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USC will try to build on its best start in nearly half a century when the 23rd-ranked Trojans play host to Cornell on Monday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.USC (10-0) escaped with its unbeaten record intact after a dramatic 82-77 victory over Troy on Saturday night. The Trojans havent been undefeated at this point in a season since going 16-0 to begin the 1970-71 campaign.Cornell (2-6) hasnt enjoyed nearly as much success. The Big Red have lost three of its last four games and is coming off a 97-78 loss to Wyoming.Cornell is likely to encounter a very motivated USC squad after the Trojans survived a scare against Troy. USC trailed at the half for just the second time this season. The Trojans fell behind by 10, trailed by nine with 12:35 to play and were down by three with 1:18 remaining, but Jordan McLaughlin and Chimezie Metu made crucial plays in the final 1:03 to help them prevail.We have to come out every game and focus and lock in to that game, Metu said.McLaughlin presented a different perspective, saying the team could benefit from a comeback victory. The Trojans, who was still missing injured starter Bennie Boatwright, have had five comebacks of at least nine points in their 10 wins this season.It was huge to get a win like this, McLaughlin said. We know we can (rally). Its good for our young guys to get this out of the way. It was big. It helps us mature. Everyone was making big plays down the stretch.USC coach Andy Enfield praised McLaughlin and Metu for their efforts late in the game. McLaughlin finished with 21 points. Metu had 18 points and eight rebounds.Jordan was dominant tonight in the second half to help us win and so was Chimezie, Enfield said. Were going to do this by committee this year. Our starting lineup has to do a better job of defending and getting us out to a lead.Elijah Stewart is averaging a team-high 16.5 points and 5.7 rebounds for USC. McLaughlin averages 13.4 points and 4.8 assists. Metu, the teams leading rebounder, is averaging 12.9 points and eight rebounds.Matt Morgan is leading Cornell in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Stone Gettings is averaging 12 points and 5.1 rebounds. Robert Hatter averages 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.6 assists.Cornell is led by first-year coach Brian Earl, who was hired to replace Bill Courtney after the Big Red went 10-18 last season. Players have embraced the change in coaching styles even if it hasnt translated into success yet.Last year, it was more listening to the coaches and doing what they wanted rather than listening to each other, Morgan told The Cornell Daily Sun. We are the ones on the court and we might see things differently than they might see. (Earl has) done a good job of listening to us, and, at the same time, we listen to him just as much. Cheap Custom Packers Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Custom Packers T-shirts .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/ .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Custom Packers Jerseys . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Rashan Gary Jersey Large . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. There was a time, as ridiculous as it seems now, when the Dallas Cowboys made a show of trying to tamp down expectations for Ezekiel Elliott.On a sun-splashed practice field in Oxnard, California, in early August, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan stood and talked about his rookie running back. At this time, Elliott had a hamstring injury that was keeping him out of practice a bit. Linehan said all the right things.Weve got to do the right thing by him. Hes a rookie, and so you have to make sure he gets the time he needs to develop, Linehan said, then he smiled. But then I watch what he can do out here, and I think its going to be pretty hard to take him off the field.The Cowboys arent going to take Elliott off the field. Their greatest current fear, as a matter of fact, is that commissioner Roger Goodell might take him off the field. But unless the NFL decides to suspend Elliott as a result of its investigation into domestic violence allegations against him, there appears to be nothing that can stop the former Ohio State star at the present time.With 1,005 rushing yards through nine games, with three touchdowns (including the game winner) in Sundays comeback-over-and-over victory in Pittsburgh, Elliott is dominating the league. Running behind the NFLs most dominant offensive line and taking handoffs from the only man besides him who has half a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Elliott is currently the most potent offensive force in the game.At this point, even with Tony Romo healthy enough to play, Dak Prescott deserves to be the Cowboys quarterback. But Ezekiel Elliott deserves to be the leagues MVP.Theres a lot going on in Dallas that has put the Cowboys star rookies in position to succeed. Merely decent offensive line play gives you a weekly advantage in the NFL of 2016, but the Cowboys are, in this area, dominant. Entering Sundays games, Elliott had 495 rushing yards before first contact this season -- third most in the leaguee.dddddddddddd He added 82 more (out of his 114 total) on Sunday night. After ambling through a hole the size of an airplane hangar door on the game-winning touchdown, Elliott said, It parted like the Red Sea. All I had to do was run.But neither Elliott nor anyone else should sell him short as a runner. He also carried with him into Sundays action a league-leading 396 yards after first contact. He?has the ability to shed tackles and maintain his momentum. He has the ability to separate from pursuers in the open field. Hes strong enough as a pass protector that the Cowboys dont have to take him off the field on third downs.?They also view him as a strong receiver, though they havent used his receiving skills much. His 83-yard catch-and-run touchdown Sunday showcased another breathtaking element of Elliotts game that may be yet to come.Elliott is, through nine games, everything the Cowboys expected him to be when they used the No. 4 pick in the draft on him. They knew they had the killer offensive line; they saw Elliott as a player who could help them maximize it. Together, he and the slobs (as he calls them) up front are executing the Cowboys offseason vision in a way even their most optimistic decision-makers could not have envisioned. They thought hed help make Romos life easier. Its a major bonus that hes doing that instead for fellow rookie Prescott.Eight of the past nine NFL MVP awards have gone to quarterbacks, and before its all said and done guys like Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Derek Carr and even Prescott may have their say in who wins it this year. But at this point in the season, it looks like one of those years when a running back stands out from the crowd as just too dominant to deny.The Cowboys cant take Elliott off the field because hes too valuable. And thats what the V in MVP stands for, after all. ' ' '