MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State has earned an unflattering reputation under coach Bill Snyder for its non-conference scheduling of weaker opponents from schools that often have a direction in their names.The Wildcats went to the extreme opposite this season.Kansas State opens up against No. 8 Stanford on Friday night, a marquee matchup against the Rose Bowl champions and star Christian McCaffrey on national TV kicking off the slate of weekend games.It will be the first time since 2001 that the Wildcats open the season on the West Coast -- back then it was the Southern California juggernaut under Pete Carroll -- and the first time they will face a ranked opponent in their opener since Auburn in 2007 under former coach Ron Prince.I tell everybody this is a game like any other game, Kansas State linebacker Mike Moore said. Theyre a highly ranked team and this can propel our season, but if we do our job and do what the coaches tell us, we can have a great game.The Wildcats, plagued by injuries during a 6-7 finish a year ago, tend to open at home or against lower-level opponents. The idea is to ease into the season, build some confidence and give younger players deep down the depth chart a chance to see the field before the Big 12 Conference grind.But the league has encouraged teams to schedule tougher non-conference games in the hopes of boosting its chances of landing a team in the playoff. As a result, the Wildcats face Stanford, Oklahoma takes on No. 15 Houston and Texas hosts 10th-ranked Notre Dame.Those teams are a far cry from South Dakota, the Wildcats opener a year ago. Or Stephen F. Austin, their punching bag to kick off the 2014 season.Its a challenge, (but) I dont relate that to necessarily what it means to our program, Snyder said. I think its a great opportunity in regards to this set of young people. I have great respect for Stanford and we all know where they are in the rankings, certainly well deserved. Its obviously a challenge but its an excellent opportunity for the young people here.Snyder said there is no greater sense of urgency playing a marquee brand such as Stanford in Week 1, even if his players may feel differently. Every game carries the same weight to himI think coaches have that same sense of urgency regardless of who youre playing, he said. You can say youd want your players to as well and I do, but it ought to be at the heightened level regardless of who theyre playing. That may be the case but I cant assure you that it always is. Maybe it is for some right now in different circumstances.A softer opening might have been especially beneficial this season with Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz and safety Dante Barnett returning from season-ending injuries.Ertz was announced as the starter on Monday, completing his comeback from a torn ACL that he sustained in the first game last season. He will try to turn around an offense that was ninth in the Big 12 in passing offense a year ago, and shuffled through so many different faces under center that wide receiver Kody Cook was eventually pressed into duty.Barnett will be relied upon just as much on defense, where the senior will try to direct a group that allowed more than 450 yards and 31.5 points per game last season.We are going on the road and playing one of the Heisman finalists from last year, he said. We are also playing one of the top-10 teams in the country, so I cannot wait for the atmosphere. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Jay-Bromley-Jersey/ . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Davis-Webb-Jersey/ . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Orleans-Darkwa-Jersey/ . The scientists believe the small earthquake during a Marshawn Lynch touchdown was likely greater than Lynchs famous "beast quake" touchdown run three years ago, which also came against New Orleans during a playoff game. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Darian-Thompson-Jersey/ . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Weston-Richburg-Jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. NEW YORK -- The Los Angeles Clippers are halfway through a six-game road trip covering approximately 6,133 miles.The first stop went well but the last two stops turned into nightmares for the Clippers.The Brooklyn Nets can only hope two straight losses constitute a nightmare these days.The Clippers continue their road trip Tuesday night and look to rebound from two double-digit losses when they face the Nets, who are dealing with an unsightly seven-game losing streak.Los Angeles flew 1,240 miles to Dallas and improved to 14-2 by shooting 50.6 percent in a 20-point victory Wednesday. Then the Clippers flew 1,000 miles to Detroit, trailed by 12 after the first quarter and lost by 11 on Friday.Following the loss to the Pistons, Los Angeles flew 240 miles to Indiana and once the Clippers took the court, things went even worse in a 91-70 loss to the Pacers. Los Angeles shot 31.4 percent, committed 20 turnovers and was outrebounded by 12.The Clippers were held to 70 points or fewer for the first time since an 86-67 loss at Utah on Dec. 5, 2003. Los Angeles committed 20 turnovers for the only the 10th time since Doc Rivers took the coaching job in 2013 and the Clippers were held to their lowest shooting percentage since a 31.3 percent showing Feb. 27, 2008 vs. Portland.We dont turn the ball over, but we did tonight. Rivers said. Its one of those nights. I just thought the turnovers changed the game early. They had 20 more shots than us at halftime, and we didnt seem very confident. I thought we settled the entire night offensively.Rivers may be right.His team was outscored 42-16 in the paint and were 15-of-50 on shots classified as jumpers.Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Chris Paul and J.J. Reddick were a combined 4-of-18 from the floor.This was just all bad, Paul said. We shot it bad. Our defense was bad. I think I had four turnovers in the first quarter. ...So this was just a bad game for us. But dont take anything away from Indiaana.dddddddddddd They beat us.Now the Clippers will travel 648 miles to oppose a team that has been bleeding for the last two weeks.The Nets were 4-5 when they took the court against the Clippers on Nov. 14. They were blitzed 127-95 and have continued losing, with six of those defeats coming by double-digits.The latest setback was a 122-105 decision to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. The Nets had a one-point lead at halftime but again struggled in the third quarter.Brooklyn was outscored 34-18 in the third quarter and in this skid teams are outscoring the Nets by a 222-150 margin. In those quarters, the Nets have shot 37.4 percent (55-of-147) while allowing opponents to shoot 53.3 percent (80-of-150).Were just getting outplayed and outworked, thats it, said center Brook Lopez, who has scored 25 points and shot 40 percent in third quarters during this skid.The latest third quarter was so ineffective for the Nets that DeMarcus Cousins had the same amount of points as Brooklyn. It resulted in a 15-point deficit and in their last seven games, the average deficit for the Nets has been 18 points entering the fourth quarter.We have to fix the third quarter blues, Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. For some reason we dont come out with the requisite energy that we need.Sean Kilpatrick led the Nets with 22 points and was fouled hard by Matt Barnes. The flagrant foul resulted in Barnes ejection and briefly got the Nets to within single digits.At the end of the day, if were going to win in this league, weve got to come out with some type of edge, Kilpatrick said. If it takes something like that for us to have some type of edge, then its not good.Los Angeles is 6-2 in the last eight meetings with the Nets. Griffin scored 20 points in the Clippers blowout home win on Nov. 14 and had 21 in a 105-100 win in Brooklyn on Dec. 12 of last year. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Stitched Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Camo China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL China ' ' '