HOUSTON -- Coach Tom Herman has spent all offseason downplaying the importance of Houstons opener against No. 3 Oklahoma.The high-profile matchup at NRG Stadium, the home of the NFLs Texans, on Saturday wont decide a conference championship nor will it pave the way to a spot in the College Football Playoff for the winner.Just going in with the mindset that its just another game that we will be prepared for, said Cougars cornerback Brandon Wilson, toeing the company line.So, yes, there is still almost a whole season to play and the opener only counts for one. All the cliches apply. But a victory by 15th-ranked Houston unquestionably opens up a world of playoff possibilities for the much-hyped Cougars, the American Athletic Conference and maybe the Group of Five conferences in general. A loss by the Cougars and they can focus on defending that league title.The Cougars capped a 13-1 season with a 38-24 victory against Florida State in the Peach Bowl in January. The buzz in Houston for the Coogs hasnt been this high since the late 1980s and early `90s. Back then it was star quarterbacks Andre Ware and David Klingler run-and-shooting their way into the record books.That era ended abruptly. Houston started the 1991 season ranked No. 12, and went into its second game of the season against No. 2 Miami ranked 10th. Instead of a breakthrough, Klingler and the Cougars got buried 40-10 by the Hurricanes.Houstons preseason ranking this year is its best since `91, but the Cougars are trying to hold on to the underdog intensity they had last year when they werent even favored to win their division.Weve tried to keep that chip on our shoulder. That kind of made us who we are, tight end Tyler McCloskey said.What will it take for Houston or any Group of Five team to reach the playoff? The playoff has only been around for two years and there hasnt been a test case yet for the selection committee. An undefeated record is probably a good start. At least one big nonconference win will be important because the quality wins the committee looks for are tough to accumulate outside Power Five leagues.A big season by the Cougars has the potential to be the story of the playoff race when the rankings start coming out in early November. Thats why of all the compelling matchups in a great first weekend of the season, the stakes are highest in Houston.Things to know about the third meeting between Oklahoma and Houston:HEISMAN WATCHTrying to follow in the footsteps of Ware, Houstons only Heisman Trophy winner, is Greg Ward Jr. He was one of two FBS quarterbacks to pass for more than 2,000 yards and run for more than 1,000 last season. He accounted for 38 touchdowns.The biggest thing he does is take advantage of blitzing teams or D-ends running up field. Hes just going to step up and try to get down field or get a scramble drill going, Oklahoma cornerback Dakota Austin said.Defending Big 12 champion and playoff semifinalist Oklahoma has its own Heisman contender quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who passed for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns last year and finished fourth in the Heisman voting.Both give you trouble scrambling around with their legs, Sooner coach Bob Stoops said of Mayfield and Ward. Just talented players, I think, is the number one thing you can say about them both.GO-TO RECEIVERSBoth teams enter the season looking for new No. 1 receivers to emerge after the departures of Sterling Shepard from Oklahoma and Demarcus Ayers at Houston. Expect the Sooners to get tight end Mark Andrews more involved after he caught seven touchdowns as a redshirt freshman. Penn State transfer Geno Lewis steps into a starting role at wide receiver. The Cougars will be looking for some inexperienced players to emerge and Chance Allen, who had 56 catches and 752 yards last season, to take a bigger role.FRESHMENHouston landed one of the best defensive line recruits in the country this year in Ed Oliver. The freshman is expected to make an immediate impact. With Oklahoma retooling at linebacker, freshman Caleb Kelly will likely see some time and Stoops said Mykel Jones will be part of the receiver rotation.EXPANSIONHouston is in the process of trying to gain an invitation to the Big 12. The conference has narrowed down the field of expansion candidates to 11, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. One game wont be a deciding factor, but Houston fans would certainly like to see their team prove it belongs in the Power Five conference.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP Air Jordan 1 Retro For Sale . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Jordan 1 For Sale Cheap . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. http://www.saleairjordan1.com/jordan-1-retro-pinnacle.html . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Air Jordan 1 Sale . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Air Jordan 1 Retro High Og Cheap . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The game was supposed to be about the national anthem that wasnt played. Thursdays friendly against Thailand will be the first public look at the U.S. womens national team since its exit in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, a tournament that ended not with The Star-Spangled Banner but with the Germans standing as their anthem played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.Instead it is about the national anthem that will be played at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus. It is about what Megan Rapinoe will do. And about what she should do, in this setting in particular.It sounded Wednesday like that isnt quite what anyone wants. Perhaps even including Rapinoe.Nearly three weeks have passed since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernicks protests, first sitting on the bench during the national anthem and more recently kneeling on the sideline, initially came to national attention. Nearly two weeks have passed since Rapinoe did the same in solidarity, kneeling during the national anthem as a member of the Seattle Reign of the National Womens Soccer League. Numerous NFL players kneeled during anthems this past weekend, even amidst the remembrances of the 15th anniversary of 9/11.But if the story is no longer new, what might transpire Thursday night is new. To date, those protests were done while representing professional teams. Doing so while representing the country would call back to American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on the medal podium with fists raised in protest during the 1968 Olympics.The anthems place at professional sporting events is nebulous to begin with.It is inseparable from international sporting events.U.S. coach Jill Ellis, while supportive of Rapinoes intent, left little doubt about her perspective. (Ellis said Wednesday afternoon the two had not spoken about the anthem and any possible protest specifically but would chat later that evening.)I totally understand where Megan is, in terms of her willingness to talk about hard social issues, Ellis said. I respect that. I support that. Those conversations should be had. Me personally, in this environment for a national team, I dont disassociate playing for your country. I think thats a part of a national symbol. So in terms of standing for a national anthem, I think thats an expectation of a national team player.In an interview earlier Wednesday with ESPNs Jeremy Schaap, Rapinoe said she had not decided what she would do during the anthem. She indicated that was still the case when she spoke with media Wednesday afternoon before the teams training session. She also sounded like someone who, while unshaken in her belief, was frustrated that so much of the talk surrounding the protest centered on what she is doing instead of why she is doing it.Asked if she had found some of the productive conversations she hoped to spark, she mentioned talking to people in her life and activists in the movement. She didnt say anything about conversations with people who might disagree with her or be made uncomfortable.To be honest, not as many [meaningful conversations] as I would want, or not as many as I would think that would be appropriate for what Im trying to talk about, Rapinoe said. A lot of the conversation has been about the medium of protest and if there is offense to that and me having to defend myself against claims of being anti-American or anti-police or anti-military. So while there has been a lot [of conversation], I also think its something that a lot of people dont want to talk about and will try to deflect in any way to not talk about it.She told Schaap she wasnt sure how efffective her protest was if it meant 20 percent of people instantly tuned out because they were offended by the means of delivery.dddddddddddd In that arrangement, the argument becomes one about the anthem. About the symbol, not what it represents.Racial injustice, the sort of either explicit or unintended bias toward black people in this country, Rapinoe said of what she wished was the focus of public debate about the protests. Police brutality against people of color, communities of color. The sort of massive revamp that we need in our police system, not only for the better treatment of people of color but also for police officers as well. I think that a lot of these cops have been put in very difficult situations and tasked with very difficult jobs with very little training and very little help. Thats not an excuse, by any means, for any of the brutality or any of the intimidation, killings or violence that has happened on their watch. But I think its a very complex issue that needs to be looked at holistically. Its not just one person doing something wrong or one side doing something wrong.That is a long quote, which is part of the problem. Kneeling during the anthem is an excellent way to get people to pay attention. But the people who pay attention exist in a modern world of 140-character takes, 30-second television debates and the short attention spans they serve. To expect people, in the face of an image as powerful as kneeling during the anthem, to engage in calm, nuanced debate -- each side willing to hear the other -- is optimistic bordering on naive.But its equally difficult to have that debate if no one is paying attention in the first place.This is my lane, Rapinoe said. And I feel like for me personally, this is, I think, the best way I can do it. Obviously to be on this team, to be able to represent my country and have the platform that I do, Im incredibly grateful for it.Which brings us back to what happens Thursday night in Columbus. No womens team in this country, perhaps the world, has the profile or the platform afforded the U.S. womens soccer team. Players, including Rapinoe, have used that platform often in recent years, making the case for equal turf at the World Cup, equal pay within the national program and a variety of other social issues. They use their voices individually and collectively.But is there ever a line that can be crossed? Rapinoe said she spoke with her teammates Tuesday night to explain her motivations and answer any questions. She said she offered no apology for adding her voice to the issue. She offered no hint that others were ready to join her.What I always think about is the team ahead of the individual agenda, Ellis said. [That] is probably where Im at, in terms of theres a myriad of things that our players are concerned about. But I also think when you bring it to the team, you bring it to everybody and people that maybe dont even want to be embroiled in that discussion.For all the talk about conversations, debates and chats, it will come down to what one person decides in the hours before a game about how best to represent what she believes in.A list that includes both the national team and social equality.It seems like Im thinking 400 hours a day, thats kind of how it feels, Rapinoe said. I will continue to talk to the people in my life that I trust, and take all sides into account. Ultimately, it will be up to me and what I feel convicted about, whats in my bones and what I feel like is right. ' ' '
