Colorado may be one of the nation’s best football teams, but if sportsmanship is a measure of success, it falls far short of commanding a “winner’s” label.

The actions of Colorado players and coaches late in the fourth quarter of Iowa State’s 50-28 loss to the Buffaloes Saturday were flatly inappropriate.

After Colorado locked up the game with its last touchdown, Buffalo coach Rick Neuheisel elected to attempt a two-point conversion. It failed, but what good would one more point have done Colorado? They were already ahead by 22 in the game’s waning moments.

Cyclone fans did react badly, booing and shouting obscenities at the Colorado sideline, but Neuheisel’s decision was nothing short of poor judgment.

The ill will continued when Colorado players egged ISU fans on by yelling and using arm gestures.

One player even wrote “Thank You!” on a marker board and turned it around to face the stands. Colorado was eventually hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Fans responded with cheers of “Overrated” and “Jayhawks.” The ninth-ranked Buffaloes lost their first game of the season last week to Kansas.

The Buffaloes spoiled what had been a good college football game by making a mockery of the tradition of good collegiate sportsmanship. Iowa State players may have lost the game, but their demeanor made them the better team Saturday.