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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State has never played Furman in football. In fact, the Spartans have never faced a school from the state of South Carolina before this week.Coach Mark Dantonio, however, knows plenty about that part of the country.Having played at South Carolina, Im very familiar with Furman University, he said. Outstanding university. Coach (Bruce) Fowler is in his sixth year now.A lot more people will know about Furman if the Paladins can pull off an upset Friday night against No. 12 Michigan State. The Spartans are coming off their second Big Ten title in three years, but they do have some adjustments to make after losing star quarterback Connor Cook. Michigan State also has to replace three starters on the offensive line from the team that made it to college footballs four-team playoff last season.Dantonio faced Furman when he was a player at South Carolina, but aside from that, these schools dont have many links to each other. Furman has never faced a Big Ten team -- it played against Penn State in 1958, well before the Nittany Lions joined the league.Furmans financial guarantee for this game is $655,000. The schools game notes this week begin with an explanation of the nickname -- a Paladin is a knight on a horse. Furman has been playing football since 1889 and can boast a longer history than Clemson and South Carolina. Not many people know that, of course.If the Paladins can make a game of it this week, theyll earn quite a bit of attention. Here are a few things to watch when Michigan State hosts Furman:NEW STARTING QBAfter three seasons backing up Cook, fifth-year senior Tyler OConnor takes over for Michigan State. Hes attempted only 54 passes in his college career, but he did start one big game last season, helping the Spartans to a win at Ohio State when Cook was hurt.Im here to accept all the pressures, all the failures and successes, whether its good or bad, OConnor said. Thats something I know comes with the position.UNCERTAINTYFurman listed QBs Reese Hannon and P.J. Blazejowski together atop the depth chart. Hannon is fourth on the schools career list with 5,274 yards passing, but he dealt with concussion problems last season and a broken ankle in 2014. Blazejowski broke an ankle as well before last season.Hannon has started 29 games in his career, and Blazejowski has started 10.STANDOUTFurman safety Trey Robinson has played 33 games, starting 22 of them. He was a preseason all-league selection by Southern Conference coaches. Robinson had two interceptions last year when Furman beat Central Florida for its first win over an FBS opponent since 1999.They have new personnel just like we do, but they also have a lot of players returning, Dantonio said. Their entire front is returning -- great safety in Robinson.OFF AND RUNNINGMichigan State has won seven straight season openers and 17 straight home openers. The Spartans have an open date on the schedule next week, so after playing Furman, their next game wont be until Sept. 17 at Notre Dame.WAITING GAMEMichigan State linebacker Ed Davis missed all of last season with a knee injury, and the Spartans have been hoping hed be cleared for an extra year of eligibility.Paperwork is in, so waiting on the paperwork, Dantonio said earlier this week. He isnt allowed to practice, so hes progressing in terms of getting his knee right and just getting back into shape.Davis was not listed on the depth chart for the game against Furman.---Online: AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Bobby Smith Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Miro Heiskanen Stars Jersey . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/mattias-janmark-hockey-jersey/ .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. Mike Gartner Stars Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Stephen Johns Jersey . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. For the sixth season in a row, ESPN.com is ranking the top players in the NBA. Who will be the best player this season?To get the final ranking, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players.LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant. Damian Lillard vs. Chris Paul.We asked, Which player will be better in 2016-17? To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each players contributions to his teams ability to win games.Well roll out the rest of our top 200 players over the next two days. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook.On to the list ...20. Andre DrummondPistons | C | @AndreDrummondLast years rank: 302016-17 projected RPM: 2.12Insiider profile:?Since Ben Wallace was probably the best rebounder of the 2000s, it is apropos that the Pistons now employ the best rebounder of the 2010s.dddddddddddd Playing exclusively with low-rebounding stretch-4s next to him, Drummond garnered a league-high 34.2 percent of available defensive rebounds and led the league overall with a 24.5 percent rebound rate. His offensive rebounding actually declined by 2.7 percent from the previous season but remained an elite 15.6 percent. ?Read more ?#NBArank 11-2011: Karl-Anthony Towns12: Blake Griffin13: DeMarcus Cousins14: Draymond Green15: Kyrie Irving16: Klay Thompson17: John Wall18: Kyle Lowry19: Giannis Antetokounmpo20: Andre Drummond ' ' '