MINNEAPOLIS -- Richard Pitino enters his fourth season at Minnesota coming off a disastrous 2-16 finish in the Big Ten and with a new boss watching over the program.Those are two elements that can bring major concern about a coachs future, but Pitino walks into a crucial season in his tenure brimming with confidence.I do believe, when healthy, its the most talent weve had and its the most complete team. Youve got to stay healthy but I really am excited about these guys, Pitino said.There are six new players on the roster from the team that went 8-23 last season, meaning nearly half the team wasnt around for the difficulties of his third year on the job. Not only did a young and overmatched roster falter on the court, but there were a couple of off-the-court incidents that added to the misery.They seem very eager to move on from last year, Pitino said. Last year was very, very difficult for everybody. Those returners, theyve got pride. They want to show people what were all about. Theyve been really eager to change the perspective of this basketball program.The Golden Gophers open the season against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 11 and tip off the conference season against Michigan State on Dec. 23.I think people are going to see our progress by the time we hit the court, said forward Jordan Murphy, who was a member of the Big Tens All-Freshman team last season. I dont think were worried about proving people wrong. Its more about getting better day by day.Pitino added local prep star Amir Coffey, whose father Richard is a former Gophers standout, and gets transfers Reggie Lynch from Illinois State and Akeem Springs from UW-Milwaukee to help try to breathe new life into the program. And with new athletic director Mark Coyle, who comes back to Minnesota from traditional college hoops power Syracuse, evaluating things, its time for the Gophers to make their move.I know what they walked into and may have perceived of our program, Pitino said. And Im eager to show them what were all about. Weve been as transparent as possible.Here are some things to watch with the Gophers this year:COFFEYS ARRIVAL: The Gophers have historically have had difficulty keeping some of the states best high school players from leaving for other programs. Landing Coffey, a 6-foot-8 guard, was a huge coup for Pitino, and he has looked as good as advertised during fall camp. Hes going to have to play major minutes and hes going to have to do a little bit of everything, Pitino said. I think its on me to figure out where to put him in spots to put the defense in a bind because hes got that size.AKEEMS TWEET: Springs raised eyebrows on Monday night when he tweeted that it looks like my time in Minnesota may be shorter than (I) thought. Its all good though. Pitino immediately called Springs to ask for an explanation and was told that Springs was just messing around. Springs didnt provide a whole lot of clarity on Tuesday. I didnt mean anything. If you go through my history, I tweet a lot of stuff. It meant nothing. It was just a tweet, he said. He said he has not thought about leaving the program. Akeem has been an awesome teammate, Pitino said. Hes been a great leader. He has practiced his butt off. Hes about winning.BAD LUCK: The season got off to a bad start when Davonte Fitzgerald, a 6-8 post player, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Fitzgerald was injured in practice and the loss was a big blow for a team that was relying on his size and defense to give them more size in the paint.LYNCHS INJURY: Lynch had minor knee surgery earlier this fall and is still working his way back. Pitino said he would like for Lynch to play in the exhibition game against Bemidji State on Nov. 3, but they wont rush him back if hes not quite ready. Lynch said his knee is feeling much better and he was confident that he would be able to play in the season opener after sitting out last season after the transfer. Ive been antsy for a year and a half, Lynch said. Its been a long time.---AP college basketball website: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/ Walter Brown Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Bill Russell Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Danny-Ainge-Jersey/ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Red Auerbach Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Boston Celtics Jerseys . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. The month of September rarely defines a college football season.If it did, Kenny Hill would have a Heisman Trophy and Baylor and Oregon would have a few national championship trophies.But its sure starting to feel like this September had more definition than most for some of the sports heavyweights. Some of the teams we expected to be really good, including LSU and Notre Dame, arent very good at all.Its not just LSU and Notre Dame. Its Oregon. Its USC. Its Michigan State. And its Georgia. Sure, those teams can turn it around with three-fourths of their seasons remaining. But its also possible, after watching them for four weeks, that we were flat-out wrong about them in the preseason.Remember when we thought that LSU might challenge defending national champion Alabama in the SEC West? The Tigers couldnt even beat Auburn in a game in which Gus Malzahns team didnt score a touchdown.During his dozen seasons as LSUs coach, weve grown accustomed to Les Miles pulling something out of his hat when games are on the line. It looked like he was going to do it again at Jordan-Hare Stadium. LSU appeared to score the winning touchdown with no time remaining in a thrilling finish. On the games final play, LSU quarterback Danny Etling rolled to his right and fired into the end zone for D.J. Chark, who made a spectacular catch on the sideline for the winning 15-yard touchdown. LSU players celebrated wildly, but the score was overturned by instant replay, as it was ruled LSU didnt snap the ball before time expired.Miles penchant for late-game magic has suddenly become his curse. He seems to be out of ideas about how to turn LSU around, and it might be time for a change (for real this time).I dont know if Ive ever come as close to winning a game and finishing second as today, Miles said.A year after Miles survived a coup to oust him, he might be unable to save his job again. Then-No. 5 LSU lost to Wisconsin 16-14 in its opener. And after losing to Auburn, LSU will probably have to run the table to win the SEC West. LSU still faces five games against ranked foes, including a Nov. 5 home game against No. 1 Alabama.It seems premature to write off LSU so soon, but the Tigers arent the only team to be limping into October. Some preseason prognostications saw Notre Dame as a dark horse to make the College Football Playoff. But after falling to Duke 38-35 at home, the Fighting Irish are 1-3 for the first time since 2010, which was coach Brian Kellys first season. After the game, Kelly said no starting job is safe on his team. Thats how bad the Fighting Irish have looked so far.If you want to play for me moving forward, you better -- I dont care what your résumé says, I dont care if you were a five-star [recruit], if you had 100 tackles or 80 receptions or 30 touchdown passes -- you better have some damn fire and energy in you, Kelly said. We lack it. We lack it -- severely.The Fighting Irish werent the only ones. Oregon spent much of the past decade in contention for Pac-12 titles. But Colorado surprised Oregon 41-38 at Autzen Stadium for the Buffaloes first victory over the Ducks since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.?Colorado won while playing without starting quarterback Sefo Liufau; backup Steven Montez threw for 333 yards with three touchdowns and ran for 135 yards with one score. Hes the first player in Colorado history to pass for 300 yards and run for 100 in the same game.Ive never been in a train wreck, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. But thats probably what it would feel like.Thats probably exactly how Georgia feels. The No. 12 Bulldogs lost for the first time under new coach Kirby Smart, and it was ugly. No. 23 Ole Miss routed Georgia 45-14, marking the Rebels biggest win over a ranked foe since 1969.Ole Miss rebounded after blowing a 22-point lead in a loss to Florida State in its opener and a 21-point lead in its loss to Alabama last week.I cant think of a time in my lifetime where a team has done that to Georgia, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said.Its probably time to reassess a few other teams, but for entirely different reasons. Wisconsin, which was unranked in the preseason, might be the best team in the Big Ten West.The Badgers walloped No. 8 Michigan State 30-6 in East Lansing. It was the Spartans most lopsided home loss since 2009. Of course, well learn a lot more about Wisconsin in its next two games, when it plays at No. 4 Michigan and hosts No. 2 Ohio State.Texas A&M, and not LSU, might be No. 1 Alabamas biggest threat in the SEC West. The No. 10 Aggies routed No. 17 Arkansas 45-24 in Arlington, Texas. Texas A&M is 4-0 for the third straight year, but this team seems built to avoid the second-half swoons that plagued the Aggies in each of the previous two seasons.Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight, an Oklahoma transfer, has provided much-needed stability to the offense. He passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 157 yards and two scores against the Razorbacks.Were trying to grow with Trevor, Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. I think tonight, he struggled early throwing, but he got running, and that was it. Somebody asked me what his best stat is, and I said its winning.Winning has probably never felt better for Tennessee. The No. 14 Volunteers trailed No. 19 Florida by three touchdowns late in the first half and seemed well on their way to their 12th consecutive loss to the Gators. But then Tennessee reeled off 38 consecutive points in a stunning 38-28 victory at Neyland Stadium. Suddenly,?the Volunteers look like the team to beat in the SEC East. More importantly, they displayed a backbone that seemed to be missing for much of the past decade.Only a month into the 2016 seaason, were still assessing which teams are overrated and which teams are actually really good -- like really, really good (except Alabama; were sure about the Crimson Tide).dddddddddddd. We can be more patient separating the pretenders from the contenders.Thats what October is for.Playoff teams after Week 41. Alabama: The Crimson Tide lost their top two tailbacks, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, to injuries but still cruised to a 48-0 shutout of Kent State, Alabama coach Nick Sabans alma mater. Tide freshman Joshua Jacobs ran 11 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns.2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes had the week off before hosting Rutgers and Indiana for their next two games. Theyll get a big test at Wisconsin on Oct. 15.3. Louisville: The Lamar Jackson Show continued in a 59-28 rout at Marshall. Jackson threw for five more touchdowns against the Thundering Herd. Hes responsible for 25 touchdowns through four games.4. Michigan: The Wolverines routed Penn State 49-10 -- for their fourth straight game with at least 45 points. Its the longest such stretch by a Big Ten team to start the season since Penn State in 2008.Next four in contention1. Clemson: Clemsons defense was absolutely dominant in a 26-7 win at Georgia Tech on Thursday night, holding the Yellow Jackets to 124 yards of offense. Tech averaged only 2.5 yards on 38 rushing attempts.2. Houston: The Cougars were nearly flawless in a 64-3 rout of Texas State. They piled up 563 yards of offense, allowed only 33 rushing yards and had zero penalties and turnovers.3. Stanford: The Cardinal survived with a 22-13 victory at UCLA, setting up a big showdown at Washington on Friday night. Stanford quarterback Ryan Burns went 5-for-8 for 66 yards and threw an 8-yard touchdown to JJ Arcega-Whiteside with 24 seconds left on the winning drive.4. Wisconsin: After upsetting then-No. 5 LSU in the opener and No. 8 Michigan State on Saturday, the Badgers have now defeated multiple AP top-10 opponents in the same season for the first time since 1962.Heisman candidates1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: Jackson continued to look like a runaway Heisman winner in a 59-28 win at Marshall, passing for 417 yards and five touchdowns and running for 62 yards with two scores against the Thundering Herd.2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford: UCLAs defense did a nice job slowing down McCaffrey at the Rose Bowl, especially by not giving him opportunities on special teams. He ran for 138 yards on 26 carries, his third straight game with more than 100 yards.?3. Greg Ward Jr., QB, Houston: Wards ailing right shoulder looked fine against Texas State. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 289 yards with two touchdowns and ran seven times for 39 yards with one score before taking a seat in the second half.4. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson: After a slow start this season, Watson had his best game against Georgia Tech, completing 32 of 48 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran 12 times for 36 yards.Tweets of the nightBest momentsBest playsWorst plays1.?Somehow, replay officials confirmed a ruling on the field that this hit on Stanfords Francis Owusu was not targeting.?2. We dont see Michigan State self-destruct very often, but thats exactly what the Spartans did on Saturday. MSUs LJ Scott fumbled, and Wisconsins Leo Musso returned it 66 yards for a touchdown.3. Floridas Antonio Callaway tried to make a fair catch at his teams 2-yard line and fumbled. He caught another punt at Floridas 2 in the fourth quarter.Quotes of the night1. I support our guys. I think this is something. Its not going away, its gonna keep happening. -- Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, when asked about some players raising their fists during the national anthem.2. I guess they have decisions that people have to make. As long as its done in a peaceful way, this is America. Thats what the flag stands for. It stands for the freedom to do what you need to do. Thats the beautiful thing about this country. -- Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, when asked about three of his players raising their fists during the anthem.3. Every position, all 22 of them, will be evaluated. Each and every position. There is no position that is untouchable on this football team. And thats the quarterback, all the way down to -- maybe the long snappers OK. Were not going to touch him. But everybody else is vulnerable. -- Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly4. Just pride in who our kids are. Thats how we are supposed to play football. And maybe weve had a little too much success and we had forgotten that. Maybe being 21-point underdogs was a good thing, for a change. -- Duke coach David CutcliffeStats that matter1. 270: Syracuse receiver Amba Etta-Tawo had a school-record 270 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the Oranges 31-24 win over Connecticut. The previous record was 249 yards, set by Scott Schwedes against Boston College in 1985.2. 16: North Carolinas Ryan Switzer set a school record with 16 receptions in the Tar Heels 37-36 win over Pittsburgh. Switzer finished with 208 receiving yards and one touchdown.3. 31: Arizona State rallied to score 31 points in the fourth quarter to beat California 51-41. Its only the second time in the past five years that an FBS team scored at least 30 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and win. Both such games came against Cal.4. 17: Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly threw two touchdowns against Georgia, which was the 17th consecutive game in which he threw a touchdown pass, breaking Eli Mannings school record of 16 straight set in 2002. ' ' '