defense, scored two touchdowns in the season-opening 25-1

USC, trying to turn around a 1-2 start to the season, is making a change at quarterback, replacing Max Browne with redshirt freshman Sam Darnold for Friday nights game at No. 24 Utah.Browne, a redshirt junior who waited three seasons behind Cody Kessler for his chance, has presided over a sputtering offense that managed a total of just 16 points in losses to No. 1 Alabama and then-No. 7 Stanford.Those are two rugged defenses, and the Trojans get another Friday night in a Pac-12 South matchup at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game starts at 9 p.m. ET.Utah is off to a 3-0 start for the third consecutive season, beating Southern Utah, BYU and San Jose State. The Utes, which cracked the rankings this week for the first time this season, have a somewhat familiar look: An inconsistent offense and an aggressive defense.The performance at San Jose State last week brought back memories of Utahs Sack Lake City defense from a couple of years ago. The Utes 10 sacks in a 34-17 victory tied for the second-best mark in school history.Eight different players accounted for the sacks despite the unit losing starting defensive end Kylie Fitts (foot) earlier last week. Fitts is out for the rest of the season and will seek a medical hardship year.Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said first-year defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley is more apt to bring pressure than former coordinator John Pease.First of all, our defensive line is a good group, Whittingham said of a group anchored by tackle Lowell Lotulelei, a potential first-round pick. Theyre talented, physical and we felt going into the season that they were going to be a strong suit for us and thats proving to be the case. They were a little bit quiet the first week, but theyre starting to make some more noise.A defense that ranks second nationally with 15 sacks awaits Darnold, who lost a camp competition to Browne but did appear in each of the first three games, although it was only in a mop-up role last week.I want to see a spark in our offense, and I hope that Sam can bring that, USC coach Clay Helton said. Im confident in it after three games of watching him perform.Browne has completed 55 of 87 passes for 474 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Darnold is 14 of 22 for 136 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.Darnolds dual-threat ability could provide the spark USC is looking for, and it might also help that cornerback Adoree Jackson could dabble at receiver for about five or six plays. Hes played on both sides of the ball in his first two seasons, but the original plan was to limit him to defense and the return game in 2016.Browne told reporters Monday night he is likely to transfer as a graduate student after this season.It surprised me for sure, he said of the demotion. Id be lying if I said otherwise. ... But Ill be ready. I owe it to my teammates.Utahs offense is retooling around junior quarterback Troy Williams, a transfer from Washington and Santa Monica College. He has completed 54 of 86 passes for 723 yards and four touchdowns, but he also has been picked off four times. Utah has fumbled nine times, losing five. The Utes rank 122nd out of 128 teams with the nine lost turnovers.In a departure from their recent offenses, the Utes have thrown the long ball more, and Williams has delivered completions of 30-plus yards to five different receivers. Wide receiver Tim Patrick has 14 receptions for 285 yards and all four of Utahs receiving touchdowns.Whittingham said the enhancement of the passing game has allowed his running game to be more potent. Running backs Troy McCormick, Zack Moss and Armand Shyne combined for 201 rushing yards against San Jose State -- but none is dynamic as the departed Devontae Booker.And USCs defense, led by Jackson and linebacker Cameron Smith, has much more ability than any opponent Utah has faced this year.Theyre a very talented team, probably the most talented 1-2 team in the country, Whittingham said. Theyre very dangerous and have a lot of weapons. Justin Tucker Youth Jersey . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Jaylon Ferguson Ravens Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Jonathan-Ogden-Jersey/ . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Trace McSorley Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Ray Lewis Youth Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- In this day and age of high-flying passing attacks, the Minnesota Vikings have been a bit of a throwback in their run-first approach to offense.So now that the focal point of that offense is lost for the foreseeable future, the season is over, right?Not so fast.Adrian Peterson had surgery on Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, a procedure that is expected to keep him out for at least several months with a strong possibility that he misses the rest of the season.And the Vikings were ranked 28th in the league in offense with the best running back of his era on the field.I know everybody is all concerned about we dont have this or we dont have that but its a team, coach Mike Zimmer said.Thats why we have 53 guys here, so that we can try to win as a team. Thats all Ive ever done since Ive been here.The Vikings started the season with Super Bowl aspirations, even after quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down just over a week before the opener with a devastating knee injury.This week they lost Peterson and starting left tackle Matt Kalil (hip) to long-term injuries, but they remain confident that all is not lost heading into a Week 3 matchup at Carolina.So here is the formula the Vikings (2-0) will have to follow to survive life without Peterson carrying the offensive load:RUNNING BACK CREWPeterson was one of the few true workhorses left at running back in the league. He had 31 carries in the first two weeks, while the rest of the running backs on the roster combined for just 13.Now the offense will use a running back by committee, with shifty Jerick McKinnon getting the start, thumper Matt Asiata spelling him and the recently signed Ronnie Hillman there for insurance.While none of those three have anything close to the resume of Peterson, they all bring different things to the table that can help them be effective as a group.McKinnon is an accomplished receiver out of the backfield, an area that Peterson never mastered.Asiata hits the holes quick and never dances in the backfield like Peterson would do on occasion, taking some of the burden off the beleaguered offensive linemen to sustain their blocks.Theyre both capable of being good pass protectors. Theyre both good receivers, offensive coordinator Norv Turner said.We can mix them however we want, but Jerick with his eexplosiveness and his ability to come out of the backfield when appropriate we will try to take advantage of that.ddddddddddddBRADFORDS ARM, DIGGS HANDSSam Bradford surpassed all expectations on Sunday night when he took hold of the offense after two weeks of practice and was so sharp in a victory over the Green Bay Packers.Bradford completed 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, taking advantage of a defense that had loaded up to stop Peterson.He immediately clicked with second-year receiver Stefon Diggs, a budding star who had nine catches for 182 yards and a touchdown in the game.With Peterson gone, it would figure that the offense would evolve more to feature the passing game with Bradford, Diggs and tight end Kyle Rudolph. But Zimmer and Turner both said they were committed to a balanced offense.Thats our identity and thats how were built. Were going to continue to stay that way, Zimmer said.Hopefully we can play good defense and hopefully we can run the ball. Take our shots when we get a chance. Were not going to change and go to like five (receivers) every play.HEAVY DOSE OF DZimmer is a defensive-minded coach, and he has his unit playing at a high level early in the season. The Vikings rank fifth in total defense, scored two touchdowns in the season-opening 25-16 victory in Tennessee and kept Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense under wraps in the 17-14 win on Sunday night.The Vikings shouldnt need to get into many shootouts to win games this season, and they dont have to look back far for inspiration.The Broncos rode a dominant defense to the Super Bowl championship last season, with DeMarcus Ware, Von Miller, Aqib Talib and crew helping a weakened Peyton Manning win his second title.With Everson Griffen, Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter and Eric Kendricks, the Vikings have a versatile, aggressive, playmaking unit that will take the pressure off the offense.Youre going to have guys go down throughout the year, defensive end Brian Robison said.And us as a defense, were going to put it on our shoulders and were going to make sure that we do whatever we can do to put the offense in a good position.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '