People were jeering the guy. The Vikings were playing the Browns on three small TVs -- losing to the Browns, no less -- and it was pretty comical. A guy who looked about 65 walked in and said, "Has he thrown into traffic yet?" Favre threw a pass over the middle, a completion, and some guy yelled, "Even SHE can make that throw!"

It was just surreal. Of course you read stories about how Packers fans now hate Brett Favre, but it's different to actually see it in person. Would St. Peter ever get booed at the Pearly Gates? I guess if he signed on to play a season for the Devil, he probably would. Great stuff.

And, as a fun little segue, seeing the Favre transformation at completion in the Cheese State, wasn't the only surprise. No, Fresno State losing a close and painful game was not new. The way the Bulldogs did it was. One of the big complaints I hear about Fresno State football is how conservative Pat Hill's team is. Not just the overall scheme and the play-calling, but specifically what it does when leading. Last season, for instance, the Bulldogs punted with 2 minutes left against Wisconsin and never got the ball back, which seemed like an odd call since anyone watching the game knew there was no chance of keeping the Badgers from getting one first down. No chance.

There are other examples. The Boise State game in 2005, the Texas A&M game in 2007, I could go on*. The Bulldogs try to grind out games when they lead, and to some extent that makes sense, since running the ball means the clock is running more. Or at least it should mean that. But you're also deflating your own offense, theoretically, not doing what has theoretically gotten you the lead in the first place. It's a lot of theory, I guess.

*I couldn't go on. Totally ran out of examples.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs didn't take the air out of the ball. It's been three days, and I still can't get over it. In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs led 21-17. It was third-and-4 and the Wisconsin 28 yard line. Past history would tell you the Bulldogs would try to rush for the first down, leaving a makeable field goal if they came up short. Instead, they went for a deep pass, had Chastin West open and he was overthrown by Ryan Colburn. Then Kevin Goessling missed the field goal, which combined with the overthrow, makes for a complete whiff. Some might say, well why not run and make the field goal easier? Because that's exactly the kind of play people have complained about forever. At some point, you have to trust your players to get it done, give them chances to win games.

Oh, but we have more. Two possessions later, Colburn spiked the ball and the Bulldogs had 2-and-10 at the Wisconsin 24 yard line, less than a minute to play, trailing by 3. It had to be tempting for the coaches to plow forward for a few yards, making the tying field goal easier for Goessling, who you might remember from the previous paragraph, just missed a field goal from a similar distance. Instead, the Bulldogs fired downfield, had Darren Newborn open for a touchdown, but the pass was overthrown. And then in the second overtime, on first down, when you'd expect a Hill team to call something conservative, it didn't. Colburn threw on first down and had West open again, but this time his throw hung up a tad to long and was intercepted.

The overall idea is to win the game, of course, but I liked every one of those calls. I liked the attitude. I liked the style, the risk, the whole idea that Fresno State didn't come to Wisconsin to stall out a game and squeak out an upset. They came to win going away. I liked it. I liked the play-calling. I really did. But Ryan Colburn has to make throws. He throws floating passes sometimes, and it really cost the Bulldogs Saturday. But if you want him to be the quarterback you have to put him in those situations before he's going to develop.

I'm not really sure what to make of Colburn's passing style. I feel like he tries to throw with too much touch, if that's possible. His passes just seem to float forever, and while I'm sure they're easy to catch, they also give the defense a lot of time to recover. If you watch an NFL game, how often do you see a quarterback throw a touch pass? One or two a game, and those are usually to running backs coming out of the backfield. There just isn't time. Players are too fast.

Where does the touch pass infatuation come from? Colburn says he worries about passes getting batted down or tipped (probably because he had to watch it happen to Tom Brandstater for three years), but he's got to get over it. What gets passes knocked down is not the angle of the pass, but the quarterback staring at the same receiver so long that everyone knows when and where to stick their arms. I'm just saying. Deception. A head fake. A pump fake. A glance around the field. There are many ways to avoid tips that don't involve throwing passes so high they'd hit the Dallas Cowboys video screen.

I think what hurt most about the loss to the Badgers was not missed opportunities, even though there were plenty, but the fact that the Bulldogs are better than Wisconsin. They are. They led 21-7 and didn't get a single turnover, didn't have any lucky bounces, didn't get a defensive touchdown or special teams play. They were just better. And then they threw three interceptions and the defense got tired.

We are about 36 hours from the Bulldogs playing their biggest game of the year. BOISE STATE! It's White-Out Night. It's Friday night on national TV. And here's the good part to take away from the Wisconsin loss. Before this season, I thought Fresno State would lose to the Broncos by 324 points. At least. Maybe more, depending on whether Boise took out their starters by halftime. I exaggerate, because it's fun. Even after the UC-Davis blowout, I didn't feel a lot different. But now, Fresno State could win. Will they? Doubtful, but plausible. It's easy to envision a good game, and most of that vision comes from that game in Madison. As painful as the ending was.