Keep your chins up

The easy thing for coaches at Louisiana Tech, Grambling and Northwestern State to do is to hang their heads after the way their 2006 seasons have gone to date. According to attendees at Thursday's luncheon, NSU coach Scott Stoker was less than upbeat while talking about the Demons' upcoming contest.

Tech's Bicknell has endured a several days of ugly e-mails after last week's 24-14 loss to Idaho, and was even approached on the field by irate fans following the loss. But the coach hasn't let him get it down.

"I guess I'm more positive than other people, but I can't let myself get down," Bicknell said. "The players and the other coaches look at me to see how I'm reacting. I always put the previous game behind me on Sunday. Right now, I'm fired up and getting prepared to play Utah State this week. This is a competitive situation, so you go play the next one."

The tough thing for some fans to remember is that football is only a game. The coaches and players don't won't to get their butts kicked any more than the fans want their team to lose.

Note to coaches: If your kids are healthy, if your wife is still speaking to you, if your house hasn't burned down -- forget about the loss and move on. At least you aren't the head coach at the University of Miami this week.