Pirate Galaxy » be in decline and even Misbah, now

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The giant video screen in Ohio States indoor practice facility ran a loop of MMA fighters beating each other senseless, coach Urban Meyers way of reminding players that they have one swing to knock out Michigan State this week and keep their championship dreams alive.With all the playoff talk swirling after a seismic college football Saturday that saw three teams ranked higher than the Buckeyes lose and an odd tiebreaker situation that could see them advancing to the playoff without even playing in the Big Ten Championship game, the idea is to shut out the noise and keep the team focused on the immediate task.Meyer said its difficult to keep players from looking ahead and worrying about things that are out of their control. Ever since the Oct. 22 loss at Penn State , schedule boards in the football complex were covered up and the program renewed its focus on just winning the next game.Im debating right now what to do with that, Meyer said Monday when asked about the amped-up playoff chatter. I did not cover it yesterday. I havent covered it throughout the year. In the past I have. I dont know yet. But the focus is obviously Michigan State.It may help that there is a revenge element when it comes to the Spartans, although that angle was mostly downplayed by players on Monday. But remember, it was Michigan State that came into Ohio Stadium last year and ended the Buckeyes chances of repeating as Big Ten and national champions .Theres a little bit of human element that comes into the game, especially with them ruining senior night for us last year and ruining the season we were supposed to have last year, guard Billy Price acknowledged. Its in the back of your head, absolutely.Like last year, the championship hopes of No. 2 Ohio State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) will be erased with a loss to Michigan State (3-7, 1-6), a program that has fallen on hard times this season.They always have a chip on their shoulder when the Buckeyes are in town, and its going to be the same way this Saturday, Ohio State center Pat Elflein said. The records dont matter.Because of the loss to Penn State, and Michigans loss at Iowa on Saturday, Ohio State could be kept out of the conference title game by the tiebreaker system , even if the Buckeyes beat Michigan State and then Michigan on Nov. 26. Then the question becomes if the playoff committee will install Ohio State in the top four without a conference championship on its resume.At least one player said what many people around college football likely are thinking.I see it like this: If we win out all our games, Big Ten championship or not, you not going to put us in? quarterback J.T. Barrett said incredulously. Like youre going to leave Ohio State out? That doesnt make sense to me.NEVER MICHIGAN: Buckeyes fans were put in the distasteful position of needing Michigan to beat Iowa.If Michigan had won, and Ohio State took care of business against Michigan State and Michigan, that would have given Ohio State the East Division crown in the tiebreaker and a spot in the conference championship game. As it stands now, Penn State will win the tiebreaker if the Nittany Lions win out.But Buckeyes players werent rooting for Michigan. Thats just never going to happen.No, not at all, Price said.No, I dont root for them, linebacker Raekwon McMillan said.You dont ever want to root for those guys, Elflein said.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyLeandro Barbosa Suns Jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. 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Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2.Might Pakistan have seen their best chance of achieving the No. 1 Test ranking slip through their grasp?They have never been rated the best Test team. Not officially, anyway. There was a couple of months in 1988 when they would have been had the ratings been in existence, but since they were introduced in 2003, Pakistan have never reached the pinnacle.They have been within sight of it here. For a while, as Australia capitulated in Galle, and Pakistan inched towards a first innings lead, the top of the mountain was clear above them. But, by the close of play the clouds had obscured the view once more. There is no guarantee they will part.Pakistan had been, remember, 257 for 2 with moments to go before stumps on the second day. They were just 40 runs behind England and they had eight wickets in hand. With James Anderson having twice been warned for running on the pitch, Steven Finn battling for rhythm, Stuart Broad unable to coax much pace or movement from this surface and Moeen Ali conceding more than four-and-a-half an over, Pakistans batsmen had an outstanding opportunity to bat England out of the game. There are no horrors for them in this low, slow wicket. England have taken no home advantage.But it was not to be. Azhar Ali, understandably weary after more than six hours of batting, was drawn into poking at one away from his body and edged to slip at the end of day two and Pakistans middle-order was unable to fully capitalise on the foundations that he had built.A first innings lead of 103 wasnt bad. Not by any means. But it wasnt the vice-like grip Pakistan could have taken on this match. It was an advantage, certainly, but it wasnt definitive. It was, in truth, something of a missed opportunity.It would be unfair to state that Pakistan squandered their chance with the bat. Unfair on Pakistan and England, who battled hard, bowled with impressive control and then batted particularly well when they started their second innings on Friday.Asad Shafiq, perhaps undone by Broad going wide on the crease, missed a straight one, Younis Khan was caught down the leg side as he fell over towards the off and once Misbah played on, there was nobody to stay with Sarfraz Ahmed and extend the lead.There were some familiar faults. The Pakistan tail, with Yasir Shah (a man with a Test batting average of 11.75) at No. 8, has more than a hint of the Diplodocus about it and here mustered just 18 between four men from No. 8 to No. 11. Since January 2014, they are worst performing lower-order in the world.As Mickey Arthur, the coach, put it afterwards: we lack an allrounder; we lack a Chris Woakes. Weve got to pick our best six batsmen and our best bowing attack. To win Tests, you have to take 20 wickets.And then Pakistans four-man attack was shown-up once more. Its not that there is anything wrong with any of the bowlers - far from it - but that it leaves no margin for error. Sohail Khan, so impressive in the first innings, looked stiff and tired - not injured as much as not fit enough to bowl the amount of spells required at this level in a four-man unit - while Rahat Ali delivered too many loose ddeliveries.ddddddddddddThat left too great a burden on Mohammad Amir, who is bowling considerably better than his figures suggest in this series, and Yasir, who is clearly a fine bowler operating on a surface offering him little. Pakistan were unable to build pressure and Englands openers were able to record their first century partnership with one another. A day that started with Pakistan well in front ended with England ahead by a nose.Arthur described the second innings bowling as poor. I was just really disappointed, the Pakistan coach said. Everything weve spoken about, everything weve done... We talk about lengths all the time, we talk about bowling one side of the wicket, we talk about bowling plans and controlling the rate. We didnt do one of those in the last session, so that was particularly disappointing.Sohail is a real concern. Hes got to back up. I thought he bowled exceptionally well in the first innings but youve got to do it both innings, youve got to do it spell after spell. Thats something well continue to work with Sohail Khan on.I love Rahat. I think he has something special. If we can get Rahats action repeatable, hes going to be very, very good.But theyll bowl five fantastic balls with the new ball and then theres the one dragged down or theres the one on leg stump which is the four-ball and thats been giving the England openers a bit of a start. Weve got a lot of work to do technically with our bowlers.None of this means that Pakistan have lost their opportunity to reach No. 1. It might still happen. This game remains in the balance - wonderfully so in the grand scheme of things - and Pakistan will be the favourites when West Indies arrive in the UAE for a Test tour in a few months.But this game, the next seven days of the series, do present a great opportunity. Some of the key players in the Pakistan side are surely coming to the end - Younis, with a highest score of 33 in the series, seems to be in decline and even Misbah, now aged 42, might eventually have to accept he cant win his fight with Time - and, within a few weeks, other teams (notably India) will have opportunities to pick-up ranking points. Not long after the West Indies series, Pakistan face testing trips to New Zealand and Australia. It may be a long time before Pakistan go this close to the summit.Were Pakistan to reach the No. 1 ranking, it would surely have to be recognised as one of the great achievements in the sport. From the position this side were in when Misbah took over - with four squad members eventually banned for corruption and, before long, his leading spinner squeezed out of the game due to concerns over his bowling action - and to have come this close despite not playing a single Test at home is beyond admirable. It is almost miraculous.Whatever happens next, this Pakistan teams achievements demand respect. But they may never have a better chance to go all the way and they may come to reflect on day three at Edgbaston as the day it slipped away. ' ' '