TEXAS LOSES, LSU WINS

From the AP via ESPN:

UCLA forces four first-half turnovers to knock off Texas

Thirteen years after "Rout 66," UCLA produced another stunner: The Bruins walloped Texas again.

Johnathan Franklin rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown, Kevin Prince ran for a score and passed another and UCLA beat the seventh-ranked Longhorns 34-12 on Saturday.

Back in 1997, the Bruins crushed Texas 66-3 in the same stadium and their first trip back to Austin since had Texas fans baffled and booing again -- at least until they left early. The Bruins forced four first-half turnovers and chewed up the nation's No. 2 rushing defense with 264 yards on the ground.

"It was a rear-end kicking," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "This one's embarrassing for me. As a head coach, I'm responsible for everybody in this program, from the trainers to the managers to the walk-ons, to the kids to the coaches -- everybody."

More here.

And again from the AP via ESPN:

LSU holds off WVU as Patrick Peterson scores on punt return, blocks field goal

The return, Peterson's second of the year for a score, wound up being a crucial play in LSU's hard fought 20-14 victory over a Mountaineers squad that would not quit on Saturday night.

And

Against West Virginia, the Tigers (4-0) again had to rely heavily on defense and special teams to remain unbeaten. Jordan Jefferson had a third straight game throwing for fewer than 100 yards and no touchdowns. He was also intercepted twice and was pulled for a series in the fourth quarter.

LSU coach Les Miles tried to look on the bright side of LSU's win but did not dismiss his club's lingering inability to move the ball through the air.

"I was just in locker room with an undefeated, 4-0 football team. A lot of teams would like to be in that position," Miles said. "Our team is playing great on defense, very good on special teams. ... Our quarterback play has got to get better, it's just that simple. Our guys know it."

More here.

Tough weekend. The Texans, looking to go to 3-0 for the first time in franchise history, lost to the Cowboys. The hated Cowboys. The Saints lost. And my favorite football team in the universe, the Texas Longhorns, got the shit kicked out of them in Austin by an unranked UCLA team. Inexplicably, my other school, LSU, won, although I don't expect that to continue for too long. Silver lining, I guess.

Indeed, Texas looked a lot like LSU in its loss to the Bruins. I mean, except for the defense, which looked pretty bad, too; apparently, LSU is all about defense these days, depending on them to score points, even, because the Tigers continue to have virtually no offense--wouldn't it be nice to beat Alabama without any offense? I can dream, can't I?

At the beginning of the season, I declared Texas to be in a rebuilding year, noting that they will very probably lose a few times this season. I just didn't expect it to be against an unranked non-conference opponent. And I didn't expect them to topple so intensely in the AP rankings. Defeat is a bitter swill to swallow in the first place: did the sportswriters really have to drop Texas to 21? Oh well. No place to go but up, I suppose. At least the national championship wasn't on the line.

And who knows? LSU stumbled their way to a national championship only a few years ago, with a couple of losses on their schedule, to boot. Maybe this is their year again. I mean, probably not because Jared Lee and Jordan Jefferson appear to be ineffective as signal-callers, but like I said, I can dream, can't I?

Man, the UT-OU Shootout is next weekend. I do hope the 'Horns get it together by then.

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