The black sky emptied as about 50,000 rain-soaked University of Colorado football fans exhaled in improbable joy at Folsom Field. This was after the Hail Mary pass caught as time expired, after the game-clinching fumble that squirted out of the end zone in overtime.

As the 54-year-old Pry put it, "They live in that world." College football has joined the tech world, introducing both helmet communication and sideline tablets as part of its rule changes this season.