res Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson. The two have both had good moments this season and combined for nearly 2,000 yards rushing, but both have also battled injuries this season.Here are some things to watch in this

Such is the positivity around the England set-up at the moment that you can imagine, if confronted by the lemons currently queuing up to make a mess of the UKs political system, they would happily get down to the business of serving up lemonade - and without delay.Much of Englands fizz over the last 18 months has been provided by the batting of Joe Root and he will be exercising his transferable skills this week when he returns as a permanent member of the Test top three for the first time since the 2013-14 Ashes. The argument against moving Root up the order has been along the lines of not weakening one of the sides strengths but, after the failure of Nick Compton to make the No. 3 spot his own, England have decided to once again take the plunge.An Australian-style system of putting your best batsman at first drop should be slightly more straightforward to implement than an Australian-style points system on immigration (as favoured by the Brexit camp in last months EU referendum) and Root - currently No. 4 on the ICCs Test batting rankings - made the sort of calming noises that English politicians have become incapable of when referring to the challenge ahead.Never mind that his combined average at opener or No. 3 is 33.75, compared to 63.07 in the two spots lower down. Never mind that he ended up out of the side by the time of the fifth Test in Sydney after being hastily promoted to fill in for the departed Jonathan Trott three winters ago. Never mind that he was bowled by a shooter at Lords - where Englands Test against Pakistan will begin on Thursday - in his most recent Test innings, batting at No. 3 after an injury sustained by Alastair Cook.To slip into business speak, Root sees the doughnut where everyone else sees the hole. He said that Cook had teased him for having weaselled his way down the order, after they briefly opened together in the 2013 Ashes (Root again replacing Compton), and suggested he was confident he had the game to thrive in a position that was so secure in Trotts possession between 2010 and 2013.Ive matured quite a lot as a player and my game has developed a lot, he said. It will be interesting to see how it goes. It would be wrong to compare it to batting anywhere else. Ive batted at No. 3 before but as a kid I always opened so Im used to batting against the new ball. Its only since Ive been playing for England that I moved further down anyway. I have experience of opening, batting at No. 3 and Im just looking forward to getting on with it.It certainly will be interesting to see how it goes against a Pakistan attack expected to be adept at asking questions with the new ball. Roots eagerness to please may, of course, see him come unstuck again, but bobbing back up the order had begun to look inevitable, in part because of Trevor Bayliss preference for the Australian way of doing things. It has not taken long for Bayliss and Cook to wear him down.There have been a few conversations over the last six months about looking more long-term, not in one series in particular, but that it was something that could happen down the line, Root said. That was in their thoughts and gave me an opportunity to think about it. I was asked leading up to the selection that it could be a possibility, and I said: Yeah, I think that could be the right thing to do. All parties were pretty happy on where it stands.Trevor mentioned it to me, so from that point its been in my thoughts and I started trying to get my head round it being a big change, but there is not a lot of difference there. You could be in second ball but how Id line up and look to play would probably not change a huge amount. Look to play the situation as it is and take the game from there. Any opportunities to score, Ill still try to do that.It is less than a year since Root was shunted up a place from No. 5 - where he has made more than half of his Test runs, at an average of 73.12 - but his contribution of 63, 38 not out and 130 in consecutive innings at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge immediately vindicated the move. Despite slim returns against Sri Lanka in the first part of the summer, he seems keen to prove himself worthy of another promotion.Cooky takes the mick out of me saying youve got such a great record batting where you do, but you should do it at the top where it really matters. He is right. He said you only did the five Tests and then weaselled your way down the order. Im pretty happy with the opportunity and I just want to get cracking now. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. NFL Jerseys Sale . 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An undefeated run through the Big 12 earned the Oklahoma Sooners an invite to the 83rd Sugar Bowl.As for the Auburn Tigers, well, theyre off to New Orleans after the College Football Playoff committee decided the program was the best option out of a jumbled mess in the Southeastern Conference.The two teams will meet in the Superdome on Jan. 2.The No. 7 Sooners (10-2, 9-0 Big 12, No. 7 College Football Playoff) finished off a perfect trek through conference play on Saturday with a 38-20 victory over Oklahoma State. Oklahoma lost two of three to start the season, but ended the season on a nine-game winning streak.The Sugar Bowl is a step down for Oklahoma from last season, when the Sooners made the CFP semifinals before losing to Clemson. But coach Bob Stoops didnt expect any sort of letdown.No concerns, Stoops said. At the end of the day its a great bowl game and were playing an excellent football team. Weve just got to be in a position to play the best we can.No. 17 Auburn (8-4, 5-3 SEC, No. 14 CFP) emerged from a pile of options to be the second-highest ranked team in the SEC in the final CFP poll behind top-ranked Alabama. Florida and LSU were also candidates for the Sugar Bowl spot, but finished just behind the Tigers at No. 17 and No. 20, respectively.Auburns eager to prove the CFP committee got it right.Well definitely be motivated, Auburn coach Gus Malzhan said. Were playing one of the top teams in the country.The Oklahoma-Auburn matchup is a rare one: Its only the second time the two schools have faced each other. The Sooners beat the Tigers 40-22 in the 1972 Sugar Bowl.Some of Oklahomas players have played in the Sugar Bowl already: The Sooners beat Alabama 45-31 three years ago in New Orleans.The Sooners are led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has thrown for 3,669 yards, 38 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Running back Joe Mixon has run for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns while top receiver Dede Westbrook has 1,465 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns.ddddddddddddYoure talking about a big-time offense to go with a very good defense, Malzahn said. We have a lot of respect for them.Auburn is led by a running game that features Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson. The two have both had good moments this season and combined for nearly 2,000 yards rushing, but both have also battled injuries this season.Here are some things to watch in this years Sugar Bowl:SURGING SOONERS: Oklahoma had a rough start to the season, losing games against Houston and Ohio State during September. But the Sooners regrouped quickly thanks to a stellar offense that scored 34 points or more in all nine of its Big 12 games.SAGGING TIGERS: Auburn has had an up-and-down season. The Tigers lost two of three early, but then rallied with a six-game winning streak to jump back into contention in the SECs Western Division. Auburn couldnt capitalize on the momentum, losing to Georgia and Alabama during the final three weeks of the regular season.NEEDING WHITE: Auburn quarterback Sean Whites health (shoulder) was a concern during the final month of the regular season and the Tigers offense struggled whenever backups Jeremy Johnson or John Franklin III played. White didnt play against Alabama in the Iron Bowl but the Tigers hope hell be fully healthy for the Sugar Bowl. Malzahn said on Sunday he feels the team will be close to 100 percent for the matchup against Oklahoma.OKLAHOMAS DEFENSE: The Sooners offense gets most of the press, and rightfully so, but the defense has been pretty good over the last half of the season. Oklahoma held six of its last seven opponents under 28 points.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '