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WACO, Texas -- That countdown clock to the season opener in Baylors weight room seemed to ticking so slow this summer amid the bad headlines that kept hitting the program after a report that cost coach Art Briles his job.Id be lying if I said it wasnt difficult, receiver Lynx Hawthorne said.This is finally the week the 23rd-ranked Bears have waited for, the chance to get back on the field. They open their third season in McLane Stadium on Friday night against FCS team Northwestern State.Just proving to ourselves that were not dead. Were still alive and were still willing to fight, linebacker Taylor Young said. None of our goals have changed from the previous years. First weve got to win the state, then weve got to win the conference championship. Our overall goal is the national championship, and that has never changed even with the things that have happened.Briles in eight seasons transformed the Bears from perennial losers into a team that won 50 games the past five years, good enough for two Big 12 titles. But he was gone after the May 26 report from an external investigation into allegations the university mishandled complaints of sexual assault, including some against football players. The schools president and athletic director also left their posts.While Briles is gone, his entire coaching staff remained intact with Jim Grobe, the acting head coach who was in semi-retirement before coming to Baylor days after that report. The 64-year-old Grobe coached his last game at Wake Forest in 2013.The opener also marks the return of Baylor quarterback Seth Russell, who was the top-rated FBS passer last year when he suffered a season-ending neck injury running the ball in the seventh game.Its all excitement, guess its kind of giddy, Russell said. Counting every blessing I have.Russell, a senior, said he is 100 percent ready, and he will certainly need to stay healthy for the Bears since there is no proven backup quarterback after Jarrett Stidham left Baylor. The second-teamer is true freshman Zach Smith.Some other things to know about the opener at Baylors riverfront campus stadium, where Northwestern State lost 70-6 two years ago:SUSPENDED BEARSSophomore receiver Ishmael Zamora is suspended for Baylors first three games after a video surfaced showing him beating his dog with a belt this summer. The suspension wasnt announced until this week, after the Bears had released their initial depth chart that showed Zamora as a starter. Junior safety Chance Waz, a returning starter, wasnt on the two-deep chart. Grobe said Waz is out of the first two games because of some discipline issues with the university.RECORD RUNShock Linwood, coming off consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, is only 204 yards shy of breaking Baylors career rushing record of 3,665 yards that has been held by Walter Abercrombie for 35 years. Linwood will be running behind an offensive line with four new starters, though center Kyle Fuller joins Linwood as the most experienced starters on the team with 26.THE GRADUATEFor the second season in a row, Northwestern State will have a graduate transfer starting at quarterback. Brooks Haack started eight games last season for Louisiana-Lafayette. Last season, the Demons four-quarterback battle didnt get decided until midseason when graduate transfer Stephen Rivers (Vanderbilt, LSU) took over for the rest of the season.NEED A NICKELBaylor junior nickel back Travon Blanchard, one of the defenses most experienced players, will miss the opener after surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his knee. Blanchard has played 26 games for the Bears, and started 13 of them in the hybrid linebacker-safety position. He could be back for the second game.PURPLE POWERNorthwestern State has only one win against a current Big 12 team. The Demons in 2001 won 27-24 in overtime at TCU, then in Conference USA, in what was Gary Pattersons first home game as the Horned Frogs head coach.---Online: AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.orgWilliam A. Shea Jersey . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. Drew Smith Jersey . 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"It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Like the rest of his Arkansas teammates, Brooks Ellis spent much of the offseason focused on a better start to the season than in recent years.Now that the No. 24 Razorbacks (2-0) have reached that goal, the middle linebacker isnt about to let the hint of success get in the way of what he hopes are greater things ahead.Arkansas made its return to national relevance with a dramatic double-overtime victory over TCU a week ago, the Razorbacks eighth win in their last nine games dating back to last season.Ellis was at the center of the win, finishing with 13 tackles and a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown. And after starting last season 2-4, including a shocking loss to Toledo, hes not about to let Arkansas relax as it prepares to face Sun Belt Conference member Texas State (1-0) on Saturday.Its easy to get caught up in what happened last week, because it was a great game, but its time to move on and time to get ready for Texas State, Ellis said. Because theyre a good team, and we have to be ready for them.Ellis has reason to be wary of the Bobcats, who are led by first-year coach Everett Withers. In addition to the fact Texas State opened its season with a 56-54 victory in three overtimes at Ohio, the Razorbacks also remember their struggles in a non-conference game to open the season -- a 21-20 victory over Louisiana Tech.Much more is expected now out of Arkansas following last weeks win over the Horned Frogs, and theyd prefer to avoid a third straight close game to start the season while sticking around for a while in the national rankings.Weve won eight out of nine, and I think we should have won the ninth (against Mississippi State last season), Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. ... I am excited about where our program is.Some other things to watch as Arkansas tries to remain undefeated entering Southeastern Conference play next week against Texas A&M:ALL ABOUT TEMPO: Texxas State used its up-tempo offense to manage 98 plays in its season-opening win, and Withers wants that number to be in at least the 80s this week.dddddddddddd That will be no easy task against an Arkansas team that leads the SEC in time of possession. The challenge for us is to get the ball back to the offense so we can go tempo and get more than five, six, seven possession per game, Withers said. The key is getting off the field (on defense), because what teams like Arkansas is they wear you down.ALLENS BREAKOUT: Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen bounced back from an up-and-down starter debut against Louisiana Tech with a career day in last weeks victory. The junior was 17-of-29 passing and accounted for four touchdowns against TCU, including a game-winning 5-yard run, and hes hoping for more of the same on Saturday.EARLY BYE: Texas State had a bye last week after its opening win, and Withers said the Bobcats went back into training camp mode with a week off so early in the season. The former James Madison coach, when asked about the win two weeks ago over Ohio, even joked the game was like a year ago.WORKHOUSE WILLIAMS: Less than a year after breaking his neck that resulted in surgery, Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams had career-highs with 28 carries and 137 yards rushing against TCU. The sophomore now has 52 carries through the first two games and has clearly established himself as the primary rushing option for Bielema.FAMILIAR JONES: Texas State quarterback Tyler Jones brings plenty of experience to Saturdays game, having played in each of the last four seasons for the Bobcats and thrown for 6,712 yards in his career. Jones was 40-of-55 passing for 418 yards and four touchdowns in the Bobcats opening win.---AP College Football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '