It must have been a darned good game ...

     Some quick thoughts on college football ...
     • First, Louisiana Tech at LSU ...
     Confession: I did not watch the game. Too many mixed emotions. As I have said often (and written twice in recent weeks), love both schools, never want either one to lose.
     So I just let them play, and saved myself the agony of watching and not having my heart racing.

LSU could not pile up the score on Louisiana Tech
(Getty Images photo)

     Checked on the score twice -- once right before halftime (LSU, 24-7) and once when I knew the game was done (LSU, 38-21 ... and, obviously, it was much closer than that).     Do not think LSU is the fifth- or sixth-best team in the country right now, not based on its inconsistent play in each of its four games (victories) this season -- play well for one or two quarters, mediocre in one or two quarters.
     The Tigers got some great breaks -- bounces of the ball, missed officiating calls -- against Tech. This I know from reading about the game, talking to a good source about it, and watching highlights on YouTube and the LSU web site.
     Figured the Bulldogs would give them a fight. Tech's program is solid, its teams are fun to watch, and LSU -- more often than not -- plays to the level of its opponent. 
     Yes, the Tigers more than did that in two impressive victories against Miami and Auburn, and although the final score against Southeastern Louisiana was 31-0, it was an extremely tepid second-half showing by LSU.
     Still can't see better than an 8-4 or 9-3 record for LSU -- not on same level with Alabama and Georgia certainly, and a tough SEC West road ahead. 
     Tigers have too many offensive-line issues, and secondary is shaky, especially if the defensive front seven can't get more pressure on the passer than it did against Tech.
     Tech should compete well in Conference USA, but next Saturday's test at North Texas will tell a lot. UNT might be the conference's best team this season.
      Finally, glad Tech made a good showing at LSU. Did not want (or expect) a blowout loss, and that $1.3 million payday softens the effects of a loss. 
      (Oh, and it will be Tech at LSU in men's basketball in a couple of months. That will not be as heart-rendering for me.)
      • Texas much deserved the victory against TCU. But to declare the Longhorns' program "back" among the elite is premature. Let's see (1) how UT does against Oklahoma a few weeks from now and (2) how it fares when it comes to Fort Worth to face TCU next year.
     • I rarely pay attention to the poll rankings, don't even look at preseason predictions and do not think they are important until the sixth or seventh week of the season. And, remember, it is just a bunch of sports media and/or coaches doing the rankings. Everyone has an opinion, and you know what the saying is about opinions.
     That said, this Alabama team is so much better than anyone else in the country, it deserves a battlefield promotion ... to the NFL. 
     • What makes college football so great is the big underdog -- especially, the mid-majors --  beating the "majors." So, giant-killer Troy beating LSU last year and Nebraska this season, Old Dominion knocking off Virginia Tech yesterday, North Texas routing Arkansas, Fresno State routing UCLA,  and this "almost" shocker yesterday -- Army taking Oklahoma to overtime. 
     Maybe in the 1940s, Army beating OU would have been routine. In the 1950s, it would have been a great matchup. Since then, those programs have not been in the same hemisphere. 
     So, again, great for college football. Not so great if you are on the losing end (hello LSU, Arkansas, Nebraska, UCLA).     
     • We have railed often about how overbearing college football head coaches can be, how they are given god-like treatment. Two items -- and two of my favorite targets in this regard, Nick Saban and Gary Patterson -- caught my attention today.
      Saban, closing his media session yesterday after his team's romp past Texas A&M, said "... I would appreciate it if you would sort of look at some of the things we didn't do so well ..."
      That is part of his "rat poison" theme, which he loves to use to keep his players grounded and motivated. Yes, the rest of the country feels so badly for those less-than-perfect Alabama players. 
      Let's see ...  53 points per game, average winning margin 41 points per game. So many things wrong.
      Ridiculous, preacher Saban.
      TCU down 15 points, 2:44 remaining, 4th-and-4 at its 38 ... Patterson had his team punt the football away to Texas.
       Punt? Needing two scores? What were the Frogs' chances after they punted?
     Asked about his "strategy" afterward, Patterson said he had two timeouts remaining and he was hoping for his defense to stop Texas, get the ball back and score quickly, then recover an onside kick.
      "... I don't play to lose," he said. "I don't play to get through it, but I had two [timeouts]. ... I know how to manage games. It wasn't that play that got us beat. I can promise you that. And you had a backup quarterback in the game."
     Excuse me, but that is BS. He waved a white flag, that's all. 
      Yes, he can manage games (162-59 record in 18-plus seasons) and I often have said that Patterson and his staff do as good a job as any school in the country. 
      But, sorry, this was a mistake. Heaven forbid a coach making $4.75 million -- base salary -- a year admit a mistake. Coach P (for paranoia) will not do that.
       • The other side: Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz, about a 4th-and-1 play -- a quarterback sneak -- that did not work late in the game at LSU (the Tigers piled it up and stopped it short).
     "I'm upset with myself on the fourth-down call I made," Holtz said. "Not the decision to go for it, but the call. I should have called a timeout. It was a dumb call. I want to put our players in a position to succeed, and I don't think I gave our guys the best to do that [on that play."
    A dumb call. Got that, Gary Patterson?