wide receiver Pooh Stricklin (sprained shoulder) are both questiona

MINNEAPOLIS -- With only four weeks left in the race, the West Division is thick with contenders for a trip to the Big Ten championship game.Minnesota has crept into the crowd, despite losing the first two conference games, with a boost from a soft middle of the schedule. Theres just one more game to win before the Gophers can dive into a daunting yet potentially stirring finish, but they simply cant afford to let daydreams of a December game in Indianapolis and being heavy favorites at home distract them from playing Purdue on Saturday.If we dont take it one game at a time its not going to happen, linebacker Nick Rallis said.The Gophers (6-2, 3-2) narrowly beat struggling Rutgers at home two weeks ago, but they sandwiched that one with convincing wins on the road over Maryland and most recently Illinois . Not having Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule this season has been a benefit to the Gophers, one they neednt apologize for after going through a gauntlet of top-20 teams last year. The breather would be wasted if they dont beat the Boilermakers (3-5, 1-4), though, because games at Nebraska and Wisconsin are looming the rest of the month along with a home matchup against Northwestern.Many of the Gophers have vivid memories of a 39-38 victory over Purdue at TCF Bank Stadium in 2014 , when they needed a 52-yard field goal to take the lead late in the fourth quarter after rallying from a 31-20 halftime deficit. Purdues skill-position speed overwhelmed Minnesota that afternoon, and that Gophers team in 2014 fared better than any other in the past 12 seasons.Two years ago they came in here and had me scrambling, said Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys, who was the defensive coordinator at the time. He added: So were going have to make sure were ready, or we wont win.Here are some key angles to know about the game:AIRING IT OUT: Purdue quarterback David Blough leads the Big Ten with 2,346 yards passing, averaging close to 300 yards per game. Hes been intercepted 12 times, but the Boilermakers remain the same threat to produce long gains and score quickly like they were while dicing up Minnesotas defense in 2014. DeAngelo Yancey has 557 yards and six touchdowns .Some good athletes, Claeys said. Were going to have to have a great job of tackling.PIRSIG HEALING: Minnesota right tackle Jonah Pirsig, who has missed the last three games with a sprained ankle, was cleared to practice this week and could return to the lineup. Garrison Wright had switched from left tackle to fill in for Pirsig.Hes really excited and itching to get back in the huddle, quarterback Mitch Leidner said.INTERIM STRUGGLE: Interim coach Gerad Parker has had a rough start for Purdue since replacing the fired Darrell Hazell. The Boilermakers lost Parkers first two games, both to ranked opponents, by a combined score of 89-38. The bigger picture presents some hope for the 35-year-old former wide receivers coach, however. Four coaches have held the interim or acting tag in program history, and the three who filled in for more than one game all won at least three times.I think to have this position now and in the future, wherever it may be, Parker said, I embrace it because this is what Ive been called to do.BACK HOME: Freshman Brian Lankford-Johnson, Purdues second-leading rusher, is a native Minnesotan who played at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul before moving to Florida to finish his prep career. He carried the ball 18 times for 127 yards and a touchdown last month in a win at Illinois.Hes a talented guy that deserves and will have a great career here, Parker said, but hes also got to learn how to do it all the time.THIRTY SOMETHING: Purdue has struggled under new defensive coordinator Ross Els. In the first eight games, the Boilermakers have allowed more than 30 points five times. Now they have to rebound from one of the worst performances in program history, having given up 45 second-half points to now-20th-ranked Penn State in a 62-24 rout at Ross-Ade Stadium. To be competitive against the Gophers, the Boilermakers must make some dramatic improvements.---For more college football coverage: http://www.collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Hydro Flask Kopen . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Hydro Flask Nederland .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. http://www.hydroflaskkorting.com/ . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Hydro Flask Waterfles .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Hydro Flask Straw Lid . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. The No. 21 Baylor Bears are more than a four touchdown favorite to start 3-0 for the sixth straight season when they travel to Rice Stadium in Houston to take on the Rice Owls on Friday night. But even though the Bears buried the currently winless Owls 70-17 last year in Waco, interim head coach Jim Grobe is stressing to his team to not take anything for granted.Grobe pointed out to his squad what happened to two fellow Big 12 teams, then-No. 22 Oklahoma State (30-27 home loss to Central Michigan) and No. 15 TCU (41-38 double overtime loss to Arkansas) over the weekend. And he believes the Owls (0-2) will be fired up to play a ranked team at home for the first time since 1997 when No. 21 BYU visited Rice Stadium.First and foremost, I hope thats a wakeup call to our players, Grobe said. If you dont go out and play good football, theres a good chance youre not going to come out a winner. Whether theyre ranked or not, be ready to play.Baylor is a 30-point favorite against a Rice team thats playing its first home game after opening the season with a 46-14 loss to Western Kentucky followed by last weeks 31-14 loss against Army. Baylor leads the all-time series with Rice 48-30-2, including having won the last seven meetings and eight of the last nine in Houston.The Owls are averaging just 290 yards and 14 points per game while the defense has allowed 531.5 yards and 38.5 points per game. But Grobe made it sound like Rices two road games at Western Kentucky and Army would be a lofty challenge for anyone in college football.I cant imagine starting the first two games of the season on the road, especially against good teams, Grobe said. Western Kentucky is really good and Army has surprised everybody. I think theyve played two really good teams.Baylors offense, led by quarterback Seth Russell, who has thrown for 424 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception, averaged 517 yards and 47.5 points in wins over Northwestern State and SMU. But thanks in part to 14 penalties totaling 101 yards, many on procedure calls, the Bears sputtered to just a 6-6 halftime score with SMU on Saturday before eventually pulling away for a 40-13 win.Grobe is worried similaar mistakes could snowball for his young team on the road.dddddddddddd Hes counting on his veteran players to stress the importance of treating the game as a business trip and to stay focused.The young guys are the ones you worry about on the road, Grobe said. Besides being in a hostile environment, its hard to get young guys to focus. Youre in an unfamiliar setting, youre in a hotel, youre libel to find some of the youngest guys in the hallway throwing ice at each other, and running up and down the hallway doing crazy stuff. Thats why you need your older guys to set a good example.Grobe believes running back Shock Linwood will be ready to play against the Owls after leaving the SMU win with a neck strain. Linwood needs just 48 yards to break the Baylor career rushing record of 3,665 held by Walter Abercrombie (1978-81). However, senior cornerback Ryan Reid (high ankle sprain) and wide receiver Pooh Stricklin (sprained shoulder) are both questionable.Rice enters the contest ranked just 119th in total offense (290 yards) and 121st in scoring (14 points). Head coach David Bailiff a lot of the woes are self-inflicted.Every rep, somebodys making a mistake, Bailiff told the Houston Chronicle. It may be at running back this play, O-line the next play, quarterback, receiver. Just have to keep working hard over there.The Owls have managed just 197 rushing yards in two games with quarterback Tyler Stehling leading the way with 81 and a touchdown on 17 carries. Bailiff blamed the offensive line, which will be without starting guard Connor Patterson for the rest of the year with a leg injury, for the struggles in the run game.A lot of what you see is really not the running back but the fact that were not getting movement on people up front, Bailiff said. Weve got to start getting some seams up there to help them.Bailiff is optimistic the Owls can turn things around.Once we get it, were going to be fine, Bailiff said. Were going to win our share of football games. Weve been through hard times here. We know that you just keep working. ' ' '