It would be creepy if it helped Oregon, denied a legitimate BCS title shot in 2007 after a knee injury to quarterback Dennis Dixon.
Alabama Coach Nick Saban raised motivation to the next level when he compared his team's resolve against LSU to the raid in Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden.
Saban last week showed his team a video about the SEAL Team 6 assault on Bin Laden's compound.
He figured it might come in handy if his team ever found itself down, 17-14, in the last minute at LSU's "Death Valley."
Saban's message was that things don't always go as planned, and preparation is the key to avoiding disaster.
In Pakistan, a helicopter crash almost derailed the mission to get Bin Laden.
In Baton Rouge, it was a freshman tailback fumbling deep in enemy territory.
"They had trained to be adaptable," Saban said of SEAL Team 6. "I think there was a lot of that out there today for us."
Thank goodness Saban had the decency not to say "both teams got out alive."
It is acceptable to suggest Alabama "survived" at LSU and understandable Saban is so focused right now he probably doesn't know the price of gasoline.
Football isn't war, but it can seem that way when you are so embedded in a cause and your sport has verbiage that emphasizes counterattacks and territory seizing.
It's only the BCS, of course, but also the time of year when our football gets dangerously serious.
Weekend wrap
—Update on a story only we are tracking: the highest point totals scored on LSU's defense this year: Towson (22), Alabama and South Carolina (21) and Texas A&M (19).
—Still flawless: Louisiana Tech quarterback Colby Cameron had three more touchdown passes in Saturday's 51-27 win over Texas San Antonio and now has 24 for the season with no interceptions. More remarkable is that the senior from Newbury Park has attempted more passes, 358, than anyone in the top 15 of this week's NCAA efficiency ratings. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron has 19 touchdowns with no interceptions but on only 204 attempts.
—Boise State's late-night loss to San Diego State officially eliminates the Broncos from BCS consideration. The only "non-AQ" with a remote chance now appears to be one-loss Louisiana Tech, although congratulations to Toledo for checking in this week at No. 25.
—Alabama is still No.1 in the polls but lost its top ranking in total defense after giving up 435 yards to LSU. Florida State is the new No.1 with its average of 227.1 yards yielded per game. Alabama is second at 228.89. Alabama still leads in scoring defense with its average of 9.11 allowed. Notre Dame is second at 11.67.
chris.dufresne@latimes.com
