Had you been tuned to any of a number of TV sports channels Saturday night in very short, scary order you would have seen two college quarterbacks from the West Coast with promising careers lying motionless on their fields.

Two chilling examples of the dangers of apparently allowable helmet-to-helmet contact.

Two compelling reasons why colleges should follow the NFL's lead into tougher penalties for such collisions.

Here we know well the story of the University of Hawai'i's Colt Brennan, who suffered what was announced as a "mild" concussion after being leveled by Fresno State linebacker Marcus Riley and forced to leave in the fourth quarter of the 37-30 win over the Bulldogs.

Some 2,600 miles distant in geography, but spookily similar in result, was Washington quarterback Jake Locker, who had to leave Oregon State's Reser Stadium on a stretcher with a strained neck after being dropped by the Beavers' Al Afalava, a Kahuku High graduate, in a 29-23 OSU win.

While it remains to be seen if either Brennan or Locker, whose teams meet in the Dec. 1 regular-season finale at Aloha Stadium, will even play this week, we know they have both been fortunate to escape more serious injuries.

That their injuries came the same week the NFL notified its teams that a stronger hand would be taken in dealing with players who deliver flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits should be powerful food for thought for the NCAA, too. Sooner rather than later.

Both have had rules on the books for years to deal with flagrant hits. But rarely are they enforced to the full letter or been adapted to preventative spirit. Only now, after the NFL has begun making a push to be more aware of the toll of concussions, has the weight of the commissioner's office landed behind pocketbook-zinging punishment.

Obviously that's not going to work in college, but the meting out of ejections — as provided by the rules — when flagrant hits occur would be a step in the right direction. Beef up the rules and their enforcement and both coaches and players will be encouraged to toe a tighter, safer line.

It should be pointed out Riley and Afalava were both judged to be playing within the existing rules. A Western Athletic Conference review yesterday reaffirmed Riley's hit and the Pac-10 may do the same today.

Which is precisely why colleges should revisit these rules and their enforcement to limit the circumstances before apparently permissible helmet-to-helmet hits claim a larger, more tragic toll.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.