Hilfestellungen » Andretti remained first overall through the first

No. 20 LSU goes into its Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi State still looking for answers when it comes to pressing questions regarding its passing game.The Tigers and Bulldogs will kick it off Saturday night (7 p.m. ET) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.LSU coach Les Miles looked to have come up with an answer last week when Danny Etling replaced struggling Brandon Harris at quarterback at the start of the second quarter against Jackson State and provided a dramatic, but short-lived, spark to the offense in the Tigers 34-13 victory.Etling, a junior transfer from Purdue, gave the offense an immediate lift when his first possession ended with a 46-yard touchdown pass to tight end De Sean Smith. In the second quarter he completed 6 of 8 passes for 100 yards and LSU scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions after his entrance to take a 27-10 halftime lead.But the storybook script changed during the second half when Etling had zero completions and one interception in six attempts.The Tigers still prevailed and Etlings uneven performance was sufficient for Miles to name him the starter on Friday for LSUs SEC opener against Mississippi State.I just want you to know, Danny will take the first snap, Miles said in a video posted on the schools website Friday. I think Danny can handle the place and the stage and playing in a televised game in Tiger Stadium.Miles declared an in-season competition between the two quarterbacks, something he reiterated at his weekly news conference earlier in the week.Well need both guys to play in every game, Miles said. Were not turning our back in any way on competition in that position.Miles and his staff spoke with Harris this week, and both quarterbacks could see time against Mississippi State.Regardless of exactly how Miles divides the work between the quarterbacks, he said hes hopeful that the break last week will help Harris regroup. The junior has been erratic for three-plus seasons and was 12-of-21 passing with two interceptions in the opening loss at Wisconsin.Harris completed only one of his four attempts against Jacksonville State for an eight-yard gain, all in the first quarter.We would like to think that a respite from the starting quarterback and the pressures thereof might allow him to take a deep breath and step forward and compete, Miles said. We saw it as a positive.Mississippi State, meanwhile, seems to have settled its quarterback situation.Though he played only seven snaps in the opening 21-20 loss to South Alabama and didnt complete any of his three pass attempts, sophomore Nick Fitzgerald was given the nod to start moving forward, and he responded in a big way.Fitzgerald played all four quarters in the Bulldogs 27-14 bounce-back win over South Carolina last week and established a new school quarterback rushing record with 195 yards.After that first game, I didnt want him to think or that he needed to worry about that, State coach Dan Mullen said. Even through camp or Game 1, I dont think there was pressure one way or the other but going forward I didnt want him to have to feel that. Im sure that helped him a little bit.A redshirt sophomore, Fitzgerald ranks second nationally among quarterbacks in rushing, averaging 103 yards per game, and sits sixth overall in the SEC in rushing. He is averaging an astounding 10.3 yards per carry on his 19 rushing attempts.His immediate predecessor, Dak Prescott, provided production as a dual-threat quarterback during his time at MSU, but Fitzgerald features a contrasting running style at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds.Nicks a different style runner than Dak was, Mullen said. I think hes faster and a little more explosive with the ball in his hands than Dak. We will have to see his physicality. I dont think hes as physical as Dak was, but its a little different style of running.Fitzgerald needs to make improvements in the passing game. He has completed 19 of his 32 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the year.Hopefully, he looks at the things he did well and continues to do those things well and looks at the mistakes and doesnt make those again, Mullen said. Im sure hell make some different mistakes Saturday night at LSU, but, hopefully, the mistakes hes already made hell correct and fix and plays with confidence.Nolan Cromwell Womens Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Bobby Evans Rams Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Cory-Littleton-Jersey/ . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Joe Namath Womens Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. David Long Rams Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee.INDIANAPOLIS -- Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti topped the speed chart Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turning a lap at an average of 224.236 mph in the fifth practice session for the May 26 race. "It doesnt really count for much, but its nice nonetheless," said Franchitti, the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver who will be 40 on Sunday. "Right now were still very much in the preparation stage, making changes to the car. Sometimes doing one and two lap runs. We had a pretty tough morning there and made some big changes to the Target car in the afternoon. We went out there with some of the Andretti guys and my teammates. ... Some other guys involved in a pack and really the lap time came from being in the right place at the right time." Franchitti is trying to match the race rrecord of four victories held by A.dddddddddddd. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears. Panther Racings Townsend Bell was second at 223.716, followed by Team Penskes Helio Castroneves at 223.699 in windy and warm conditions. Andretti Autosports Marco Andretti remained first overall through the first sessions with a lap at 225.100 in the third practice. Castroneves was second at 225.075, also during the third session. Franchitti explained the benefits of long pack runs during practice. "If you get the car close enough, and you can go and do that, definitely thats something that prepares you for the race," Franchitti said. "If you have the luxury to be able to do that, thats good. We did a couple yesterday, we felt bad. We completely changed the car today and are feeling a bit happier again." ' ' '