The Gamecock Fan's Rooting Guide: Week 4

I give you the second installment of the Gamecock Fan's Rooting Guide, whose manifesto you can find here.

Florida Gators @ Kentucky Wildcats (7:00 PM EDT, ESPN)

With only two sure losses on Florida's schedule (LSU and Alabama), the Gamecocks will take any Gator stumble they can get, but since a minimum requirement for winning a football game is to score a number of points greater than zero and since points are most often scored by offenses, - offenses capable of moving the ball in directions other than backwards - asking you to root for the Wildcats is to invite the existence of a logical paradox that could bring about the spontaneous combustion of the Southeastern Conference.

Who to root for: Florida

Georgia Bulldogs @ Ole Miss Rebels (12:30 PM EDT, SEC Network, ESPN3)

Houston Nutt is a sure bet to be fired regardless of the outcome of this game, but a loss to a Black Bear squad that just got blown out by Vanderbilt would undoubtedly signal the end of the Mark Richt era, which is really the only thing that makes this game remotely interesting. If Richt gets canned, I have no doubt that AD Greg McGarity would make an absolute monster hire to replace him. The Gamecocks have nothing to gain from a regime change in Athens, as the perpetual uncertainty about Richt's job has loosened UGA's stranglehold on Peach State recruits.

Who to root for: Georgia to win decisively

LSU Tigers @ West Virginia Mountaineers (8:00 PM EDT, ABC)

This game certainly has an added element of intrigue now that West Virginia's application to the SEC has been rejected, and the Mountaineers may very well come out playing with the furious passion of a jilted lover. Hopefully Dana Holgorsen's squad has spent this week trying preparing for the fearsome LSU defense, not hacking into Mike Slive's Facebook account to read the private messages he's been sending to Missouri. Normally, I root for maximum chaos when it comes to conference foes that we might play later in the season. But less than a week after the SEC turned down West Virginia's awkward come-on, our conference can ill afford to run into the Moutaineers at the mall without its makeup on.

Who to root for: LSU

Arkansas Razorbacks @ Alabama Crimson Tide (3:30 PM EDT, CBS)

This one's tough. I'd like Arkansas to be weak when the Gamecocks march into Fayetteville later this year, but I still harbor a lot of resentment over thee fact that a 6-6 Alabama got picked over 6-6 South Carolina for a bowl birth in 2007, from which Alabama went on to win a bunch of games in a row including the national championship while South Carolina... did not. It's unclear what an Arkansas win would do as far as affecting the perceived balance of power between the SEC East and SEC West, and whenever I'm uncertain, I defer to the chaos principle.

Who to root for: Arkansas