Tiervermittlung Frankreich » run up front from the pole was a short one,

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lovie Smith is under no illusions about the degree to which his team will rely on senior quarterback Wes Lunt, but the first-year Illinois coach emphasized Sunday how much he wants the Illini to be able to run the ball.Lunt, Smith said Sunday at the teams preseason media day, is a good decision-maker with a strong arm.But like his NFL teams, Smith believes the Illini must run the ball, and more than they did last season. Illinois ran the ball on 43 percent of its snaps in 2015.We have an excellent tailback in KeShawn Vaughn. Kendrick Foster has looked good in our preseason drills. You start with that, Smith said.What lies behind those two, though, is a major question.As a freshman last season, Vaughn averaged 4.6 yards a carry on 157 carries and scored six touchdowns. Foster, a junior and the most experienced backup on the roster, has a career 15 carries for 78 yards. Behind him is a redshirt freshman, Reggie Corbin.Vaughn, at 5-10 and 210 pounds, says hes ready to handle the bulk of the carries and believes the backs behind him can do the rest.Somebody will have to come in and tote the load when I get tired, he said.Smith said the emphasis on the running game does not mean he believes he needs to go out of his way to take pressure off of or protect Lunt, who has a history of injuries that have sidelined him in college.I dont. This is what we feel like we need to do to play winning ball with our offense, Smith said.Other things to know about Illinois football after media day:TIGHT ENDS AND FULLBACKS: Tight ends have long been a source of Illinois fan frustration.Ive been told that, Smith joked Sunday.Over the past decade Illinois has a long list of strong tight ends who have sometimes disappeared in the offense. Some, like the New Orleans Saints Michael Hoomanawanui, were good enough to go on to the NFL.Smith said he wants tight ends to be a big part of Illinois passing game, and fullbacks, too. Illinois hasnt used a true fullback in several seasons, forcing Smith to convert a pair of former linebackers, Nathan Echard and Austin Roberts.HOME MOMENTUM: Starting with the Sept. 3 opener against Murray State, Illinois will play its first three games and four of its five at home.Coming off a 5-7 season and the firings of two football coaches in the past year -- not to mention and facing a Big Ten schedule in which they will usually be underdogs -- the Illini need to use that friendly early schedule, Smith said.If we could get some momentum early on, we want to have a home-field advantage, simple as that, he said. In order to get the rebirth of our football program, we need a home-field advantage. 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Sheldrick Redwine Youth Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. LONG POND, Pa. -- Chris Buescher sat in his Ford, hoping that the fog would stick over Pocono and the cloud over the rookies middling season would start to lift.Buescher idled in his car, then stood with his arms folded on pit road.I tried not to get my hopes up, he said.Buescher emerged from the fog to become a surprising winner in Mondays shortened Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. He is now on the verge of being in the mix for NASCARs championship after not finishing better than 14th all season before Monday.Imagine a title push that kicks off with Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and little-known Buescher in the field.The plan was to always make the Chase, Buescher said. Were that much closer now.Hes not there yet. Buescher is six points behind David Ragan for 30th to reach the cutoff needed to become eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.Buescher, who drives for underfunded Front Row Motorsports, was the beneficiary on a rare Monday race postponed a day by rain. With nasty weather punishing the track, NASCAR called the red flag with 22 laps left and parked the cars on pit road. Buescher was as much a spectator in the No. 34 Ford as the few fans left in the stands, though NASCAR let drivers get out of their cars after about 10 minutes as they waited out gloomy conditions.Im a little scared to get out, Buescher said.No need. He was declared the winner after about an 80-minute delay. He was doused with beer and water in a makeshift victory lane celebration inside a garage stall, his Ford covered on rainy pit road instead of bathed in confetti.Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Jeff Gordon finished 27th driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.In order to qualify for the Chase, drivers must rank 30th or better in points. Buescher will need to find a way to climb higher over Ragan in the final five races before the Chase field is set.Buescher won twice last season in the Xfinity Series and won the series championship. He will spend 2016 as basically the fourth Jack Roush driver because of a shared technical alliance between the organizations.He finished 30th or worse 10 times this season. Ragan had Front Rows only victory 118 races ago in fall 2013 at Talladega.Veteran crew chief Bob Osborne gambled with the decision to keep Buescher on the track while others made pit stops with 28 laps left. Once the cars were halted, Buescher and his crew rooted for the rain and fog to stick around. At one point, the 23-year-old Buescher, a former ARCA champion, rested against a fence and was swarmed by fans and photographers wanting a picture before the race was even called.Im trying to remember every rain dance Ive ever learned, he said in the car.Buescher is now on the brink of becoming the first Chase brracket buster.dddddddddddd Led by four-time winners Busch and Keselowski, there are 11 slots seemingly set for race winners, and Buescher would make 12. Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, and Kyle Larson are among the four winless drivers battling for the final four spots.This is going to change our whole year right here, Buescher said.Drivers with a Chase spot secured enjoyed Bueschers feel-good victory that broke up the recent Toyota hot streak.I told him, `If I couldnt win, it was cool to see him win, Keselowski said.NASCAR defended dragging out the decision to call the race, even as severe storms hit a track where a fan was killed by a lightning strike in 2012.We never lost the track, said Steve ODonnell, NASCARs chief racing development officer. I think most NASCAR fans want to see a complete race.Here are other items of note from Mondays race:SO CLOSEWith rain looming toward the halfway point, Larson and Dillon engaged in a thrilling five-lap battle for first. Larson kept his tight lead with a timely block of Dillon just two laps shy of the halfway point. Dillon dipped low and briefly snagged the lead, only for Larson to snatch it right back at the halfway point that made the race official.But Larson and Dillon took their door-to-door battle on the high line, allowing Joey Logano to swoop low and seize the lead in one of the most exciting mid-race moves of the season. Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion, pulled away in the fog -- but Elliott got loose and turned Logano into the wall with 55 laps left in the race and sent his 22 to the garage.FLAT TRUEXMartin Truex Jr. run up front from the pole was a short one, the former Pocono winners race derailed by a flat right front tire. Truex led 16 laps early until the tire blew and forced him to pit road for repairs. He had multiple issues once he returned to the track and finished 38th.Truex has one win this season and won the June 2015 Pocono race. Truex said his No. 78 Toyota was strong enough to contend for a victory.A lug nut spun off, hit the ground, bounced behind the wheel somehow and knocked the inner valve stem off, he said.GORDONS RUNJeff Gordons track record for wins remains at six. Gordon, filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the second straight week, battled a seat belt issue and finished 27th. Earnhardt missed his third straight race because he suffers from symptoms of a concussion. Hendrick Motorsports has not said who will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet on Sunday at Watkins Glen.UP NEXT:Logano is the defending race winner at Watkins Glen.---This story has been corrected to show that winning is not a requirement to qualifying for the Chase. ' ' '