Meister der Farbe » hit on Martellus Bennett last Sunday

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Boise States path to reaching the Mountain West title game boils down to this: Beat Air Force, root for New Mexico.All we can control is playing Air Force, Broncos coach Bryan Harsin said.Thats enough of a handful right there, considering No. 20 Boise State (10-1, 6-1 MW, No. 19 CFP) has dropped two straight to the Falcons (8-3, 4-3) and their tricky triple-option offense heading into Fridays game.Should that happen, the Broncos need to hope the Lobos can upset Mountain Division-leading Wyoming on Saturday.Its not about what anybody else is doing. Its really about us, Harsin said during his news conference. Weve got a lot to prepare for this week.Recently, the Falcons have given the Broncos fits. Boise State doesnt lose often and rarely to the same team two years in a row. Rarer still, to the same team three straight seasons. Air Force would join Idaho (1982-93) and Nevada (1996-98) as the only teams in Boise States rich history to beat the Broncos in at least three straight years, according to the school.Thats why the Broncos have been eyeing this game all season.We knew we finished with Air Force, knew it was a team we wanted to go play, Harsin said. We get to take action, control what we can control.Air Force coach Troy Calhoun believes this version of Boise State is one of the top teams the Falcons have faced in a while, ranking up there with the 2010 Texas Christian squad led by Andy Dalton, the 2008 Utah team and last years Michigan State squad.This group has every bit of the same makeup, Calhoun said. This is a team thats one of the 10 best teams in college football.Especially with Jeremy McNichols in the backfield. The explosive junior has rushed for 1,575 yards this season and 22 TDs. Hes also caught 32 passes for 450 yards and four scores.Quite frankly, hes one of the guys who should be the four or five contenders for the Heisman Trophy, Calhoun said.Harsin seconds that opinion of McNichols, who largely flies under the radar on the national scene.How is this guy not in the conversation with everybody else? Harsin lamented. I dont know what else from an offensive standpoint a guy can do to not have his name thrown in there with all these other backs.To boot, hes on a pretty good football team, too, that has a pretty good record right now.Here are things to know heading into the regular season finale:STOPPING THE OPTION: The Broncos will try to slow down that Air Force run game without junior linebacker Joe Martarano, whos sidelined with a broken leg. That means more responsibilities for linebackers Darren Lee and Blake Whitlock as they try to neutralize an offense that rolled up 607 total yards in a 37-30 win last season.TAKING OFFENSE: A little Mountain West trivia -- the trio of quarterback Brett Rypien, wide receiver Thomas Sperbeck and McNichols are the first from the same team in conference history to turn in consecutive seasons of 3,000 yards passing, 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000 yards rushing, respectively.SENIOR DAY: Calhoun said it seemed like such a short time ago that he was having dinner at the home of Roland Ladipo, trying to recruit him to Air Force. Or chatting on the couch with Weston Steelhammer. They are part of 32 seniors playing their final game at Falcon Stadium.Its a strong group -- the way they approach the practice field, the weight room, meetings, Calhoun said.STEELHAMMER VS. MCNICHOLS: McNichols was the leagues offensive player of the week after rushing for 206 yards and four TDs against UNLV. Steelhammer earned defensive player of the week honors after leading the team with 10 tackles and picking off two passes in a win at San Jose State.SCORING MACHINES: Air Force and Boise State have gone a combined 545 games without being shutout. The last time the Falcons were blanked was Dec. 31, 1992, in a 13-0 loss to Mississippi. For the Broncos, it was Sept. 27, 1997, in a 58-0 loss to Washington State.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25Stitched Knicks Jerseys . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Knicks Jerseys China . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. https://www.cheapknicks.com/ . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. New York Knicks Gear . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. New York Knicks Pro Shop . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Defensive end Chris Long and his New England teammates know enough about the Pittsburgh offense to realize the Steelers can be potent even without Ben Roethisberger.One of the best, maybe the best wide receiver corps in the league, best 1-2 punch at running back in the league, good tight ends, best offensive line in the league, up there, ... a ton of weapons, Long said Thursday, as the Patriots prepared for Sundays visit to Pittsburgh. Really good offense.The running back pair of LeVeon Bell and DeAngelo Williams and the wide receiver group led by Antonio Brown will be without Roethlisberger, who underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery after getting hurt in last weeks loss at Miami.Landry Jones will be the starter for first-place Pittsburgh.Weve watched a lot of their offense, said Long, a free agent signing who has gotten off to a strong start with his new team.I feel like we know these guys pretty well. That having been said, it doesnt make it any easier. From top to bottom its a really good unit.Bell has run for 263 yards (12 fewer than Williams) but has also caught 20 passes out of the backfield for 177 yards. He is still, however, looking for his first touchdown of the season (Brown has five, Williams three).In short, Bell is tough for any defense to handle, with or without his quarterback.You can just turn on the film and see where hes at, New England linebacker Donta Hightower said. The guy plays running back, he plays receiver, they line him up everywhere, they motion him.Hes not a one-trick pony. He has an extended route tree. They do a good job of being able to get him the ball whether its screens, out of the backfield or passes. Weve have to do a good job of just knowing where hes at all times.How impressed is New England coach Bill Belichick with Bell?Oh my God. Oh yeah, tremendous player, Belichick said Wednesday. Great hands, catch the ball, very quick, makes people miss. Strong, breaks tackles, exxcellent balance, tough, doesnt run out of bounds, fights for extra yardage.dddddddddddd Great player.Said Long: Its impressive. Hes really a prolific receiver out of the backfield, so we have to do good job on him in that regard, too. It kind of makes it double the challenge.Hightower sacked Andy Dalton for a safety, had another shared sack and was in on 13 tackles in New Englands win over Cincinnati last Sunday -- earning him AFC defensive player of the week honors.He was the first Patriots linebacker since Mike Vrabel, in 2007, to win the award. His performance helped turn around an afternoon that wasnt going well for New England -- the Patriots winning to go to 5-1 and they head to Heinz Field.Very tough at home. They do play really well at home, Long said. Theyve got great fans that make it a wild atmosphere up there, so it should be a tough challenge.Game notesPatriots players were not commenting on the $75,000 fine -- and no suspension -- levied against Cincinnatis Vontaze Burfict for his low hit on Martellus Bennett last Sunday. Thats last week. Thats the rules. Im worried about Pittsburgh, wide receiver Julian Edelman said. Im not getting caught in that one. Asked if the rule is a bad one, he said, Im not here to talk about rules, Im here to play football. Said tight end Rob Gronkowski: Its all up to the league. Ive got really no say in anything. ... Gronkowski on playing at Heinz Field: The atmosphere is just football atmosphere. Youve got great high school football there, youve got great college football there, youve got great NFL football there. Its just a football atmosphere -- they love their Steelers, they love going to the game and its going to be a great atmosphere come Sunday.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '