导出博客文章The Big Ten heavyweights spent the first three weeks of the season beating up on
lesser opponents while climbing the rankings. With five teams in the top 15 of
The Associated Press Top 25 , more than any other conference, its time for the
Big Ten to get to work.The schedule on Saturday is full of big-time matchups.
Third-ranked Ohio State visits No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan hosts improving
Colorado, No. 12 Michigan State travels to No. 18 Notre Dame and Nebraska hosts
No. 22 Oregon.In the new playoff era, meaty matchups like these in the
nonconference may become more common. One of the main components in the
selection process for the four-team playoff is strength of schedule, so power
programs can no longer afford to pad the first month of their schedules with
no-name schools that get paid to take a beating.I think youll see more and more
of it, Nebraska coach Mike Riley said. It looks like a unique way, different
way, that people are starting their season with their non-league games, like
were playing and like we saw right from the first weekend. I think it adds a lot
of intrigue and excitement to it.And there are more than just playoff
implications.When the Buckeyes go to Norman on Saturday, the Sooners will be
hosting several sought-after recruits that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer would
love to land as well. Come out of the game with a win in front of some of the
most talented high school players in the country, and they could win more than
just a game.Our performance in this game, theres going to be a lot of people
watching, and that certainly is important, said Meyer, whose Buckeyes outscored
Tulsa and Bowling Green by a combined 102 points.And finally, games like these
help teams gear up for the grind of the conference season that looms just around
the corner.This will be a great game for our team to see where we are against a
team thats nationally ranked and has been a national team for a lot of years
now, Riley said. It will be really good for the Huskers in preparation for what
were going to see as the season goes on.Other notes from around the Big
Ten:IOWAS CHALLENGEThe Hawkeyes are facing an FCS team this weekend. So they can
relax with another tuneup, right? Not so fast.North Dakota State is coming to
town on Saturday. The Bison have won five straight national championships and
are 8-3 in their last 11 games when they step up in weight class to face an FBS
opponent. And they are not afraid.My experience is the biggest difference is
just depth and overall numbers, coach Kirk Ferentz said. But the guys they put
out there are just tremendous players. Theyve got a lot of guys that look like
guys we play with that may have gotten overlooked a little bit in
recruiting.CLAEYS APPROACHWhen Minnesota scored late to go up 30-23 against
Oregon State on opening weekend, coach Tracy Claeys got some attention for his
decision to go for 2 points to make it a two-possession game. Claeys has long
believed that if the conversion fails and his team still only leads by seven,
most teams would kick the extra point if they scored a late touchdown to try to
force overtime rather than go for the win with a 2-point conversion.The Gophers
handled Indiana State with ease on Saturday. But Claeys said if they had been in
a similar situation against the Sycamores, he would have kicked the extra point
for an eight-point lead.A smaller school, an underdog on the road, if they would
have went down and scored, they probably would have went for 2, Claeys said. The
majority of teams, we will go for 2 down there.STRUGGLING WILDCATSNorthwestern
is 0-2 on the season, with eyebrow-raising losses to Western Michigan and
Illinois State. They are 211th in the nation in offense, and coach Pat
Fitzgerald said Northwestern needs better play from its offensive line if things
are going to start turning around.Id love to tell you its an easy fix,
Fitzgerald said. Its guys doing what theyre supposed to do when theyre supposed
to do it and coaches coaching them better. Its not rocket science here. Its roll
your sleeves up and get better. Thats what we did today and hopefully we can do
it again tomorrow.
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BOSTON -- Hanley Ramirez told his Red Sox teammates in the dugout that he wasnt
going to swing for the fences in his final at-bat.It doesnt work for him that
way.I dont hit homers when I try to hit homers, he explained to reporters after
Bostons 11-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants. They said, It doesnt matter.
Youve got three already. Ramirez homered three times to drive in a career-high
six runs and also helped the Red Sox with some nifty fielding on Wednesday night
as Boston moved into first place in the AL East. With a chance to tie the major
league record of four homers in a game, he grounded out weakly to the pitcher in
his last at-bat.Travis Shaw and Sandy Leon also homered for Boston, and Mookie
Betts had three of the 15 Boston hits that made up for a poor outing from
starter Drew Pomeranz. Acquired last week from San Diego for Bostons top
pitching prospect, Pomeranz struggled to protect an eight-run lead and lasted
just three innings in his Red Sox debut.Unfortunately it was an early night for
him, manager John Farrell said. Hell be back out there in five days.Boston
opened an 8-0 lead and held on to win for the eighth time in nine games and move
a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, who lost 5-0 to the Yankees.And
Ramirez was the biggest reason why.The converted first baseman made several fine
fielding plays, diving to his left and his right and also starting a double play
in the sixth with the bases loaded and nobody out after San Francisco had
already cut Bostons 8-0 lead to 8-7.Everything went right today, he
said.Ramirezs first career three-homer game gave him 11 for the season. He hit
two-run shots in the second, third and sixth inning.Ramirez also reached base
when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth, glowering at Giants reliever Albert
Suarez before the umpire quickly warned both benches. The biggest crowd of the
season -- 38,201 -- stood and chanted Ramirezs name for his final at-bat in the
eighth.Sixteen times players have hit four homers in a game, most recently by
Josh Hamilton for Texas in 2012.Matt Barnes (3-3) was awarded the victory as the
first effective Red Sox pitcher, coming on with a one-run lead and the bases
loaded in the sixth and pitching out of it, thanks to Ramirezs glove.Barnes
added a scoreless seventh, getting Brandon Belt on a check-swing strikeout with
two on to end it, and a perfect eighth.PPomeranz lasted just three innings,
allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks.dddddddddddd.Giants starter Matt
Cain (1-6) gave up three homers and five runs in 2 1/3 innings.Trevor Brown had
three hits for the Giants. Mac Williamson hit a three-run homer, and the San
Francisco right fielder also went over the right-field bullpen wall in pursuit
of one of Ramirezs homers.I think every kid growing up, playing in Fenway would
like to hit a ball over the Green Monster, Williamson said. It was definitely a
special feeling rounding the bases. Seeing a ball going out here is kind of a
childhood dream.RARE VISITThe game wrapped up a two-game series that was the
Giants first visit to Fenway Park since 2007 and just their second since the
start of interleague play. They have never beaten the Red Sox at the century-old
ballpark, with their last win at Fenway coming as the New York Giants against
the Boston Braves in the 1912 World Series.The crowd was boosted by many in
Giants orange -- matching the 1978-82 throwback jerseys worn by the team; Boston
wore the tops from its 1975 World Series team. The visitors managed to out-shout
the home fans often, including in the fourth inning, when San Francisco scored
five runs, and the fifth, when they added two more to make it an 8-7
game.LEATHERRamirez dove to his right to stop a line drive in the first inning,
and made a play to his right on a hard grounder from Grant Green. Then, with the
bases loaded in the sixth, he gloved a sharp grounder, stepped on first and
threw home.Leon spun and tagged Belt as he slid home. The umpire signaled out,
and the call stood after Giants manager Bruce Bochy challenged it.San Francisco
third baseman Ramiro Pena made a nice play of his own, going back to catch
Travis Shaws popup in shallow left to end the left inning and save a
run.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: Hunter Pence (surgery on right hamstring) isnt ready to
resume rehab with Triple-A Sacramento. Bochy said hes got a chance to play on
Thursday.Red Sox: Put RHP Koji Uehara on the 15-day disabled list with a strain
of his pectoral muscle.UP NEXTGiants: Off Thursday before opening a three-game
series in New York against the Yankees.Red Sox: Open four-game series against
the Minnesota Twins at Fenway. ' ' '
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