Gomes could be available despite recently bre

TROY, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans face a big challenge to their first national ranking just four days after cracking the Top 25.The 25th-ranked Trojans (8-1, 5-0 Sun Belt Conference) host Arkansas State (5-4, 5-0) Thursday night in Troys second straight battle of teams with perfect league marks.The Trojans survived the first such challenge with a 28-24 win over Appalachian State. Now, the stakes are potentially even higher.Troy is the first ranked Sun Belt team and also the only one to start a season 8-1. The Trojans havent joined fellow Group of Five teams Boise State (No. 20) and Western Michigan (No. 21) in the playoff rankings.It sets up an exciting opportunity for us, Troy coach Neal Brown said. It is a good opportunity to measure ourselves to what has been the premier program in the Sun Belt over the last five years.The Red Wolves have indeed been the leagues team to beat in recent seasons, a mantle once held by Troy. They havent lost since starting out 0-4 and have won 14 consecutive conference games and 17 of 20 road contests within the league.Arkansas State is the only FBS program to win four league titles over the past five seasons.No Sun Belt team has been hotter than the Trojans, who have won seven straight since a 30-24 loss to No. 5 Clemson. None would be bigger than the Appalachian State victory, when Jordan Chunn scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left.I dont know if I expected them to be 8-1 but I surely expected them to be in the mix in the conference race, Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said.The result of both teams hot streak is the first Sun Belt game between teams with 5-0 league records or better.---Some other things to know about the Arkansas State-Troy game:SUN BELTS BEST? Troy once dominated the Sun Belt much like Arkansas State has lately. The Trojans havent won a league title since capturing their fifth in a row in 2010, when Brown was offensive coordinator.PROTECTING QBS: Which team will be able to pressure the quarterback best? No team in the nation has given up fewer sacks this season than the three allowed by Troy, and the Trojans defense also leads the Sun Belt with 25 sacks. Arkansas State has strong pass rushers in JaVon Rolland-Jones (7.5 sacks) and Chris Odom (7.0).PICK ARTISTS: Arkansas States Money Hunter, the Sun Belt defensive player of the week, just set the league record with his fourth career interception return for a touchdown. Troys Blace Brown has six interceptions and leads the nation in picks per game.TOP RUSHERS: The game features two of the leagues top four rushers. Troys Chunn is tops with 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns; Arkansas State counters with Warren Wand, who is averaging 67.4 yards per game.JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Arkansas State quarterback Justice Hansen is second in the league in pass efficiency. Taking care of the ball will be huge in this one since hes facing a defense with 16 interceptions.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Jim Bunning Jersey . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Dave Hollins Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.philliesrookiestore.com/Phillies-Francisco-Rodriguez-Kids-Jersey/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Tommy Joseph 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. Dave Cash Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. A look at the best-of-five American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians:---Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Thursday, at Cleveland (8:08 p.m.); Game 2, Friday, at Cleveland (4:38 p.m.); Game 3, Sunday, at Boston (4:08 p.m.); x-Game 4, Monday, Oct. 10, at Boston (TBA); x-Game 5, Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Cleveland (TBA). (All games on TBS).x-if necessary.---Season Series: Red Sox won 4-2.---Projected Lineups:Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia (.318, 15 HRs, 74 RBI), SS Xander Bogaerts (.294, 21, 89), RF Mookie Betts (.318, 31, 113), DH David Ortiz (.315, 38, 127), 1B Hanley Ramirez (.286, 30, 111), CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (.267, 26, 87), 3B Brock Holt (.255, 7, 34), C Sandy Leon (.310, 7, 35 in 78 games), LF Andrew Benintendi (.295, 2, 14 in 34 games).Indians: DH Carlos Santana (.259, 34, 87, 99 walks), 2B Jason Kipnis (.275, 23, 82, 41 doubles), SS Francisco Lindor (.301, 15, 78, 19 steals), 1B Mike Napoli (.239, career highs with 34 HRs, 101 RBI), 3B Jose Ramirez (.312, 11, 76, 46 doubles, .357 with runners in scoring position), RF Lonnie Chisenhall (.286, 8, 57), LF Rajai Davis (.249, 12, 48, team-high 43 steals), CF Tyler Naquin (.296, 14, 43, among top 5 rookies in several offensive categories), C Yan Gomes (.167, 9, 34, only 74 games because of injuries).---Starting Pitchers:Red Sox: RH Rick Porcello (22-4, 3.15 ERA), LH David Price (17-9, 3.99), RH Clay Buchholz (8-10, 4.78), LH Eduardo Rodriguez (3-7, 4.71).Indians: RH Trevor Bauer (12-8, 4.26, career-high 190 innings), RH Corey Kluber (18-9, 3.14, 227 Ks in 215 innings), RH Josh Tomlin (13-9, 4.40, 36 HRs in 174 innings).---Relievers:Red Sox: RH Craig Kimbrel (2-6, 3.40, 31/33 saves), RH Koji Uehara (2-3, 3.45, 7 saves), RH Brad Ziegler (2-4, 1.52), LH Drew Pomeranz (3-5, 4.59), RH Matt Barnes (4-3, 4.05), RH Robbie Ross (3-2, 3.25), RH Joe Kelly (4-0, 5.18).Indians: RH Cody Allen (3-5, 2.51, 32/35 saves), RH Bryan Shaw (2-5, 3.24, 75 games), LH Andrew Miller (10-1, 1.45 ERA, 12 saves, 14.9 Ks per 9 innings with Yankees and Indians), RH Dan Otero (5-1, 1.53, 39 of last 46 appearances scoreless), RH Jeff Manship (2-1, 3.12, 53 games), RH Zach McAllister (3-2, 4.44, 53 games).---Matchups:Juicy storylines abound as Red Sox and Indians meet in playoffs for fifth time since 1999. Teams have split four previous matchups. ... Series features two highest-scoring teams in AL, with Boston racking up 878 runs and Cleveland 777. ... Indians manager Terry Francona led Boston to two World Series championships (2004, 2007). The `04 victory ended Bostons 86-year drought. The title in `07 came after Red Sox overcame a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland in ALCS. ... Francona is 20-19 against Red Sox -- 12-14 with Cleveland, 8-5 with Philadelphia. ... Francona will be managing against John Farrell, one of his closest friends. ... Indians are back in playoffs for first time since 2013, when they lost wild-card game to Tampa Bay 4-0. ... Clevelands strong starting rotation has been decimated by injuries. Carlos Carrasco (broken hand) and Danny Salazar (forearm tightness) are unlikely to pitch in postseason. Kluber recently injured his quadriceps, bumping him back to Game 2 and giving start in opener to Bauer, who has 12.91 ERA in two career starts against Boston. ... Indians opened season at home against Boston. Batted just .167 (16 for 96) vs. Red Sox this year. ... Napoli, who played for Red Sox from 2013-15, hit .095 (2 for 21) with 12 strikeouts against them this season. ... Kipnis has .311 career average against Boston with 6 homers, 15 RBI in 28 games. ... Indians have lost three straight against Red Sox, most recently at home on Aug. 15 in makeup from an earlier postponement. ... Gomes could be available despite recently breaking his hand in minor league rehab appearance. He homered Sunday in season finale in his first big league at-bat since July 17. ... Cleveland has given up 83 runs in its last seven postseason games at Fenway Park.---Big Picture:Red Sox: In the last five seasons, the Red Sox (93-69) have finished last in the AL East three times and won the division twice, going from worst to first twice in that span. ... It was tthe second AL East title for Farrell, having also guided the team to the division crown in its World Series championship year of 2013.dddddddddddd The Red Sox also finished first when winning it all in 2007 under Francona. ... Ortiz plans to retire after the season. At age 40, he has had one of the best farewell campaigns in baseball history, leading the majors in slugging percentage, OPS, doubles and extra-base hits. His 38 homers were the most ever for a player in his last year. ... The Red Sox won 11 straight games in September to open cushion in AL East, then lost five of their last six to blow a chance at home-field advantage. ... Ortiz could become the second player in franchise history (Harry Hooper) to play in and win four World Series. ... Although the Red Sox won the World Series just three seasons ago, many players on the roster have no postseason experience, including MVP candidate Betts and Bradley. Only Ortiz, Pedroia and Buchholz were starters through the `13 playoffs.Indians: Took lead in the AL Central on June 4 and never looked back, winning division with ease. ... The Indians (94-67) have overcome adversity all season. Star outfielder Michael Brantley played in just 11 games following shoulder surgery, but team got unexpected contributions from Ramirez, Naquin and others to more than pick up slack. ... Clevelands starting pitching was supposed to carry club, but its been a consistent lineup and one of baseballs best bullpens that has Indians playing again in October. ... Franconas deft touch has kept the Indians energized and believing they can make a deep playoff run. ... Cleveland hasnt won World Series since 1948, but following Cavaliers NBA title in June, Indians dont feel pressured to end citys championship drought. ... Front office stepped up at trade deadline and acquired Miller, who may be most valuable reliever in majors. Also, team acquired Brandon Guyer and Coco Crisp to provide depth in outfield. Abraham Almonte will not be available in postseason because of PED suspension. ... Indians are different team at home, where they went AL-best 53-28 and led league with 11 walkoff wins. ... Indians didnt lose three straight all season, and had 14-game winning streak.---Watch For:- Walkoff. The Red Sox are hoping another long playoff run will be a proper send-off for Ortiz, already one of the great postseason performers in baseball history. Big Papi hit .688 in the 2013 World Series to earn MVP honors.- Francona Factor. With two World Series rings, the Indians manager knows his way around October better than anyone. He has a knack for making the right moves with his bullpen, lineup and pinch hitters. His players have embraced his one-day-at-a-time mantra, and Franconas steady hand might be the biggest reason the Tribe overcame so many obstacles in 2016. Hes been able to get the most out of his starters and platoon players, who have delivered time after time.- Magnificent Miller. His slider may be baseballs most devastating pitch. More than once, he twisted hitters into knots as they tried to handle a diving pitch that would be hard to hit with a surfboard. The 6-foot-6 lefty has taken Clevelands bullpen to another level, and the All-Stars ability to both set up and close gives Francona some interesting options. For Cleveland to get past Boston, Francona will need to get five innings from his starters and then turn things over to Miller & Co.- Home Cooking. Home-field advantage could mean more in this series than others. The Indians are a different team at Progressive Field, which sits next to Quicken Loans Arena, home of LeBron James and the Cavs. They scored 452 runs at home, and Ramirez (.347) and Lindor (.344) had the top two home batting averages in the AL. And while Clevelands crowds havent been huge, theyre noisy and dont have their usual woe-is-us attitude after the Cavs delivered the citys first pro title since 1964. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have been more consistent home or away. They went 47-34 at historic Fenway Park and 46-35 on the road. ' ' '