the tunnel. But hes cool, calm and collected on the mound.Re

No. 20 Navy and its high-powered triple option attack will face a huge test against visiting Temple in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Saturday (Noon ET, ABC).The Midshipmen (9-2, 7-1), who won the West Division of the AAC, are playing for a conference title for the first time in the 136-year history of their program. Navy, led by quarterback Will Worth, is averaging 342 rushing yards per game, second best in the nation behind New Mexico (360.9).Temple, which won the East Division, advanced to the conference championship for the second consecutive season. The Owls (9-3, 7-1) are riding a six game winning streak and have allowed 273.4 yards per game, ranked third behind Alabama and Michigan.The winner of this game will be in the hunt for the Group of Five bid to a New Years Six bowl.Its a great offense and theyve done a terrific job of wearing teams down and winning the war of attrition, Temple coach Matt Rhule said about the Midshipmen. Thats something we pride ourselves on. Its not often that we play other teams that run, run, run and pound people until they submit, but thats what Navy has done.Worth has put together one of the finest seasons of any Navy football player. He was thrust into the starting role when Tago Smith went down with a season-ending knee injury in the opener against Fordham.From there, Worth has seamlessly run the triple option, managing 2,544 yards of total offense -- 1,181 rushing and 1,363 passing. He has also scored a touchdown in 11 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in college football.Still, Worths focus has been fully on winning the AAC title, rather than personal stats. Navy spent 134 seasons as an independent before joining the AAC last year.This is exactly where we wanted to be, Worth said. The entire offseason, this is what we worked for. We feel great, just got to keep things rolling right now.Worth will face a tough challenge from an aggressive Temple defense led by defensive linemen Haason Reddick and Praise Martin-Oguike, who have dominated opponents throughout the season. Reddick has registered 21.5 tackles for a loss, while Oguike has seven sacks.The Owls secondary is equally adept, allowing just 145.8 passing yards per game -- second best in the nation behind only Michigan.It is going to be a tough, hard-nosed football game, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. I dont think any of us expect anything different during a conference championship game.Temple quarterback Phillip Walker has also played a vital role over the teams six-game winning streak. Walker had thrown for 2,700 passing yards, third all-time among Owls quarterbacks for a single season, with 18 touchdowns. He could find some space against a Navy defense that is allowing 264.9 passing yards per game.Walker is complemented by running backs Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead, who have combined for 31 touchdowns this season.The Owls have come a long way since opening the season 1-3. However, they never quit believing in themselves and their confidence is riding high.Nobody believed we were going to win this championship at the beginning of the year, but we did though, Walker said. We lost our first game and then lost our third game and our goal was still right in front of us. We won the east side now, we just have to get prepared for next week.Navy leads the all-time series against Temple, 6-5, including a 31-24 victory in the last meeting at Lincoln Financial Field in 2014.The Midshipmen have one key advantage in hosting the championship game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, where they are tied with Houston for the nations longest active home winning streak. Navy has not lost in Annapolis since a 36-27 setback to Western Kentucky onSept. 27, 2014.Its really exciting for our program to have the championship game here in a venue where weve had a lot of success, Niumatalolo said. Were going to need all our fans to come and cheer and support and be loud for us. Were going to need every edge and advantage we can get. Hopefully, playing at home will be a benefit for us. Bert Blyleven Jersey . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Jonathan Schoop Twins Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. http://www.twinssale.com/customized/ .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Minnesota Twins Jerseys .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Jason Castro Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. BOSTON -- J.A. Happ has already won 20 games in his Cy Young-worthy season. But Saturday night, the left-hander makes what may well be the biggest start of his life.Happ, 20-4 with a 3.20 ERA, faces the Boston Red Sox and young lefty Eduardo Rodriguez in the second game of the last-weekend series.The Blue Jays came to Boston for the David Ortiz weekend tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the two American League wild card spots. They lost Friday night, falling one game behind Baltimore and shriking their lead over Detroit to one-half game and Seattle to a full game.The Red Sox remain one-half game ahead of the Cleveland Indians for home-field advantage in their upcoming American League Division Series.We kind of anticipated this might be the way that it shakes out, manager John Farrell said of meeting the Indians and former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, his old friend and boss. Obviously a very good team. Well have time to review them more in depth as is typically the case when we get ready for the postseason, but were loomking forward to these final two games here.Happ, who has won 27 of his last 33 decisions dating back to late last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, is 2-0 against the Red Sox this season, 5-3 with a 3.74 ERA in his career and 2-1 with a 4.34 at Fenway Park.Happ is trying to become the first left-hander in Jays history to win 21 games. He allowed 164 hits in 188 2/3 innings this season.In two starts against Boston this season, Happ, known for his unflappable demeanor and lack of emotion on the mound, has allowed three earned runs in 13 innnings.ddddddddddddDont let him fool you, staffmate Marcus Stroman told the Toronto Star this week. Hes very emotional. He just doesnt show it on the field.Therell be times when he gets a big out and hell come in (the dugout) and let out a big yell, or if hes frustrated hell let a little fire out under the tunnel. But hes cool, calm and collected on the mound.Red Sox hitters do not have very good numbers against Happ with Xander Bogaerts coming in at 1-for-15, Mookie Betts 2-for-14, David Ortiz 3-for-16 and Dustin Pedroia 6-for-26.Rodriguez, coming off striking out 13 in 5 1/3 innings in his last start, has a 3.10 ERA in 13 starts since returning from the minors and is the likely Game 4 starter for the Red Sox in the ALDS. He has limited opposing hitters to a .171 batting average over his last eight starts.Eddie going down to Pawtucket, working on some things, the adjustments he made delivery-wise, coming back with three more defined pitches, Boston manager John Farrell said of Rodriguez, who got 13 of 16 outs against the Rays via the strikeout.Rodriguez has lost twice in as many starts against Toronto this season (only two earned runs in six innings at Toronto on Sept. 10) and is 1/3 with a 6.85 ERA lifetime against the Jays.The current Toronto roster has six home runs in 71 at-bats against Rodriguez, including one apiece by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. But Josh Donaldson is 1-for-10 and Kevin Pillar 1-for-8 against him. ' ' '