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EVANSTON, Ill. Nike Blazer Mid Cheap . -- After losing to a Mid-American Conference opponent to open the season, then an FCS school in week two, Northwestern got on the right track by beating a Power Five school.Clayton Thorson threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, Justin Jackson rushed for 94 yards and Northwestern defeated Duke 24-13 on Saturday night.Northwestern avoided losing its first three games to start the season, something it hasnt done since 1992. They suffered losses to MAC-favorite Western Michigan and FCS-power Illinois State.I think I saw a bunch of guys that celebrated their rear ends off, said Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald. I think it just shows if you have perseverance and grit and you stay the course that you can do whatever you set your mind to.After being held to 7 points by Illinois State last week, Northwestern (1-2) scored on the games opening drive. Thorson connected with Garrett Dickerson for a 26-yard touchdown reception, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive.I think it meant a lot. It was just the first drive of the game and it was Garretts first touchdown catch, so that was huge, and it was fun for us, said Thorson. When we get into that situation we have to capitalize more when we get down there.Northwestern capitalized on Blue Devils punter Austin Parkers gaffe in the third quarter to take a 14-7 lead. Duke (1-2) was lined up to punt, Parker dropped the snapped and wasnt able to get the punt away. Northwestern took over at the Duke 44. On the next play, Thorson found Solomon Vault wide open in the middle of the field for the go-ahead touchdown.We have shown flashes -- which is not what you want in game three -- of at times being a really good football team. We have shown flashes, unfortunately, of doing things bad football teams do. We are consistently inconsistent, said Duke coach David Cutcliffe.Thorson also connected with former walk-on Austin Carr on a 58-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.Dukes Daniel Jones threw for 279 yards with one interception. Jela Duncan had 53 yards rushing and a touchdown.I felt like we were prepared going in and knew what they were trying to do. Its all about execution from there, said Jones.Byron Fields picked off Thorsons pass at the 1, setting up a 99-yard, 12-play drive to tie the game at 7 with 3:03 left in the second quarter. The drive was highlighted by Shaun Wilsons 39-yard catch from Jones.Thorson was hurried or on his back for most of the game. Duke was throwing a number of blitz packages at the Northwestern offensive line, which they werent able to pick up.He saw every pressure that I think he will see in his career, said Fitzgerald. Hes won 11 games as a starter, and I think he hung in there pretty well with the amount of time he got.TAKEAWAYDuke: The Blue Devils failed to finish on multiple drives. Late in first quarter on fourth-down and 10 at the Wildcats 38, it looked as if Duke was going to convert on a fake punt, but Erich Schneider, who was wide open in the middle of the field, slipped on the grass and fell before he had a chance to catch Parkers pass. Jones threw a pick to Godwin Igwebuike at the Northwestern 22 at the end of the first quarter and AJ Reed missed a 48 yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter.We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times and it really hurt us in the end, said safety DeVon Edwards.Northwestern: Despite Thorson getting sacked five times, Northwestern showed some life on offense. The opening scoring drive featured Jackson, and then Thorson was able to open it up in the air in the second half.GETTING DEFENSIVEFitzgerald backed his coaching staff after his staff received criticism with losses to Western Michigan and Illinois State. Im very happy for our staff. Its the all-time winningest staff in Northwestern history. We had a couple tough losses and some people are going to take shots at them and I think they shut off the noise pretty well, said Fitzgerald.UP NEXTDuke: The Blue Devils visit struggling Notre Dame on Saturday.Northwestern: The Wildcats season-opening four-game home stand continues Saturday night against Nebraska, which beat Oregon on Saturday. Nike Blazer Wholesale . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Nike Blazer Low Womens Sale . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. http:///...p/blazer-mid-sb.html . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. In the Southland and Southern conferences, there are the two teams at the top and then everyone else.The winner between Central Arkansas and Samford on Saturday night would make a good case for being No. 3 in its league, and may even earn a number in the rankings.Last year, Sam Houston State and McNeese were the only Southland teams to finish in the STATS FCS Top 25 and make the playoffs. It was the same in the SoCon with Chattanooga and The Citadel. So it comes as no surprise that those four teams comprise the two favorites in their respective leagues, and theyre all ranked -- in the top 15 no less -- while none of their conference cohorts are.Its very possible, however, they could have company after this week.Though neither Central Arkansas nor Samford cracked the Top 25 following dominant season-opening wins, the Bears got the third-most votes among teams not to make it with 200 and the Bulldogs received 24 of their own. So a victory Saturday would almost certainly push Central Arkansas into the Top 25, and Samford may squeak in by beating a Bears team picked to finish third in the Southland and which suffered its only conference losses last season to Sam Houston and McNeese.A 7-2 Southland record wasnt enough to get Central Arkansas a spot in the FCS playoffs, and Samford was a big reason why. The Bulldogs dominated the Bears in a 45-16 win to open last season, a loss that looked even worse to the playoff committee after Samford went 3-4 in SoCon play.But the site for the rematch is a different one. This time the Bulldogs must head to The Stripes at Central Arkansas, the purple-striped field at Estes Stadium.I have not been since they installed the new turf, said Samford coach Chris Hatcher, who previously coached there while with Murray State. Its a loud and a pretty rowdy crowd.And theyre a big, physical football team. I think, last year was not indicative of how good of a team they had. We jumped on them early, hit them with some deep balls. Were going to have to do the same to get their crowd out of the game, and hopefully well be able to stop the run well like we did last season.The Bears were held to 119 yarrds on the ground that day, their third-worst total of 2015. Buy Nike Blazer Mid. This season began in much different fashion, rushing for 283 yards and four touchdowns in last weeks 56-13 rout of Houston Baptist.This week were playing Samford and its a totally different animal, UCA coach Steve Campbell said. ... They are very explosive offensively.The Bulldogs put up 77 points in the opener, but it came against Division II Mars Hill. Devlin Hodges completed 39 of 49 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, finding freshman TaDarryl Marshall 14 times for 100 yards and a score.It was a continuation of Hodges impressive play from last seasons 3-0 finish when he threw for 1,047 yards and seven TDs, growing more accustomed to playing in the fast-paced Samford offense.Each week we play a faceless opponent. Its not so much playing against UCA. We dont need to worry about what they do, we just need to come out and be us and do what we do and play with a lot of tempo, Hodges said. Whether we need to run the ball 50 times or pass the ball 50 times, we have to be able to execute.While Hodges didnt play in last years win over the Bears, counterpart Hayden Hildebrand was a second-stringer at the time and attempted only four passes. Hes the reigning Southland offensive player of the week after throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns while throwing only four incompletions against Houston Baptist, not to mention he rushed for 52 yards and a score.Hayden Hildebrand, I thought, played exceptionally well, Campbell said. He did a great job of controlling the offense and a great job of protecting the football. He did a great job of getting the football to the playmakers.While Campbells team doesnt have to face either of the Southlands ranked teams until visiting No. 11 McNeese on Oct. 15, Samford could use a win to boost its confidence going into a bye week before taking on sixth-ranked Chattanooga.Whichever team wins will show it may also deserve to be mentioned among its conferences elite. ' ' '