FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK
TEXAS CONTINUES TO HEMORRHAGE; LSU GOES TO 9-1

From the AP via ESPN:

Kansas State cruises past struggling Texas

Collin Klein and Daniel Thomas ran for two touchdowns apiece and Kansas State intercepted Garrett Gilbert five times en route to a 39-14 victory Saturday night over struggling, mistake-prone Texas.

And

The Longhorns, who played Alabama last season for the national championship, lost for the fifth time in six games and fell below .500 for the first time since losing their 1999 opener. They will have to win their last three games -- home against No. 19 Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic and Texas A&M -- just to match Brown's lowest victory total since going 7-5 at North Carolina in 1995. Also in jeopardy is Brown's string of taking 18 consecutive teams to a bowl.

More here.

Again from the AP via ESPN:

Coach Les Miles' key fourth down call helps LSU pull upset

What Miles saw next was even sweeter for him than anything coming out of the sprawling sugar cane fields only a few miles away. DeAngelo Peterson went 23 yards with a reverse on fourth-and-1 to set up Stevan Ridley's go-ahead 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter, and LSU (No. 10 BCS, No. 12 AP) held on for a 24-21 upset of the Crimson Tide (No. 6 BCS, No. 5 AP) on Saturday.

The victory added to Miles' growing resume of audacious fourth-down conversions -- the most recent a fake field goal to set up a winning TD at Florida. Miles, who fans call the Mad Hatter, argued his play-calling isn't always as risky as it seems.

"We practice these things. It's not a grab bag," said Miles, who called a timeout before running the play. "This play looked to be there and it was prepared extremely well by our team and it would have been a mistake not to call it."

More here.

As for Texas, I continue to be so bummed that commentary, as meaningless as it may usually be, is not something in which I feel compelled to engage. Suffice it to say, I'm worried about the Aggies. Very worried. Especially since they've now done something this season that the Longhorns couldn't do, beat Oklahoma. Losing to the Aggies is as low as Texas can go. I'm kind of afraid to watch.

As for LSU, well, it now appears that they've gotten their shit together. It's quite obvious that Les Miles has an unconventional understanding of the game, shambling through the season as it were, but you can't argue with 9-1. You can't argue with beating 'Bama. Okay, you can argue with losing to Auburn, but those other Tigers are currently ranked number two in the land, right behind Oregon, so I'm willing to let that one pass, even if every Cajun accented bumpkin radio-idiot in the state of Louisiana won't.

Here's hoping that the Crimson Tide avenges itself against its in-state rival; here's hoping that the Georgia Bulldogs feast on some Tiger meat: if Auburn loses their last two games, which isn't at all outside the realm of possibility, especially in the scrappy SEC, LSU goes to its conference title game.

And then maybe to the national championship.

Look, it's not my fault that the two universities from which I have received degrees are perennial challengers for college football's national championship. Sure, if you don't realize that I really do have real relationships with both schools, it looks as though I'm one of those asshole fair weather guys. But I really do love both Texas and LSU. Okay, I love Texas more, but I just dare you to go to LSU for a few years and not be a Tiger fan. It's impossible.

And Les Miles' screw-up underdog persona makes it all the more fun.

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