Everybody has been in this situation in college.Let’s say it’s Sunday, and you have an easy sociology exam Friday. You don’t feel like studying for it, especially after you poured your life into studying for your accounting exam the week before.So you kind of slack off and don’t focus on studying for the sociology exam. You go through the motions during the week and study a little bit. But you never really focus on studying like normal.You go to class Friday to take your exam. You scan through the questions once the professor says you can start. But you get this sinking feeling in your stomach as you flip through the pages.You think, “Oh crap. This is gonna be harder than I thought.”This is what happened Saturday night in Tiger Stadium when LSU hosted Troy — the Tigers’ own version of an easy exam.Players and coaches are humans. Letdowns happen just like in the classroom. But the Tigers did what you probably do when the unexpected punches in you in the mouth.You calm down and stick to your guns. You decide you’re too good for this happen. You don’t need to “ace” this exam. You just need to pass it. And in LSU’s case, the Tigers realized they didn’t need a blowout. They just needed a win to keep the earth from bursting open Sunday morning.The most important part is you learn from it. You find out you can’t take things for granted. Nothing is guaranteed whether it’s an A on your exam or a W in the win column.I remember a professor once told me a story about her calculus final in college. She thought she could skate through the exam — calculus was her best subject. Instead it blew her away. She weathered the storm and finished with a B in the class. It wasn’t the grade she wanted, but it worked out.Read in between the lines of LSU coach Les Miles’ postgame comments, and you get the picture.”That certainly was not the recipe for victory we prescribed, but victory is sweet,” Miles said, “and I promise you our football team is enjoying it at this moment.”—-Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]