Meister der Farbe » ready, too. I want to say lets do this N

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Mike Norvell got off to a fast start in his debut as Memphis coach. Now, the schedule get a little tougher.After opening his tenure with a 35-17 win over Southeast Missouri State two weeks ago, Norvell and his Tigers host Kansas from the Big 12 -- a league that eliminated Memphis from expansion consideration earlier this month.Being a member of a Power Five conference hasnt helped Kansas on the field. After going winless last season, the Jayhawks (1-1) defeated Rhode Island 55-6 in the season opener before falling to Ohio University 37-21 last week.Memphis had its open date after Norvells opener, so the Tigers have had to be patient.We have no say in when our bye week shows up, so we have to maximize it whether it was late in the year or early like it occurred, Norvell said. With us being a first-year staff, we can definitely take the positives out of it because it gives us another opportunity to continue to get to know each other, to continue to evaluate where we are early in the season.Kansas lost to Memphis 55-23 last year in the only other meeting between these schools. Much has changed for the Tigers since then. Justin Fuente has moved on to coach Virginia Tech, while quarterback Paxton Lynch became the first-round NFL draft choice for the Denver Broncos. Other key players like tight end Alan Cross and wide receiver Mose Frazier also moved on to NFL careers.The thing that sticks out to me is just the contrast in styles between their new quarterback (Riley Ferguson) and obviously Paxton Lynch, Kansas coach Dave Beaty said. Paxton, that dude was a tremendously talented guy. Their new guy is also a talented guy. .He can throw the football.Ferguson threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns in the opener for Memphis.---Some things to watch as Memphis hosts Kansas on Saturday morning:NICE START: Norvell is the first Memphis coach to win his debut since Rey Dempsey in 1984. Only one other Tiger coach -- Lester Barnard in 1922 -- won his inaugural game. But Norvell has the opportunity to be the first Memphis coach to start his career 2-0.WHO ARE YOU? Beaty hasnt determined exactly what type of offensive team will emerge after the Jayhawks ran for only 26 yards against Ohio last week. Im trying to figure out who we are right now, because I know were a lot better than what we showed Saturday in the run game, Beaty said. Were probably somewhere in the middle . to be honest with you.THE ROAD UNKIND: Kansas has not fared well on the road in recent years and come to Memphis on a 38-game road losing streak. The last road win came Sept. 12, 2009, when the Jayhawks defeated Texas-El Paso 34-7. No current player on the Kansas roster has ever won a road game.START IS IMPORTANT: Beaty noted the Jayhawks need to start the game with more success. Kansas was down to Ohio 25-0 near the 6-minute mark of the second quarter. We have to start faster, Beaty said. We didnt start fast on either side of the ball. That doesnt bode well for Kansas. Against Southeast Missouri, Memphis was up 29-0 midway through the second quarter.GRAHAM DISCIPLES: Beaty and Norvell both have coaching ties as assistants to Arizona State coach Todd Graham with Beaty in 2006 at Rice and Norvell at a couple of stops, including serving as Grahams deputy head coach for the Sun Devils before taking the helm at Memphis. Beaty even once coached at Norvells old high school.---Online:AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Blues Jerseys China . 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For 12 monotonous rounds, light heavyweight contender Andre Ward toyed with the painfully slow and overmatched Alexander Brand en route to a shutout decision on Saturday night in a fight every bit the overwhelming mismatch most expected -- but at least it set up one of the most significant and fascinating fights in boxing.Ward, fighting before a hometown crowd of 8,653 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, won every second of the fight in a 120-108 rout on all three scorecards.It was the final step to a long-awaited showdown with unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev, whom he will meet Nov. 19 on HBO PPV, probably at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in a fight that has been signed for months. However, Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and Ward (30-0, 15 KO) had to successfully navigate interim bouts to seal the deal.In a Russian homecoming defense on July 11, Kovalev, 33, did his part as he retained his 175-pound world title for the eighth time. He scored a seventh-round knockdown and rolled to a one-sided unanimous decision against top-10 contender Isaac Chilemba.And then Ward, 32, the former super middleweight world champion in his second fight since making the move to 175 pounds, took apart Brand, who was as big of an underdog as has ever been seen. According to Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, Ward was a minus-10,000 favorite, meaning somebody would have to bet $10,000 on Ward to win just $100.The fighters purses also made it clear who was supposed to win. Ward made $850,000, and Brand made a measly $30,000, probably the lowest for an HBO-televised main event ever.Ward had his way with Brand, who got the fight only after at least three others turned it down. Ward poked him with hard jabs throughout the fight, confused him when he switched to southpaw in the fifth round and hurt him with right hands to the body.Brand (25-2, 19 KOs), in the meantime, did virtually nothing other than back up, grab, hold and look for a way to survive for 12 rounds.One of Wards stinging jabs opened a cut on Brands left eyelid in the seventh round. But before and after the cut Brand never showed any urgency. Ward, 32, at least appeared to be going for a knockout in the later rounds, but Brand,, 39, a former amateur standout from Colombia, has a reputation for having an excellent chin.ddddddddddddWe knew this guy was going to be really, really hard to knock out. Hes a veteran, said Ward, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist who was boxing on the day that the 2016 Olympic tournament began in Rio de Janeiro. People got to realize that when a guy with experience doesnt want to get knocked out, its hard, and hes throwing punches from crazy angles and has got nothing to lose. So I tried to press it. Didnt get it. But its good to get the rounds.According to CompuBox punch statistics, Ward landed ?190 of 490 blows (39 percent), and Brand landed only 45 of 285 (16 percent). Brand never had a round in which he landed double-digit punches, and he landed only two in the second and fourth rounds and just one of 20 punches in the 11th round.When the fight was over, Ward and Kovalev, who had watched at ringside, shook hands in the ring and formally announced their fight in an HBO interview with Max Kellerman.Im excited. Im looking forward to it, Ward said. I want to be the light heavyweight champion of the world. I had to get past this step. He had to get past his step. Ill see you in November.Said Kovalev when asked about the fight: Of course, Im ready. Hes ready. Im ready, too. I want to say lets do this Nov. 19.Ward, who was reluctant to speak about the Kovalev fight despite being asked about it constantly going into his tuneup match with Brand, showed immense respect for his next opponent.You got to respect Sergey for the way hes gotten to where hes got, Ward said. He hasnt had soft touches. He wasnt protected. And he wasnt really pushed by the media. Hes a guy who should get more credit than he has. The winner of the fight could possibly be pound-for-pound [No. 1].With Kovalev and Ward already top-five stalwarts on virtually every pound-for-pound list, many believe the winner of their toss-up showdown will earn recognition as the best fighter in the world, one of the reasons so many have been looking forward to it. The same could not be said for Ward-Brand. ' ' '