I have no idea what this means, though I'm relatively confident it means nothing. Last night I dreamed about the Samford game. Nothing conclusive. I was just watching the game from press row, where I won't be today. The only thing unusual is that I've never had a dream about a game the night before, not even long ago when it was the high school state championship football game. It probably just means I'm vitally interested, obsessed even. I'm optimistic. I don't think I've gone into a game expecting Furman to lose all year. Well, N.C. State, maybe. I have so much confidence in the team that I have come to expect it will do what it takes to win. After all the ups and downs, Furman was seeded 2nd with 6 SoCon losses last year, and if Samford wins today, the Paladins are likely to be seeded 3rd with 4. But, as that high school football coach used to say, "Ain't gon' be no talk about losing." A win today, and Furman is seeded 1st. A win today and it's the noon game in Asheville on Saturday. Looking back at last season, we all dwell on Alex Hunter's loss, and Alex was fantastic. But all year long, particularly as J.P. Pegues has progressed before our very eyes, just as Bob said he would, I think the greatest loss, practically, was Conley Garrison. This team is better, and the Richey assembly line has been running smoothly. In some ways, the team has so many weapons that it's impossible for everyone to score in every game. I expect a big game from Mike Bothwell today, but I expected it the last two games, too, and by the way, it's not like Mike hasn't played well. He just hasn't scored. The greatest virtue of this team is that someone, in fact more than one, always steps up. If everyone did what they can do, the Dins would score 150 points a game. That having been said, I am knocking regularly on wood because even though superstition is absurd, it is a fun hobby. I do it just in case there's something to it. -- MD