Brian Polian was steaming mad, his face as red as a stop sign, his blood pressure simmering like a pot of Sunday stew, his self-restraint left far behind, his emotions exploding like a volcano decades overdue to erupt.
The Nevada football coach was ripping into the referees almost exactly a year ago during a nationally televised home game against No. 22-ranked Arizona. If the Wolf Pack had won that game, it could have been a turning-point moment for his program. Instead, the main story line exiting that 44-20 loss was Polian’s sideline behavior.
The 41-year-old coach was whistled for not one but two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which, if he was a player, would have warranted an automatic ejection.