Wake Forest is ready for two years worth of growing pains to start paying off.The Demon Deacons begin Dave Clawsons third season Thursday night when they play host to a Tulane team debuting under new coach Willie Fritz.Wake Forest has finished 3-9 twice as part of Clawsons patient rebuild of the program, and last years Demon Deacons were one of the nations youngest teams.Now theyre a year older, with nine offensive starters returning, and theyre ready for the progress they made to show up in their record.This is the most talented group up front that weve had. This is the most cohesive group up front that weve had since I have been here, offensive lineman Tyler Hayworth said. We are a unit that has to work together and trust each other to be able to succeed. From last year to this year, we have built up that trust and built up these relationships with each other to where we are ready to play and we are prepared mentally and physically.John Wolford will start at quarterback for the Demon Deacons, but Kendall Hinton also will play. Wolford has started 22 of the 23 games hes played at the school, throwing for 1,791 yards last season while completing 61 percent of his passes with 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns. Hinton made two starts as a freshman in 2015 and rushed for seven touchdowns with four TD throws and five interceptions.Fritz is taking over a Tulane team that -- like Wake Forest -- is coming off consecutive 3-9 seasons, the latter of which cost fourth-year coach Curtis Johnson his job. His Georgia Southern teams led the Bowl Subdivision in rushing in both of his seasons there, and he led the Eagles to a Sun Belt title in his first season and a bowl game to end Year 2.The main thing I really want to see is incredible effort, Fritz said. We talk around here about, `The Wave dont beat the Wave. Lets stay away from those pre-snap penalties ... and just play a clean game.---Some things to know about the Tulane-Wake Forest opener:- RUNNING WAVE: The Green Wave figure to cycle in four running backs as part of a run-heavy system, with Dontrell Hilliard, Sherman Badie, Josh Rounds and Lazedrick Thompson getting most of the work. Theyll look to replicate what Fritzs Georgia Southern team did last year, averaging 363 yards per game and nearly 6.5 yards per carry. Tulane ranked 119th last year in the FBS in rushing, averaging just 115.8 yards.- DEMON DEACONS D: Wake Forest returns seven starters from their defense, but must replace three members of their front seven, including mainstay LBs Brandon Chubb and Hunter Williams. DL Duke Ejiofor will be important up front, after he recorded a sack in four of the seven games he played last year and had a team-best 4.5 sacks.- RUNNING WAKE: The Demon Deacons have struggled to get their ground game going under Clawson, mainly because of a young offensive line and injuries that mounted at key positions. Wake Forest was 123rd nationally in rushing last year and 127th in 2014. Theyve got more options this year, with freshman Cade Carney earning the start over redshirt freshman Rocky Reid and sophomore Matt Colburn. Freshman Tyler Bell, who rushed for a team-best 451 yards last year, was the first freshman to lead the team in rushing since 1982 but dealt with injuries during camp.- THE SERIES: Tulane has won both previous meetings between the schools with similar profiles -- small, private, academically elite -- but they havent met since 1995. Cheap Rams Jerseys Authentic Authentic Micah Kiser Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. http://www.cheaplosangelesramsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-travin-howard-jersey . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Rams Jerseys China . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Authentic Brian Allen Jersey .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers could end up with a wacky travel schedule next week -- if theyre able to keep their season going.Thursdays game between the Tigers and Cleveland Indians was postponed because of bad weather, a move that could force the teams to squeeze in a makeup game Monday if it needs to be played because of postseason implications. The wild card-contending Tigers and AL Central champion Indians played a rain-shortened game Wednesday night, which Detroit won 6-3 in five innings. The series finale Thursday never began.With the regular season scheduled to end Sunday -- and little room for extra games before the postseason -- the Tigers and Indians waited through a delay of 4 hours, 13 minutes before the game was finally called.The Tigers begin a three-game series at Atlanta on Friday night, and Cleveland starts a three-game set at Kansas City. The Tigers and Indians would need to play a makeup game Monday if it could affect who makes the postseason or how teams are seeded.The postseason is supposed to begin Tuesday with the AL wild-card game.Detroit manager Brad Ausmus was asked before the game about possibility that his team could have to play games in several locales between Sunday and the start of the AL Division Series, but scenarios like that assume the Tigers would keep advancing.Im aware of it, but one thing at a time, Ausmus said. If thats the scenario, then thats a good thing.Baltimore and Toronto hold the two wild-card spots in the American League, and the Tigers trail them both by 1 1/2 games.The rainout allows Detroit to push starter Daniel Norris (3-2) to Fridays game against the Braves, and Jordan Zimmermann will start Saturday night. The Tigers were initially set to choose between Matt Boyd and Buck Farmer for Saturday, but now they can avoid that issue.Justin Verlander is slated to pitch Sunday.Cleveland is pushing its Thursday starter back aa day, too.dddddddddddd Ryan Merritt (0-0) will pitch Friday.The teams kept waiting Thursday even as rain fell and the field took on more water. The Tigers said over 6 inches of rain fell at Comerica.We know what is at stake, especially with the bad weather forecasts for the East Coast, Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. If we were 20 games out, it would have been different, but we understood why they wanted to try to avoid everything getting backed up, and they did a great job of communicating with us.The weather cleared up enough at one point to allow the grounds crew to remove the tarp and work on the infield, but after Ausmus and Francona walked around the field with umpires, the tarp went back on. The delay continued for about 2 1/2 more hours.When we walked the field, it was so soft that we knew if it took any more water, it was going to be unplayable, Francona said. So we were already iffy at that point, and then we got all the rest of the rain.The Indians clinched the division with a Monday win at Detroit, then their top players hardly took the field after that. Cleveland lost 12-0 with a lineup full of backups Tuesday, and after Wednesdays game was shortened, Thursdays didnt happen at all.The Indians entered Thursday 2 1/2 games behind AL West champion Texas and one behind AL East champion Boston, so if home-field advantage is still at stake Monday, Cleveland will be back in Detroit to play its 162nd game of the season. The Indians arent supposed to start the AL Division Series until Oct. 6, so there will be time off even if they have to play Monday.Wed still get two days, Francona said. Besides, I dont know, it might be fun to play in a game like that, with something at stake.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale NFL Gear Cheap Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '