Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Auburn was set to play in the BCS National Championship Game and Paul Chryst was finishing up his second season at Pittsburgh this time last year. The landscape at the start of 2015 is decidedly different for both parties, as the 19th-ranked Tigers settled for playing in the Outback bowl against Chrysts new team, the 17th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Jan. 1. The Tigers were once again in the title picture this season before a late- season collapse. While its offense put up big numbers on a weekly basis, Auburns defense was not up to par, which cost coordinator Ellis Johnson his job just hours after the Tigers surrendered 55 points to rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl. That loss dropped the Tigers to 8-4 overall and was their third straight conference setback. They wound up allowing 32.8 ppg against conference opponents and finished 4-4 against them. Charlie Harbison will serve as the defensive coordinator on New Years Day, but newly hired Will Muschamp was with the team during practice this month and will certainly be tuned in for the finale. Head coach Gus Malzahn knows his defensive players are under the microscope. Theyre trying to impress him, trying to show what they can do, Malzahn said of the recently-fired Florida head coach. Theyre in evaluation mode and hes trying to evaluate what we have and thinking about next year and putting his pieces of the puzzle. Linebacker Cassanova McKinzy finished second of the team in total tackles (82) and first in tackles for loss (10). Defensive back Jonathan Jones recorded three of the teams SEC-best 19 interceptions and was named to the All-SEC First Team. While the defense will undoubtedly be in good hands under Muschamp in the near future, theres not much Auburns offense can improve upon after putting up 35.8 points and 489.2 yards per game. Nine more points would give Auburn 439 on the season, which would rank third in school history behind the 2010 and 2013 squads. The offense is anchored by First-Team SEC center Reese Dismukes and boasts a talented backfield in Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne. After guiding the Tigers to within one late Florida State drive of a national title his first year under center, Marshall again showed his dual-threat ability by throwing for 2,315 yards and adding 780 more on the ground. He accounted for 29 total touchdowns, 18 through the air, and needs just 37 rushing yards to pass Phil Gargis for the most by an Auburn QB. Artis-Payne led the SEC at 127.7 rushing ypg and scored 11 touchdowns, while leading receiver Duke Williams, a junior college transfer, leads the Tigers with 45 receptions for 730 yards (16.2 yds/catch) and five TDs. Williams has been struck with an illness over the break and has not practiced. His status for the game is unknown. As far as special teams go, Auburn finished third nationally at 17.8 yards per punt return thanks to Quan Bray, who took two back for touchdowns. The Tigers are 22-14-2 all-time in bowl games, while Wisconsin is 11-14 in the postseason. Twelve of those bowl appearances came with Barry Alvarez as the Badgers head coach. Alvarez, the schools athletic director, is serving as interim head coach for this game as Chryst gets acclimated with the program after being hired on Dec. 17. A number of the seniors met with me...and asked if I would consider coaching the team, Alvarez said. I feel this gives our assistants an opportunity to concentrate on getting the team ready for a very good opponent in Auburn. My goal is to make sure our players, especially the seniors playing their last game, have a memorable experience and we do everything we can to prepare to win the game. Chryst is taking over for Gary Andersen, who decided to leave for Oregon State following the Badgers embarrassing 59-0 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. Melvin Gordon was held to 76 yards in that forgettable contest, soiling what was otherwise one of the most prolific seasons by a running back in FBS history. Gordon, who has a year left of eligibility, rushed for a then-FBS record 408 yards against Nebraska in November and ended the season with an FBS-leading 2,336 yards rushing, the fourth-best total all-time. He finished as a runner-up to Heisman Trophy-winner Marcus Mariota, and one touchdown in the Outback Bowl will give Gordon 30 on the season. Only Oklahoma States Barry Sanders (1988) and UCFs Kevin Smith (2007) finished with at least 2,000 rushing yards and 30 TDs in an FBS season. Corey Clement has served as an adequate backup to Gordon, totaling 830 yards and eight TDs, while Tanner McEvoy, the teams second-string QB, has added 572 yards and six TDs on the ground. Joel Stave (79-of-136, 1,042 yards, eight TDs, four INTs) is not asked to do a lot through the air, but when he does, he often looks for wide receiver Alex Ericson, who has 44 receptions for 651 yards and three TDs, or tight end Sam Arneson, who brought in 25 passes for 331 yards and four TDs. The blowout to Ohio State was an outlier for Wisconsin, which ranked fourth in FBS in total defense by allowing just 283.2 ypg. The Badgers also ranked No. 13 in scoring defense (20.0 ppg), No. 17 in rushing defense (118.9 ypg) and No. 5 in passing defense (164.3 ypg). This bowl has pitted programs from the SEC and Big Ten against each other since 1995, and the former has won four of the last five years. Auburn and Wisconsin met in the Capital One Bowl nine years ago, and the Badgers earned a 24-10 victory in what, incidentally, was Alvarezs final game in his 16-year tenure as head coach. . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions. .A. Happ. The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to improve the starting rotation ahead of next season and pitchers like Happ have a chance to show they belong as the disastrous 2013 campaign draws to a close.
http://www.cheapjaguarsjerseyssale.com/ ... ersey-sale. Hes even holding a bat on one of his 2014 baseball cards. So far, hes playing like his picture. .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil.MIAMI -- Its not common for Chris Bosh to put up a big number of shots. Maybe the Miami Heat should make it happen more often. Bosh made his final eight shots on the way to a 31-point night, LeBron James added 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Heat never trailed in a 109-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Bosh was 15 for 22 from the field, 9 for 10 after halftime and 5 for 5 in the final quarter, when the Lakers made runs but never got the lead. "We know what hes capable of doing," James said. "When hes got his midrange working like that hes pretty dangerous. And that rim looked mighty big for him tonight." Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole each finished with 11 points to help the Heat beat the Lakers for the eighth time in their last nine meetings. Ray Allen added 10, and Miami shot 58 per cent and outrebounded the Lakers 48-35. Jodie Meeks and Pau Gasol each scored 22 points for the Lakers, who lost for the 14th time in their last 17 outings. Nick Young added 19 points -- needing 20 shots to do it -- for Los Angeles, which nearly came all the way back from a 16-point second-half deficit. "They are probably battling complacency," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said of the Heat. "But all that really matters is winning championships. Thats their problem. Were just trying to win a game -- two different teams on two different tracks." Bosh had the biggest shot of the night with 54.4 seconds left, head-faking his way free at the top of the key, stepping in and hitting a 20-footer to give Miami a 108-101 lead and making it a three-possession game. The Heat forced a miss on the Lakers next trip, then held on from there. The Heat improved to 28-5 when Bosh scores at least 25 points and 9-0 when he gets at least 20 shots, those records including post-season play. "I like it," Bosh said. "Its fun, especially when theyre going in. If you go 8 for 20, thats no fun. But when the shots are falling and teammates are looking for me, its a good feeling." Miami was without Dwyane Wade for the fourth straight game and 13th time in 43 contests this season, giving him more time to rest his oft-problematic knees. Allen started again in Wades place. Meanwhile, the Lakers staarted the same lineup for the third straight game, which for them in this injury-decimated season represents an actual accomplishment.dddddddddddd Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry all remain sidelined, and yet the Lakers still wouldnt succumb quietly in this one. They did, however, allow at least 100 points for the 10th straight game. "We really have to be better at communicating and get each other going and letting each other know where were at," Gasol said. "Lets see if we can do that for the rest of the trip and forward." Down by 16 early in the third quarter, the Lakers found a way to keep things interesting. Meeks had seven points in the third quarter, a dunk by Young got the margin to single-digits briefly and a three-point play from Gasol with 10:47 left got Los Angeles to 85-78. About a minute later, off Miamis 15th turnover of the night, Young got a layup, the Heat lead was down to five and before long, James and Bosh re-entered to try and ensure the Heat wouldnt totally collapse. Right on cue, Bosh scored to end the mini-rally by the Lakers, then forced a missed jumper by Gasol on the next Los Angeles possession, and Cole weaved his way through the lane -- treating defenders like an obstacle course -- for a layup that restored a nine-point Miami edge, waking up a building that had been fairly quiet for a few minutes. One more time, the Lakers came back. Youngs 3-pointer rattled off the rim and down with 4:09 left, cutting Miamis lead to 98-94, but Allen answered with a 3-pointer off an assist by James on Miamis next possession. "Once they get set up defensively, its hard ot get anything done," Meeks said. NOTES: The Heat improved to 7-6 without Wade this season. Theyre 24-6 when he plays. ... James is now within 13 points of catching Clyde Drexler for 28th on the NBAs career scoring list. Drexler had 22,195 points in 1,086 games. Thursday night was James 807th contest. ... The Lakers fell to 2-3 on their seven-game trip, while Staples Center is prepped to host the Grammy Awards. ... Heat teammates roared with laughter in the third quarter when a commercial for Shane Battiers annual karaoke night dubbed "Battioke" aired on the video screen. ' ' '
