Linemen are supposed to be spitting venom and vitriol when they reach the line of scrimmage in a rivalry game and stare into the eyes of the opponent.

Colorado defensive tackle George Hypolite is probably more likely to crack a joke, especially when one of the guys looking back at him is his best friend.

Most CU fans have no idea their starting defensive tackle is a huge Colorado State fan. Well, that's not entirely true. Hypolite roots for one Ram in particular, except for one day each year.

When Hypolite and the Buffs rumble onto Invesco Field in just over a week, the senior will search the opposite sideline for No. 57 in green and gold. Colorado State center Tim Walter and Hypolite have been the best of friends for eight years.

"It's just a really close, tight-knit thing," Hypolite said. "He's a great guy. I love the big guy."

They met, appropriately enough, competing against each other. Their Los Angeles-area middle schools squared off in eighth-grade basketball playoffs.

It's a day Walter still revels in for several reasons.

Back then, Hypolite was a ripped, talented two-sport athlete at 185 pounds. He now weighs close to 300 pounds, a fact which Walter enjoys pointing out.

Walter also had the last laugh that day on the scoreboard, even though he wasinitially in awe of Hypolite and his team.

"We still talk about it to this day because up to that point we hadn't played anybody who could dunk the ball," Walter said Friday while soaking in a tub of ice after CSU concluded practice. "In the warm-ups, there was like two or three guys that could dunk from their team. This is eighth grade, so we're just like staring at them and not even warming up, like, 'Oh my gosh, what are we getting ourselves into?'

"He had a break away and missed the dunk that would have given them two points to go up on us. We ended up scoring and winning."

Walter and Hypolite attended the Loyola High School where they played football together. It was a common ground that brought them together and eventually led to them doing almost everything together.

It was pure coincidence that Colorado offered Hypolite a scholarship in 2004 and Colorado State did the same for Walter. They both arrived for their freshman seasons in 2005. Hypolite played immediately in Boulder, while Walter redshirted in Fort Collins.

They didn't play against each other in 2006 because Walter was injured, but they mixed it up a little in the Buffs win last season. Their positions actually lead to Walter facing CU nose guard Brandon Nicolas more than he has to block Hypolite.

So how much talking did Loquacious George do?

"George talks a little bit," Walter said. "I don't try to talk as much. I just try to play my game. He didn't really talk to me too much last year. I think there is just a mutual respect where we're just going to play and see who is the better person."

Hypolite smiles, as he often does, when talk turns to talking trash.

"Tim would say there is (talk)," Hypolite said. "I think I would say it's nothing out of the ordinary. For me, it's just another day at the office."

That might be the case when it comes to the verbal exchanges, but even Hypolite admits there is something out of the ordinary about battling against a guy who has been to your house for dinner and carried on conversations with your grandmother.

"It's kind of awkward," Hypolite said. "In your heart, you're rooting for him to do well, but at the same time, you're rooting for your teammates to do well 'cause I've got a lot of great friends here, too.

"At the end of the day when I strap it on, I wear black and gold and he wears green and gold and that's kind of all it comes down to."

They had a ritual in high school back in Los Angeles. Each week before the game, they ate together at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles. Hypolite said he was hoping to find a way to have some flown in next week so the pair could relive old times.

Walter said he's looking forward to seeing his buddy across the ball one more time.

"It means a lot to me because we've gone through so much growing up, always hanging out and always doing stuff together," Walter said. "Now we have to kind of be enemies. The way I look at it is, he may be CU and an enemy on the field, but off the field, he's one of my better friends."