Theyll probably try to avoid it, but no one can blame members of Penn States ftball team if they are playing a little scoreboard-watching during warm-ups Saturday.Three-and-a-half hours before the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions (9-2, 7-1 Big Ten) take the field for their Senior Day finale against Michigan State (3-8, 1-7), there is a pretty significant conference game taking place at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, between No. 3 Michigan (10-1, 7-1) and No. 2 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1).If the favored Buckeyes take care of business and defeat the Wolverines for the 12th time in 13 years, Penn State will take the field with a chance to go to the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis by virtue of its dramatic 24-21 comeback win over Ohio State earlier this season. However, Michigan, which defeated the Nittany Lions 49-10 back on Sept. 24 at the Big House, owns the tiebreaker if it can upset the Buckeyes.Penn State was just 2-2 after that ugly loss in Ann Arbor and some restless Nittany Lions fans were calling for head coach James Franklin to be fired. But seven consecutive Big Ten wins, including one that featured a 17-point fourth quarter and 14-point comeback against Ohio State, has changed the atmosphere in State College dramatically.Its surreal, defensive end Evan Schwan said. I never thought as a freshman that wed be in the position we are now. Im very proud of everyone on the team, the fans and staff for sticking with us and working through the tough times.Schwan knows all about those times. He was an underclassmen during the toughest years in program history, when the NCAA levied brutal sanctions -- banning the team from a bowl game for two years, gutting its scholarship counts and allowing players to transfer without having to sit out.Now, Schwan is one of 12 seniors who are helping lead the way and getting crucial contributions from their younger teammates who have elevated their game in whats been a dominant run since their last loss to the Wolverines.An offensive turnaround under first-year crdinator Joe Mrhead has reaped massive reward. The defense has done the same with two of its biggest pieces -- linebackers Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell back.Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions arent erring on special teams and are winning second halves every week.Theyll try to continue those trends against a Michigan State team that has gone the other way. The Spartans won the Big Ten title last season but havent been able to ride a youth movement like the Nittany Lions. Michigan State has started nine true freshmen this season and will likely be without top defensive lineman Malik McDowell again in this one.Obviously, this is a unique situation, Franklin, who went 6-6 and 7-5 in his first two seasons at Penn State, said. Like I mentioned before, were tough to beat at home when that stadium is rocking with 107,000. Were going to need that on Saturday.Michigan State has shown that it wont go down easily. The Spartans nearly upset Ohio State last week at home, losing 17-16 after failing to convert a go-ahead two-point conversion with 4:41 remaining. Running back LJ Scott continues to play his best ftball, running for a career-high 160 yards and a touchdown against the Buckeyes while also catching a 64-yard touchdown pass. The sophomore has run for more than 100 yards in four of the last five games.There are positives out there, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. There are a lot of positives and were a very young ftball team in a lot of respects, but it doesnt help ease the pain when you lose and you lose close.Michigan State has led in every game it has played this season but still finds itself at 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten heading into the finale at Penn State. Last weeks loss to Ohio State was no different as missed opportunities and a handful of crucial penalties kept the Spartans from the win.The failure to convert the two-point conversion in the fourth quarter was just one example of not executing down the stretch and it was followed by a sack and interception in the last minute.I think weve had chances throughout every ftball game weve played this year, Dantonio said. Weve been ahead, and then somethings happened. Thats the game. We gotta be able to make plays at the end of a ftball game, this ones no different. Rockies Jerseys China . 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LOS ANGELES -- Lawyers for NBA star Derrick Rose and two friends accused of raping an incapacitated woman doubled down Wednesday on their assertions that the accuser willingly had sex with the trio, saying she performed sex acts on the men earlier that night at Roses mansion in Beverly Hills.In sharp contrast to the opening statement in the civil case from the womans lawyer who called the incident a classic gang rape, the defense described an August 2013 scene for jurors in Los Angeles federal court that sounded like a porn movie.They said the woman gave lap dances earlier under a sky full of stars by the side of Roses pl overlking city lights, performed oral sex on Rose and had sex with his two friends before inviting them back to her apartment.There was no gang rape, attorney Mike Monico said. There was no rape at all.The womans lawyer said the story about her having sex earlier in the night was falsely concocted to try to show she was insatiable and wanted to have sex with the men later that night. He said the three got into her apartment in the early morning hours after she passed out from drinking and raped her while she faded in and out of consciousness.The plaintiff will tell you all three men were in the bedrm at the same time, attorney Waukeen McCoy said. Each of them tk turns raping her, they dont even know who went first.As the incident was graphically described and jurors lked on with pained expressions, the 30-year-old woman leaned forward so her long dark hair covered her face and dabbed at her eyes with tissues.The Associated Press is not naming her because it generally doesnt identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault.The jury of six women and two men will have to decide if the accuser consented to sex or was t intoxicated from either alcohol or drugs to give consent.They will have to rely primarily on her word against that of Rose and the other two men, Ryan Allen and Randall Hampton. There is no physical evidence because the woman was not examined byy a doctor afterward and did not report the rape to police for two years -- after filing the $21 million suit.ddddddddddddMcCoy said the woman was t embarrassed to initially report the incident.After sex, Rose tk his condom, put it back in the wrapper and tk it with him like he was never there, McCoy said.NBA players are instructed to flush their condoms down the toilet or take them so women cant use the sperm to impregnate themselves, Roses lawyer said.Rose, 28, was traded to the New York Knicks this season after spending his previous seven years in his native Chicago with the Bulls. Hes in the final year of a five-year deal that will pay him $21.3 million, almost identical to what the plaintiff is seeking.Its a sad effort to get a lottery hit, attorney Mark Baute said of the lawsuit.Rose, who was not in court after Tuesdays preseason opener in Houston but expected to be present Thursday, had shown no remorse and told New York Knicks President Phil Jackson that hed lost no sleep over the matter, McCoy said.The defense will focus on the many text messages the woman exchanged with Rose, whom she dated on and off for nearly two years. The lawyers said the messages showed she was lucid and not intoxicated after returning home from Roses mansion. They denied she was ever drugged.The two were split up when she texted Rose out of the blue the morning of Aug. 26 to say he makes her horny.Rose replied by asking what she was doing that night and suggested she bring a friend over for a threesome. She rejected that idea, but agreed to bring a friend over later for drinks.A clip from a deposition taken of Rose was played in which he was asked if there was anything in the text messages that led him to believe the plaintiff wanted to have sex with him and two friends that night.He said, No.In a later clip, he was asked if he understd what consent means.He also answered, No. ' ' '