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Norman's No-Nos: Hokies upset the Broncos; Notre Dame has no trouble with Purdue.

(9/3) This is Norman Arey with my Norman’s No-Nos where I predict the losers in 15 college games. Last year, I was 133-74 in the regular season (64.5 percent) and 19-15 in bowl games.

LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE at GEORGIA - The Ragin’ Cajuns also play Oklahoma State and Ole Miss this season. This is the perfect place for the season’s first big upset. NO-NO. It’s the perfect place for ‘Dawg quarterback Aaron Murray to get his feet wet. Cajuns fall, 35-7.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE at GEORGIA TECH - This game could be more exciting than Tech wants. The Bulldogs were 10-2 in ‘09, losing only to South Carolina and App State. Tech’s in trouble. NO-NO. Bulldogs can’t stop Paul Johnson’s Impact Express, lose 49-14.

LSU vs. NORTH CAROLINA - Good game on paper, Only problem is we don’t know who’s going to be eligible to play for the Tar Heels. LSU has had a quiet fall. Not much coming out of The Bayou. Tigers roll over ‘Heels. NO-NO. Les Miles’ misery begins early, loses 20-14.

PURDUE at NOTRE DAME - Neither had winning seasons in ‘09. Purdue hasn’t won an outright Big-10 title since 1929. It’s the Irish’s first game under Brian Kelly and quarterback Dayne Crist. Purdue guns down Irish. NO-NO. Boilermakers lose in South Bend, 27-14.

BOISE STATE vs. VIRGINIA TECH - Two top 10 teams meets to open their seasons. The Broncos are favored by some to be in the mythical title game. Hokies are all offense and a suspect defense. Boise trapeses back home with a win. NO-NO. Broncos are upset, 30-27.

UCONN at MICHIGAN - Randy Edsall may have his best team yet at Connecticut. Rich Rodriguez is out of time in Ann Arbor. The Huskies come away with a big win. NO-NO. The Wolverines have to stand up sometime and this is that time, UConn loses 31-21.

KENTUCKY at LOUISVILLE- Two new coaches want to make good first impression. The Wildcats have been to four straight bowls. The Cardinals haven’t been anywhere. Charlie Strong would love to stop Kentucky’s bowl streak. NO-NO. Birds grounded, 22-18.

Others losers

-MIAMI (O) to FLORIDA

-TCU to OREGON STATE.

-KANSAS STATE to UCLA.

-MARYLAND to NAVY.

-SMU to TEXAS TECH.

-CINCINNATI to FRESNO STATE.

-VANDERBILT to NORTHWESTERN.

-VIRGINIA to RICHMOND.

This is Norman Arey and take it to the bank.

How's this for a surprise mythical college championship game?

(9/2) This is Norman Arey with the wrap-up for our 13-part series on college football. Today we look at the national picture.

With time and space constraints, this will be a flying look at the overall college football landscape. I feel the best way to handle it is by conferences.

The Pac-10 is going to be a wonderful fight among Oregon, Southern Cal, perhaps Cal and Oregon State. Oregon is a real mystery since we know nothing about the Ducks’ quarterback. I see Oregon making it to the Rose Bowl but watch for Cal.

The Big XII will also be a fight among Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Could Texas Tech be a surprise? Probably not. It’s kind of a toss-up but I like Nebraska this season. The Sooners and Longhorns will eliminate one or the other and the Cornhuskers will play in the league’s final title game. Could the ‘Huskers make it to the mythical title game? More likely to the Fiesta Bowl.

The Big 10 has two behemoths, a semi-behemoth and eight has-beens or never-has beens. Ohio State is the perennial champion and Penn State could be winning one for The Gipper this season but I like Iowa coming out of the Big 10. The Hawkeyes’ worst-case scenario is to be in the Rose Bowl and they could appear in the mythical national championship game. The Buckeyes may find themselves in Pasadena or maybe even New Orleans.

In the Big East, who cares? West Virginia, Pitt and UConn may all play decent football but nobody is a national threat. How would the Orange Bowl feel about having the Huskies of Connecticut as one-half of its match-up?

The Southeastern Conference has won a national champion for six of the 12 years the BCS has been played and it could make it seven this season. Not only is Alabama everyone’s pre-season No. 1 but the Tide is a prohibitive favorite to repeat as national champs. Florida, with a new quarterback, is supposed to meet Nick Saban’s crew in the SEC title game. I’m not sure either one will make it. After all, it is the toughest league in the country. Maybe a South Carolina vs. LSU game is in the future? Naw. Make it Alabama in the title game and Florida to the Sugar Bowl.

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Boise State and TCU are the class of the non-BCS schools. I believe the ACC will be a dog fight among as many as five teams, but Virginia Tech is going to be a scoring machine and will make it to the Orange Bowl after beating FSU in the conference finals.

OK. A lot of this is vague by design but just to show you I’m not afraid, my pick for THE BIG GAME is Iowa vs. Alabama with the Hawkeyes taking home the trophy.

This is Norman Arey saying I’m not always right but I’m more right than you are.

Are you drinking the Florida Kool-Aid or will somebody else win the SEC East?

(9/1) This is Norman Arey finishing up the other half of the SEC East - the 12th installment in our college football preview.

This is the fun half of the East with Georgia, South Carolina and Florida all capable of doing great, or at least pretty good, things. The Gators and Bulldogs will make it even spicier as both have new quarterbacks, so we truly don’t know what to expect.

South Carolina, on the other hand, has a tried and semi-true starter in Stephen Garcia. In fact, Garcia started all 13 games last season - only the sixth time in coach Steve Spurrier’s history that he didn’t yank his quarterback at least once. Freshman Connor Shaw showed Spurrier some nice things during the spring, so let’s see if Garcia makes it all the way through. USC had the worst rushing game in the SEC last season but have added Marcus Lattimore, a runner ranked No. 1 in the world by recruiting services.

Defensively, the Gamecocks were excellent last season and should be good again with end Cliff Matthews and linebacker Shaq Wilson heading up the stingy unit.

Everyone is aware of the "situation" at Georgia. There’s not a quarterback in sight who has ever taken a snap in a college game and only two on scholarship. Everything is on the shoulders of freshman Aaron Murray, but the good news is that Murray is surrounded by outstanding talent. Washaun Ealey and Caleb King can run and A.J. Green can catch.

The offensive line is solid as a brick. Maybe Murray can just throw occasionally and hand it off on most plays. The new-look defense has a new boss in Todd Grantham, who not only is changing to a 3-4 front but is changing the whole culture on that side of the ball. There are only four returning starters and we’ll watch to see how that plays out as the year rolls on.

Ah, then we come to Florida and its first year in five that it hasn’t had Tim Tebow. He’ll be replaced by John Brantley, who has the reputation of being the best true passer in the East, plus a stable of running backs and receivers. The Gator offensive line returns four and there’s talent everywhere. The defense returns five starters with corner Jenoris Jenkins and two experienced starting safeties insuring a solid defense. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Urban Meyer has had a successful recruiting regieme. The Gators, from top to bottom, are the most talented team in the SEC in pure athletic talent. But there will be a learning curve and with games in Knoxville, Jacksonville, Tuscaloosa and Tallahassee, that is a big jump for anybody.

I can see all three of these teams having a good year. If the Gamecocks are ever going to do it, this is the year. Georgia could get a nice surprise at quarterback and win double-digit games and Florida may not miss Tim Tebow as badly as we all think.

This is Norman Arey and we’ll wrap-up our pre-season football preview series with a look at the national picture.

Please see earlier chapters of Norman's college football previews by clicking Archive.