early, unguarded on the break, Izzo said.FOUL SHOOTING:Kentucky was 16 of 20 at the free throw line while the Spartans were 3 of 9.SITTING PRETTY:In the row behind the Kentucky bench were

Perhaps no coach understands the difficulty of impressing the College Football Playoff committee as well as Florida States Jimbo Fisher. Not once did his undefeated 2014 Seminoles ever reach the top spot in the committees ranking.Instead, Florida State sank to No. 4 in Week 15. The defending national champs were 12-0, had just beaten rival Florida 24-19 in the regular-season finale and were headed to the ACC championship game.Didnt matter. It wasnt always pretty.I dont think that should matter, I really dont, Fisher said Wednesday. I think thats people who have never coached, never understood whats on the sideline.Many coaches bristle at the phrase style points, but this week, there are ample opportunities for top-25 teams to leave no doubt theyre the better team, especially for programs like LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma, which are trying to rebound from opening-week losses.The question is, do they have to win convincingly? Or is a win a win in the eye of the committee?Style points is not terminology used by the committee, said Texas Tech athletic director and committee chair Kirby Hocutt, without referencing specific teams. We talk an awful lot about ranking and evaluating football teams being an art and not a science, and weve got 12 committee members who look at that art a little different. I think thats why the selection committee has worked -- because of the human element -- but at the same time, were just one week into the greatest regular season in all of sports.For all of the flavor of Kickoff Week, though, Week 2 is like licking an envelope.Not one Associated Press Top 25 team is playing a ranked opponent. Only five ranked teams are playing opponents from another Power 5 conference. And ESPNs Football Power Index projects that every single ranked team playing this week will win, and 19 of the 23 ranked teams playing have a 90 percent chance or better of winning. (Stanford and Michigan State are off.)The selection committees first ranking doesnt come out until Nov. 1, but style points apparently matter to the Associated Press poll voters. Florida dropped out of the top 25 this week, Tennessee sank eight spots and TCU fell two places, despite of them all winning.Im obviously not a pretty guy anyway, so I never win pretty, Gators coach Jim McElwain said, but at the end of the day its about figuring out how to win a ball game and the schedule you play. All you can do is control your own team. I know a lot of people probably think theyve got to run points up and all of that kind of stuff, but its just not a way we were made.Hes not the only one.Dont expect LSU coach Les Miles to run up the score against Jacksonville State just to make a statement to the committee. To him, style points would have to be seen with a game in question.That didnt happen against Wisconsin.After losing to the Badgers, the Tigers chances of winning the SEC dropped from a league-best 31 percent to 18 percent, according to FPI. Miles said their only priority this week is rebounding with a win.Well have an opportunity to impress the committee later, he said. What we need to do is just execute the play thats called and do so in a manner that were used to and well like the score. I dont know that theres any pressure on us to win by any number.Hocutt said the committee doesnt talk specifically about margin of victory. Thats good news for Clemson fans, whose team got a scare Saturday from Auburn before winning 19-13. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said anyone who refers to style points doesnt have a real understanding of how hard it is to win.I dont know about other people, but I think that with our schedule, if we win every game by one point and were 13-0 I think well be just fine, he said. Thats what its all about.Florida State was just fine in 2014. The Noles were never in serious jeopardy of falling out of the top four; they just werent perceived by some committee members as winning convincingly enough to be deserving of No. 1.While margin of victory might not be mentioned in the room, it could still be a factor for some of the committee members:Ive voiced before, there are some that really believe Florida States ability to overcome the deficits and rally and win and keep winning is a strong statement, and theres others that looked at the way those games have progressed, the fact that theyve at times struggled against three unranked opponents the last three weeks, former committee chair Jeff Long said on Dec. 2, 2014, when the Noles were ranked No. 4. That debate goes on in the room.Its something Fisher continues to believe should not be up for debate.If people on the committee think like that, then I dont think they need to be on the committee, he said. I think thats a very bad way to look at the thing and people dont understand football.With college kids, there are going to be ups and downs, he said. Theyre 18-22 years old and thats part of it. ... We want to dominate, heck I want to dominate from the first play to the last -- theres no doubt about that, but I think its people who really dont understand if thats their criteria theyre going by.Week 2 superlativesRoad trip bucket list: Bristol Motor Speedway, where NASCAR and college football collide. The Battle at Bristol is expecting more than 150,000 fans to watch Virginia Tech-Tennessee, and ESPN College GameDay will be on hand starting at 9 a.m. ET.Most intriguing mascot battle:?Miamis Sebastian the Ibis vs. Florida Atlantics Owlsley the Owl. Cant you see the feathers flying already?Can-miss game: No. 9 Georgia vs. Nicholls. ESPNs FPI gives the Bulldogs a 99.9 percent chance of winning Kirby Smarts home opener, and Nicholls hasnt defeated an FBS team since 2013 against Western Michigan.Upset watch: Arkansas at No. 15 TCU. TCU gave up 41 points in Saturdays win against South Dakota State, more than it had given up in its previous four meetings against FCS teams combined.Player in the spotlight: Louisville QB Lamar Jackson. He entered the Heisman conversation after scoring a school-record eight touchdowns -- all in the first half -- in a 70-14 win over Charlotte. He tied a school record with six touchdown passes, and is now looking for an Atlantic Division win against Syracuse.Dont forget about: Texas QB Shane Buechele. If he starts Saturday against UTEP, Buechele would become the first true freshman quarterback to start the first two games of a season in school history.Matchup to watch: Virginia Tech WR Isaiah Ford vs. Tennessee DBs. Ford has recorded a school-record four straight 100-yard receiving games dating to last season, the longest active streak in the FBS.Forgotten storyline: The Penn State-Pitt rivalry. Its not the same as it used to be -- and probably never will be again -- but its a renewed meeting between two programs that were among the greatest rivals in the sport. It remains the most-played rivalry in Penn State history, and the second-most for Pitt, behind WVU.Dubious distinction: Kentucky is 1-21 in road games since 2011, and heads to Florida this week in a series that has seen the Gators win 29 straight.Under-the-radar game: Washington State at Boise State. The Broncos have won 14 straight home openers, with their last loss coming in 2001 to Washington State. Washington State is eager to move past last weeks home loss to FCS Eastern Washington. C. J. Miles Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Edmond Sumner Jersey . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. https://www.cheappacers.com/383k-darnell-hillman-jersey-pacers.html .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Glenn Robinson III Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Indiana Pacers Store .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. NEW YORK -- One of the Kentucky freshmen stepped up big from the outside while the rest of the Wildcats took care of things with defense.Malik Monks 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range and the second-ranked Wildcats defense that held No. 13 Michigan State to 32.8 percent shooting combined for a 69-48 victory Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.These guys took some pride defensively here, Kentucky coach John Calipari said. Michigan State they run great stuff. They iso and do things that forced us to prepare beyond where we are.The Wildcats (3-0) averaged 90 points in their first two games but this time it was defense that did it as the Spartans (0-2) shot 32.8 percent from the field (20 of 61) including 5 for 26 (19.2 percent) from beyond the arc.Relying on another talented freshman class, Kentucky was able to up the tempo enough and keep the tenacious defense going that the Spartans committed 20 turnovers which the Wildcats turned into 24 points.Freshman DeAaron Fox added 12 points for Kentucky, which snapped Michigan States two-game winning streak in the series that the Wildcats lead 13-11.We knew they were going pack it in. I just had to be prepared, Monk said. They set me up well. I was just able to knock down the shot.Kenny Goins and Cassius Winston led the Spartans with nine points each. Freshman Miles Bridges was held to six points on 2-for-11 shooting but he grabbed 12 rebounds.We did a couple of things knowing that if he got going he would be a beast, Calipari said of Bridges. He had 12 rebounds, but the way we played, we just made it really difficult for him to just play basketball.Spartans coach Tom Izzo said, Im actually a little embarrassed. I felt like we competed defensively for the most part, we just didnt do anything offensively. We looked like a team that was an AAU team, we just went 1-on-1 didnt move the ball and got frustrated.The Spartans were coming off a 68-65 loss to No. 10 Arizona in Honolulu.I was very disappointed in the way we were kind of `deer in the headlights but you know you have four freshmen playing at Madison Square Garden and coming off the Hawaii trip, that was the way we played. Well get better.Kentucky led 34-26 at halftime and the Wildcats opened the big lead with a 16-7 run that made it 51-37 with 12:04 to play.dddddddddddd Michigan State continued to struggle from the outside and the Wildcats led by as many as 23 points.Its the same freshmen that played against Canisius and we were down with three minutes in the half, Calipari said. Weve got a long way to go. This shows us what were capable of and now we have to build from this. You have to convince them that if we become a great defensive team.BIG PICTURE:Kentucky: The Wildcats freshman class is as loaded with talent as any recruited by Calipari and this group has size. ... Last season the Wildcats had trouble setting any kind of presence inside but with freshmen Ban Adebayo and Wenyen Gilbert grabbing 11 rebounds between them. Kentucky was able to stay on the glass with the Spartans only being outrebounded 44-40.Michigan State: The Spartans played in Honolulu on Friday and then headed across the country for this game. Michigan State will travel 13,600 miles by Nov. 29 and in a 21-day span they will face at least three Top 15 opponents. ... Michigan State wont be at full strength for a while as they wait for Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter to return from injuries.ALL ALONE:Monk was the only Wildcat to make a 3-pointer. The rest of the team was 0 for 7. Nobody on Michigan State made more than one 3.You have to give Monk credit he was 3 for 13 going in and hit some big 3s early, unguarded on the break, Izzo said.FOUL SHOOTING:Kentucky was 16 of 20 at the free throw line while the Spartans were 3 of 9.SITTING PRETTY:In the row behind the Kentucky bench were Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown who was Calipari boss at Kansas and Bruiser Flint, the coach who succeeded Calipari at Massachusetts. Also sitting in a good seat was New York Knicks guard Carmelo Anthony. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski went over and gave Anthony a big hug before the second game. The two were part of the last Olympic gold medals for the U.S.UP NEXT:Kentucky: The Wildcats return to Rupp Arena to face Duquesne on Sunday.Michigan State: The Spartans finally stop traveling to go home and play Mississippi Valley State on Friday. ' ' '