singled in the first inning on the first pitch he saw. He groun

The first half of the 2016 college football season drew to a close Saturday, as the nations top two teams each made a statement on the road against top-10 opponents, albeit in very different ways.?The midway point looks a lot like the end of the 2015 campaign, with defending national champion Alabama on top. But the story of Saturday night begins in Madison, Wisconsin, with No. 2 Ohio State.Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer was expecting a battle at No. 8 Wisconsin, and he was right, as the Buckeyes rallied from a 10-point deficit at the half and beat the Badgers 30-23 in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium.Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett threw a 7-yard touchdown to Noah Brown in overtime, and then OSU clinched it after Tyquan Lewis sacked Badgers freshman Alex Hornibrook on fourth down.The Buckeyes won their 20th consecutive true road game under Meyer and improved to 34-1 in Big Ten regular-season games during his tenure.After struggling in the first half for the second week in a row, Barrett finished with 226 passing yards with one touchdown and ran for 92 yards with two scores.I knew at some point he was going to win the game for us, like he has so many times before, Meyer said.No. 1 Alabama didnt need any late heroics. As good as the Tide have been in many of Nick Sabans previous nine seasons, this years squad is beginning to look like perhaps his best. Alabama demolished rival Tennessee 49-10 on the Third Saturday in October, running for 438 yards (8.9 yards per carry) against the depleted Volunteers and holding them to only 32 rushing yards on 32 attempts.Even more impressive: Alabamas defense and special teams units have scored 11 touchdowns in seven games, which is as many as theyve surrendered to opponents this season.But what makes this Crimson Tide team markedly different than its predecessors is Jalen Hurts, the first freshman to start at quarterback for Saban. Hurts ran for 132 yards with three touchdowns and passed for 143 against the Volunteers.Hurts ability to run the ball has brought an entirely different dimension to Alabamas offense. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 354 of its rushing yards against the Vols came on zone-read plays.As the Tide rolled and the Buckeyes scratched and clawed their way to road wins, No. 3 Clemson looked as if it was going to lose to unranked NC State at home, but then Wolfpack kicker Kyle Bambard pushed a 33-yard field goal attempt wide right on the final play of regulation.After the Tigers converted a fourth down on their overtime possession, quarterback Deshaun Watson threw a 10-yard touchdown to Artavis Scott for the lead. Tigers defensive back Marcus Edmond?then intercepted a pass in the end zone to secure Clemsons 24-17 victory at Death Valley.Theres something to be said for finding a way to win, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. And theres something to be said for knowing how to win.The biggest surprises in the first half of the season were the teams that have seemingly forgotten how to win. The weirdest drama has been reserved for the coaching carousel.LSU fired coach Les Miles after only four games, and Texas Charlie Strong and Notre Dames Brian Kelly find themselves on the hot seat after slow starts.Strong lived to see another day as the Longhorns coach after Texas defeated Iowa State 27-6, ending a three-game losing streak and climbing back to 3-3.Coach Strong would tell you right now dont go play for him, but we do, Texas wide receiver Jerrod Heard told reporters.Notre Dame couldnt stop the bleeding, though, and fell to Stanford 17-10 at home. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Fighting Irish, who dropped to 2-5, their worst start through seven games since going 1-6 under Charlie Weis in 2007.Kelly seems to be losing his cool. After the game, he was involved in an exchange with a Stanford strength and conditioning coach.?Kelly said the Cardinal coach told him, Bye-bye, while leaving the field. That might be the nicest thing Notre Dame fans say to him this week.Certainly, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas were among the biggest disappointments of the first half, and Louisville, Texas A&M, Washington and West Virginia were among the surprises.So as we usher in the second half, where are the surprises going to be hiding? We had plenty of great finishes and thrilling upsets to watch in the first seven weeks, but it feels a little too neat and orderly atop the College Football Playoff race. Whos going to inject a little chaos?As good as Alabama has looked so far, can No. 6 Texas A&M pull off a Johnny Manziel 2.0 and stun the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium next week? Will anyone else in the Big Ten -- hello, Iowa and No. 10 Nebraska -- put up a fight against the Buckeyes and Wolverines? Can Clemson win at No. 14 Florida State in two weeks if it keeps turning the ball over at an alarming rate? Can Strong, Kelly and Oregons Mark Helfrich win enough games down the stretch to keep their jobs? Can we start to etch Louisville quarterback Lamar Jacksons name onto the Heisman Trophy, or will someone else unseat him in the final seven weeks? Now that would be an upset.Well begin to learn the answers to those questions and more in the coming weeks.Yes, weve reached the halfway point of the 2016 season. The good news: There are still seven more weeks to play.Playoff teams after Week 71. Alabama: The Crimson Tide steamrollered No. 9 Tennessee 49-10 at Neyland Stadium. It was Alabamas most lopsided win over the Vols since a 51-0 victory in 1906. Saban has guided the Crimson Tide to 10 consecutive wins over UT; five of them were decided by 31 points or more.2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes gained strength as the game went on in a 30-23 overtime win at No. 8 Wisconsin.?Barrett was 4-of-4 passing during the Buckeyes overtime drive, including the winning touchdown pass. Its the 20th straight road win for Ohio State. ??3. Michigan: After blowing out Rutgers 78-0 last week, the Wolverines got this past weekend off before hosting Illinois next Saturday. The bye week gave Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh the free time to announce the homecoming queen during a recruiting visit to Antioch High School, near San Francisco.4. Clemson: The Tigers needed overtime to defeat NC State 24-17 at Death Valley. The victory extended Clemsons home winning streak to 20 games, the longest active streak in the FBS and longest in school history, and their streak over unranked foes to 45 straight. The Tigers have two weeks to prepare for their Oct. 29 trip to No. 14 Florida State.Next four in contention1. Washington: After routing Stanford and Oregon in consecutive weeks, the new kings of the Pac-12 North got a much-needed breather this weekend. The Huskies will host Oregon State next Saturday before playing back-to-back road games at No. 21 California and Utah.2. Texas A&M: The Aggies get an extra week to prepare for their trip to No. 1 Alabama next Saturday. After Manziel led the Aggies to a 29-24 win in Tuscaloosa in 2012, the Crimson Tide have won three straight in the series, including a 59-0 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2014.3. Louisville: The Cardinals survived a closer-than-expected 24-14 win over Duke at home Friday night. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson finally put the Blue Devils away with a 2-yard run with 1:32 to go, after Duke was penalized for roughing the kicker on a missed field goal attempt. Louisville hosts NC State next week.4. Baylor: Quarterback Seth Russell passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the first half of a 49-7 victory over Kansas, helping the Bears improve to 6-0. While Baylors schedule still leaves a lot to be desired, its one of only two unbeaten teams left in the Big 12. The Bears head into a bye week and play at Texas on Oct. 29.Heisman candidates1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: Jackson passed for 181 yards with one touchdown and ran for 144 yards with one score in the Cardinals 24-14 win over Duke on Friday night. He now has 15 rushing and 15 passing touchdowns in six games, the fewest games needed to reach each of those marks by a Power 5 player in the past 20 seasons. Hes on pace to join Manziel (2012), Auburns Cam Newton (2010) and Floridas Tim Tebow (2007) in the 20-rushing/20-passing touchdown club. All three were Heisman winners.2. Jake Browning, QB, Washington: The Huskies didnt play this week, but Browning has definitely worked his way into the Heisman discussion with his unbelievable start. He threw for nine touchdowns and no interceptions (with two touchdown runs) in the past two games and has completed 72.2 percent of his passes with 23 touchdowns and only two picks in six games.3. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson: Watson threw for 378 yards with two touchdowns and ran for another score in Clemsons 24-17 win over NC State in overtime. He set a Clemson single-game record with 39 completions but also threw the first pick-six of his career when Mike Stevens returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown.4. J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State: Barrett was responsible for all three of Ohio States touchdowns and completed 73.3 percent of his passes after halftime. His winning touchdown pass to beat Wisconsin 30-23 in overtime was the 89th of his career, breaking Braxton Millers record.Best momentsTweets of the nightBest playsWorst playsQuotes of the night1. Its unbelievable. Anytime youre rebuilding a program, you need that one signature win that puts everybody on board and everybody headed in the same direction. Weve been frustrated and so close. This is big. -- Syracuse coach Dino Babers, after the Orange upset No. 17 Virginia Tech 31-17 in the Carrier Dome, their first win over a ranked foe since 2012.2. We talked about it this morning. We talked about doing something epic. Nobody gave us a chance to come here to Georgia and get a win. --Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason, after the Commodores 17-16 win at Georgia, his first SEC road victory in two-plus seasons.3. We didnt play a very good team game. That responsibility falls on me. Its embarrassing and Im sick to my stomach. We came out sloppy and I take full responsibility for it. Those guys played harder than us, and thats the disappointing thing. -- Georgia coach Kirby Smart, after the Bulldogs lost to Vanderbilt at home for the first time since 2006.4. We made some plays, got a good lead. We were able to control the ball and shorten the game. Thats, in a perfect world, what we wanted to happen and thats what happened. -- West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, after the Mountaineers clobbered Texas Tech 48-17 on the road to improve to 5-0.Stats that matter1. 54: Michigan State fell to 2-4 after a 54-40 loss to Northwestern. It was the most points the Spartans have ever given up at home and the most theyd surrendered since a 56-21 loss at Wisconsin in 2003.2. 41: Washington State quarterback?Luke Falk?did not throw a touchdown pass in the Cougars 27-21 win over UCLA. It snapped a 22-game personal streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass, and ended Wazzus 41-game streak, which was the longest in the FBS.3. 38: Kansas 49-0 loss at Baylor was its 38th consecutive road defeat, which breaks a tie with Wichita State for the longest such streak by any FBS team since the NCAA adopted major classification in 1937.4. 8: Oklahomas Dede Westbrook?has eight touchdown receptions over the past three games. Westbrook had nine catches for 184 yards with three touchdowns in Saturdays 38-17 win over Kansas State. He had four touchdown catches in his first 16 games at OU. Rangers Jerseys 2020 . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. Stitched Rangers Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Texas Rangers Pro Shop . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. MILWAUKEE -- Cincinnati starter Tony Cingrani cant be faulted for expecting a win after limiting Milwaukee to two runs over seven innings. Problem is he ran into Wily Peralta on the best night for a Brewers starter in over two years. Milwaukees wildly inconsistent right-hander tossed a three-hit shutout Tuesday night to give Milwaukee a 2-0 victory over the Reds and the teams first complete game since Yovani Gallardos two-hit shutout on April 5, 2011 -- a span of 407 games that the Brewers said was the longest such drought in major league history. "Cingrani actually threw a better game," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He had more strikeouts. But theres only one left-handed hitter in the lineup. He walks (Martin) Maldonado and the only left-handed hitter in the lineup hits a home run. When youre not going too good, these things happen." That left-hander was Logan Schafer, who provided Peralta all the support he needed, driving in both runs with his first career homer. Peralta (6-9), whose start was pushed back from Sunday to give his ailing left hamstring a few extra days of rest, struck out six and walked four. He was aided by two double plays and also picked a runner off first. The Reds also had a runner thrown out at home. "Ive been playing with Wily for a while now, "Schafer said. " Ive seen him that dominant before. It was really fun to watch tonight. He was incredible. It was really fun to play defence behind him today. Im glad we came away with the win." Cingrani (3-1) allowed just two singles in addition to Schafers two-run homer, striking out 10 and walking two in seven innings. Schafer, a last-minute replacement for Norichika Aoki, broke up the scoreless duel in the fifth. Martin Maldonado battled back from an 0-2 count for a leadoff walk and Schafer drove the first pitch 429 feet over the wall in right-centre to put the Brewers up 2-0. "One mistake, well, two mistakes; the walk and then I tried to get a head of Schafer and he jumps me," said Cingrani. "Its frustrating. I thought I did my job." Derrick Robinson was within a hand swipe of putting the Reds on the board in the seventh when he sliced an opposite-field triple into the left-field corner. The ball eeluded left fielder Jeff Bianchi, normally a utility infielder who came on to start the inning as a defensive replacement for Ryan Braun.dddddddddddd Robinson tried to score on the play but was nailed on his reach back slide at home on a perfect relay throw from shortstop Jean Segura. "Of course, as soon as you get out there, you get a tough play," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "I dont remember balls hitting off that railing too often. They dont go up there." The Reds also threatened in the ninth when Joey Votto walked with two outs and advanced on a wild pitch, but Brandon Phillips grounded out to short. "When I walked Votto, I had the feeling they were get let me finish up with Phillips," Peralta said. "When I walked Votto, I just kind of stepped back and said make one pitch at a time and thats what I did." Roenicke said he probably would have pulled Peralta had Phillips gotten on. "It was going to be a bad decision if Phillips got on there," Roenicke said. "That was going to be a tough one." Braun, in the starting lineup for the first time since going on the disabled list June 10, singled in the first inning on the first pitch he saw. He grounded out to short and flied to right before being lifted. "I think I was pleasantly surprised with the way I got through today," Braun said. "Id only taken batting practice a couple times. I hadnt seen any live pitching, I didnt do any simulated games or anything. So, I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the way that today went." NOTES: Aoki was in the starting lineup in right field and as the leadoff hitter, but was a pre-game scratch with left elbow tightness. ... Reds left fielder Chris Heisey left the game after getting hit on the left elbow by a pitch from Peralta in the second inning. X-rays were negative. "He said his feeling didnt come back and thats why we took him out," Baker said. "I dont think hes playing tomorrow." . Reliever Sam LeCure pitched one scoreless inning, extending the Reds bullpen scoreless streak to 23 1/3 innings, spanning eight games. . The victory was only the fifth of the season for the Brewers when scoring less than four runs (5-33). ' ' '