Dein erstes Forum » Minnesota rebounded the following night

EVANSTON, Ill. Authentic Custom Pelicans Jersey . -- The way star linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. sees it, the season opener might as well count as a conference game for Northwestern.The Wildcats come into Saturdays game against MAC favorite Western Michigan knowing they face a stiff challenge as they try to start on a winning note and build on a rebuild year.We have to come in with the mindset that were facing a Big Ten opponent, Walker said. Theyre going to come out ready to play and were going to have to come out ready to play. They have weapons all over the field.The Wildcats have a renewed energy coming off a 10-3 season that squashed concerns about a regression after back-to-back 5-7 showings.Coach Pat Fitzgerald enters his 11th year with a 70-56 record and more victories than any other coach for a program that started in 1882. He is the only one to win 10 games twice. But the margin between double digits in wins and a .500 or losing record last season was a thin one.Northwestern was 5-0 in games decided by seven points or less, got manhandled by a combined 78-10 in consecutive games against Michigan and Iowa, and was pounded 45-6 by Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. Yet a strong defense led the turnaround, starting with a 16-6 victory over No. 21 Stanford. The Wildcats kept the Cardinal out of the end zone in a performance that set the course toward a bounce-back season.They begin this year with their sights set another big run like the one that led to bowl games in five straight years. It starts with the opener, and here are some things for look for against Western Michigan:BIG `DFour starters are gone from a defense that fueled the turnaround last season. But Walker is back -- and that is huge. After all, he led Wildcats in tackles (122) by more than 30, finished fourth in the nation with 20 1/2 tackles for loss and earned third-team, All-America honors as a sophomore last season. Given that, its not hard to see why he is at the center of a major promotional blitz the likes of which Northwestern had not produced since it pushed former quarterback Dan Persa as a Heisman candidate five years ago.ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGANThe Broncos were favored to win the MAC in a preseason media poll and put Northern Illinois six-year run of championship game appearances to the test. Quarterback Zach Terrell and receiver Corey Davis are back from an 8-5 team that lost just twice in league play a year ago, to NIU and Bowling Green. And those teams played for the conference title. Western Michigan went on to beat Middle Tennessee State in the Bahamas Bowl for its first bowl victory.I think theyve done a terrific job, Fitzgerald said. Theyve taken young guys that probably were overlooked by our conference and have done a great job.ON THE RUNNo returning Big Ten running back rushed for more yards last season than Justin Jackson. His per-carry average, however, was rather underwhelming. Despite finishing second to Ohio States Ezekiel Elliott last season with 1,418 yards, he averaged 4.5 per attempt. Thats something Jackson hopes to change and he will start against a Western Michigan team ranked eighth in the MAC in run defense last year, allowing 5.3 yards per carry.TAKING OFFENSENorthwestern did not ask much of quarterback Clayton Thorson as a freshman. But his development could go a long way toward determining if the Wildcats will rise after finishing last in the conference in scoring and yards per game. Thorson threw for 1,522 yards and seven touchdowns while running for 397 yards and five TDs last season.BIG CATCHNorthwestern will have its hands full with Corey Davis. He ended last season as the leading active FBS receiver with 3,785 yards and needs 402 to match the all-time MAC record. Custom Pelicans T-shirts . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Custom Pelicans T-shirts . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. http://www.custompelicansjersey.com/ . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- It got physical, very physical, and thats just fine with the U.S. womens water polo team.Maggie Steffens scored four times, and the United States clawed its way back to the Olympic final with a rugged 14-10 victory over Hungary on Wednesday.Winners of 21 in a row, including its five games in Rio de Janeiro by a combined score of 61-27, the U.S. has met every challenge as the favorite to become the first country to win consecutive gold medals since the tournament was added to the Olympics in 2000.Poked and prodded by Hungary, the U.S. pushed back with its relentless attack.We kind of say bring it on, Steffens said. We want to beat teams at their best game. Hungarys a very physical team, thats what makes them great.Next up is Italy, which advanced to Fridays final with a 12-9 victory over Russia. Italy also is a perfect 5-0 in Rio, winning by a combined score of 51-31.Its going to be a heck of a battle, U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said. Were going to have our hands full, no doubt.With the U.S. paying close attention to Barbara Bujka in the middle, captain Rita Keszthelyi scored four times as Hungary became the first country to reach double digits against the U.S. since Spain got 10 goals in a loss to the Americans on June 9.But Hungary was unable to slow down the athletic U.S. in the second half.The U.S. is the strongest and they have the most and biggest, strongest players in all the Olympic Games, Hungary coach Attila Biro said.After Bujka scored to get Hungary within one at the beginning of the second quarter, the United States responded with four of the next five goals. Maddie Musselman scored on two power plays and Kaleigh Gilchrist made it 8-4 with 3:06 left in the first half.Hungary made another charge in the third quarter, but Steffens had two goals and Kiley Neushul also scored in an impressive burst tthat helped put the game away. Custom Pelicans Jersey China. We knew it would be a physical, tough, strong game, U.S. center Kami Craig said. Just happy to go out there and kind of grind through some of that physicality and try to play as clean of water polo as we could.Italy won the gold medal in 2004, but slipped to sixth in Beijing and finished seventh in London four years ago. But its headed back to the final after Arianna Garibotti scored five goals and Giulia Gorlero made nine saves in the countrys second victory over Russia in Rio.The final is a dream, Italy coach Fabio Conti said. Every player, every athlete, every coach that arrive in Olympic Games want to arrive to this dream. Now we dont want to stop (this) dream.Roberta Bianconi and Chiari Tabani added two goals apiece for Italy, which, like the U.S., is trying to become the first two-time winner of the Olympic tournament.Its going to be a physical battle, Bianconi said through a translator, so we need to be very, very focused and do exactly what we have worked on our whole season.Evgeniya Ivanova and Ekaterina Lisunova each scored two goals for Russia, which was a surprise 12-10 winner over Spain in the quarterfinals.Ivanova and Olga Gorbunova scored the first two goals of the game, but Italy gradually took over. Garibottis long-range goal gave Italy a 5-4 lead with 1:37 left in the first half, and it never trailed again.After Russia pulled within two with 3:17 left, Garibotti scored a power-play goal to make it 10-7. Bianconi added a penalty shot with 1:41 remaining.Garibotti scored seven times in Italys first four games.Sometimes when the moment is dangerous she can do anything, Conti said.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '