You figured it was going to be a tough game, Saturday night’s Louisiana Tech at LSU scrap. This was even tough the Bulldogs were three-touchdown underdogs. (Tech lost, 38-21, but covered, by the way.) Whenever the Tech linebackers met in coach Brian Gamble’s office during the week, even if they were in shorts and T-shirts, Gamble had them wear their helmets. Inside. In an office.

Serious bidness.

Once Louisiana Tech fell behind, 24-0 and in Tiger Stadium, the horse was pretty much out of the barn.

That’s not to say Tech didn’t have a chance to win. The Bulldogs definitely did.

They came back with 21 straight points to make it 24-21 early in the fourth quarter, but again, things would have had to have gone perfectly for the Dogs after that. And they didn’t.

On LSU’s second play from scrimmage after Tech’s third touchdown, a review of a 28-yard completion from LSU QB Joe Burrow to Dee Anderson was ruled complete, although the LSU offense, having seen the replay, had relegated itself to an incomplete pass and were hanging around back at the line of scrimmage. And Tiger Stadium’s clock suddenly stopped working.

“S-E-C! S-E-C!”

To their credit, the Tigers completed a 7-play, 71-yard drive to jump back ahead by 10 and then held the Dogs on a fourth-and-1, a quarterback keeper that was stuffed and a play call Tech coach Skip Holtz said he wished he had back. LSU scored on a short field and that was the ballgame.

Tech can only blame itself for the loss. A fumble and an interception after a deflected-off-a-receiver pass attempt led to 14 LSU points in the first half.

But…there were a lot more positives than negatives against the Tigers, now 4-9 and ranked fifth by AP. The Bulldogs got their footing after running just 12 plays in the first quarter and scored to end the half and to start the second after receiving the half’s opening kick. The offensive line and backs protected J’Mar Smith, was wasn’t sacked until the final desperation drive. Smith (27 of 50 for 330 yards and 3 TDs) bought time in the pocket the final three quarters and completed passes to nine different receivers. Adrian Hardy caught 10 balls for 181 yards — both career highs — and two touchdowns. Tech was 9 of 18 on third down and completed several third-and-8-or-more plays. Jaylon Ferguson forced a fumble that Keonatye Garner recovered — LSU’s first turnover of the season — and played well at every position: LSU had a couple of short-field scores due to the turnovers, and on one big play, a young DB missed an assignment.

Lots of Tech fans were there to see it, and they should be encouraged. The Tech Alumni Association had its biggest, most well-attended on-the-road tailgate event ever, and they’ll have another one this weekend in Denton, Texas. (Check LATechAlumni.org)

Undefeated North Texas is on Louisiana Tech’s football horizon. That’ll wrap up Tech’s first third of the season, Tech’s third road game in its first four weekends of feetball.

It’s a biggie. North Texas is the pick to win the West in Conference USA and is 4-0 for the first time since 1966; its closest game was the opener against SMU (46-23) and the Mean Green whupped Arkansas 44-17 two weeks ago in FayetteNam.

It’s the lid-lifter for both North Texas and for 2-1 Tech. Kick’s at 6:30. Lawdy lawd!

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BATON ROUGE — Crazy was on display Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Crazy things happened for LSU, thanks in great part to crazy things happening to Louisiana Tech.

That was the first half. Then things got really crazy. The game clock went out. The play clock went out. And the Tigers’ perfect September was about to go out until a mid fourth-quarter 70-yard drive resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Nick Brossette and a few sighs of relief for No. 6 LSU (4-0).

When it was all done, LSU took a 38-21 win over Louisiana Tech in front of 102, 321 fans at Tiger Stadium. (What was also crazy was the announced attendance.)

It was a game that wasn’t 38-21 worthy from a Tech perspective. The Bulldogs were much better than that score. Of course, Tech was also down 24-0 to start the game, and the Bulldogs may have been much worse than that score.

“It’s a disappointing loss but it was a heck of a football game,” Tech head coach Skip Holtz said. “They (the Tigers) did the things they had to do to win the game It’s hard to spot a team like that two touchdowns off turnovers.”

But you could just see it coming. LSU got to a 24-0 lead based on some rather fortunate happenings. Apparently, the Tigers figured that was enough to mail it in the rest of the way. But in reality, the Tigers were only a little better than Tech during the first half. Crazy plays were going their way and they seemed to ignore the reality that Tech was gaining confidence with each drive.

And when LSU looked it up in the fourth quarter, it discovered there was actually a game still to be played.

With LSU already ahead 7-0, Tech’s Adrian Hardy caught a quick slant for 13 yards and was about to get the Bulldogs out of a field position hole. But the ball got knocked loose just after Hardy established possession and Devin White grabbed it with one hand like it was the last cookie in the jar. Instead of Tech ball with a first down, the Tigers were in the end zone three plays later.

Even crazier was a triple deflected pass in the second quarter that resulted in an interception by Ed Paris. Tech’s Rhashid Bonnette appeared to have a reception, but White knocked it out and into the air. Offensive lineman Ethan Reed — all 295 pounds of him — had this crazy thought that he might snatch the ball out of midair and run 70 yards to the end zone before anybody figured it out.

LSU was opportunistic, to say the least, but the real key to the Tigers continued success is a consistent ability to keep crazy out of their playbook. Even when they did fumble — shocker! (it was the first one of the year) — it came right before halftime and Tech didn’t have enough time to mount a drive. And, of course, the 50-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the half hit the upright and bounced back.

Crazy.

The Bulldogs get on the board in the second quarter on an impressive back-foot throw by J’Mar Smith to Adrian Hardy for a 20-yard score. But the Bulldogs were fortunate that crazy didn’t rear its ugly head on the play before when LSU linebacker Devin White batted a Smith pass into the air. Considering how things had gone to that point, the fact that an LSU player didn’t spear it out of the air seemed almost unusual.

But by that time, LSU had taken control of the line of scrimmage and both sides of the ball. It might not have been overwhelming control, but it was enough.

Until it wasn’t.

The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff of the second half and promptly marched down the field, scoring on fourth down on a 1-yard pass to Bobby Holly to make it 24-14.

Tech became more and more confident as the third quarter wore on to the point that made the Tigers realize they were in a game. When it was 24-0, no one was thinking that LSU players would have to start jumping up and down and waving towels to implore the defense to make a key third down stop, but that’s exactly what was happening in the third quarter.

But Tech kept coming. “I couldn’t be any more proud of the players and coaches in that locker room and they way they competed,” Holtz said. “We came in at halftime and there was never any anger about the way we played in the first quarter.”

“You gotta play the cards that are dealt you,” said Tech’s Smith, who threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns. “We got the momentum back and kept trying to keep the ball moving.”

They kept moving it into the end zone and when Hardy scored on a 42-yard pass in the fourth quarter, it was game on.

“We came in at halftime and talked about what we needed to do to compete at the highest level,” Smith said. “We knew what we needed to do.”

As for an offensive line that didn’t give up a sack to LSU’s highly regarded defense until the final minute, Smith said. “I’m going to have to take those guys out to eat.”

Smith and his receivers had to carry much of the load because the running attack didn’t do much (87 yards). Holtz said later he regretted the decision to try a quarterback sneak on fourth down in the final quarter that led to an LSU clinching touchdown.

“I’m upset with myself on the fourth down call that I made,” he said. “Not that we went for it but that we ran the sneak.”