Who Said Gamecocks Didn’t Have a Prayer?

South Carolina, which knocked off No. 12 Florida, 30-22, on Saturday, has won five consecutive Southeastern Conference games. Last week first-year Coach Steve Spurrier said, “God has been smiling on the Gamecocks.”

Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel subsequently wrote: “When contacted for comment, God denied any favoritism and speculated that Spurrier was referring to himself in the third person.”

*

Trivia time: What year did the Division III Occidental College football team make a regular-season national television appearance?

*

More third-person talk: Robin Roberts, formerly of ESPN and now co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” was a guest of Bob Costas on HBO’s “Costas Now” Friday night.

She seemed delighted to be returning to the sports world, particularly when Cincinnati Bengal receiver Chad Johnson, also a guest, said: “Everything Chad Johnson does is positive.”

Said Roberts: “He’s talked about himself in the third person. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, we now have a sports show!”

*

Papa Joe and the nun: Joe Paterno, another guest on Costas’ show, talked about playing high school football at Brooklyn Prep and dating a girl from the neighborhood, an older sister of Joe Torre.

Costas: “Sister Marguerite? You dated Sister Marguerite?”

Paterno said he thought he did, prompting Costas to say, “That’s what drove her to the convent.”

*

An NFL team for L.A.: According to Randy Hill of Foxsports.com, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue last week “spent two days in Los Angeles attempting to convince the USC Trojans to join the NFC West.”

*

Nothing left uncovered: Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that The Times ran a feature article last week on Carmen Trutanich, a lawyer who represents Trojan players.

“There are so few new things left to say about USC that the team’s de facto lawyer is getting front-page play,” Ratto wrote. “Next week: The printer repairman, and how he is Johnny-on-the-spot when Pete Carroll runs out of toner.”

*

Looking back: On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers was named the winner of the first Baseball Writers Assn. of America rookie-of-the-year award. It was a single award until 1949, then went to one player in each league.

*

Trivia answer: During the NFL strike in 1982, CBS, looking for replacement programming, had Occidental play the University of San Diego on a Sunday and televised the game. Occidental won, 34-20. Tiger running back Vance Mueller was named player of the game, and Joe Hrinda made a key interception late in the game.

*

And finally: Bay Area reader Janice Hough, on last week’s special election, in which all eight propositions went down to defeat: “This has got to be the year’s biggest waste of money in California. Well, except for the Dodgers’ payroll.”

*

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.