WACO, Texas -- That countdown clock to the season opener in Baylors weight rm seemed to ticking so slow this summer amid the bad headlines that kept hitting the program after a report that cost coach Art Briles his job.Id be lying if I said it wasnt difficult, receiver Lynx Hawthorne said.This is finally the week the 23rd-ranked Bears have waited for, the chance to get back on the field. They open their third season in McLane Stadium on Friday night against FCS team Northwestern State.Just proving to ourselves that were not dead. Were still alive and were still willing to fight, linebacker Taylor Young said. None of our goals have changed from the previous years. First weve got to win the state, then weve got to win the conference championship. Our overall goal is the national championship, and that has never changed even with the things that have happened.Briles in eight seasons transformed the Bears from perennial losers into a team that won 50 games the past five years, gd enough for two Big 12 titles. But he was gone after the May 26 report from an external investigation into allegations the university mishandled complaints of sexual assault, including some against ftball players. The schls president and athletic director also left their posts.While Briles is gone, his entire coaching staff remained intact with Jim Grobe, the acting head coach who was in semi-retirement before coming to Baylor days after that report. The 64-year-old Grobe coached his last game at Wake Forest in 2013.The opener also marks the return of Baylor quarterback Seth Russell, who was the top-rated FBS passer last year when he suffered a season-ending neck injury running the ball in the seventh game.Its all excitement, guess its kind of giddy, Russell said. Counting every blessing I have.Russell, a senior, said he is 100 percent ready, and he will certainly need to stay healthy for the Bears since there is no proven backup quarterback after Jarrett Stidham left Baylor. The second-teamer is true freshman Zach Smith.Some other things to know about the opener at Baylors riverfront campus stadium, where Northwestern State lost 70-6 two years ago:SUSPENDED BEARSSophomore receiver Ishmael Zamora is suspended for Baylors first three games after a video surfaced showing him beating his dog with a belt this summer. The suspension wasnt announced until this week, after the Bears had released their initial depth chart that showed Zamora as a starter. Junior safety Chance Waz, a returning starter, wasnt on the two-deep chart. Grobe said Waz is out of the first two games because of some discipline issues with the university.RECORD RUNShock Linwd, coming off consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, is only 204 yards shy of breaking Baylors career rushing record of 3,665 yards that has been held by Walter Abercrombie for 35 years. Linwd will be running behind an offensive line with four new starters, though center Kyle Fuller joins Linwd as the most experienced starters on the team with 26.THE GRADUATEFor the second season in a row, Northwestern State will have a graduate transfer starting at quarterback. Brks Haack started eight games last season for Louisiana-Lafayette. Last season, the Demons four-quarterback battle didnt get decided until midseason when graduate transfer Stephen Rivers (Vanderbilt, LSU) tk over for the rest of the season.NEED A NICKELBaylor junior nickel back Travon Blanchard, one of the defenses most experienced players, will miss the opener after surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his knee. Blanchard has played 26 games for the Bears, and started 13 of them in the hybrid linebacker-safety position. He could be back for the second game.PURPLE POWERNorthwestern State has only one win against a current Big 12 team. The Demons in 2001 won 27-24 in overtime at TCU, then in Conference USA, in what was Gary Pattersons first home game as the Horned Frogs head coach.---Online: AP college ftball website: tball.ap.org" target="_blank">www.collegeftball.ap.orgDiscount Air Force 1 . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shtout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Wholesale Air Force Ones .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar tk over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. http://www.discountairforce1.com/ .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Discount Air Force Ones Wholesale . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Air Force 1 Cheap Outlet . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p.PASADENA, Calif. -- UCLA contained Christian McCaffrey, kept Stanfords offense out of the end zone and generated just enough points to lead the Pac-12 champions until the Cardinals final drive.And then everything reverted to usual form in this one-sided California rivalry.J.J. Arcega-Whiteside caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Burns with 24 seconds to play, and No. 7 Stanford rallied for its ninth consecutive victory over the Bruins, 22-13 on Saturday night.McCaffrey rushed for 138 yards for the Cardinal (3-0, 2-0 Pac-12), but they struggled on offense for 3 1/2 quarters. Stanford got the ball back with 2:05 left and clly put together a 70-yard drive capped by Burns fade to Arcega-Whiteside, who got one ft inbounds on an acrobatic play.We just kept our composure from the time we started to the time we finished, Arcega-Whiteside said. We made mistakes, but you could sense in those last two minutes that we were all going to execute. When we do it, it all pays off.Solomon Thomas then returned Josh Rosens fumble 42 yards for a touchdown on the games final play, punctuating the heartbreak for a lively Rose Bowl crowd. Even with that TD, Stanford had its lowest-scoring performance since the 2015 season opener.PAIN WITHOUT GAINAnother stirring Stanford victory was another soul-crushing loss for the Bruins (2-2, 0-1), who havent beaten their upstate rivals since 2008. They had never even led the Cardinal for more than six minutes in any of those eight straight losses, but UCLA nursed an advantage in this one for nearly three quarters -- until Stanford snatched it away again.Thats about as difficult as it gets, said UCLA coach Jim Mora, who has never beaten Stanfords David Shaw. It stings when you lose like that, and played so courageously on defense, and done such a great job against a really gd team, and they make the play. Doesnt matter whho you play.dddddddddddd Losing like that is just awful.ROSENS VOWRosen passed for 248 yards for the Bruins, hitting Nate Iese for his only touchdown in the first half. He got the Bruins to midfield in the final seconds, but couldnt reach field goal range before fumbling on a sack from behind.The sophomore passer still thinks UCLA can rally to make the Pac-12 title game.Its one of the top teams in our conference, and were going to see them again, Rosen said. Were a million percent going to see them again.THE TAKEAWAYSTANFORD: The Cardinal barely escaped with yet another victory, but UCLAs defense might have provided clues to other teams about how to control McCaffrey and the seemingly unstoppable Stanford offense. This is the type of victory that great programs get, and Shaws unlikely powerhouse proved its tenacity yet again.UCLA: The Bruins changed their offensive approach and bulked up their defensive line in the offseason, all with the intention of matching Stanfords brute strength and deceptive sophistication. The positive changes werent evident in the Bruins first three games, but they showed up in this matchup -- just not quite long enough for a win.POLL IMPLICATIONSSTANFORD: The Pac-12s highest-ranked team and preseason favorite will stay in the top 10 , but it wasnt impressive. The Cardinal wont move up, but No. 8 Michigan States loss means they arent likely to slide much, either.UCLA: Nope.UP NEXTSTANFORD: This trip had trap-game potential due to the Cardinals visit to No. 9 Washington on Friday night in a game that could establish early supremacy in the Pac-12 race.UCLA: The Bruins stay home for a visit from Arizona after shaking off this heartbreaker.---AP college ftball website: tball.ap.org" target="_blank">www.collegeftball.ap.org ' ' '