Colorado SOS vs. West Virginia SOS

A friendly football wager to benefit food banks

DENVER, Dec. 11, 2017 -- A food bank in Colorado and one in West Virginia are about to get a $50 donation each, thanks to a wager between their secretaries of state over a football bowl game.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams is backing the Colorado State University Rams while West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner supports Marshall University’s Thundering Herd. The two teams are competing in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque on Saturday. Both teams have identical 7-5 records.

Williams ribbed Warner over the wager in a friendly call.

“We are not Marshall,” Williams said, referring the movie, "We Are Marshall." "I am confident in the athletes at Colorado State to represent us well. Go Rams!"

"Well, in West Virginia, We ARE Marshall and we're proud of it," Warner said, adding the entire state is behind the Herd.

The food-bank donations in both states will be made in the name of the winning school. The game will air on ESPN at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16.

Williams' SOS record is undefeated when it comes to football wagers.

Last year he and North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (no relation to Marshall University) bet on the Super Bowl game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. Each office collected food to be donated to their respective food banks, with the donations being made in the name of the winning team, which turned out to be the Broncos, 24-10.

The two food banks collectively received more than 1,100 pounds of all kinds of food, from peanut butter to tuna to mac-and-cheese (no relation to Warner).

In addition, Williams waged a bet with Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert a year ago when their two alma maters played in the 2016 Poinsetta Bowl. The Brigham Young University Cougars defeated the Wyoming Cowboys 24-21. To Williams' delight, Staiert wore a BYU shirt at work for a full day.