Texas Techs success this year rests on the shoulders of its junior

Miami and Florida are still set to host football games on Saturday as Hurricane Matthew marched toward Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas late Wednesday.The 10th-ranked?Hurricanes?have not made a decision to cancel or postpone Saturday nights home game against No. 23?Florida State?on ABC.Matthew was a dangerous and life-threatening Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph as it passed through the Bahamas on Wednesday, and it was expected to be very near Floridas Atlantic coast by Thursday evening. It is expected to make its way up the East Coast.?At least 16 deaths in the Caribbean have been blamed on the storm, with heavy damage reported in Haiti.I dont know what well do, to be honest with you, Miami coach Mark Richt said. Just keep everybody safe first. Well do the best we can.Florida State is scheduled to fly in Thursday night for the Miami game, though forecasters say Thursday could be the day when the Miami area absorbs the worst of Matthews wind.Weve looked through every scenario known to man and well figure it out here when it gets there, and well fly down when they tell us to fly down and play when they tell us to play, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said.As of Wednesday afternoon, the game is still on. Miamis athletic director Blake James said in a statement, We are monitoring Hurricane Matthew, and are in constant contact with stadium personnel. We are hopeful that the impact of Hurricane Matthew will be minimal and the game between the Hurricanes and Seminoles will be played as planned.University of Florida officials said Saturdays Southeastern Conference game between the?Gators?and?LSU?will not be moved?from?Gainesville.A final decision on the start time of the game will be made by 1 p.m. on Thursday as we continue to monitor the storm, the school said in a statement Wednesday. The games scheduled start time is noon at?Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.UF officials said they are working closely with local and state officials, as well as the SEC office, to monitor the hurricanes progress and its potential impact on campus and the safety of the fans.South Carolina officials said the?Gamecocks game against?Georgia?this weekend will be played in Columbia, although?they?acknowledged the date and time could change because of impending impact of the hurricane.The school said in a statement the USC vs. UGA game will be played in Columbia.Officials said they are monitoring Matthews track and will most likely make a decision on any changes Thursday. The school said it was communicating with the National Weather Service, the SEC and state and local authorities.Gov. Nikki Haley said the school was told Wednesday the state would not be able to spare personnel to help with a football game. Dozens of state troopers routinely help with traffic at Williams-Brice Stadium, which seats about 80,000.South Carolina senior associate athletic director Charles Bloom told Columbia radio station 107.5 WNKT-FM its possible the game could be played Sunday or Monday if necessary, with safety being the primary concern at this point.Were not going to risk peoples lives, and take emergency people away from people who really need them, in order to host a football game, Bloom said.Meanwhile, football games elsewhere in Florida were postponed, other events were canceled and contingency plans were being made. On Wednesday, the UCF Knights?decided to postpone their game against Tulane?until Nov. 5. The contest was scheduled to be played Friday night in Orlando.Taking into account all the latest projections for Hurricane Matthew, we have to keep the safety of everyone involved in these events at the forefront of our decision-making, UCF athletic director Danny White said in a statement. We appreciate our friends at Tulane and Houston understanding and working with us through this situation.Saturdays game between Florida Atlantic and Charlotte in Boca Raton will not be played Saturday and has tentatively been moved to Sunday, pending further assessments.Schools in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have either postponed or canceled some soccer, volleyball and other college contests scheduled for the next few days.Two other college football games -- Albany State at Charleston Southern and Bethune-Cookman at South Carolina State -- have already been postponed.The Miami Heat, who arrived home Tuesday night after a 106-95 victory over the Washington Wizards in their preseason opener, decided to fly to Houston on Wednesday night to resume preseason workouts, according to a team spokesman.The Heat will use the Houston Rockets practice facilities before Saturdays preseason game against the?Minnesota Timberwolves in Kansas City. The Rockets are traveling to China for two preseason games.The?Tampa Bay Lightnings preseason game against the?Florida Panthers, which was scheduled for Thursday, has been canceled at?BB&T Center. The arena, which is outside of Miami, is under hurricane watch. The Panthers are scheduled to fly to West Point, New York, on Friday,?but if winds close airports in the Miami area, those plans would be affected.The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and officials are keeping a close watch. The Dolphins, who already had planned not to practice Thursday, will close their team offices to give players and coaches extra time to prepare for the storm.Were watching the weather with the hurricane thats going on down there, Titans coach Mike Mularkey said Tuesday on his radio show. There may be some weather issues. Theres a very slight chance that game could be moved up here. Theres been some discussion because of it.The ACC, which could have at least five Saturday football games directly affected by the storm, said it was monitoring Matthew closely and hoped games would be played as scheduled.Other Saturday ACC games that figure to be affected include Army at Duke, Virginia Tech at North Carolina, Syracuse at Wake Forest?and Notre Dame at NC State.Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said pushing his teams game back to Sunday was possible if events warranted.Everything is on the table right now, Kelly said.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Colorado Rockies Gear . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Rockies Jerseys 2020 . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Rockies Jerseys 2019 . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Wholesale Rockies Jerseys . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury says this years talent is the best since hes returned to his alma mater.The fourth-year coach is hopeful that translates to the best season yet. Kingsburys record as coach sits at .500, and he still lacks a winning Big 12 season.The pluses this season are a receiving corps thats tall and deep, a lightning-fast running back and a quarterback who shunned playing baseball this spring so he could focus full time on football.Without a doubt this will be the best team well be putting out on the field, Kingsbury said.Texas Tech finished 7-6 last season, falling 56-27 to LSU in the Texas Bowl. That season record was a strong rebound from the previous year (4-8), in which the Red Raiders won just two conference games. Their point average last season (45.1 points) was a school record, and the program was one of two schools nationally (Bowling Green was the other) to score at least 30 points in every game.Last year, Kingsbury had the luxury of having two standout quarterbacks, Davis Webb and Patrick Mahomes. The latter emerged as the starter. Webb, who graduated this spring, has a year of eligibility remaining and will play for former Texas Tech assistant Sonny Dykes at California.The Red Raiders open their season at home against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 3.Here are some things to watch this season at Texas Tech:MORE MATURE MAHOMES: Texas Techs success this year rests on the shoulders of its junior QB. Last year, Mahomes led the Big 12 in pass attempts (573), passing yards (4,653), passing touchdowns (36), total yards (5,109) and total touchdowns (46).He wants to take a larger leadership role after key departurres.ddddddddddddKingsbury said Mahomes has worked on his footwork and mechanics. There were games (last season) that he kind of played loose, played street ball the entire game, Kingsbury said. If what I saw this spring translates to the field, he will have a monster season.STOCKTONS SPEED: Look for the Red Raiders to rely on junior Justin Stockton out of the backfield after scoring 11 touchdowns last season. His quick burst in open space makes him a dangerous weapon, whether taking handoffs or catching passes.Hes literally one of the most explosive players in the country, Kingsbury said. His burst and his flat out top end is as fast as anybody.DEFENSIVE WOES: For the first time in nearly a decade, the Red Raiders have the same defensive coordinator for a second year in a row.David Gibbs has a lot to work on.In six losses last season, Texas Tech gave up an average of 56 points. The Red Raiders gave up 279 yards rushing per game and surrendered 49 touchdowns on the ground, the most in the nation.KEY GAMES: At 19-19 over the last three seasons, Texas Tech hasnt been among the Big 12 title contenders. For that to change, the Red Raiders need a strong start in conference play.The first three league games against Kansas, Kansas State and West Virginia in late September and early October will determine if Texas Tech can be a Big 12 player for the first time since 2008.SEASON OPENER: The Red Raiders open the season against FCS opponent Stephen F. Austin and should have little trouble getting a good start with a win.PREDICTION: 7-6. ' ' '