No KHS, WR, but intrigue? Yes

LUCAS No Kilgore this weekend, thanks to the open date? No West Rusk, for the same reason?

Yeah, I'm kind of let down, too. But there are still a lot of interesting things going on, both locally and in the college and NFL ranks. Such as:

— How will the Kilgore College Rangers respond after the emotional win over top-ranked Blinn last weekend in triple overtime? They visit Arkansas Baptist on Saturday in the first 3 p.m. kickoff of the season.

— How about Sabine? After seeing a twogame week by Union Grove, can the Cardinals rebound and knock off

fairly good Winona team?

— Sulphur Springs can score so many points, you probably need a calculator to add it up. But Longview can score, too, and the Lobos seem to have a pretty salty defense. The two meet in a district game at Sulphur Springs Friday night.

— Crazy as it sounds, I'm wondering if Colorado could give our Kilgore boys at the University of Texas a good game on Saturday. I'm afraid the answer is yes.

Lots of things happening, even with the absence of the Ragin' Red and West Rusk. A few people have asked me where I'll be Friday night, since Kilgore has its open date.

My answer? Dinner. And then volleyball.

On to this week's games. First, our ratings system.

• Five asterisks (*****): Absolutely a lock to be a phenomenal game. You should make every effort to see it, because people will be talking about it for years to come.

• Four (****): No average games allowed. Four asterisks are for game-of-the-year canidates only.

• Three (***): Should be a good game for at least three quarters.

• Two (**): Could be a good game for at least a half.

• One (*): Won't be a good game, but you've got nothing else to do, and you don't want to go change the oil in the car.

• Zero (DUD): You probably should go change the oil, then go change the oil of a few neighbors' cars, rather than watch one of these.

This week's high school games:

• Sabine at Winona (***): From what I understand, Winona is supposed to be one of the teams that could win this district, meaning District 18-2A. But Sabine has pulled off a pair of surprises already this season, and I wouldn't write the Cardinals off. An 0-2 start to district play, though, could be a tall hole from which to climb out.

• Cayuga at Overton (****): I personally think people make too much out of polls. But for all of you who buy into it, Cayuga is ranked 10th in the state in Class 1A. I know that means Cayuga must be competitive. But Overton hosts the game, and the Mustangs have won three straight. I think they can give 'em a run for their money.

• Hallsville at Marshall (***): I've seen both of these former KHS district rivals, and Marshall is clearly the better team — WHEN the Mavericks are motivated. Will they be motivated this week, following a whipping by Neville, La.? Good question. If they're not, Hallsville's got a good chance.

• Longview at Sulphur Springs (****): This week's Game of the Century. I wish I could agree, and I know Sulphur quarterback Tyrik Rollison is a freak of nature: he threw for almost 3,700 yards just last year. If it's a score-fest, I could see Sulphur taking it. But Longview is talented on defense, and smoked Texas High last week.

This week's college games:

• Kilgore College at Arkansas Baptist (****): Coach J.J. Eckert's Rangers may have to avoid the Letdown Bug right here, after having knocked off Blinn last week. What do you do after you beat No. 1? Well, you go to Little Rock and try to beat a team with a lot of heart that didn't win a game last season, and try to avoid being upset yourself. We'll see if KC can do it.

Arkansas Baptist is at the very bottom of the SWJCFC in both offense and defense, but played very well early in the season.

• Texas at Colorado (****): I love the fact that Kilgore's Michael Huey, Britt Mitchell and Eddie Jones all play for a strong Longhorns program. And I do believe the 'Horns will get out of Colorado with a win. But I think they'll be brushing the fires of defeat off their coattails. I've seen Colorado a couple of times this season, and if UT walks over them, I'll be shocked. I think the Longhorns are good on defense, but I think, as I've mentioned before, that their secondary is a bit suspect, and that Colorado can take advantage of that.

• Texas A&M at Oklahoma State (***): Will the real Texas A&M Aggies please stand up? This is the Big 12 Conference opener, and nothing that the Aggies have done so far really matters. It's Game Time now, though, no pun intended.

• San Diego State at Texas Christian (*): Remember last week, when TCU got taken to the woodshed a little bit in Norman, Okla., by the Oklahoma Sooners? San Diego State is probably about to pay for it.

• Texas Tech at Kansas State (**): Anytime you're on the road, you've got a lot more things to plan, if you're a coach. But something tells me Mike Leach has a good game plan to face K-State, no longer one of the Big 12's elite teams.

• Oklahoma at Baylor (***): Believe it or not, I think the Bears will surprise a few people here. The ultimate surprise would be a Baylor win, but I think the Sooners probably have too much firepower for that to happen. We'll see.

• Missouri at Nebraska (***): Finally — a test for the Missouri Tigers, ranked No. 4 in the nation, but who haven't played anyone of any consequence. This isn't your dad's Nebraska program, but the Cornhuskers are improving. Do they get the job done? No. But they make the Tigers sweat.

This week's NFL games:

• Cincinnati at Dallas (***): On paper, this is a mismatch. The Bengals did rise up and play the Giants tough two weeks ago, but I can't see that happening here, or it won't matter — the Cowboys will be on their game after falling at home to the Redskins. Dallas wins big.

• Indianapolis at Houston (****): The Colts haven't been the Colts lately, and it dates back to their Super Bowl XLI win in early 2007. I think it's called "getting old." Wideout Marvin Harrison and safety Jeff Saturday aren't what they used to be. Even Peyton Manning is showing a few signs of age, although he's still one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the league. My guess is Houston plays them hard, but Colts get out with the W.

• Seattle at New York Giants (****): I hope this isn't what we're getting on local TV. Giants roll.

• Buffalo at Arizona (***): You'll see on our picks page (page 7) that everyone else picked Buffalo but me. I kind of like the Bills, but I'm not a big believer yet. If they win this one, I'll still have doubts, because quite frankly, Arizona isn't that good. But the Cardinals can score. I think Arizona ekes out a win here.

• Pittsburgh at Jacksonville (Sunday night, ****): The Steelers flipped a switch at halftime and looked like a different team against Baltimore Monday night. But they've got a lot of injuries, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (look it up; I'm spelling it right) is banged up, too. Jacksonville does all the little things right, and I think the Jags need this one more than Pittsburgh does.

• Minnesota at New Orleans (Monday night; ****): How many yards will Adrian Peterson rush for against the Saints? It'd better be 250, plus a couple of scores, because that's probably the only way Minnesota wins this game.