when he closed his pads at the last second to save a shot from trickling

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee must stop opponents from running wild to stay in the Southeastern Conference title race.The 18th-ranked Volunteers (5-2, 2-2 SEC) are giving up 5.1 yards per carry and 215.3 yards rushing per game. They rank 105th out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in run defense and have looked particularly vulnerable during their current two-game skid.No. 9 Texas A&M rushed for 353 yards and No. 1 Alabama ran for 409 yards against Tennessee. The Vols allowed over 7 yards per carry in the 45-38 double-overtime loss to Texas A&M and yielded 8.5 yards per rush while falling 49-10 to Alabama .Thats been a point of emphasis -- stopping the run for the rest of the season, defensive tackle Kendal Vickers said. We know were capable of it. Weve just got to go out and execute.Tennessee has a chance to correct its issues on run defense Saturday at South Carolina (3-4, 1-4).South Carolina averages 106.9 yards rushing per game and 3.28 yards per carry to rank last in the SEC and 122nd nationally in both categories.The Gamecocks had 194 yards rushing and 201 yards passing last week in a 34-28 victory over Massachusetts . South Carolina coach Will Muschamp emphasized the need to avoid obvious passing situations Saturday that would enable Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett to wreak havoc.I think you always have to stay balanced, especially with a guy like Barnett, Muschamp said. He can change the game. We have to account for him in everything.When you stay balanced, it is very difficult on a defense because, you are sitting there thinking in your mind, `OK, I want to run a pass pressure and run an overload. Well, if they run it the other way weve got a problem. Thats why to me it is so important to be balanced in what you do.While South Carolina must watch out for Barnett, Tennessee must be careful to avoid allowing the big runs that have haunted this defense.Tennessee has given up six carries of at least 37 yards this season, with five of those long runs coming in the Vols last two games. Last year, Tennessee yielded six runs from scrimmage of at least 37 yards all season.In its last two games, Tennessee gave up an 85-yard run to Alabamas Bo Scarbrough and a 71-yard carry to Texas A&Ms Trayveon Williams, though the Williams carry ended in a fumble and touchback. The longest run from scrimmage Tennessee allowed last season was a 66-yarder by Georgias Sony Michel.Explosive plays to me in the run game are runs of 12 or 15 (yards) or more, Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. Ours arent 12 or 15 right now, theyre 25 or 30. Thats something weve got to get corrected, whether its pursuit of the football, whether its tackling or things like that.Injuries and off-field issues have hampered Tennessees front seven on defense and limited its cohesiveness.Defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie tore his pectoral muscle against Alabama, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Defensive tackle Danny OBrien was dismissed from the team two days after the Texas A&M game. Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, the teams leading tackler last year, played just four games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.Linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. has played in just two games due to a high ankle sprain, though he is expected to return this week.Injuries arent solely to blame for Tennessees inability to stop the run. Players and coaches also have cited inconsistency, mental errors and miscommunication among other things.Tennessee didnt play last week, giving the Vols extra time to work out those issues.No matter what individuals are on the football field, you need to play together as one, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said.---AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.---Online:More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org Benny Snell Jr. Jersey .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. James Conner Youth Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Joe-Greene-Elite-Jersey/ .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. JuJu Smith-Schuster Womens Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Kevin Greene Steelers Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog will think twice about engaging in fights with opposing goaltenders.The reason is painfully simple: That blocker hurts ... and hes got a mask to protect himself, the Colorado captain cracked.Soon after exchanging some shoves with Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk, Landeskog got the ultimate retaliation -- the winning goal. Landeskog scored with 9:37 remaining, Calvin Pickard stopped 32 shots for his second NHL shutout and the Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 1-0 on Saturday.It didnt come easy for us, thats for sure, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.Nothing seems to these days for the Avalanche, who won for the second time in six games.Landeskogs power-play goal ended a Colorado scoring drought that lasted more than 164 minutes. He found the net on a pass from Matt Duchene and then hopped into the arms of Nathan MacKinnon in excitement.Earlier in the third period, Landeskog got into a brief scuffle with Dubnyk after agitating the goalie in front of the net. That seemed to swing the momentum into Colorados favor. A jarring hit by John Mitchell near the blue line didnt hurt, either.Those two instances energized our crowd, which energized us, Bednar said. You knew they were going to have a push.The Wild did at that.With Dubnyk on the bench for an extra skater, Charlie Coyle knocked in a shot with 48.9 seconds remaining, but it was disallowed because of goaltender interference. The officials ruled that Minnesota forward Eric Staal pushed Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson into Pickard.How good of call that was depends on the side thats asked.The goalie was in a terrible position, Staal said. We made a huge play on it. They gave them the benefit of the doubt on it.Pickard had a different take.You could see their guy kind of pushed E.J. into me, Pickard explained. I think thats the criteria for goalie interference -- doesnt let me do my job. I couldnt slide over there.Pickards most opportunistic save of the night was with 5 minutes remaining, when he closed his pads at the last second to save a shot from trickling in.dddddddddddd.It was a big save for me, said Pickard, whose other shutout was Jan. 14 against New Jersey. We had a really good game all the way through.Dubnyk mixed it up Landeskog after the two were jostling in front of the net early in the third period. Dubnyk put Landeskog in a headlock as players raced over to separate them. Dubnyk was called for slashing and roughing while Landeskog drew only a roughing penalty. The Avalanche didnt score on the power play chance.I gave him a whack and he gave me a whack and we gave each other a few shots and somehow I ended up with one, said Dubnyk of drawing the extra penalty. That seemed to be how they did the third period there. Not a big deal. Its always a tough game when we play these guys. Its part of the game. Theres emotion in the game.The Wild were called for two penalties on one play early in the second period. First, Ryan Suter slashed Blake Comeau with the Colorado forward on a breakaway. As Comeau went into the boards, Matt Dumba was whistled for a cross-checking penalty. Colorado a two-man advantage for a full two minutes, but never challenged Dubnyk.Wild coach Bruce Boudreau wasnt pleased.I thought there were some pretty cheesy penalties out there, Boudreau said.Game notes Minnesota LW Zach Parise and D Marco Scandella both missed a third game with lower-body injuries. ... Avalanche RW Jarome Iginla played in his 1,484th NHL game to tie Rod BrindAmour for 19th on the career list. ... Mikko Rantanen took a puck in the face during the first period and briefly went into the locker room for treatment. He had the second assist on Landeskogs goal. ... Mitchell cleared waivers Saturday and was back on the fourth line.UP NEXTWild: Dont play again until Thursday in Pittsburgh.Avalanche: Visit St. Louis on Sunday. ' ' '