COLLEGE FOOTBALL : It Can’t Be Much Better for Neuheisel : Nonconference: He becomes the first Colorado coach to win his debut, thumping Wisconsin, 43-7.

On, Wisconsin? Saturday night at a sold out Camp Randall Stadium, Colorado was on Wisconsin like blond on new Buffalo Coach Rick Neuheisel’s soaked head.

Neuheisel, the former UCLA walk-on quarterback and Bruin assistant who took his boy genius tag to Colorado, got a water bucket shower moments after the 14th-ranked Buffaloes defeated No. 21-ranked Wisconsin, 43-7, in front of 79,015 subdued cheeseheads.

It was Neuheisel’s first victory and, as Wisconsin will glumly attest, it won’t be his last.

As debuts go, this one was suitable for framing. Or if you’re Nancy Neuheisel, who scorched the Southern California radio talk show phone lines when her brother was bypassed for the UCLA offensive coordinator job, it was suitable for videotaping and delivery to the Bruins’ Terry Donahue.

Happy viewing.

Neuheisel did his best to downplay the event. He began his postgame news conference with a little speech about Colorado’s eight seniors and then added, “I just want to say this was for the kids. This was not for Rick Neuheisel.”

You could have fooled the Buffaloes (1-0), who gave him a shoulder ride to midfield. And how many times has there been a postgame photo session like the one outside the Colorado locker room? Neuheisel could have made a bundle had he charged for the snapshots taken by family and friends.

“He said it was our victory,” said wide receiver Rae Carruth, who caught four passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. “But I think it took a big burden off his chest. I think Colorado knows it made the right choice. We know we have the right coach.”

Colorado wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t have to be. All it needed was quarterback Koy Detmer, his speed-of-sound wide receivers and a Wisconsin depth chart. Neuheisel took it from there.

Neuheisel, only 34, might be the second-youngest coach in Division I football, but he knows a weak spot when he sees it. Poor Wisconsin had four of them: three sophomores and one redshirt freshman in the Badger defensive secondary. Previous combined starts: two.

By the time Neuheisel was through picking on them, the Buffaloes had turned a 3-0 first-quarter lead into a 26-7 halftime lead, followed by a 36-7 third-quarter advantage, followed by the departure of thousands of Wisconsin fans into the night.

Detmer, whose brother Ty won the Heisman Trophy in 1990 and now plays for the Green Bay Packers, completed 17 of 24 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Colorado gained 507 total yards.

“They played us really tough at the beginning,” said Detmer, trying to find something nice to say about Wisconsin (0-1).

The difference was Colorado’s speed at wide receiver and Wisconsin’s inexperience in the secondary. There were times when Detmer had time to look left, look right, adjust his wristband, call Ty in Green Bay and then throw the ball to a wide open Buffalo.

“I think they knew about our speed,” Carruth said. “They started 12 yards off us at the beginning and then started backing up another eight.”

Said Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez: “We just deteriorated as the game went on.”

Neuheisel has a history of sticking it to his birthplace. Madison is where he made his first road game appearance for UCLA, where he threw his first touchdown, where he got his first road victory as a player and, now, where he made Colorado Athletic Director Bill Marolt look like a genius.

Marolt had his pick of the country when it came time to replace Bill McCartney, who stunned the Buffaloes with his resignation 10 minutes after a victory over against Iowa State in November. Marolt chose Neuheisel, who had one year’s experience at Colorado . . . and not a minute’s worth of coordinator experience.

Criticized by everyone from alumni to Jesse Jackson, Neuheisel spent an offseason trying to convince America he was more than a good quote. Yes, well, Saturday night’s victory will help. Not only did he get it, but he made history, becoming the first Colorado coach since 1932 to begin his tenure with a victory.

Neuheisel began his day with a morning jog. That’s when it hit him.

“It struck me how some people might be more happy if I failed,” he said.

To be on the safe side, Neuheisel wore his 1994 Rose Bowl watch, the one he received as a member of the UCLA staff. That was the year Wisconsin beat the Bruins.

“I wanted to remind myself,” he said.

And just to prove he doesn’t hold a grudge, Neuheisel asked about UCLA’s game against Miami. He could afford to be nice.

“How did UCLA do?” he said. “They were winning? Good.”