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It's SEC East vs. SEC West: Who goes south? (9/28) Here are your Norman’s No-Nos where I pick the losers in 15 college games. Last week, I was 12-3, 42-18 for the season. Take these picks to the bank. Ole Miss at Georgia: The Rebels had their game of the year last week against Florida. Georgia had its game of the year last week in Alabama. Bulldogs need help up front. Rebels need help everywhere. Rebs pull an upset?. NO-NO. Dawgs not great but not that bad. Rebs lose, 28-14. Clemson at Georgia Tech: Clemson is no paper Tiger this year, Tech is. Orange guys can run and throw. Guys in gold can run, not throw. It’s time for a Jacket upset. NOT A CHANCE. Tommy Bowden stays off the hot seat, Jackets beaten, 24-10. Alabama vs. Florida State: Two shadows of former selves. Tide may be on the upswing but hasn’t swung that far yet. Seminoles are sliding fast; can they pull out of it? Hard to pick this one. Let’s say Alabama by a point. NO, CAN'T DO IT. Tide goes down, 24-20. Auburn at Florida: Tigers can’t be as bad as they’ve looked. Can Florida be as good? Auburn gets it together and lives up to pre-season hype. NOPE. Gators may be good enough to be playing for the national title again. War Eagles grounded, 35-14. Pitt at Virginia: This is another one of those ACC vs. Big East games where the thieving ACC gets embarrassed. Pitt takes a giant step toward respectability. NO-NO. UVA has already had its embarrassment against Wyoming. Pitt is beaten, 28-17. Louisville at N.C. State: Cardinals have gone from the White House to the outhouse in two weeks. State got rid of Chuck Amato but so what? Can Louisville stop anybody? Wolfpack offense goes wild. NO-NO. Cards can at least stop the ‘Pack. State loses, 42-14. Notre Dame at Purdue: Fighting Laughing Stock has a hard time finding Purdue stadium. Boilermakers have scored 194 points in four games for a 48.5 average. Irish have given up 133 in four, a 33.3 average. IRISH WIN IN UPSET! NAW, JUST SPOOFING. Irish lose, 38-21. Other losers include: -Stanford to Arizona State -Michigan State to Wisconsin -Illinois to Penn State -Oregon State to UCLA -Cal to Oregon -Maryland to Rutgers -UNC to Virginia Tech -and Washington to Southern Cal. ESPN needs a dose of 'reality' programming (9/27) What could ESPN be thinking? The network was in Atlanta Tuesday night to host a "town hall meeting" to discuss the racial issues in the Michael Vick dog-fighting case. For starters, I wasn’t aware of any racial issues unless all the dogs he killed were of one color. Second, it accomplishes nothing. It’s just pandering. I agree with the AJC’s Jeff Shultz who says ESPN is attempting to stir up an issue which was illogical to begin with and has been dead since Vick pled guilty. And how bright is Vick really? He tested positive for marijuana use after a urine sample was taken Sept. 13. Now he’s under house arrest from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. daily and can be tested again at any time. Georgia fans want Knowshon Moreno to start ahead of senior Thomas Brown at tailback.. Why? Both play plenty and as long as both are getting snaps, nobody’s upset. Besides, Mark Richt says "that’s not going to happen." End of that argument. Fashion designer Mark Echo, who purchased Barry Bonds’ 756th home run ball for $750,000, is going to send it to Baseball’s Hall of Fame branded with an asterisk. Of course, the Hall doesn’t have to display it. It’ll be fun to watch Kentucky and see how the normally Mildcats handle success. With an unbeaten record and 15th national ranking, it’s all new for the Boys from the Bluegrass. They play Florida Atlantic next and should go into South Carolina with a 5-0 record on Oct. 4. The Rocky Mountain News poll of 10 Heisman voters shows Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the lead for the Heisman Trophy, taking over the top spot from Arkansas running back Darren McFadden after the Razorbacks lost two straight games. . . West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez will be going for his 100th victory when his Mountaineers take on 18th ranked South Florida Friday. And finally, talk about must wins: Georgia Tech must win over highly ranked Clemson Saturday or the Jackets’ chances at a decent bowl invite will go down the drain as well as any hopes for an ACC title berth. The Brett Favre Bowl: Schaub v. Falcons (9/26) How about these for statistics -- Southern Cal is 62-6, which is the best 60-plus game mark since Nebraska was 60-3 from 1993-97. USC also has won 35 straight at home. . . A researcher says Oklahoma ranks No. 1 in the all-time AP poll survey which began in 1936. The Sooners have appeared in 68 percent of the polls with an average position of 7.18. Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama and Ohio State make up the top five. Something nice to say about Georgia Tech: I like their gold helmets and place kicker Travis Bell is No. 1 in the country in accuracy with a 90.9 percent mark after making 10 of 11 field goal attempts. Something nice to say about Georgia: Knowshon Moreno is one of the top freshman runners in the country outside of West Virginia. Want to know precisely what’s wrong with the Braves? John Smoltz and Tim Hudson are 30-16 while the rest of the staff is 27-38. And really, is there a chance that Tom Glavine might be back in an Atlanta uniform next season? I would suggest that this will be one of the most-viewed game ever for an 0-3 Falcon team, not because everyone hopes to see improvement but because they want to see former Atlanta quarterback Matt Schaub and his Houston Texans. Let’s see, Mike Vick is waiting to find out if he might get 40 years in the slammer while Schaub is leading Houston to an expected 3-1 start. Those Falcons know what they’re doing. Just ask Brett Favre. And speaking of the Falcons, I think coach Bobby Petrino has got to slam cornerback D’Angelo Hall for his outburst and tirade on the sidelines or either risk losing the team for the year. And finally, none other than Mel Kiper lists the top quarterbacks coming out of college this year in the following order: Louisville’s Brian Brohm, Kentucky’s Andre Woodson and Boston College’s Matt Ryan.
Who wants Bonds? Who replaces Miles? (9/25) Oklahoma jumped over Florida to claim third place in the new AP football poll. No surprise as the Sooners were more than overpowering in stopping Tulsa while the Gators struggled mightily against the out-manned Rebels of Ole Miss. Report say that Ralph Sampson III favors Georgia Tech in what could be one of college basketball’s hottest recruiting battles. Sampson, a 6-foot-11 center from Duluth, has also shown interest in playing for Minnesota and coach Tubby Smith. With Barry Bonds being on the free agent market next season after being told by the Giants they no longer want him, Jon Heyman of SI.Com lists 10 teams which may be interested. His top three were the Rangers, A’s and Mariners. The lone National League club Heyman mentioned was San Diego. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, if Les Miles should leave for the head job at Michigan next year as he’s expected to do, the top candidates for his job would come from a list of six. The list includes LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pellini, West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez, Clemson’s Tommy Bowden, LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, Saints’ defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs and Arizona State’s Dennis Erickson. And for what it’s worth, there have been 54 head coaching changes in Division I-A college basketball since last April. No surprise here that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has demoted starting quarterback Blake Mitchell and says freshman Chris Smelley will start the Gamecock’s next game against Mississippi State. The news is that former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson could get up to four years in prison for pleading guilty to cocaine possession. My sentiment is that it couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy. Kind of an unusual double play at Ohio State where the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the school must pay former head basketball coach Tom O’Brien $2.4 million for wrongful termination in 2004 just as the Buckeyes announced they had given his replacement, Thad Motta, a contract extension and a half-million dollar raise. Whatever.
Les 'Miles To Go' Mich.-bound, Gator tamer? (9/24) What I think after college football weekend No. 4: I think Wofford can beat Penn State. Stands to reason: Appalachian State beat Michigan, Michigan beat Penn State, Wofford beat Appalachian State, Viola! I think Georgia Tech has become irrelevant in college football -- kind of like Tulane. I think Georgia shouldn’t get too excited about beating Alabama. I think neither of them is going to make any national noise this season. Looked like a battle between two one-step-above-mediocre teams. I think LSU will beat Florida when those two meet Oct. 6. I think it’s exciting to see Kentucky knocking off two ranked or almost-ranked teams in a row, first Louisville and then Arkansas. I think Wildcat quarterback Andre Woodson should be getting some attention from the national media. I think Les Miles will be residing in Ann Arbor next season. It would seem a whole lot easier to win a national title at Michigan than at LSU -- the Big 10 is certainly an easier conference to dominate than the SEC. I think the Pac-10 should start paying attention to what’s happening in Tempe with Dennis Erickson and Arizona State. The Sun Devils trailed Oregon State 19-0 and ended up winning 44-32 to stay undefeated. I think West Virginia can score just about any amount of points it wants to at any given time. The Mountaineers play at surprising South Florida next Friday, which could be one heck of a game. I think we’re going to have to wait until Nov. 17 to find out who’s the boss in the ACC. That’s when Boston College hosts Clemson. An aside: Will Tommy Bowden make it through the whole year without finding himself on the hot seat? I think Oklahoma will have a lot to say about who plays in the mythical college football title game. The Sooners may have more speed than anyone in the country next to West Virginia. I think Notre Dame will finish the year with a 4-8 record.
Dogs over Tide? Evil Genius over Cajuns? Remember this column's name: No-nos (9/21) This is Norman Arey with your Hometown Headlines' Norman’s No-Nos where I pick the losers in 15 college games. Last week, I was 9-6, 30-15 for the year. Don’t laugh; still better than you. Georgia at Alabama: It’s time for the Bulldog youngsters to grow up. This game’s for the big boys. This is the first game that Tide can use as a measuring stick. I think they measure a little short. NO-NO. But I don’t want to hear how young Georgia is. Bulldogs lose, 24-14 Georgia Tech at Virginia: The Yellow Disappointments seldom do well in Charlottesville. UVA doesn’t do well with Al Groh coaching. I hate to pick the Underachievers, so I’m going with the Cavahoos. NO-NO. I’m an idiot but Virginia loses, 31-21. Michigan State at Notre Dame: Spartans have beaten UAB, Bowling Green and Pitt – basically nobody. Notre Dame hasn’t beaten anybody, basically or otherwise. Irish luck gotta kick in somewhere, why not here? NO-NO. Spartans still haven’t played anybody. Irish lose, 31-9. North Carolina at South Florida: Tar Heels are supposedly improved with Butch Davis in control. South Florida is improved but gave up 13 points to Elon before the Auburn upset.. UNC pushes Bulls around in Tampa. NO-NO. Heels’ rolled, 26-21. Clemson at N.C. State: The Tigers supposedly one of the two viable teams in the ACC in ‘07. Wolfpack is young (Georgia complex) with a new coach. ‘Pack is due and takes the Tigers’ measure. NO-NO. These Tigers aren’t paper, Wolfpack loses, 28-7. South Carolina at LSU: Steve Spurrier can work miracles with less. Les (Miles) can work miracles ‘cause he’s got talent. Can the Evil Genius pull this one out? NO-NO. There’s a limit to the Gamecock boss’ genius. South Carolina loses, 31-14. BOLD & OUTRAGEOUS PICK: Penn State at Michigan: Everyone’s on the Joe Paterno band wagon. Don’t forget Michigan lost to the Little Sisters of Appalachia. Joe’s wagon rolls. NO-NO. First step toward salvaging Wolverines’ season. Penn State loses, 21-18. Others losers include: >Kentucky to Arkansas >Maryland to Wake Forest >Arizona to Cal >Memphis to Central Florida >Ole Miss to Florida >Washington to UCLA >Air Force to BYU >and Duke to Navy. College football's unanswered questions >Coming Friday: Norman's No-Nos.
One more word about the year’s first college basketball poll mentioned in yesterday’s commentary. It was notable that two-time defending national champion Florida wasn’t ranked in the top 25. The one team in the country that’s in worse shape than Notre Dame is Syracuse. Head coach Greg Robinson is 5-21 in his three years at The Orange’s helm and has seen his team lose nine of its last 10 by better than 19 points per game. Questions I’d like to hear answered: -Can anyone explain Notre Dame’s unbelievable demise? And don’t blame it on Ty Willingham. -Is LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux good enough to create a quarterback controversy in Baton Rouge? -Pat Forde of ESPN.com says these four teams have shocked their fans with their ineptness this season -- UCLA, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Florida State. I agree and why has this happened? -Would Bobby Petrino like to go back to Louisville? -Is Dennis Erikson that good of a coach to have Arizona State 3-0 and looking to go into the meat of its Pac-10 schedule at 7-0? -How much longer will Nebraska put up with Bill Callahan? Before you jump on 3-0 Penn State’s bandwagon, consider that Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions have beaten Buffalo, Florida International and Notre Dame - not exactly murderers row and open their Big-10 schedule against Michigan this weekend. And before you write-off Wake Forest’s chances of repeating as ACC champions, consider the Demon Deacons have been competitive in their first three games which included two close losses. They also get back their starting quarterback Riley Skinner as they enter a three-game ACC set which includes Maryland, Florida State and Duke. Man, what’s in the air in Knoxville? Women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt filed for divorce from her husband of 25 year last month and men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl filed for divorce from his wife of 27 years this week. Duke, Kentucky celebrate--in a football season? (9/20) Duke linebacker Vincent Rey was named ACC Player of the Week in the Blue Devils’ 20-14 victory over Northwestern last weekend while the SEC fined the University of Kentucky $25,000 for excessive fan celebration after the Wildcats upset No. 9 Louisville. I wanted to mention these together because how long has it been since Duke had a Player of the Week or that Kentucky had anything to celebrate on the football field? Fashion designer Marc Echo purchased Barry Bonds' 756th home run ball and has set up a Website to let baseball fans decide the ball’s fate. Echo paid $752,467 for the souvenir and says fans can vote on whether to give it to the Hall of Fame, label it with an asterisk or blast it into outer space. How about blasting Bonds into outer space? I like the fact that Falcons coach Bobby Petrino is calling out the players for Atlanta’s poor 0-2 start and the player being called out the loudest is quarterback Joey Harrington. And there’s a short note in the AJC that the Falcons are meeting with former Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich. Question. What took them so long? Could we see the sanctimonious Fighting Irish of Notre Dame go oh-fer-07? The tarnished Domers have Stanford, Air Force, Navy and Duke on their schedule so its unlikely but we can always hope. Heee’s Back: 47-year-old kicker Morten Anderson is the Falcons’ place-kicker. The veteran hit 20 of 23 field goals last season and made all 27 extra points but Atlanta signed Matt Prater. Prater was cut to make room for Anderson. Question. Why was Anderson cut in the first place? Blue Ribbon Sports is out with the first pre-season college basketball poll and the top five include North Carolina, UCLA, Georgetown, Tennessee and Memphis. Kentucky was rated 11th and Duke No. 14. And finally, if you keep up with such things, LSU is a 16-point favorite over South Carolina; Georgia is a three-point underdog to Alabama; and Georgia Tech is a three-point favorite over Virginia.
By the numbers: Vols fall, 'Bama, Wildcats back (9/18) Numbers don’t lie, so consider these: >Despite rumors to the contrary, Tennessee isn’t back. The Vols are 15-12 in their last 27 games dating back to 2005. The Vols also have given up 105 points in its two losses to Cal and Florida . . . >Kentucky is ranked in the AP poll for the first time since 1984. . . >Alabama is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 2005. . . >Notre Dame’s offense is so bad, they’re ranked dead last in four of the 17 categories in the NCAA statistics. . . >Despite beating Colorado 16-6, Florida State was held to 221 yards of total offense and went one-for-13 in third down conversions. FoxSports.com points out that since 2001, 13 head college football coaches have been fired with a winning record. In other words, how many do you have to win to keep your job? If you wondered, the most valuable sports franchise on earth is the Dallas Cowboys, worth $1.5 billion. . . And that’s only a fraction of what Tiger Woods is worth. Let’s see. The Falcons’ Michael Vick is awaiting sentencing, which could be anything from 12-24 months in jail. Matt Schaub, Vick’s backup who was traded during the off season to the Houston Texans, has led his team to its first 2-0 start in franchise history. Yellow Jacket fans, and I for that matter, have once again been misled into thinking Georgia Tech might have a legitimate shot at a big season. Decent teams don’t get their lunch handed to them as BC did to Tech - a thorough domination by the Eagles. Georgia will find out exactly where it stands Saturday when its appears in Tuscaloosa to take on No. 16 Alabama. Although the Crimson Tide isn’t in the same class with LSU or Florida, Nick Saban’s bunch should be good enough to get by the rudderless Bulldogs. . . And for you history buffs, on Sept. 22, 1962, Joe Namath started his first game for Alabama in a 35-0 win over the Bulldogs. Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson broke the SEC record for consecutive passes without an interceptions in the Wildcats’ win over Louisville Saturday. He now has thrown 257, breaking the old record of 214 set by David Greene of Georgia. I asked the question, "Whatever Happened to Billy Rado?," one-time Bulldog basketball great. Alert reader Ellen Chiswell of New Haven, Conn., e-mails that Rado is well and living in Boynton Beach, Fla.
Is there yet another BCS mess brewing? (9/17) What I think after last weekend in college football... I think Boston College is a legitimate threat to waltz through the ACC and represent the league in a BCS bowl. I think BC quarterback Matt Ryan is as legitimate a contender for the Heisman as anybody. Ryan’s 435 yards passing came against a very good college defensive scheme. Ryan is cool, doesn’t rattle and the game slows down for him. I think Florida hasn’t missed more than a half-beat from last year when it won it all. Tim Tebow is excellent and my only concern is can he stay healthy. Since he’s used as a running back, an option quarterback and a passer, he’s subjected to lots of punishment. Urban Meyer really doesn’t have a backup. I think LSU will meet Florida in the SEC title game. The SEC West looks weak to me with Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas just pretenders. The East may have four other decent teams besides Florida but I don’t look for them to go anywhere. Maybe South Carolina has a chance and we’ll know quickly as the Gamecocks play LSU this week. I think The Big 12 has Oklahoma but isn’t harboring any other BCS threat and the Pac-10 has Southern Cal and then everyone else squirming for a tie for 11th. Was there a bigger upset than UCLA being squashed by Utah? How about Texas barely scraping by Central Florida? I think the Big 10 has three strong teams in Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State, but all three play each other. I hate to admit that the Buckeyes may be better than I thought but I believe Penn State may be playing for the Big 10 title when it meets Wisconsin and Ohio State in October. I think the Big East has West Virginia, period. The fact that Louisville was beaten by Kentucky was hardly a surprise and Rutgers is a wreck waiting to happen. The Mountaineers are in a class unto themselves with speed not seen since the halcyon days of FSU in the ‘90s. I think nobody is going to beat Southern Cal. Heck, is anybody going to beat Boston College? The Eagles will be 7-0 before they play Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Oct. 25. I can’t see West Virginia losing a game left on its schedule and Oklahoma will have clear sailing if it gets by a suspect Texas team on Oct. 6. I think we will have a mess in the BCS with some very deserving teams left out. In other words, I think there’s business as usual in the college ranks. Nothing could be finer than an upset by W. Carolina? And will the Fat (Orange) Man sing? (9/14) Here are your Friday No-Nos where I pick the losers in 15 college games. Last week, I was 11-4, 21-9 for the season. Hey it’s early. I’ll get to 80 percent before it’s over. WESTERN CAROLINA at GEORGIA: A real nail-biter. Western Carolina is in the same conference, if not league, with Appalachian State. Georgia may be in the same league with Michigan. Therefore WCU pulls a stunner. NO-NO. Doesn’t happen. Catamounts lose, 49-10. VIRGINIA at NORTH CAROLINA: Cavahoos are in sad shape. Tar Heels lost to East Carolina. UVA’s Al Groh wasn’t successful as a pro coach. Neither was UNC’s Butch Davis. Waholiers stop the Baby Blues. NO WAY. Groh finds a way to lose, 21-14. OLE MISS at VANDERBILT: Ole Miss is an Ole Mess. Vandy is in line for a plus .500 year. Rebels have no cause to worry. Commodores aren’t accommodating in a winnable SEC game. Nonetheless, Rebels win. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Ole Miss misses, loses 24-14. TENNESSEE at FLORIDA: Orange claim to be ready to roll. Gator defense shivering in anticipation of Vols’ no-huddle attack. UT could steal one in The Swamp. NO, WAIT. Game’s not over until the Fat Gentleman sings. Fulmer has a horrible voice. Vols dumped, 20-14. BOLD & OUTRAGEOUS PICK/OHIO STATE at WASHINGTON: Buckeyes finished No. 2 last year. Washington barely finished. OSU has the much-decorated Jim Tressel. Huskies have the much-maligned Ty Willingham. NOT ENOUGH. Buckeyes whipped, 28-23. B&O PICK NO. 2/ARKANSAS at ALABAMA - Hogs’ coach Houston Nutt isn’t well liked. Tide’s Nick Saban is worshiped. ‘Bama is on the rise. Razorbacks on the way down. NOT ON THIS DAY. Alabama loses, 17-13. LOUISVILLE at KENTUCKY: I like this game. Cards can score a point a minute. ‘Cats can hold their own on offense. Defense takes the day in this one. Louisville prevails in close one. NOT REALLY. Cardinal D couldn’t stop Notre Dame. (Well, maybe). Cards outscored, 49-45. BOSTON COLLEGE at GEORGIA TECH: BC’s quarterback is better than Tech’s. BC’s spanking new coach is better than Tech’s. Therefore, BC prevails in Atlanta. NOT SO. Jackets have better overall team, Jon Tenuta’s defense stops Matt Ryan. Eagles crash, 24-17. Others losers: -Pitt to Michigan State -Notre Dame to Michigan -Mississippi State to Auburn -Duke to Northwestern -Nebraska to Southern Cal -Colorado to FSU -and UNLV to Hawaii.
Vols' plan: 'No huddle' to befuddle Gators (9/13) Tennessee is making a big deal about its no-huddle offense and says it hopes to confuse Florida down in the Swamp Saturday. Puleeze! I’ll take wagers that if one team should become confused in Gainesville, it’ll be the one with a fat coach on the sidelines. Might be worth watching 0-2 Michigan against 0-2 Notre Dame this weekend if for no other reason than both teams will start true freshmen quarterbacks -- Ryan Mallett for the Wolverines and Jimmy Clausen for the Golden Domers. . . And speaking of the Fightless Irish, Notre Dame is trying to avoid only the second 0-3 start in its history. It’s first was 2001 with Bob Davie as coach. The Irish have never had an 0-4 beginning. . . And another thing, Notre Dame has rushed 67 times this season for a whopping minus-eight yards. It was a big deal when Washington beat Boise State last weekend, snapping the nation’s longest win streak at 14. Now we find out if Ty Willingham’s club is for real as it faces Ohio State, UCLA and Southern Cal in the next three weeks. . . Quarterback news is dominating the college football scene this week as Miami and Virginia Tech also start new signal-callers: Kyle Wright for the Hurricanes and Tyrod Taylor for the Hokies. Meanwhile UCLA still is waiting for its starter, Pat Cowan, to get healthy enough to play but with 24-year-old Ben Olson doing well, there’s no panic. Tom Deinhart of The Sporting News floats these rumors: Jim Donnan, former head coach at Georgia, has been mentioned as a replacement for Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State while Terry Bowden’s name is being linked to Ole Miss. Interesting rumor the New York Giants might be looking to trade for Chris Simms, the injured Tampa Bay quarterback. Simms’ dad, Phil, of course played for New York for most of his career. Looks like the Giants’ are worried about the injured Eli Manning more than we thought. And finally, what game will you be watching this weekend? Florida-Tennessee, Arkansas-Alabama, Louisville-Kentucky, Boston College-Georgia Tech, Florida State-Colorado --all good watches but the Louisville-Kentucky matchup may be of the 75-72 variety with Tennessee-Florida not far behind. Haka chant penalized? Only in college football (9/12) How good is LSU? The Tigers have scored 45 and 48 points in two games, given up one touchdown and held Virginia Tech to 149 yards of total offense while running up almost 600 themselves. That 600 yards came against the team which has ranked No. 1 in defense each of the past two years. One other thing -- the Tigers haven’t turned the ball over. And speaking of LSU, former QB JaMarcus Russell signed the richest contract ever for an NFL rookie - six years for $61 million with $32 million guaranteed with the Oakland Raiders. Wonder, though, is he really that much better than Vince Young or Matt Leinart? Or look at it this way, is he worth almost half of what Mike Vick got from Arthur Blank? I have mixed feelings about Hawaii being penalized 15 yards before their game with Louisiana Tech because the Warriors performed a Polynesian Pride dance -- a Maori war chant called a Haka. Hawaii did the emotional chant away from the field but were still penalized. Coach June Jones says his team will continue the tradition each week. The question is, will BYU be allowed to do something particular to the Mormans, how about Baylor and the Baptists or SMU and the Methodists or Notre Dame and the Catholics or North Carolina putting on a Liberal Demonstration? You can see where it might get tangled. (Click HAKA for a YouTube version) The Little Guys took it on the chin last week as non-BCS teams Boise State, TCU, Southern Miss and BYU all lost making the chances slim we’ll see a non-BCS team play in a major bowl. Unless of course Hawaii makes it, Haka or not. Couldn’t let this get by. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that 30 years ago this week, O.J. Simpson was looking forward to the debut of his first made-for-TV movie for CBS - Killing Affair. O.J. played an L.A. police detective. With the Cleveland Browns trading starting quarterback Charlie Frye to Seattle, it looks like the Browns have cleared the way for former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn to be the quarterback of the future. And finally, after the performance of Joey Harrington against the Vikings, what would be the downside for the Falcons to sign either Daunte Culpepper or Byron Leftwich? I mean, how much worse could they be? And a final thought, just three words for the Falcons after just one game -- same old stuff. Michigan v. Notre Dame: Who'll be 0-and-3? (9/11) If you do not at first succeed. . . East Carolina’s Ben Hartman missed three field goals before making a 39-yarder to beat North Carolina. South Florida’s Delbert Alvarado missed four before sending the game into overtime with his fifth attempt against Auburn. Who Are Those Guys? New Miami Coach Randy Shannon removed the players’ names from the back of their jerseys for the Oklahoma game. After losing 51-13, it was just as well that no one knew who they were. The raw numbers don’t lie. When Michigan takes on Notre Dame Saturday, the Wolverines are 0-2, giving up 73 points while scoring 39. The Irish are 0-2, giving up 62 points while scoring 13. Remember when this was one of the biggest games of the year? South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier just couldn’t help himself in talking about his Gamecocks' win over Georgia. "It wasn’t like they were some big, powerful team," he said. "They’ve actually lost five in a row to eastern division opponents. Kentucky and Vandy beat ‘em last year." Actually he was simply pointing out the obvious. If LSU Coach Les Miles is, indeed, the leader to replace Lloyd Carr next year at Michigan, it’ll cost him. Miles’ contract requires that he pay $1.25 million if he leaves for Ann Arbor but there is no buyout clause if he leaves for any other team. The Newark Star-Ledger points out that the three schools that used to rule the Big East -- Virginia Tech, Miami and Syracuse -- lost by a combined score of 134-20 over the weekend. The newspaper also asked which college coach is most likely to get fired first? Here’s how the odds board looks: Lloyd Carr, Michigan, 4-5; Greg Robinson, Syracuse, 7-5; Al Groh, Virginia, 2-1; Ted Roof, Duke, 5-2, Mike Stoops, Arizona, 4-1; and Houston Nutt, Arkansas, 5-1. The bidding war expected for Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones may be a short one. Rumors are that Stan Kasten, the former CEO of the Braves and now president of the Washington Nationals, is determined to sign the expected free agent.
Football '07: A year to remember--or write off? (9/10) What I Think and What I Think I learned after weekend No. 2 in college football. It’s 11 o’clock and do you know where your team is? Things aren’t like they used to be. You can no longer count on your Miamis or Georgias or Auburns, your Michigans -- not even Notre Dame. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? I think I saw a new kid on the block after Saturday’s action. I think South Florida is for real, that South Carolina may have arrived, that Georgia Tech, for heavens sake, may have a real shot at a season which might compare to the Tech teams of 60 years ago. I think Michigan is a truly bad team, that Notre Dame isn’t very good, either, and Oregon State may be the worst of the bunch. I think the ACC is really down this year. Outside of Georgia Tech, Boston College and possibly Clemson, I don’t think the conference has much to brag about. Florida State struggling against UAB? Maryland was less than impressive against the worst team in the land. North Carolina lost to East Carolina. That’s some bad stuff. I think the Big 10 is overrated as usual with only Penn State looking as if it might be equipped for BCS play. Wisconsin had to rally to beat UNLV and that was in football, not basketball. Ohio State is only a shadow of its former self, Minnesota needed three overtimes to get by Miami of Ohio, Northwestern scraped by Nevada by five and Indiana nipped Western Michigan by 10. The conference’s spin on its weekend was that 10 of 11 teams won. Pitiful. I think the Pac-10 may have put itself in a position to challenge the SEC as the top conference despite Oregon State’s embarrassment. USC is No. 1, no argument here. Cal is a Top 10 team. Oregon may be more than just ugly uniforms. Arizona State could give folks problems. UCLA will be good for eight or nine wins. I think it’s time to start giving the Big East some respect and quit talking about its lack of schedule strength. When it quits beating the Oregon States and Auburns, then tell them about it. That said, Louisville and West Virginia can score on anybody but neither can play any semblance of defense. In summation, I think Southern Cal is real good. So is Cal. LSU is stronger than I thought, Oklahoma may be a player and that’s about it. I think 2007 won’t be a year to remember.
Upset brewing in the UGA-Gamecocks game? This is Norman Arey with this week's Norman’s No-Nos, where I pick the losers in 15 college games. Last week, I was 10-5, not very good but surely better than you. I’ll get better, you won’t: SOUTH CAROLINA at GEORGIA - The Evil Genius is easy to hate. Nobody hates Mark Richt. Spurrier will out-coach The Richter but the Dawgs are more talented. Gamecocks pull the upset. NOT SO FAST. ‘Cocks come back, make it close, still lose, 29-24. SAMFORD AT GEORGIA TECH - Long trip from California to Samford. Tech is strutting from shelling Notre Dame. Samford has a history of upsets. Wait! That’s STANford, not SAMford. OK. Samford knocks ‘em off. NO WAY. Samford goes down, 35-7. DUKE at VIRGINIA - The Toilet Bowl here between two awful teams. Blue Devils have lost 20 straight. UVA lost badly to Wyoming. Ted Roof and Al Groh need to win to keep their jobs. NOT TRUE. Both will be fired at season’s end. Devils are bedeviled again, lose 21-10. MISSOURI at OLE MISS - Mizzou’s Chase Daniel is one of the best QBs in the U.S. Rebels’ Ed Orgeron has one of the hardest names to pronounce in football. Show-me guys fall to the name-pronouncers in surprise. NO-NO. Rebels have no cause, whalloped 35-17. NOTRE DAME at PENN STATE - Golden Domers have something to prove. Joe Paterno quiets rumors of his demise.. Nittanys could win Big 10. Irish can’t beat Appalachian State. UPSET SPECIAL. Irish 35-7. NAW. JUST JOSHING. Irish lose, 35-7. ALABAMA at VANDERBILT - Tide loves country music and enjoys Nashville trip. Vandy catches ‘em tapping their toes and spoils Nick Saban worship service. NOT REALLY. Tide players scared to lose and face Saban, Vandy falls 13-3. BOLD & OUTRAGEOUS PICK - Virginia Tech at LSU - VPI isn’t intimidated by crowd or new Tiger mascot. LSU thinks its better than it is, plus welcome mat is out in Ann Arbor for Les Miles next season. Nevertheless, Tigers take Hokies. NOT TODAY. LSU upset, 24-20. Others losers -Miami to Oklahoma -N.C. State to BC -Southern Miss to Tennessee -South Florida to Auburn -Colorado State to Cal -TCU to Texas -Tulane to Mississippi State -and East Carolina to North Carolina.
After Clemson loss, FSU has a need for speed (Sept. 6) I’ll tell you something else I liked about the Appalachian State win over Michigan. The students body in Boone didn’t destroy the town. In fact, other than tearing down the goal post and carrying it to the chancellor’s house, there were no reports of vandalism or fighting. They celebrated, honked car horns, yelled, danced and waited on the team bus to arrive... Lost in the first week of college football action, the much anticipated debut of freshman running back Noel Devine did take place. The West Virginia recruit rushed eight times for 46 yards and scored once while catching a 19-yard pass in the Mountaineers win over Western Michigan. The Florida State loss to Clemson was shocking only in how thoroughly Clemson dominated the Seminoles in the opening half. And I ask you this: Who had the team speed in that game? The Seminoles made their mark with speed but they were second in that commodity against Clemson. You Can Never Go Home Again: Does either Jimbo Fisher or Tom O’Brien wish they had stayed where they were? Fisher has his work cut out for him in Tallahassee while O’Brien’s N.C. State team was upset by Central Florida. Looks as if Wisconsin has found their quarterback in Tyler Donovan and he may be the puzzle piece that puts the Badgers in national title contention. He hit on 19 of 29 passes for 284 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in his team’s 42-21 win over Washington State. . . Despite Tennessee’s loss to Cal, Erik Ainge had an exceptional night considering the circumstances, hitting 32 of 47 for 271 yards and three scores. Early returns on the SEC and ACC show that Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss may have a long year ahead while Duke, N.C. State and Virginia seem to be headed in the same direction. Auburn’s secondary was exposed against Kansas State. The Tigers have trouble in man-to-man coverage. With South Florida’s Matt Grothe able to expose that weakness and also being a threat to run if cornered, Auburn needs to approach this week’s game with caution. Todd McNair, Southern Cal’s running back coach, was twice convicted on charges of mistreatment of animals in the 1990s. The point in bringing this up is that anyone who feels Michael Vick was in this alone has been snoozing under a rock too long. Week 1 lessons: Sack Bob Davies, free Herbie (9/5) What I think and what I think I learned over the weekend: -I think Bob Davies may be the worst ever to position himself behind a microphone and talk about college football. I simply don’t think I can listen to another game from this man. He was a better coach than he is an announcer and you may remember, he got fired. . . - I also think it’s a huge mistake to pair Brent Musberger with Kirk Herbstreit. Herbstreit is one of the best; Musberger is at the bottom of the food chain. Why do it? And Musberger on a California defensive player who had served time in Baghdad and other stopovers in Iraq on the rough play in the Tennessee game: "Well, he sure know what it’s like." The idiot is comparing college football to war? God help us all... -I think that Cal head coach Jeff Tedford looks exactly like detective Elliot Stabler on NBC’s Law & Order SVU . . . . . . -I think Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford was extremely efficient in his opening game and dropping a few pounds has obviously helped. I learned that his offensive line has some work to do and Stafford’s job is to stay healthy until the unit gets it together . . . -I learned that Georgia Tech has a good, solid football team but not a great quarterback. The offensive line was impressive, running back Tashard Choice ditto and Jon Tenuta’s defense superlative. Taylor Bennett may finish better than he started but his job is to make few mistakes, pass only when absolutely necessary and hand the ball to Choice and stay out of the way . . . -I think that Appalachian State’s stunning win over Michigan in Ann Arbor serves to point out how utterly stupid pre-season polls are. The Wolverines are the fifth best team in the country? Then where does that leave the Mountaineers from Boone? And should the rest of the Division I-AA school appeal to the NCAA to break up the Mounties? . . . -I think this is the Quote of the Week: Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore on the dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars meeting the team bus 10 miles outside of Boone to escort them in. "I thought there was a terrible wreck." There was, Jerry - in Ann Arbor . . .
Upset of the week? Perhaps all time (9/4) The question is, does a goal post hitting the ground make a sound if there’s nobody there to hear it? Before Appalachian State’s football team even boarded the bus to the airport to fly back to Boone, N.C., the goal post at the north end of Kidd Brewer Stadium came crashing down in an empty stadium more than 500 miles away from the deed. A handful of students snuck into the stadium and tore down the standards in celebration of what can only be classified as the largest upset in college football history. The mighty Michigan Wolverines, the same who had been mentioned as possible Big 10 and National Championship contenders, fell much like the goal posts, but that sound reverberated throughout the land. Appalachian State stunned the Michaganers 34-32 before a crowd approaching 110,000. If numbers could express the size of this upset, consider this. You could take the entire city population of Boone, N.C., plus the entire student body at Appalachian State, and drop it into Michigan’s stadium and still have 80,000 empty seats. There’s really nothing to compare this to in history. The Citadel beat Arkansas in 1992 and the Razorbacks immediately fired coach Jack Crowe. And Arkansas wasn’t supposedly in contention for the national championship. Furman beat Georgia Tech in 1983 but Yellow Jacket fans pretended not to notice. Appalachian State didn’t just fall off the football turnip truck yesterday. The Mountaineers own two consecutive national titles - in Division I-AA. Michigan is the proud owner of eleven national titles - as in Rose Bowl and best in all the land. The boys from Boone took home a paycheck worth $400,000 for their adventure but the win could easily be worth millions to the university in public relations and prestige. How many more students will pay attention to what happened in Ann Arbor and enroll because of it? Hey, if the decision is whether to attend Elon or Georgia Southern or Appalachian State, why not Boone? The word before the game is that Michigan had stiffer competition practicing against its second and third units than this little Southern Conference school. Well, put that in your smoke and pipe it or whatever. The class bully never likes to be made to look foolish, to be the answer to a trivia question 25 years from now. And poor Appalachian State. How’s it going to get ready to face Lenoir Rhyne next week after this? Can it really take seriously paying arch rival Western Carolina for the Old Mountain Jug at season’s end? How are you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm?
Norman's No-Nos: Your exclusive lock on who'll be losing each weekend >Hear the audio version of Norman's commentary. Click MP3>Also: Norman's game-by-game predictions for UGA, Tech. Click Here(8/31) This is Norman Arey with your Hometown Headlines' Norman’s No-Nos where I pick the losers in 15 college games each week. Last year, I was correct 78 percent of the time. So pay attention Georgia Tech at Notre Dame: Ordinarily an Irish gimme, Tech may make it a game. Charlie Weis ain’t Steve Spurrier but Chan Gailey ain’t Charlie Weis. Irish pull it out late. NO-NO. Charlie Chan may be a mismatch but the Golden Domers are tarnished, 21-13. Oklahoma State at Georgia: Boone Pickens just gave a zillion dollars to make Cowboy football relevant. Bulldogs have been relevant for years. Wait. Okies are no pushover and bring it to the Dawgs for an upset. NOT SO. Cowboys are ridden hard and put up wet, 31-17. UConn at Duke: Two good basketball teams but bad in football. Huskies finished 4-8 in ‘06. Duke has five wins in four years. UConn couldn’t pass last year. Devils couldn’t pass or run. Still, Duke finally wins one. NOT REALLY. Huskies hand Devils 20th straight loss, 14-13. Virginia at Wyoming: Quick, what league is Wyoming in? What’s it’s nickname? What are the school colors? Al Groh needs wins and that’s why the Whohooliers are in Laramie. Wyoming’s record bested UVA’s last year and they boot the Hoos. NOT A CHANCE. Wyoming falls, 28-24. Wake Forest at BC: Tough opener for ACC champs. So, too, for new BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski. If Wake wins here, I see a possible 10-win season. Matt Ryan is the ACC’s top QB but Wake’s Riley Skinner ain’t bad. BC squeaks one out. NO WAY. BC boiled, 24-18. Tennessee at Cal: UT claims it’s back. Cal quarterback Nate Longshore pilots an offensive juggernaut capable of scoring 50. UT defense isn’t that bad. Look for a close one with Cal pulling it out. NO, STUPID. Bears trapped by Vols, lose 31-27. Houston at Oregon: Cougars are supposed to be the class of Conference USA. Oregon could challenge for the Pac-10 runnerup spot. There’s an upset brewing as Houston outlasts the Ducks. NO, JUST TEASING. Cougars are kicked by the Ducks (can Ducks kick?), 42-28. Other games: >Ole Miss beats Memphis >Miami tops Marshall >TCU whomps Baylor >Auburn pounds Kansas State >Colorado over Colorado State >N.C. State tops Central Florida >Wisconsin stops Washington State >and Florida State stings Clemson. Bonus No-No's: Norman's game-by-game picks for UGA, Georgia Tech in 2007 >Parts of this originally were published in the August edition of The Druck Report. Remember how these two finished last year? Georgia was 6-4 with three games to go and then beat three straight ranked teams to finish 9-4. Georgia Tech was 9-2 and trying to choose which BCS bowl it might attend and lost its last three to finish 9-5. Why would anyone think either will do better this season?
That gives each a 7-5 record with Georgia headed for the Music City Bowl and Tech going to the Champs Sports Bowl. Both lose the bowl games.
GEORGIA: Game-by-game predictions Sept. 8: South Carolina, Loses 18-14 (love to hate Spurrier)
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