Thirteenth-ranked Oklahoma State controls its own destiny heading into their final two games of Big 12 Conference play. But the road to a Big 12 championship still has two potentially very big potholes to navigate starting with Saturday afternoons contest at well-rested TCU (Noon ET, Fox Sports 1).Get past Gary Pattersons Horned Frogs, who have had two weeks to prepare after delivering a 62-22 spanking of Baylor in Waco, and the Cowboys (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) could play for all the marbles against Bedlam rival Oklahoma (8-2, 7-0) on Dec. 3 in Norman provided the Sooners defeat West Virginia on Saturday.Not bad for a team that was pretty much written off following a 2-2 start that included a very controversial 30-27 home loss to Central Michigan on Sept. 10 and a 35-24 defeat at Baylor to open Big 12 play.Oklahoma State has rattled off six consecutive victories since, including a 43-37 upset of No. 10 West Virginia on Oct. 29. The Cowboys come into this one off a wild 45-44 home victory over Texas Tech last week.Each week I talk to them about the importance of focus, and fortunately, weve had big wins, and whether you have a big win or you have a loss youre not happy with, you have to re-focus on Sunday, OklahomaState coach Mike Gundy said. Were not good enough to even look past tomorrows practice, and TCU, in my opinion, is a considerably different team than they were even three weeks ago.The Horned Frogs (5-4, 3-3), who were a combined 23-3 over the past two seasons, are attempting to become bowl-eligible and must win one of their final three games to do so. After hosting the Cowboys, Gary Pattersons squad plays at Texas (5-5) and ends the season with a home game against Kansas State (5-4).Were excited about the challenges, junior weak safety Nick Orr told reporters. We know weve got some tough teams in the next three games and were trying to become bowl-eligible. We know its going to be a tough task, but I feel like we can get it done.Although one victory makes TCU bowl-eligible, the Horned Frogs need two wins to assure a winning campaign. TCU has experienced only one losing season over the past 11 years -- that coming in 2013 in its second season in the Big 12.The Horned Frogs are coming off a bye and that qualifies as good timing for junior running back Kyle Hicks.Hicks injured his left ankle against Texas Tech on Oct. 29 and played the following Saturday against Baylor despite not practicing all week due to soreness. He sure wasnt affected on game day as he rushed for a career-high 192 yards and five touchdowns in a 62-22 trouncing of the Bears.The week off gave Hicks a chance to heal up and coach Gary Patterson said Monday that Hicks is running at full speed.Having Hicks healthy down the stretch is crucial for the Horned Frogs as he leads the squad with 789 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns (12 rushing, two receiving). He also is tied for the team lead with 33 receptions.Hicks presents an entirely defensive challenge for the Cowboys than they faced last week in edging pass-happy Texas Tech.While the 45-44 victory did not reflect a great defensive performance, the Red Raiders were limited to a pedestrian (for them) 389 total yards as the Cowboys removed a down lineman and lined up in a 3-3-5 scheme. The change confused Tech into three three-and-outs to begin the game.It got us a few series, said defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer, then after that its just great players making great plays.Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes was still magnificent at times throwing for 344 yards but had just one connection for 30-plus yards.Among those who surfaced as playmakers for the Cowboys were sophomore linebacker Justin Phillips, who started in place of injured Chad Whitener and led Oklahoma State in tackles, and cornerback A.J. Green, a freshman pressed into fourth-quarter duty.All but two of the wins the Cowboys have recorded during current six-game streak were by single digits.No fear, no frustration and no fatigue is what we talk about, Gundy said. Truthfully I talk to the players about the core values and the accountability we have in our program. I wish I could give you the Xs and Os, or say that I could give a Vince Lombardi pregame and halftime speech. I think its the overall concept of our program. Wholesale Vapormax Womens .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Wholesale Vapormax 3 . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-womens-clearance.html . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Wholesale Vapormax Flyknit . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Vapormax 97 Clearance . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. This story appears in ESPN The Magazines October 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!In July 2014, I ran into Chris Petersen after his first-ever go-round at Pac-12 media days as he waited for his flight back to Seattle. Eight months earlier, hed taken over as Washingtons head coach for Seven-Win Steve Sarkisian, who had replaced Tyrone Willingham, who once went winless at U-Dub. Still, Petersen had a simple blueprint to return the Huskies to prominence after a quarter century of obscurity. Bringing it back to a championship level will be dictated by our ability to recruit and to develop defensive linemen, Petersen told me. Two and a half years later, he has proved prophetic. Heres why the Petersen principles work.He hoards homegrown talentOn Dec. 20, 2013, Washington native and ESPN 300 safety Budda Baker committed to Oregon. But nearly three years later, on Oct. 8, 2016, on the first play from scrimmage, Baker intercepted those same Ducks to set up a three-play touchdown drive -- the first of 10 scores for his Huskies offense.That play was made possible in February 2014, when, two months into his tenure, Petersen persuaded Baker to abandon his Oregon pledge, stay local and become a Husky. At the time, Baker was a four-star defensive back and the top-ranked prep in the state of Washington -- and top-ranked Washington preps did not stay home. In 2013, QB Max Browne fled to SoCal (USC). In 2012, O-lineman Joshua Garnett headed to NorCal (Stanford). So Petersen set out to do what his predecessors -- Rick Neuheisel, Keith Gilbertson, Willingham and even Sarkisian -- failed to consistently do: build a hedge around Washington to keep top recruits home, then dip into California, Oregon and Hawaii, as necessary.In all, Petersen kept four of Washingtons top 10 recruits in-state for his first recruiting class in 2014, six in 2015, four in 2016 and four and counting for next year (compared with two and three, respectively, in Sarks last two years). And it all began with a D-back from nearby Bellevue, the Swiss Army knife of the Huskies secondary, who intercepted the very program he spurned for his hometown team.No one is bigger than the team ... no oneNine months after landing Baker, his first marquee prep, Petersen dismissed Marcus Peters, his marquee holdover from Sarkisian. Peters was a long, athletic D-back who could shut down anyone. (The Kansas City Chiefs would go on to draft him in the first round in 2015.) But he also shut out Petersens brand of discipline. Peters clashed with the new staff, and in early November 2014, Petersen booted the three-year starter. He was the eighth player suspended or dismissed in Petersens first year in Seattle.Nearly two years later, UW still feels the aftershock of Peters deparrture.dddddddddddd Case in point: In Husky Stadium after a workout in the summer -- 21 months later -- several upperclassmen told me they cite Petersens dismissal of their star player as the moment the program began to mend itself after the chaotic, undisciplined end to the Sarkisian era.He found a right-handed Kellen MooreLike Moore, the winningest quarterback in FBS history (50-3 as a starter for Petersen at Boise State), sophomore QB Jake Browning withstood early whispers of arm-strength concerns. Also like Moore, Brownings prolific numbers have quelled doubts. Through six weeks, he was the most efficient FBS passer (204.9 rating) and second only to Louisvilles Lamar Jackson in QBR (89.7), with 23 touchdowns and two interceptions. Browning, of course, is not the first talented QB to come through Seattle this decade (see: Jake Locker). But what elevates him is a Moore-like chemistry with Petersen.From the jump, in the season-opening 48-13 win over Rutgers, Petersen gave Browning autonomy in the huddle and the freedom to adjust to defensive looks. In QB parlance? He gave the gift of advantage reads. There were a handful of [checks] that he left alone, that he needed to leave alone because they werent showing a different look, Petersen said after Browning torched Rutgers for 287 yards and a 94.6 QBR. There were a lot of checks going on out there. Even Sark, a former QB, never shared that level of trust with his triggermen.Hes a master of trench warfareOutside of that gang in Tuscaloosa, there isnt a front in the country better than D-coordinator Pete Kwiatkowskis war daddies: In all, his line has 18? of UWs Power 5-leading 24 sacks. The front fours dominance is so complete -- in the bloodbath vs. Stanford, the Huskies made all eight sacks without ever rushing more than four men -- Kwiatkowski is sending an extra defender on only 5.7 percent of snaps. And the math behind Petersens success is the same in Seattle as it was in Boise: mixing high-profile names (Sarkisian-era legacy recruits like Vita Vea and Elijah Qualls) with lower-visibility projects (onetime Broncos commit Greg Gaines).As disruptive as the unit has been thus far in 2016, it has proved similarly versatile. Against Stanford, the Pac-12s physical, smashmouth bully, the Huskies played in a phone booth ... and allowed 0.97 of a yard per rush. In Eugene, taking on Oregons blur attack, they prevailed in space and allowed 5.3 yards a play, the Ducks worst clip all year. USCs pro style and Wazzus air raid still loom, but Petersens ability to develop his trenches has produced the Huskies best line in -- count em -- 25 years. ' ' '