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OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze made a surprise choice to protect his teams most valuable asset.Junior Rod Taylor will be the starter at left tackle when No. 11 Ole Miss plays No. 4 Florida State on Monday in Orlando, Florida. That means the 6-foot-3, 329-pounder -- who has never made a start at either tackle spot -- will be charged with protecting quarterback Chad Kellys blindside against the Seminoles talented defense.If Ole Miss expects another banner year from Kelly -- who threw for 4,042 yards and running for 500 more during the programs 10-win season a year ago -- Taylor and the rest of the offensive line will have to keep the quarterback from getting pressured, hit and sacked.Freeze said he loves the work that Taylor and the rest of the offensive line has done during preseason camp. Even so, he said its hard to predict how the relatively inexperienced group will react to one of the best teams in the country.I like what I see on tape, but give me a couple weeks and we will know if it is fools gold or not, Freeze said.Taylor is a converted guard, but still beat out prized freshman recruit Greg Little and a handful of other candidates. He replaces Laremy Tunsil, a three-year starter who was a first-round NFL draft pick by the Miami Dolphins.Freeze acknowledges Taylor doesnt have the ideal body to play left tackle. Hes a little short for the position and doesnt have the longest arms, but Freeze says Taylors athleticism makes up for it.His quarterback agrees.Hes been really good, Kelly said. Hes an athletic guy. Hes got a lot of confidence and hes physical. Playing the left tackle position thats what you need. As long as hes stays the course, does the right thing and keeps on learning hell be good.Senior center Robert Conyers -- one of the few veterans up front -- says Taylor should be fine as long as hes mentally prepared.I think it starts more between your ears, Conyers said. Being smart and knowing where you can get beat and where you cant get beat. If you know what youre doing, thats half the battle. Hes got a leg up on everybody else just because hes more athletic than just about anybody who plays that position.Taylors emergence was a bit of a surprise considering his career has been checkered with occasional discipline problems. The latest was when he was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting during the spring.Senior tight end Evan Engram said its been rewarding to see Taylor mature during the summer and is confident he can anchor the left side of the line.If he takes this seriously, applies himself and puts the work in he can be that pivotal player who could change the shape of our offensive line and even our team, Engram said.Florida State will undoubtedly put Taylors maturity to the test early and often on Monday. The Seminoles have made no secret that disrupting Kellys rhythm is crucial to their success.Chad Kelly, hes what keeps the factory running over there, Florida State safety Derwin James said. Hes a big part of what they do. They feed off him. He can beat you on the run, he can beat you with the pass.-----AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this story.-----Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP . AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org . Phil Kessel Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Carl Soderberg Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/1038z-clayton-keller-jersey-coyotes.html . -- 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. Vinnie Hinostroza Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Stitched Coyotes Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. It wasnt so long ago that ultra-talented Argentine tennis teams were better known for their collapses and the bickering and political infighting that impacted morale at every turn.Right in the middle of the controversy was Juan Martin del Potro. An emerging star, he had a running feud with the more established but cankerous David Nalbandian. A Davis Cup stalwart in the same league as John McEnroe and Andy Roddick, Nalbandian was the dominant leader of the Argentinian team in his time. He had the backing of the tennis establishment as well as the public. But his King David status didnt sit well with everyone, including del Potro.When it became clear that del Potro wasnt quite as all-in for Davis Cup, especially with Nalbandian playing a large role in team decisions, the friction increased. The testy relationship of the two stars became a long-running national sporting soap opera.But this weekend, in the Davis Cup final, which will played at the Zagreb Arena in Croatia, del Potro has a chance to put this behind him and lead Argentina to its first title. Recovering from another long injury hiatus -- and the depression and anxiety that accompanied it -- del Potro leaped 1,004 places in the ATP rankings to finish at No. 38.Ive had a great year, del Potro told reporters Tuesday in Zagreb. I [need to have] a good weekend. We are confident. Its a very special moment for us, and we are very, very positive.That positive frame of mind is never a given when it comes to Argentinas Davis Cup team. The squad has featured some outsized talents, starting Guillermo Vilas. The other Davis Cup luminaries include Nalbandian, Jose-Luis Clerc, Guillermo Coria, Martin Jaite and Juan Ignacio Chela. Yet all have failed to lead the team to the land of milk and money. For Argentina, a nation with a hyper-enthusiastic fan base, the repeated Davis Cup failures border on a national embarrassment.The team will play its fifth final. Ten other teams that have also been in five or more finals, and all have won at leasst once.ddddddddddddDavis Cup has been one of the furthest things from del Potros mind in recent years. He has played just six Davis Cup matches in four ties since 2011.So here we are. Del Potro is healthy, and Nalbandian is gone. The atmosphere in the Argentinian locker room is no longer poisonous. The perfect emblem for the transformation was Argentinas semifinal win in September against Andy Murray and his British cohorts. Del Potro handed Murray one of the very few losses he suffered this fall, and Leonardo Mayer gamely quelled a British fight-back, clinching in the final match.The final will be challenging. In some ways, Croatias No. 1 Marin Cilic is a mirror image, as well as a good friend and generational peer, of del Potros. They are both 6-foot-6, 28-year-old former US Open champions with bone-jarring serves and atomic forehands. Cilic is ranked a career-high No. 6, but he was overwhelmed in the World Tour Finals, winning just one match. Hes 2-8 against del Potro and hasnt beaten him since 2011.Now that del Potro has logged more wins, and his first title (in Stockholm) since 2014, hell be playing No. 1 for Argentina. His teammates have taken turns stepping up all year, but the Croatians have a truly unpredictable factor in 37-year-old ace machine Ivo Karlovic. Hes blasted his way to No. 20 in the rankings despite his age. The indoor hard court in Zagreb is said to be fast, which will surely help Karlovic. Argentinas likely No. 2 is No. 41 Federico Delbonis.As hosts with higher-ranking players, Croatia clearly will be the favorite, but many former players from Argentina can ruefully attest that doesnt mean all that much. Confidence, momentum and team spirit can count for a lot.This is no longer David Nalbandians team; it is Juan Martin del Potros. He has a long-deferred chance to step forward, out of Nalbandians shadow, to become a national hero. ' ' '