sometimes where going down there and kicking field

CHICAGO -- Big Ten quarterbacks took a big beating last week.No. 4 Michigan, trying to win its first Big Ten championship since 2004, might have to get by with a backup after Wilton Speight injured his left, non-throwing shoulder in last weeks surprising loss to Iowa .Nebraskas Tommy Armstrong Jr. has a left hamstring problem. And Marylands Perry Hills (left shoulder) is banged up, too.The injury to Speight comes at an inopportune time for the Wolverines (9-1, 6-1), considering whats at stake and how well he has played.Michigan can capture the league championship and probably a spot in college footballs four-team playoff by beating Indiana on Saturday, No. 2 Ohio State on the road and winning the conference title game. The Wolverines chances would be better with Speight, but several outlets reported that he broke his collarbone in last weeks 14-13 loss at Iowa. Coach Jim Harbaugh would not confirm that on Tuesday, saying he remains questionable for the game against the Hoosiers.Well evaluate after that, Harbaugh said.Speight, who has completed more than 62 percent of his passes for 2,156 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions, was injured getting tackled on a fourth-quarter scramble against Iowa. Assuming he is sidelined, Michigan would figure to go with John OKorn or Shane Morris, who have played sparingly this season.Armstrong went from getting knocked unconscious in a blowout loss to Ohio State to delivering an inspired, painful performance for Nebraska (8-2, 5-2) in last weeks 24-17 win over Minnesota .He hurt his left ankle on a sneak in the third quarter. Armstrong came back to lead the winning 91-yard drive, but was carried to the sideline by two offensive linemen after tweaking his left hamstring tumbling into the end zone on a 13-yard touchdown.With the hamstring, we wont know until he can try it, coach Mike Riley said. And hes not in a position to try it yet.Ryker Fyfe is taking first-team snaps this week with Zack Darlington backing him up as the Cornhuskers prepare to host Maryland. Armstrong is day to day.The same goes for the Terrapins quarterback. Hills is day-to-day after he injured his left shoulder in the first quarter against Ohio State last week , and the drop-off between him and his backups is a big one. Hills, who has also dealt with a right shoulder injury, has three interceptions over 147 attempts. Reserves Caleb Rowe and true freshman Tyrrell Pigrome have been picked off five times over a collective 56 throws.Weve been in this mode for several weeks now (with Hills), coach D.J. Durkin said. Hes played well for us at times even with the injury, and obviously hes gotten dinged up at times in games, too.REMEMBERING FOLTZNebraska will honor its seniors on Saturday, and late punter Sam Foltz figures to be on the Cornhuskers minds.The passing of Sam Foltz has become kind of part of our daily thought process, Riley said. Theres not a day, I dont think, that goes by that we dont think about Sam and appreciate him.An All-Big Ten punter, Foltz died in a car crash in Wisconsin on July 23 along with former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler.TOUGH TWOSOMEThe seven-game losing streak that derailed the season for Michigan State (3-7, 1-6) ended with a shutout over Rutgers. The schedule is about to get tougher with two games left -- and both against top 10 teams.The Spartans host No. 2 Ohio State, which will be out to avenge a loss last year that kept the Buckeyes out of the national championship hunt, on Saturday. After that, Michigan State visits No. 9 Penn State.I understand where (Ohio State is) at in the big scheme of things, coach Mark Dantonio said. I understand where Penn States at. The road may go through East Lansing a little bit, I guess. But I just look at it as an opportunity to play and be challenged by great football teams.CARRS CATCHESFrom walk-on to one of the nations best, Northwestern receiver Austin Carr is having quite a senior season.He is tied for sixth in the country in touchdown catches, and ranks ninth in both yards receiving (1,102) and receptions per game (7.5) and 10th in yards per game (110.2).We didnt recruit him, coach Pat Fitzgerald said, laughing. He got here on his own and he called us. Hes one of those cool, cool, just unbelievable, success stories in college football this year -- a young man that was not recruited at all, applies, gets into school and cold calls us and says, `Hey, Id like to try to maybe walk onto the team. How do I do that? And the rest is kind of history.---For more AP college football coverage: http://collegefootball.ap.org/ John Wensink Avalanche Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Paul Kariya Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-nathan-mackinnon-avalanche-jersey/ . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Tyson Jost Jersey . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Patrick Roy Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. ASHBURN, Va. -- After the Washington Redskins allowed the Minnesota Vikings to score 20 consecutive points at the end of the first half Sunday, coach Jay Gruden had to shut the door in his office at halftime to cool down.Once he regained his poise, so did his team. For the seventh time this season the Redskins had a game decided by one score, and after beating the Vikings theyre 4-2-1 in those situations.This time it was the defense shutting out Minnesota for the final 30 minutes while the offense got the job done, but Washington is comfortable playing football on the razors edge between winning and losing -- mostly because there has been more winning than losing.We have a pretty good resolve in this locker room, linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said. We know every game is going to be close. You rarely have a game where you just beat a team 40-0. We know most games were playing are going to be close, and you have to have that mindset going into every game that you have to play for a full 60 minutes.Enduring a bad six minutes like the Redskins did against the Vikings might not work so well against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (4-5) on Sunday night. Either way, its a good bet that the Redskins (5-3-1) wont get blown out or blow the Packers out of the building in a reprisal of the NFC wild-card game last season.The Redskins recipe in close games has included a defense that gets better as games go on, effective offense even in light of red zone struggles and a kicker who ranks among the NFLs most relied upon.Quarterback Kirk Cousins said coaches, and specifically Gruden, are behind Washingtons success in the close games that are part of a close league. Cousins pointed to Grudens time in the Arena Football League as one reason the head coach knows about clock management as well as adjustments.He does a very good job of managing the game in ccoaching situations, Cousins said.dddddddddddd Any time you have young players in certain positions, its going to take time. You dont just snap your fingers and get exactly what you want. I think we are all growing together. I dont think we are an old, veteran, experienced team by any means, and theres still a ways to go.The Redskins converted a touchdown on only one of four trips to the red zone against Minnesota and allowed two Vikings touchdowns on the other side of the ball. Gruden said the team will continue to patch up the red zone issues but didnt voice much worry about them because the points keep coming.I think there are sometimes where going down there and kicking field goals isnt a bad thing in close games, Gruden said Monday. I would rather do that than force an interception down there.Cousins was almost picked off at the goal line in the first quarter, but two Vikings linebackers collided and the ball fell between them. Cousins found receiver Jamison Crowder for a touchdown on the next play.As for Hopkins, Gruden likes how his kicker rebounded back after missing a 34-yarder in overtime against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 30 in London.Hes been excellent all year, Gruden said. He gave us no reason to believe that he wouldnt do otherwise then to bounce back. It was great to see it, though.Game notes Gruden hasnt ruled out WR DeSean Jackson playing against Green Bay after missing the Vikings game with a left shoulder injury. ... RT Morgan Moses aggravated a sprained left ankle in the victory but returned and is expected to play.---This is a corrected story. A previous version had the Packers record listed incorrectly.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '