Join us » (at)ChrisVanniniThe Eagles triple-option r

NEW YORK -- Jordan Spieth never missed so many putts and felt so excited leaving a golf tournament.I hit the ball so good, Spieth said as he signed autographs at Bethpage Black. I was Tiger Woods in 2000.He signed another autograph, looked back and grinned.OK, I was exaggerating a little on that, he said.The Barclays was one of those rare tournaments that Spieth had slightly lower expectations with his putter. His practice in Dallas was limited to a 12-foot strip of artificial turf because the greens where he normally practices were closed.Plus, he is still working on his relationship with poa annua.Im Bermuda, and then Im bent, he said of the grasses on which he putts his best. And then theres probably six other kinds. And then Im poa.The two-time major champion is not hopeless on poa. Spieth missed a playoff by one shot at Riviera, the same course where he helped lead Texas to an NCAA title. He has a pair of top 10s at Pebble Beach and he had the 36-hole lead one year at Torrey Pines.When its softer, I have a harder time trusting the shorter length putts because I know theyre going to hop so I change my stroke, which I probably shouldnt, he said. But its hard for me to trust it. I hit putts where I wanted to, but I either under-read them or over-read them. Just bad timing.He missed six birdies chances from the 10-foot range or closer in the final round. But the fact he had that many chances was good news for him.I knew coming in the putting was going to be down because I hadnt worked on it to the extent I usually do, he said. I told Michael (Greller) on 10 that I wanted to have a good look at birdie on every hole coming in, which on this back nine is really hard to do. And I had a legitimate chance, other than 16, on making birdie on every hole.That he made only one of those didnt bother him.I leave here on a big-time high, Spieth said.He headed to Friars Head for a game with Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Smylie Kaufman on Monday before making his way up to the TPC Boston. Spieth and Brandt Snedeker in 2013 are the only FedEx Cup champions to start the playoffs in the top 5 the following year.Spieth stayed at No. 5 in his bid to become the first repeat winner of the $10 million prize.---OMINOUS WORDS: Adam Scott has thought about winning the FedEx Cup since he won back-to-back in Florida, and his desire has nothing to do with the $10 million bonus. His motivation in golf is beating everyone who enters the tournaments.I try not to play golf thinking about money at all, Scott said. If I did, and you told me 3-foot putts are worth $500,000, I probably wouldnt be able to play. So I try and play golf not thinking about money or having it have any influence on my decisions.Thats a good thing.Because when Scott finished up at The Barclays, he had a 3-foot putt on the final hole for a 70 that would have put him in a tie for second.He missed it.The cost of missing that putt was just over $300,000.---MOVING ON: Ollie Schniederjans, Trey Mullinax and Seamus Power are among the top 25 on the Web.com Tour money list who earned a PGA Tour card for the first time. Martin Flores, Brad Fritsch and Mark Anderson are among those returning.What the Web.com Tour showed this year is that winning a tournament is a big step toward finishing in the top 25. But more is required.Stephan Jaeger (28), Andrew Svoboda (29) and James Driscoll (39) all won on the Web.com Tour this year and failed to finish in the top 25 to get a PGA Tour card. They will move on to the Web.com Tour Finals, which start next week and determine the other 25 cards.Web.com Tour players and PGA Tour players will play four tournaments with a card on the line.---MCILROYS CLUBS: Rory McIlroy had a new putter for The Barclays. It could take a little longer to figure out what he wants to use through the rest of the bag now that Nike is getting out of the golf equipment business.Im not going to commit to anything, McIlroy said. I wouldnt be surprised to see me not go with a manufacturer for a year or two, just sort of play with what I want to play, what Im comfortable with, and go from there. ... No reason to start changing just because I can.It doesnt sound like hell be switching golf balls anytime soon.I got them to save me three years worth of golf balls, McIlroy said. So at least Ive got a golf ball that I like and that I know I can play well with.---SPIETH AND PIETERS: Jordan Spieth has a strong memory of Thomas Pieters from their amateur days, and not just Pieters winning the NCAA title at Riviera in 2012. Later that summer, the Belgian was playing the European Amateur in Ireland and had to get to Denver for the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills.He got there so late that he didnt have time to see the golf course, but he managed to get into a 17-for-14 playoff to advance to match play. Spieth was already in and waited to see who he would get in the opening round of matches.If youre paired against someone in the first round or the final round it doesnt matter, Spieth recalled. But he was someone youd like to wait until later to play.No such luck. He drew Pieters.The first hole can be reached with driver, and Spieth was in good shape in the rough on the left edge of the green.Thomas hooks it off the downslope of the No. 2 tee box into the rough, Spieth said. Then he hits this flop shot that lands next to where my ball is, takes a hop in the rough, rolls down and goes in for a 2. The first hole. One down. Thanks for coming.Pieters ended up winning the match on the 18th hole, and then lost in the next round.---DIVOTS: This years FedEx Cup playoff rotation features for big courses -- Bethpage Black, the TPC Boston, Crooked Stick and East Lake. This rotation last was used in 2012, when the FedEx Cup champion was Brandt Snedeker, who started at No. 19. ... U.S. Amateur runner-up Brad Dalke, Maverick McNealy and Scottie Scheffler have been selected for the U.S. team that will compete Sept. 21-24 at Mayakoba Resort in Mexico. ... Three Americans who were among the top eight in Ryder Cup points going into the 2016 failed to earn an automatic spot on the team -- Rickie Fowler (4), Kevin Kisner (6) and Bubba Watson (7).---STAT OF THE WEEK: Ian Poulter fell to No. 101 in the world ranking, his first time out of the top 100 since May 25, 2003.---FINAL WORD: Great thing about the game of golf is if you dont like where youre at, you can do something about it by simply playing better and shooting lower scores. Theres no judges here that are giving you scores that are subjective. Its all out there. Whatever your number is, just shoot it. Shoot a lower score than the other guy and youll do pretty good. You might win. -- Phil Mickelson. Joe Klecko Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Sam Darnold Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Jamal-Adams-Jersey/ . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. Sam Darnold Youth Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Jamal Adams Jets Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Lamar Jackson and No. 3 Louisville go from playing the main event last week to the side stage this week.The Cardinals head to Marshall after jumping into the national title race by tearing up Florida State at home last week. Louisville certainly isnt the first team to play a huge game and then hit the road to play a lesser opponent, but it is not too often you see a team in a Power Five conference go from hosting GameDay to playing at a Group of Five school a week later.Jackson and the Cardinals are talented enough to avoid a letdown, but it should be interesting to see how they respond to being the hunted in Huntington, W.Va., where a salty crowd should be revved up for an 8 p.m. kickoff at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. CBS Sports Network is airing the game.At No. 3, Louisville matches the highest ranking of any team to visit the Thundering Herd. Marshall has just two victories against ranked teams since joining FBS in 1997, the last in 2003 when the Herd beat No. 6 Kansas State. More relevant, Marshall is coming off a 65-38 loss to Akron. So it should be another stat-padding game for Jackson.No. 13 Florida State faces a similar and likely more challenging road test Saturday. The Seminoles play unbeaten South Florida from the American Athletic Conference in Tampa.The showcase games Saturday are mostly in the Southeastern Conference, with three matchups of ranked teams, and over in the Big Ten where No. 11 Wisconsin faces No. 8 Michigan State.The picks:MarshallTHURSDAY NIGHT MADNESSNo. 5 Clemson (minus 9+) at Georgia TechThe Tigers have won three of the last five, but the Yellow Jackets have scored at least 24 points in each game and averaged 29 ... CLEMSON 35-24.FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTSSouthern California (plus 3) at No. 24 UtahUSC makes a quarterback change to freshman Sam Darnold. One more loss and the season is in full-blown spiral for the Trojans ... USC 24-20.SATURDAY MAIN EVENTSNo. 11 Wisconsin (plus 5+) at No. 8 Michigan StateBadgers are still trying to sort out starting quarterback and have banged up running backs ... MICHIGAN STATE 28-20, BEST BET.No. 10 Texas A&M (minus 6+) vs. No. 17 Arkansas at Arlington, TexasAggies and Razorbacks have won four straight meetings since joining the SEC, the last two in overtime ... TEXAS A&M 31-27.No. 12 Georgia (plus 7) at No. 23 MississippiThe third ranked opponent already for the Rebels, but second straight road game for the Bulldogs ... MISSISSIPPI 30-21No. 19 Florida (plus 6+) at No. 14 TennesseeThe Volunteers have lost 11 straight in the rivalry and the Gators quarterback is hurt. Tennessee has key injuries on defense, but stilll: If not now when, Vols? .dddddddddddd. TENNESSEE 23-14.UPSET ALERTSNo. 3 Louisville (minus 26) at MarshallUpset alert might be a bit strong here ... LOUISVILLE 48-21.No. 13 Florida State (minus 6) at South FloridaBig chance for the Bulls to steal some national attention away from Houston, the current Group of Five darling ... FLORIDA STATE 28-20.CONFERENCE CALLSPenn State (plus 18+) at No. 4 MichiganInjuries at linebacker make an already suspect Nittany Lions defense even more vulnerable ... MICHIGAN 40-24.No. 7 Stanford (minus 3) at UCLAThe Cardinal have won eight straight against the Bruins, routinely pummeling UCLA. Has to end sometime ... UCLA 28-24, UPSET SPECIAL.No. 9 Washington (off) at ArizonaQuarterback issues for Wildcats ... WASHINGTON 33-21.Oklahoma State (plus 8) at No. 16 BaylorCowboys WR James Washington is averaging 21 yards per catch ... OKLAHOMA STATE 42-38.No. 18 LSU (minus 3) at AuburnAuburn facing the possibility of a 1/3 start, with all the games at home. The heat on coach Gus Malzahn would be searing ... LSU 24-18.No. 20 Nebraska (minus 7+) at NorthwesternThe Wildcats are averaging 4.8 yards per play. No other Big Ten is averaging less than 5.1 ... NEBRASKA 31-17.TWITTER REQUESTSBYU (plus 7) vs. West Virginia at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland -- (at)joshcopenThe Cougars have struggled to move the ball under new offensive coordinator Ty Detmer ... WEST VIRGINIA 21-16.Georgia Southern (plus 7) at Western Michigan -- (at)ChrisVanniniThe Eagles triple-option ran over the Broncos in a 43-17 victory last season ... WESTERN MICHIGAN 31-21Colorado (plus 10+) at Oregon -- (at)ScoobySnacks22Improved Buffaloes could be missing QB Sefo Liufau (ankle); Ducks lost LT Tyrell Crosby (foot) and WR Devon Allen (knee) for the season last week ... OREGON 38-30.California (plus 4) at Arizona State -- (at)brandonharawayOdds makers have set the over/under on this game at 82+ points -- and 4 hours and 30 minutes ... ARIZONA STATE 45-30.Duke (plus 20+) at Notre Dame -- (at)bbrownjdBlue Devils and Fighting Irish have met four times, with Duke winning once in 1961 ... NOTRE DAME 41-17.Boise State (minus 13+) at Oregon State -- (at)LoqueBSUThe Broncos and Beavers have split six games since 2003 ... BOISE STATE 31-23.---Record: Last week 18-3 straight; 10-10 vs. points.Season: 42-12; 26-26-1.Upset specials: 1-2.Best bets: 0-3.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---More college football coverage at www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '