predecessor, Dak Prescott, provide

CINCINNATI -- Once Cincinnati applied a little pressure, everything became easy.Jacob Evans III had nine points during a run that put Cincinnati in control midway through the second half, and the 24th-ranked Bearcats overcame cold shooting and a sloppy start to beat Albany 74-51 on Monday night.In the second half, we wanted to come out and play harder, Evans said. We came out and tried to turn up the defense. We scored off our defense.Evans 3-pointer started a 13-2 run that allowed the Bearcats (2-0) to finally shake loose. They went only 5 of 21 from beyond the arc, but Evans finished with 19 points.David Nichols scored 13 points and Joe Cremo had 12 for Albany (1-1), which self-destructed with 22 turnovers -- 11 in each half. Cremo had eight of them.They took the ball out of our hands, Albany coach Will Brown said. They got real physical with us. I think our inexperience on the perimeter as a whole with our starting group showed a little bit today.Cincinnati led only 29-27 at halftime as the Bearcats shot 33 percent from the field and got outrebounded 19-15. There was one tie and 10 lead changes, and neither team could make shots consistently. Cincinnati, however, outscored Albany 40-18 over the final 15 minutes of the game.The scouting report was that they were limited at the point guard position, said guard Troy Caupain, who had four steals. So in practice, we worked on getting after each other.NEW LEADEREvans had 23 points in the opening win, and led the offense again on Monday, asserting himself as a scoring threat in his second season.That takes the pressure off all of us, me included, Caupain said.PESKY DEFENSECincinnati guard Justin Jenifer scored only six points but had three steals and helped to lead the strong closing flourish. Bearcats coach Mick Cronin envisions Jenifer as a defensive specialist who can change the game with pressure on the ball.He has really embraced it, Cronin said. He was like Speedy Gonzalez out there. Thats what hes got to be. I thought Justin really gave us an influx of energy.POLL IMPLICATIONSCincinnati moved into the Top 25 on Monday after a season-opening 84-55 win over Brown. The Bearcats will have a chance to move up -- or get knocked out -- during their upcoming weekend tournament.BIG PICTUREAlbany: The Great Danes opened the season with their first victory over a Big Ten team, winning at Penn State 87-81 on Friday. They kept it close against Cincinnati for more than a half, before their turnovers helped Cincinnati pull away.Cincinnati: The Bearcats have struggled to hit outside shots the last few seasons, relying on their defense to generate points. They had the same issues on Monday, when they pulled away by getting 24 points off turnovers.UP NEXTAlbany: Hosts Oneonta on Wednesday in its first home game.Cincinnati: Plays No. 21 Rhode Island on Saturday in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Connecticut.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.orgMichael Raffl Flyers Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Eric Lindros Flyers Jersey . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/ivan-provorov-hockey-jersey/ . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Michael Raffl Jersey . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Custom Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book.No. 20 LSU goes into its Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi State still looking for answers when it comes to pressing questions regarding its passing game.The Tigers and Bulldogs will kick it off Saturday night (7 p.m. ET) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.LSU coach Les Miles looked to have come up with an answer last week when Danny Etling replaced struggling Brandon Harris at quarterback at the start of the second quarter against Jackson State and provided a dramatic, but short-lived, spark to the offense in the Tigers 34-13 victory.Etling, a junior transfer from Purdue, gave the offense an immediate lift when his first possession ended with a 46-yard touchdown pass to tight end De Sean Smith. In the second quarter he completed 6 of 8 passes for 100 yards and LSU scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions after his entrance to take a 27-10 halftime lead.But the storybook script changed during the second half when Etling had zero completions and one interception in six attempts.The Tigers still prevailed and Etlings uneven performance was sufficient for Miles to name him the starter on Friday for LSUs SEC opener against Mississippi State.I just want you to know, Danny will take the first snap, Miles said in a video posted on the schools website Friday. I think Danny can handle the place and the stage and playing in a televised game in Tiger Stadium.Miles declared an in-season competition between the two quarterbacks, something he reiterated at his weekly news conference earlier in the week.Well need both guys to play in every game, Miles said. Were not turning our back in any way on competition in that position.Miles and his staff spoke with Harris this week, and both quarterbacks could see time against Mississippi State.Regardless of exactly how Miles divides the work between the quarterbacks, he said hes hopeful that the break last week will help Harris regroup. The junior has been erratic for three-plus seasons and was 12-of-21 passing with two interceptions in the opening loss at Wisconsin.Harris completed only one of his four attempts against Jacksonville State for an eight-yard gain, all in the first quarter.We would like to think that a respite from the startiing quarterback and the pressures thereof might allow him to take a deep breath and step forward and compete, Miles said.dddddddddddd We saw it as a positive.Mississippi State, meanwhile, seems to have settled its quarterback situation.Though he played only seven snaps in the opening 21-20 loss to South Alabama and didnt complete any of his three pass attempts, sophomore Nick Fitzgerald was given the nod to start moving forward, and he responded in a big way.Fitzgerald played all four quarters in the Bulldogs 27-14 bounce-back win over South Carolina last week and established a new school quarterback rushing record with 195 yards.After that first game, I didnt want him to think or that he needed to worry about that, State coach Dan Mullen said. Even through camp or Game 1, I dont think there was pressure one way or the other but going forward I didnt want him to have to feel that. Im sure that helped him a little bit.A redshirt sophomore, Fitzgerald ranks second nationally among quarterbacks in rushing, averaging 103 yards per game, and sits sixth overall in the SEC in rushing. He is averaging an astounding 10.3 yards per carry on his 19 rushing attempts.His immediate predecessor, Dak Prescott, provided production as a dual-threat quarterback during his time at MSU, but Fitzgerald features a contrasting running style at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds.Nicks a different style runner than Dak was, Mullen said. I think hes faster and a little more explosive with the ball in his hands than Dak. We will have to see his physicality. I dont think hes as physical as Dak was, but its a little different style of running.Fitzgerald needs to make improvements in the passing game. He has completed 19 of his 32 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the year.Hopefully, he looks at the things he did well and continues to do those things well and looks at the mistakes and doesnt make those again, Mullen said. Im sure hell make some different mistakes Saturday night at LSU, but, hopefully, the mistakes hes already made hell correct and fix and plays with confidence. ' ' '