Foolproof bet in limbo over Wazzu

By Brian Betz

Last New Year's Eve I was already counting the easiest $40 I would ever collect in my life. Now, I'm fearful because not only is that figure in serious jeopardy, but so too is a chunk of my pride.

Amidst the drunken fun that always accompanies ringing in the New Year (at least for me), the alcohol began to run its course and before long two of my best friends decided to put their money where their mouths were. What was the bet? Oh, that the Washington St. Cougars would shock the nation and win the national title in 2002.

My fellow U-Dub fan Blake and I chuckled, and while he declined to throw down any monetary amount, I jumped at the opportunity to take $20 from each of my bewildered buddies. It was like stealing candy from a baby. The odds were stacked so much in my favor that I could hardly contain myself. I had 116 teams, they had just one. The worst part is, when I visited my friends in Pullman, Wash., during early September to watch Ohio St. and Maurice Clarett run all over the Cougs, I thought my money was in the bag.

Now, as we embark on the holiday season, I am worried. No. 2 Ohio St. has narrowly escaped their last two contests and still has to face off with rival Michigan. Miami still has three games to go, one of which is against a tough Virginia Tech team that always gives the 'Canes fits.

Wazzu, on the other hand, is playing some of the best football around and has the benefit of playing the Apple Cup in Pullman, in the bitter cold that they so keenly welcome. Their last stop will be on the road at UCLA, but if they succeed in beating Rick Neuheisel's underachieving Huskies for the first time since 1997, I doubt that they will slip up against the Bruins.

If the Buckeyes or Hurricanes falter and the Cougars do in fact achieve the impossible, I might need to come back to Santa Clara before Jan. 4. For if I don't, my friends might have a Fiesta that I will never hear the end of.