The Hokies also have non-conference wins against New Mexico, Nebras

LOS ANGELES -- Sam Darnold has a knack for turning potential disasters into something special.Southern Californias remarkable freshman quarterback does it all the time on broken plays. Instead of robotically falling on the ball when a snap goes awry or a handoff is misplaced, he often attempts to improvise a happy ending to a perilous situation.Not always, but sometimes its good to try to make a play, Darnold said. I like trying it sometimes.Speaking of potential disasters, Darnold has done a pretty great job saving USCs season as well.Darnold is the engine driving the No. 15 Trojans (7-3, 6-2 Pac-12) from their 1/3 start to a six-game winning streak heading into Saturday nights crosstown showdown with UCLA (4-6, 2-5).With a confident arm and that incredible elusiveness in the backfield, Darnold has completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 2,161 yards this season. He has 22 touchdown passes and six interceptions, and he does it all with a buccaneering playing style that reminds everybody football is supposed to be fun.More importantly, Darnold has won six straight starts since losing his first. The Trojans have roared back from their brutal September schedule into contention for a Pac-12 South title, taking the pressure off first-year permanent head coach Clay Helton in the process.Hes not a finished product by any means, but hes helping us win football games, said Helton, the Trojans former quarterbacks coach. When you have a kid with his instinct and creative ability, I dont think you handcuff him. I told him, `Drive it like you stole it. You (have to) play the game with no fear, and he does.Darnold and Helton say they dont waste time thinking about where USC might be if Darnold had been the Trojans starting quarterback from the season opener. Max Browne started the Trojans losses away from home to top-ranked Alabama and defending Pac-12 champion Stanford before Darnold seized the job.Darnolds confidence hit a new peak last weekend when he outperformed Washington star Jake Browning, passing for 287 yards and two scores in the Trojans 26-13 upset of the previously unbeaten and fourth-ranked Huskies.Darnold slipped through Washingtons vaunted defense with his remarkable knack for scrambling and an ability to avoid trouble in the pocket. His unflappability might be the freshmans most pronounced asset.I like to credit my coaches in high school and Pop Warner, but I think it comes down to my family, and how Im raised, Darnold said. My parents did a good job keeping me confident and knowing that you just have to be cool with yourself. You cant control the past. You have to look ahead.Darnold grew up in Orange County watching Pete Carrolls dominant USC teams of the previous decade. He became enamored with the close-to-home schools swagger, and he eagerly committed to USC even with Cody Kessler, Browne and touted recruit Ricky Town blocking his path to playing time.Kessler kept the starting job for three years, and Browne served as his backup for the past two seasons. Darnold watched and practiced as a redshirt last year, dazzling his teammates and the coaches with his performances on the scout team.Darnold pushed Browne for the starting job in spring practice, which ended without Helton naming a starter. Helton clearly felt loyalty to Browne, the big-armed passer who stuck with the tumultuous USC program through multiple coaching changes.But after that 1-2 start, Helton couldnt ignore Darnold -- and now the rest of college football cant ignore the Trojans, who returned to the AP Top 25 this week.USC wont need any extra motivation for its final two regular-season games against rivals UCLA and Notre Dame. The Trojans would need help from a Colorado loss to reach the Pac-12 title game, but their fans are already looking forward to a full season with Darnold in charge in 2017.Weve got a lot of potential, Darnold said. We just want to keep pushing through this season and get the most out of it.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Mark Stone Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Jonathan Marchessault Golden Knights Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/authentic-nate-schmidt-golden-knights-jersey/ . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Reilly Smith Jersey . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. William Karlsson Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. 5India hockey teams current World Ranking according to FIH - their highest over a decade since the last time they were ranked 5th, in 2004. They are the highest ranked Asian team currently with South Korea and Pakistan being the next two teams at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively.8Gold medals won by Indias hockey team at the Olympics - the most by any country. India are followed by Germany with four golds (including West Germanys at the Munich games in 1972). Pakistan and Great Britain have won thrice each.6Number of consecutive hockey gold medals won by India at the Olympics from 1928 to 1956. Since then in nearly 60 years India have won two golds, a silver and two bronzes. The last time they returned with a hockey medal from the Olympics was from Moscow, in 1980, when they won the gold. Their best finish at the event since then has been the fifth place which they managed in 1984. The last two Olympics campaigns didnt go well for India: they failed to qualify for the event in 2008 and finished last in 2012.75Matches won by Indias hockey team at the Olympics - the most by any team in the competition. Netherlands and Pakistan are next in this list with 72 and 70 wins. Only five Indias 75 wins, however, have come in their last three appearances at the Olympics. In the London Olympics in 2012, India returned from the event without securing a single win.423Goals scored by India at the Olympics - by far the most by any team in the competition. No other team has scored 300 goals, with Pakistan placed second with 294 goals.38Goals scored by India without conceding one at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. India are the only team to have won the Gold medal without conceding a goaal in the competition.dddddddddddd From their first game of the 1956 edition to their first match in 1960 against Denmark they scored 48 goals without conceding one. India won the gold at Amsterdam Olympics in 1928 too without conceding a goal when they slotted in 29.43Goals scored by India in the 1980 Moscow Olympics - the most any team has scored in an event. India are the only winning team to score more than 30 goals in the competition and they have done it thrice. Besides the 1980 event, they scored 38 and 35 goals in 1936 and 1932 respectively.24-1Indias win margin against the USA in the 1932 Olympics - the biggest for any team in the events history. India won the 1936 final by a margin of 8-1, which is also the joint biggest in a Gold-medal match at the Olympics. England had beaten Ireland by a similar margin in the 1908 finals - the first time ever the game was played at the Olympics.178-7Indias score-line across six events from the 1928 to the 1956 Olympics. They were unbeaten in 25 matches across six editions. By the time they lost to Pakistan in the gold-medal match in 1960, they had won 30 consecutive matches across seven events and had scored 197 goals and had conceded only eight goals.11Medals by won the hockey team out of the 26 won by India at the Olympics. Apart from eight golds, the hockey team has won a silver and two bronze at the event. After 1980, however, hockey has contributed no medals to India tally while other events have won 12.Shiva Jayaraman is a senior sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo.com. @shiva_cricinfo ' ' '