SOUTHEASTERN FAN ZONE

Southeastern Lions News, Stats and Pictures

With their season openers right around the corner, the Southeastern Lion
and Lady Lion's basketball teams got the season off to an early start. The
Lions and their fans came together in Southeastern's University Center to
kickoff the new season with not only a new season full of opportunities, but
also with a totally new attitude and atmosphere.

Tony Gutierrez / The Associated PressLSU saw a golden opportunity slip through its grasp Saturday against Alabama.

The Louisiana State University Tigers went toe-to-toe with the best team in the nation and nearly came out on top, eventually losing 27-21 to the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday evening in a game that figures to be long-remembered for all in attendance.

Of course it may have been high on the memory scale, but it definitely wasn't high on the satisfaction scale.

LSU's dramatic blocked field goal at the end of regulation was almost instantly deflated by yet another interception of Jarrett Lee (who threw four on the day) and subsequent touchdown drive by the Tide to wrap the win up.

AP Photo / San Antonio Express-News, Tom ReelMichael Crabtree scored the game-winning touchdown for upset-minded Texas Tech.

With all apologies to the LSU Tigers and the Tulane Green Wave, their game today was not exactly at the center of the college football universe this weekend.

More noteworthy, for instance, was Florida's 49-10 destruction of Georgia. Or Notre Dame's four-overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Or even a pair of dramatic finishes in the Big Ten.

But the biggest story of all had to be undefeated Texas Tech's incredible 39-33 comeback victory over No. 1 Texas.

AP Photo / Charles Rex ArbogastPenn State did just enough to get past the Buckeyes.

You know you're a college football addict when you're at a Nine Inch Nails concert and you're compulsively texting your friends to find out the Ohio State - Penn State score.

Not that I have a problem with this, mind you. If I did, I would be getting help right now.

Instead, I'm obsessing over how LSU managed to give up another 50 points and whether Alabama, Texas or Penn State deserves the No. 1 ranking (for the record, I'm not planning on jumping off my horse, Alabama, any time soon).

Southeastern Louisiana University announced that head football coach Mike Lucas is set to undergo a heart operation and will miss the rest of the football season.

Lucas was forced to leave the team last week, but has remained stable under physicians' care.

More from the official release after the jump.

AP Photo / Charlie RiedelTexas Tech is charging up the charts thanks to its offense AND defense.

Following last weekend's lackluster selection of games that resulted in very little movement in the polls this week, we should all be in for a heck of an improvement this weekend, as no fewer than six ranked teams face off (and plenty of others don't exactly have byes either).

At the top of the must-watch list are the Texas-Oklahoma and LSU-Florida games, but don't sleep on Missouri-Oklahoma State, Penn State-Wisconsin, Georgia-Tennessee, Michigan State-Northwestern or North Carolina-Notre Dame. We could be in for a wild weekend.

As for the rankings, I finally gave Texas Tech a little credit this week, decided to hold off on a top-10 reward for Vandy and even went so far as to include "The Mustache" following an upset of USF.

For the complete rankings, read on.

AP Photo / Mark HumphreyVanderbilt pulled off the most intriguing win of the day against Auburn.

In a sport increasingly defined by its madness (one never knows who is going to win ... or get upset ... on a weekly basis), it's almost a breath of fresh air when things go to plan on occasion.

Almost.

Oh sure, the network executives have to be overjoyed that the Texas Longhorns (38-14 winners over Colorado) and Oklahoma Sooners (49-17 victors over Baylor) did NOT get upset this weekend, thereby preserving a battle of undefeateds in next weekend's Red River Shootout. And fans of USC and Ohio State have to be feeling tons better about themselves ... both squads took giant steps forward in putting themselves back in championship contention with wins over Oregon and Wisconsin, respectively.

Just don't expect me to embrace it fully.

AP Photo / Oxford Eagle, Bruce NewmanShay Hodge breaks loose for Mississippi ... much to the Gators' dismay.

It's that wonderful time of year, when the leaves start to turn, New Orleans becomes slightly less sweltering, and college football upsets begin to dominate the landscape.

And make no mistake, that last part is now an annual occurrence.

Southern Cal started the weekend off in style, losing in a lackluster effort against Oregon State 27-21. That the No. 1 team lost to an unranked team shouldn't be a surprise (at least not anymore). That the Trojans, who looked so dominant the game before against Ohio State, instead looked so completely inept against the Beavers ... THAT was the surprise.