Quote of the Week

Virginia senior Marquis Weeks, on his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against North Carolina: "That was just instinct. Kind of like running from the cops."

SEC preview: week 4

Auburn's drivin' the bus right now. Everyone better stay in their seats...! But we're just getting started. And the Auburn fans, in spite of comments like "great team win" after beating LSU, still are dogged by "(QB Jason) Campbell is still the weak link..." ideas -- any truth to the rumor there's racism in the state of Alabama?

I don't have the "shocker" of the week yet. I can pick these on occasion, but it doesn't work if I try too hard, or being especially superstitious since I've never tried it -- if I wager any money.

But I'd love to see Troy upset South Carolina. That would be cool.

Ole Miss might very well lose to Wyoming -- no big surprise. Other than that, the favorites/home teams should all fare well this week.

Elsewhere in Division I-A, now that we accurately predicted LSU's fall, Top 10 teams living on borrowed time:

Georgia (Oct. 2 vs. LSU, Oct. 9 vs. Tennessee)
W. Virginia (Oct. 2 vs. Virginia Tech)
Ohio State (can't say when yet, but it's coming)
California (Oct. 9 vs. USC)

Show Me the Mon -- oh SHUT UP!

In the wake of Hurricane Ivan's devastation in south Alabama and northwest Florida, Auburn & Alabama both went on with their games.

I understand not disrupting the schedule unless absolutely necessary: coaches already have game plans in; they'd rather not add a game to their stretch run; and so on. Auburn's athletic office actually tried to downplay their decision by saying "oh, the Governor's emergency office said it was okay..." The Montgomery Advertiser reported the Gov's office as saying that nobody from Auburn called. Hmmmmm.

The money was the story; no need to sugarcoat it. We're talking big bidness y'all. Too much to be gained from playing to let a little catastrophe interrupt things.

Troy Trojans Lose; Apocalypse Postponed

Troy lost to N. Mexico State in what was apparently a closer game than some expected. Fear that the end was nigh struck some observers after Troy's defeat of first Marshall, then ranked Missouri. But this week, no heavenly trumpets sounded, no fifth horsemen rode, or anything.

But the South Carolina game should still be a good one to watch. Expect it to be the story of the week, should Troy win.

Thanks to lazarus, Kevin, and tgirsch for inviting me along. I'm Jeff. I won't hesitate to go out on a limb with an opinion, but we'll keep it to just sports here.