who also lost on Monday

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- First-year Southern Mississippi coach Jay Hopson walks into a situation that many of his peers would envy.Theres the loaded roster that includes 13 returning starters and an experienced quarterback. Theres a fan base thats second to none in Conference USA and hungry for a return to prominence.But with that comes the expectations. And Hopson knows nothing less than a C-USA title will be accepted.On our Eagle Walk, they only put the champions up there, Hopson said. At the end of the day, the goal at Southern Miss is to win a championship -- thats our charge.Hopson takes over a program thats seen a remarkable variation of highs, lows and turnover since 2011. A quick history lesson:- Coach Larry Fedora and quarterback Austin Davis led Southern Miss to a 12-win season and Conference USA title in 2011. Fedora left for North Carolina in the offseason while Davis went to the NFL.- Coach Ellis Johnson took over the program and the Golden Eagles had one of the most remarkable collapses in college football history, falling to 0-12 in 2012.- Johnson was fired after one season and Todd Monken inherited a depleted program and lost its first 11 games in 2013. But he slowly rebuilt the roster and led Southern Miss to a 9-5 record in 2015, including a trip to the C-USA championship game before a loss to Western Kentucky. Monken left to become offensive coordinator for the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason.That brings the Golden Eagles to present day and the arrival of Hopson, who led Alcorn State to two straight SWAC championships in 2014 and 15.The pressure for Hopson will be intense. The Golden Eagles were especially effective on offense under Monken -- quarterback Nick Mullens threw for 4,476 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season.Mullens says even with a new coach, he expects the same results.Every coach has to adjust to their personnel and they all have their little twist, Mullens said. So its a little different. But there are also a lot of similarities. So I think you can look forward to a balanced attack thats going to score a lot of points.Here are a few other things to know about Southern Miss this season:THOMPSONS TURNSouthern Miss top two receivers from last season -- Michael Thomas and Casey Martin -- are gone. That means Mullens likely top target will be D.J. Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior who caught 55 passes for 779 yards and six touchdowns last season.HOPSONS DEFENSEWhile Monkens background was mostly on offense, Hopson has spent most of his career on the defensive side of the ball. The Golden Eagles return five of their top seven tacklers from last season, including safety DNerius Antoine, who had 103 tackles and two interceptions in 2015.KEY GAMESThe Golden Eagles have a couple big opportunities against Southeastern Conference opponents, including the Sept. 3 season-opener at Kentucky. Southern Miss also travels to face LSU on Oct. 15. In C-USA play, the Golden Eagles conference title hopes could come down to showdowns against Marshall on Oct. 29 and Louisiana Tech on Nov. 25. Both of those games are at home.PREDICTIONSouthern Miss has the talent to win the C-USAs Western Division for a second straight year. Its just a matter of if Hopsons system can gel with the new personnel in time.-----Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP-----Online: AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Ray Nitschke Super Bowl Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Oren Burks Super Bowl Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/jace-sternberger-jersey.html . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Tony Brown Super Bowl Jersey . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. 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SAN FRANCISCO -- As San Francisco Giants left-hander Matt Moore awaits what could be the biggest game of his career in the regular-season finale Sunday, theres one thing he can do to help make it happen.Pitch well in his second-biggest game.Moore begins what could be a six-day trek into Giants lore Tuesday night when he gets the ball to open a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies.The Giants will begin a six-game homestand with their destiny in their hands, thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals loss Monday night at Cincinnati.San Francisco (82-74) will take the field one game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals (81-75) for the second of two National League Wild Card playoff spots.The New York Mets (83-74), who also lost on Monday, begin play Tuesday in the first wild-card spot, a half-game ahead of the Giants.Moore is slotted to pitch two of the Giants six games this week, capped by the regular-season finale at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.It was fitting Monday that one of the Giants best days since the All-Star break was a result of not having played. Because when theyve taken the field in the past 11 weeks, little has gone right.The Giants, who had the best record in baseball at the All-Star break (57-33), have compiled the worst in the NL (25-41) since then.Moore has been better than your average Giants pitcher since he was acquired at the trade deadline. Hes gone 4-5 with a 4.96 ERA as a Giant, and the club hhas won half his 10 starts.ddddddddddddOne of his worst outings came Sept. 5 at Colorado, when he was bombed for two home runs -- including a Carlos Gonzalez grand slam -- in the third inning of a 6-0 loss.He had to be pulled before the end of the third, having allowed six runs on five hits.The Rockies are coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, but did help the Giants with an 11-1 home win over the Cardinals last Wednesday.Right-hander German Marquez earned his first major league win in that game, limiting the Cardinals to one run on four hits in five innings.The reigning Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, just 21 years old, will get the call Tuesday against the Giants.I was putting hitters away, Marquez gushed after the win. It felt wonderful, man. I was excited.The Rockies flew to San Francisco shortly after watching the Dodgers clinch the NL West with a walk-off win Sunday.The Giants had been hoping their three season-ending games against the Dodgers could help them mount an 11th-hour comeback. Now, they figure to need wins in that series just to secure a Wild Card spot.Sure, youre always disappointed you dont win your division, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after getting word of the Dodgers clincher. But right now our focus is keep trying to win games and get there and have a shot at it. ' ' '