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PITTSBURGH -- The jitters will be there. After what Pittsburgh running back James Conner has been through over the last 12 months, how could they not?So forgive the 2014 ACC Player of the Year if he takes a moment before running out of the tunnel and onto the Heinz Field turf on Saturday when the Panthers host Villanova in the 2016 opener. A knee injury that derailed his junior season and a cancer diagnosis that threatened to derail his promising career has a way of putting things in perspective.Im just going to embrace it all, Conner said. I know we will have a great audience. It will be a memorable day. My doctor will be in the building, along with some of the nurses. My family and friends will be there, along with my friends from Erie, so its just going to be a great day.Yet Conner also understands the jitters will fade. They always do. Once he takes a handoff from Nate Peterman it will back to business as usual: trying to help the Panthers take another step forward one punishing yard at a time.Im excited to make my return, he said. I take every game the same. Theres a job that needs to be done.One Pitt and second-year coach Pat Narduzzi believe is far from finished even after a promising 8-5 season in 2015, one the Panthers gamely soldiered through even with Conner watching from the sideline for all but the first two quarters of the opener against Youngstown State.Narduzzi has a better feel for the program now, one that is trying to embrace its history while forging ahead at the same time. The Pitt script logo -- a symbol of the Panthers glory years four decades go -- is back in full effect, joined by a variety of uniform options that seem to be de rigueur in college football these days.Of course, the plan is to have plenty of substance to go with all that style, with Conner leading the way. Some things to look for as the Panthers begin a season with lofty expectations, against a team hoping to make a statement of its own:CLOSE CALLS: Narduzzis tenure began with a shaky 45-37 win over Youngstown State last September, a game that remained in doubt until the fourth quarter. The memory remains fresh, so dont expect Pitt to peek around the corner at a long-awaited visit from Penn State on Sept. 10. Thats probably wise against Villanova, a longtime FCS power who is hardly a pushover. The Wildcats have been a tough out against FBS schools in each of the last three openers, all losses by 10 points or less.SAYING GOODBYE: The 2016 season will be the 32nd and final year for Villanova coach Andy Talley, whose 249 career wins are the most by an active coach at FBS or FCS level. Talley, who led the Wildcats to the 2009 national title, will hand the program over to assistant Mark Ferrante. An upset over the Panthers would be a pretty sweet way to begin Talleys send-off.PLENTY OF HELP: While Narduzzi said there are no limitations on Conner -- who underwent six months of chemotherapy to combat lymphoma diagnosed last Thanksgiving -- Pitts depth at running back means Conner wont have to carry the load alone. Qadree Ollison was the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015 while filling in for Conner and Chris James provides a speedy yin to the powerful yang provided by Conner and Ollison.NATE THE GREAT? The Panthers entered 2015 with Chad Voytik at quarterback before Nate Peterman quickly took over the job. There is no drama this time around. Peterman is firmly entrenched as the starter, though hell also be working with an inexperienced group after Tyler Boyd took his school-record 254 receptions to the NFL. Senior Dontez Ford is the only returning wide receiver with more than 12 career catches. NMD Online Australia . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Adidas Superstar Pink Australia . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/ . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. NMD XR1 Australia . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Cheap NMDs Australia . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. NASSAU, Bahamas -- Not only did Tiger Woods return to golf Thursday, he returned to being Tiger.Just not for long.Hardly looking like a player who had not competed in 466 days, Woods ran off three straight birdies with a variety of shots and was tied for the lead in the Hero World Challenge as he approached the turn.Three shots in the bushes, one shot in the water and a few fits of anger sent him toward the bottom of the pack. A pair of double bogeys over the final three holes ruined an otherwise impressive return, and Woods shot 40 on the back nine at Albany Golf Club and had to settle for a 1-over 73.He was in 17th place in the 18-man field. Only Justin Rose had a higher score.Even so, Woods has reason to be encouraged. After taking off 15 months to recover from two back surgeries, he felt no pain or limitations. His misses were not big, just costly. And he was playing again.It could have been something really good, Woods said. I got off to a nice, solid start and made a few mistakes there. I didnt play the par 5s very well in the middle part of the round and consequently, got it going the wrong way. ... But all in all, I feel pretty good. Im looking forward to another three more days.He was nine shots behind J.B. Holmes, who opened with an 8-under 64 and had a one-shot lead over Hideki Matsuyama, with U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson at 66.Curiosity was greater than expectations for Woods, who was coming off the longest hiatus of his golfing life. Plagued by back problems since 2013 when he was No. 1 in the world, he finally shut it down after tying for 10th in the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 23, 2015, and then going through two back surgeries.He was in so much pain last year there were times he wondered he had played his last tournament.With high anticipation, he tugged his opening tee shot into the rough on the left edge of a bunker and gouged that out to 15 feet for par. Just like that, it all started to feel as though he had never been away.By the time I hit my tee shot on the second hole, I had already gotten into the flow of the round, Woods said. Thats something that for me, when Ive takeen layoffs and taken breaks, its how quickly can I find the feel of the round? To not play in 15, 16 months and get it on the second hole is nice.ddddddddddddHe also knew that with only a stiff tropical wind behind him on three of the par 5s, scores would be low.For a short time, Woods seemed up to the task. He hit a 5-iron from 231 yards just over the green and passed his first test, a 30-yard pitch-and-run and that checked slightly and rolled out to a few feet from the hole for a birdie . He faced a more difficult pitch up the slope on the next hole and hit a chunk-and-run to 3 feet.His confidence kept building -- the flop shot from 40 yards to 5 feet for birdie on the par-5 sixth, the wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the seventh, and a 6-iron he struck so well on the par-3 eighth that he was asking for perfection. One yard! One yard! he said as the ball was in the air, and then settled 2 feet away.At that point he was tied with Holmes.But he flubbed a pitch on the par-5 ninth and made bogey. Two holes later, he flared an iron from the sandy waste area into a bush and had to take a penalty shot, making another bogey on a par 5. Woods was still hanging around in the middle of the pack when he hit 7-iron to 12 feet on the par-5 15th and two-putted for birdie.And then it all fell apart.Froom the middle of the 16th fairway, he pulled his approach and dropped the club as it sailed into a bush. He had to play that backward to the fairway, pitched a wedge some 30 feet by and made double bogey. And then on the 18th, he pulled his driver and immediately slammed the club into the turf as he watched for the splash.His pitch hit the pin -- it was too strong, anyway -- and he missed from 20 feet for another bogey.Just made some really silly mistakes, mistakes I dont normally make, Woods said. But I havent played in a while. Unfortunately, I made those mistakes. I can clean that up. Weve got three more days. Wind is supposed to pump on the weekend, and Ill be playing a little bit better. ' ' '