FanNation - The Republic of Sport

 When the economy's lying dead in a ditch somewhere and everyone's digging into their couch cushions to gather enough spare change for the government's $700 billion bail-out, sometimes sports talk gets shoved to the back burner. But really, when there's a credit crunch and you're defaulting on loans and can't pay your mortgage, it's important to devote a few hours to sitting in front of your Plasma, or the one at the nearest bar, with a beer (or a whole darn 30-pack, depending on how dire your situation), letting the game - any game - bring some semblance of order back to the world.

All will be right with my world when USC beats Oregon State this Thursday night. Yeah, this game threw a wrench in their schedule in '06 but the '08 Trojans are much better than that. They better be.

Moving in the opposite direction are the Tennessee Volunteers, who should be steeling themselves for a loss to Auburn on Saturday. In '06, Tennessee started the season with a win over Cal en route to a 9-4 finish. This year's Vols are much, much worse. One win, over UAB, bookended by a season-opening loss to UCLA, who has since lost to everyone by margins more likely to be seen on basketball scoreboards, and last week's slaughter by the Gators.

In the last ten years, Tennessee's 20-25 against ranked teams. Auburn is #15. They're good, maybe better than #15. And they've won the past three matchups and by Saturday, you can call it four. Go ahead, Vols, prove me wrong.

Another floundering team is South Carolina. Really, Steve Spurrier, all the offensive positions are up for grabs? Ok fine, put me in at tailback. In all seriousness, this is a good week for the Gamecocks to shake things up, switch things around, and try to smooth things out. They should be able to handle UAB. Even Tennessee could beat them.

Less of a sure thing is Alabama-Georgia. I'm still on the fence about this one. Who do yall think's going to win?

Here's the rundown:

•  Alabama leads the series 35-25-4. Great, but not really relevant to this Saturday night.
•  Georgia's ranked third in the country, coming off a prime-time win at Arizona State.
• They have momentum going in; the last three times they've met, Georgia's come out on top (27-25 in '02, 37-23 in '03, and 26-23 last year). Last year, though, the game was a tough one that went into overtime, and I'd argue that both teams have made huge improvements since then. Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno have emerged as stars at the national level, but the Crimson Tide has looked sharp rolling over its opposition thus far.
• Alabama has a winning record (11-7) in games played in Athens, which is where they'll square off on Saturday, but....Georgia's bringing the blackout.

So, go Dawgs? Or will the Tide keep rolling through its SEC schedule?

And now, I leave you with the top six football quotes from last weekend...

1. "Virginia Tech hasn't looked as scary as their uniforms last week."  - Chris Fowler
2. "They say quarterbacks have eyes in the back of their heads. Sometimes, they need to blink."  - after a touchdown pass in the Georgia Tech game
3. "This is a manhood issue now, because you are a yard away from doing what needs to be done." - same commentator as Mississippi State desperately tried (but failed) to score a TD
4. "Those linebackers are swinging it around out there like a loaf of bread."  - ESPN's Andre Ware about the ECU player who made an interception then promptly let UNC steal it back
5. "If that was a read, he was dyslexic."  - about one of the QBs (forget which but probably a 1^st quarter Jarrett Lee) during LSU-Auburn

And the winner is.....Holly Rowe, reporting on a post-concussion Andrew Hatch:

"Guys, I know he's not drunk, because he's a Mormon and doesn't drink, but you'd think he's tipsy the way he's wandering around down here."

(Bonus point for whomever on SportsCenter saw a clip of Hatch nearly cross-eyed and shaking his head and said, "He thinks he's still at Harvard.")