams running back Cecil Sapp.
“Man, my prediction is CSU will never, ever go to Boulder and steal one from us,” Sykes said.
Sapp has no doubt his alma mater will come away with a victory.
“Last year they had a down season, but they should’ve won,” he said. “But they learned from the mistakes and hopefully we get a ‘W’ this time.”
Relieved Buffs
Louisiana natives and Buffs players Reggie Joseph and Thaddaeus Washington have been in worry mode all week after Hurricane Katrina.
Joseph, from La Place, La., and Washington, from Marrero, La., have talked to family and report they are fine. Joseph’s parents are driving to Boulder to see him play Saturday.
“My little piece of the area didn’t get hit as bad,” Joseph said. “My house is OK.”
Washington said he spoke with his father Tuesday night.
“They’re saying it’ll be like two months before they can get all the water out,” he said. “Right now, my family can’t go back (home) until Tuesday.”
Footnotes
Brandon Nicolas, a 6-foot-3, 277-pound defensive lineman, has transferred to CU from Notre Dame. Nicolas made his decision on a campus visit Wednesday, choosing CU over UCLA. He will immediately enroll in classes and be eligible next year as a sophomore. … As of Wednesday evening, 725 tickets remained for Saturday’s game. … CU safety Dominique Brooks (ankle) will not play against Colorado State.
Staff writer Bryan Chu contributed to this report.
