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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida-Georgia rivalry begins a new era this weekend, with Kirby Smart making his head coaching debut in the neutral-site game.It will have a familiar feel for the men in charge.Smart and second-year Florida coach Jim McElwain became close friends while spending four years together at Alabama (2008-11). Between meals, meetings, practices, late nights, long hours and road trips, they forged a bond that extends well beyond the football field. Winning helped, too. With Smart and McElwain as coordinators, the Tide went 48-6 and claimed two national championships.Smart and McElwain will reunite in Jacksonville on Saturday as the Bulldogs (4-3, 2/3 Southeastern Conference) try to salvage their season against the 14th-ranked Gators (5-1, 3-1).This will be a great chess match, McElwain said.Smart and McElwain know each other well enough to predict every move. Of course, that wasnt always the case.When McElwain arrived in Alabama in January 2008 to help Nick Saban get the Crimson Tide back to national prominence, he had never heard of Smart. The former Georgia safety was coming off brief stops at Valdosta State, Florida State, LSU and in the NFL before following Saban to Tuscaloosa and being put in charge of the defense.I didnt know anything about him before I got there, McElwain recalled. And yet he was one of the first guys to welcome me in the door, which tells you what kind of guy he is. When you work together like that in an environment like that, you get to know each other pretty well. Our wives know each other.I mean, it becomes a family.With McElwain drawing up plays and Smart trying to stop them, they made practices intense and raised the bar in Tuscaloosa.All that success helped McElwain land his first head coaching job at Colorado State and eventually make the move to Florida. Smart remained with the Tide another four seasons -- picking up 50 additional wins and two more national titles -- before leaving for his alma mater.He had a bunch of opportunities along the way, obviously, McElwain said. I think he did a great job of being patient and taking the one that he had his eyes on.Smart downplayed how much the coaches common background will be a factor this weekend, saying itll be mostly meaningless after kickoff.I dont know that it does provide advantage, because for every advantage I might have, they have the same, Smart said. I think you can overthink these things.We know what we do, and the players got to go make the plays.The Bulldogs havent made enough plays lately. They have dropped three of their last four games , including an embarrassing home loss to Vanderbilt two weeks ago.Freshman quarterback Jacob Easons inexperience has been obvious at times. The running game, even with Nick Chubb healthy, has been inconsistent behind a mediocre offensive line. The defense has been decent, no surprise given Smarts background. But special teams have been downright awful.I want to play our best game in all facets of the game, being able to be balanced on offense and being able to control the line on scrimmage on defense and play well in the kicking game. Thats the part that weve got to be able to do all three, and some of them have hit on all cylinders at all different times. We need them to hit all the same time.Even though the Gators sit atop the Eastern Division, they have been far from perfect. Floridas vaunted defense was gouged in the second half against Tennessee, and the offense has been hit and miss because of quarterback Luke Del Rio s limitations and a lack of playmakers outside receiver Antonio Callaway.McElwain and Smart have spent the last two weeks dissecting every aspect of the matchup. When they see each other on the field before the game Saturday, theyll be able to relax -- for a few minutes.Well get together and laugh about some stories, and thats always fun, McElwain said. And yet it doesnt matter. When you kind of blow the whistle, its your guys against their guys and see who comes out (on top).---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.orgNike Air Max Plus Tn Nz . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Vapormax Flyknit 2 Nz . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. 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Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury.Jerry Rice was on the roster the last time the Oakland Raiders made the playoffs.Thats how long its been -- way back in the 2002 season.The Silver and Black matter again, thanks in large part to up-and-coming QB Derek Carr, pass-rusher extraordinaire Khalil Mack and kicker Sebastian Janikowski. The Raiders clinched a postseason berth Sunday by beating the San Diego Chargers 19-16 on Janikowskis fourth field goal of the game, a 44-yarder with a little more than 2+ minutes remaining.One thing we know for sure: We are on our way, coach Jack Del Rio told his players in the locker room after they improved to 11-3, alone in first place in the AFC West. We just punched our ticket to the playoffs!A backdrop to this seasons success has been all the talk about how much longer the team will stay in Oakland. Owner Mark Davis -- whose father, Al, was famous for proclaiming, Just win, baby -- says he plans to move the Raiders to Las Vegas, where a nearly $2 billion stadium project has been approved.There is a Feb. 15 deadline for Davis to apply for the right to uproot his club. The window to petition for that begins whenever the Raiders season ends -- and for the first time in a while, no one knows exactly when that will be.Janikowski is the only player from the teams previous playoff run who is still on the roster. Since reaching the Super Bowl 14 years ago, the Raiders have gone through some dark times.As Carr noted on Twitter: We have come a long way from an 0-10 start a couple years ago!Sure have.The frequent failures of teams like the Raiders really make what Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have done all that more remarkable: They set an NFL record with an eighth consecutive division title after a 16-3 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. New England also is the only team to win 13 division championships in a 14-year span.You see guys that have played in this league a while, been really good players, and just havent won division championships and things like that, Patriots safety Devin McCourty said, and to see their excitement, to see how excited they are. ... Its a great feeling.In case you missedd it, here are the other top topics after the NFL seasons 15th Sunday:GIVE WHAT YOU CANThe Salvation Army got millions of dollars worth of free publicity thanks to Dallas Cowboys rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliott, who hopped inside an oversized red collection kettle behind the end zone after a 2-yard TD run during a 26-20 win against Tampa Bay on national TV at night.ddddddddddddad to show them a little bit of love, the running back said.Alas, the Cowboys were penalized for his display, angering coach Jason Garrett, and Elliott could get fined by the league. That prompted NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth to joke: There should be a charitable exemption in the rulebook.BRADLEY FIREDNot much of a surprise here: Gus Bradley was fired as coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars after their 21-20 loss at the Houston Texas, their ninth consecutive loss. Theyve been bad much longer than that, though: The Jags 2-12 record this season brings Bradleys tally to 14-48, a .225 winning percentage thats the worst of anyone who has coached at least 60 NFL games. So with Bradley joining former Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher on the unemployment line, the question becomes: Who else will be out of a job by seasons end?NONSENSICAL 2-POINT TRIESCoaches just cant seem to figure out when it makes sense to try a 2-point conversion and when it doesnt. Mike Mularkey of the Titans and Doug Pederson of the Eagles both made highly debatable choices to eschew a PAT after a late TD -- and both of their teams blew it. For Mularkey, though, it miraculously didnt cost the Titans a vital win in their playoff bid, because they still edged the Chiefs 19-17 thanks to Kansas City coach Andy Reids own gaffes. For Pederson, it didnt really matter, because the Eagles were going nowhere even before their 27-26 loss to the Ravens was sealed when Carson Wentzs pass fell incomplete on a 2-point try.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter: http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '