(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

For most teams, the time at the pastry wagon needs to come to an end soon.

Non-conference play is wrapping up in earnest for most teams, and while a directional school here or there will dot the weekly composite schedule, it is time to start setting sights on those traditional rivals and begin working on winning the conference title and securing bowl bids.

Speaking of rivals, I can think of no better way to begin Four Downs than by looking at a rivalry game from last week:

1) Lane Kiffin vs. Urban Meyer: The Saga Continues

Do you think that SEC Commissioner Mike Slive has these guys on speed dial yet?

Maybe it’s more like the Bat Phone; a dedicated phone line to get in touch with these guys so that he can tell them to knock it off.

In case you missed it, in this week’s round of “Gossip Coaches,” Urban Meyer opined that Tennessee did not seem to be playing with a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter of Florida’s 23-13 victory in the Swamp last Saturday.

Meyer also added that some of his players had to fight through the flu during the game and that they did not perform as well as usual, which prompted Kiffin to fire back, saying, “I don't know. I guess we'll wait and see, and if we're not excited about our performance, we'll tell you that everybody was sick.”

And somewhere on a golf course around Columbia, SC, don’t you think Steve Spurrier is both chuckling and asking himself, “how can I get in the middle of this?”

Okay, probably not.

But while this seems immature and childish on many levels, if Kiffin can get Tennessee turned around quickly, this rivalry could once again become marquee.

2) USC Stubs Toe Against Unranked Conference Foe—Again!

So, who actually had Washington winning last week, besides Stewart Mandel of SI.com?

Anyone? Bueller?

Did I think it was possible? Sure. Much in the same way that it’s possible that Scarlett Johansson could knock on my door tomorrow evening—actually forcing me to use my Scarlett Johansson bag.

In other words, not bloody likely at all.

Give Steve Sarkisian and company a lot of credit; they pulled off what many thought was not feasible.

Now, it is worth mentioning that USC was without all-world safety Taylor Mays.

But last time I checked, Mays doesn’t play quarterback, either.

Maybe this idea of USC simply reloading needs to be examined again. Because while Aaron Corp did not play well at all in this game, I wonder if the result really would have been any different if Matt Barkley had been able to go.

In the future, when we look back at college football in this decade, I believe we will look at USC and wonder, “what if?”

What if USC doesn’t lose to Oregon State and UCLA in 2006?

Or Stanford in 2007?

Or Oregon State in 2008?

Or Washington in 2009?

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