RALEIGH, N.C. -- Matt Dayes has been determined all season to be North Carolina States first 1,000-yard rusher in more than a decade and get the Wolfpack back to a bowl.Both goals are within reach Saturday against Miami in the teams home finale.The senior is 61 yards away from becoming the programs first runner to gain 1,000 yards in a season since T.A. McLendon did it in 2002. And considering the Wolfpacks offense has run its best when Dayes is moving the chains, hes likely to get a heavy load as N.C. State (5-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) tries to become bowl eligible for the third straight year.Obviously were always trying to establish the line of scrimmage, offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz said. Were just trying to find ways to win football games and move the ball up and down the field. And Matts a very effective way to do that.Dayes, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the leagues No. 3 rusher at 93.9 yards per game to go with seven scores and a 4.8 yards-per-carry average. More than half of his yards have come after contact, a sign that Dayes isnt afraid to run through tackles.He has seven 100-yard performances in 10 games this year, including last weeks 108-yard day with three touchdowns.Miami (6-4, 3-3) enters this game near the middle of the ACC in rushing defense (140.2) and holding opponents to 3.5 yards per carry, but the Hurricanes rank 13th nationally in scoring defense (19.3 points).That hasnt happened for them in a while, Miami coach Mark Richt said of Dayes run for 1,000, and I know theyre probably trying to knock that out this game. Thatll be a challenge for our guys.Miami has already secured bowl eligibility in its first season under Richt, and has bounced back with from a four-game losing streak with two straight wins.---Some other things to know about Saturdays Miami-N.C. State game:STYLE CLASH? Miami likes to be a quick-hitting offense and N.C. State is fine with a more methodical tempo-controlling approach. The Wolfpack had two touchdown drives of at least 6 minutes against Syracuse last week alone -- while Miami has had only one such drive in the entire season. They will definitely take what you give them, I can definitely say that, Miami defensive back Rayshawn Jenkins said.MOVING AGAIN: Miami has racked up 85 points and 984 yards in the past two games after failing to reach 30 points during its four-game skid. We blocked better, we executed most everything better, and we started a little faster, Richt said. We didnt get behind.KAAYA WATCH: Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya comes into the game with 9,004 career yards, 482 shy of tying Ken Dorsey for No. 1 on the Hurricanes all-time list. And he might need to be very sharp on Saturday, since N.C. State has allowed opponents only 3.0 yards per carry this season. The Hurricanes will test that with perhaps the ACCs best 1-2 rushing punch in Mark Walton and Joe Yearby; theyve combined for 5.7 yards per rush.INTANGIBLES: Richt said having a team thats pursuing bowl eligibility can make it easier to motivate your team. Throw in the fact that its the Wolfpacks Senior Day, and the coach knows his Hurricanes will face a tough test. Theres a lot of motivation thats kind of naturally built into this thing for them, and we have our reasons to be excited too now, Richt said. But two of those reasons right there, I think, play to their advantage.RIVALS, SORT OF: Most ACC teams in opposite divisions dont meet very often, and this is Miamis first visit to Raleigh since the final game of the 2008 regular season. The Hurricanes have played road games in 26 other cities since that trip eight years ago. No current N.C. State player has ever faced Miami.---AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at
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http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 . PETERSBURG, Fla. . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Jonathan Quick saved his best save for the final minute, sliding deftly across his crease and snagging Joe Pavelskis shot from point-blank range to the grateful gasps of the Los Angeles Kings sellout crowd. Quicks imposing post-season presence only appears to be growing, and the San Jose Sharks are running out of time to figure him out. Quick made 24 saves in his seventh career playoff shutout, and the Kings moved to the brink of their second straight trip to the Western Conference finals with a 3-0 victory in Game 5 on Thursday night. Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov scored, and Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their 13th consecutive home game in dominant fashion, claiming a 3-2 series lead. Quick won his 27th post-season game, taking sole possession of the franchise record from Kelly Hrudey. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner shut out the Sharks for the second time in the series, yet Quick scoffed at any suggestion hes responsible for the Kings abrupt reversal of this series momentum after the Sharks appeared to take control in San Jose. "We came out with a purpose," said Quick, who has stopped 313 of 330 shots in the post-season. "We knew what was on the line tonight, and Im lucky to play with guys who care so much about winning. Top to bottom, I thought everybody played well, but its just three wins. We know that doesnt mean anything." Game 6 is Sunday night at the Shark Tank. Quick has three shutouts in this post-season alone, adding to his club record of seven playoff shutouts, yet nobody thought this latest zero was his best number of the post-season. The Sharks lamented their lacklustre effort, particularly from the star players whose dominance had allowed San Jose to even the series with two straight wins and three straight games of largely superior play. "They tested us for the first four games, and I like the way we responded," Kings defenceman Matt Greene said. Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots for the Sharks, who have played more than 96 minutes without a goal since they appeared to be taking control of the series midway through Game 4. "Weve got to score. Its the playoffs," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "We had enough chances to win tonight, but we have to start bearing down and scoring some goals. We werent there at the start. I dont even think we were good at any point in this game tonight. Our power play was brutal." The home team has won every game in the series, and the Kings remained unbeaten at Staples Center since March 23. Los Angeles, 25-4-1 at home this season, has won seven straight home playoff games dating to last seasons Stanley Cup clincher against New Jersey. After getting soundly outplayed to start each of the past three games, the Kings met the Sharks tempo and urgency from the beginning in Game 5. The Kings sharpened their physical game, outmuscling and outhitting the Sharks from the opening faceoff. Kopitar finally collected a reward late in the second period, tapping in a loose puck after a sustained stretch of pressure on Niemi. Voynov then scored 3 seconds after a penalty expired early in the third, firing home his fourth goal in nine games. Quick finished up from there, stopping Pavelski a few sseconds before Carter wrapped it up with an empty-netter.dddddddddddd "We were going at them pretty hard, and got sustained pressure for long periods of time," said Kopitar, who got just his second goal of the post-season. "Theres nothing new to say about (Quick). He gives us a chance every night. He makes every save he should, and a few he shouldnt, every time." San Jose substantially outplayed the Kings in the first period of the past three games, and Los Angeles cited a strong start as its key priority for Game 5. The Kings got it, albeit in a scoreless first period, outshooting the Sharks 9-6 while playing a punishing physical game that slowed down Joe Thornton and hampered San Joses relentless speed. "The power play looked like it was a little bit nervous for some reason," Thornton said. "I dont know why. It looks like we just didnt have some poise on the power play. If our power play is going good, you can see guys get some confidence. When it doesnt, you see guys kind of get down, and thats what happened tonight." The Sharks played roughly 17 minutes without a shot into the second period, but the Kings couldnt cash in several scoring chances in front of Niemi, including golden opportunities for Mike Richards and Justin Williams. San Jose got several chances of its own, notably with a 2-on-1 break for Patrick Marleau and Couture, but Quick kept everything out of his net. Niemi made a spectacular save on Carters wraparound chance late in the second period, but that play led to a long stretch of uninterrupted pressure and the go-ahead goal. Kopitars tap-in included assists for Williams and Kyle Clifford, who replaced Dustin Brown on the Kopitar-Williams line for Game 5. The Kings hope a goal will jump-start Kopitar, who didnt score a goal in the Kings final 16 regular-season games. The Slovenian centre was the post-seasons co-scoring leader last summer with 20 points in 20 games. The Kings scored again when Trevor Lewis won a faceoff against Thornton, who has dominated the circle in the series. Lewis, who scored the winning power-play goal late in Game 2, got the puck to Voynov for a long shot through traffic immediately after a power play ended, and the Siberian defenceman matched Carter for the team lead at the time with his fourth goal of the playoffs. The power play resulted from a goalie interference penalty against TJ Galiardi, who drew the Kings ire Wednesday by claiming Quick embellishes contact with opponents to draw undeserved penalties. "Well, he got his call tonight, so Ive got to be better," Galiardi said. "Ive just got to know that if theres any contact at all, theyre going to call it. They made us pay right after the penalty expired, so thats on me." NOTES: After sitting out earlier in the post-season with an injured left ankle, Jason Demers got his first action of the post-season for San Jose, which sat LW Tim Kennedy to make room. Demers, normally a defenceman, usually played forward. The Sharks are playing without injured forwards Marty Havlat and Adam Burish. ... Los Angeles dressed the same lineup as in Game 4, although coach Darryl Sutter shuffled his lines. ... Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer watched the game from seats on the glass. ' ' '
