al meters to stay in striking distance at a minute and a half off the pace.The three-time Vuelta winner made the decision on Saturday morning to keep racing, something that was in doubt after he took a hard knock and scrapes at the end of the sev

EVANSTON, Ill. -- 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. Authentic Broncos Hoodies . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Cheap Broncos Hoodies . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. http://www.cheapbroncoshoodiesjerseys.com/ . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Broncos Hoodies Shop . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Isaac Yiadom Hoodie . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. LA CAMPERONA, Spain -- Nairo Quintana successfully attacked Chris Froome on the demanding summit finish of the Spanish Vueltas eighth stage to take over the lead of the grand tour on Saturday.Sergey Lagutin of Russia won the 181.5-kilometer (113-mile) stage from Villalpando finishing at the category-one La Camperona summit in just over four hours.Quintana claimed the red jersey from fellow Colombian Darwin Atapuma, who fell behind the title favorites on the final ascent, which had gradients reaching 25 percent.Quintana, a Giro dItalia winner, has twice finished runner-up to Froome at the Tour de France. Froomes supposed challenger at this summers Tour, Quintana never put the Britons third Tour title in serious danger.But Quintana proved hes a rival for Froome at the Vuelta as he stuck with his late charge and dropped Froome over the last few hundred uphill meters.Everyone was cautious at the start of the climb, but then Froome went for it, as we expected, and I responded, Quintana said. I now have that extra bit of confidence knowing that, today, I was a bit better than my rivals.Quintanas Movistar teammate, Alejandro Valverde, remained in second place overall, at 19 seconds back, after crossing the line pegged to Froomes wheel.Froome was third at :27 behind, followed by Esteban Chaves, who felll to almost a minute behind.ddddddddddddAlberto Contador rebounded from his painful crash at the end of Fridays stage by also surging ahead of Froome in the final meters to stay in striking distance at a minute and a half off the pace.The three-time Vuelta winner made the decision on Saturday morning to keep racing, something that was in doubt after he took a hard knock and scrapes at the end of the seventh stage.I am satisfied because the goal was simply to stay alive, Contador said. I wasnt sure I was going to start the stage. When I could see that I could pass (Froome) at the end I knew I had to take advantage of it.Lagutin was a member of an early breakaway of 11 riders who opened up a 10-minute gap over the mostly flat stage that ended in a final 8.5-kilometer (5-mile) ascent.It was the Katusha riders first major win.Finally the dream came true, Lagutin said. I have been dreaming of this since I was little, to win a stage at a grand tour. I am 35 years old. At some point I was thinking it was too late.Sundays ninth stage is the second of three consecutive stages in the northern mountains, a 164.5-kilometer (102-mile) ride from Cistierna to the Alto del Naranco. China Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys ' ' '