His last two in the playoffs last year werent so great either. He allowed 8 combined runs and didnt make it out of the

Boise State faces a must-win situation in order to keep its Mountain West title hopes alive.One of the pesky problems is that Air Force is the opponent.The No. 20 Broncos have experienced issues with the Falcons while losing each of the past two seasons. They badly need a victory this time around when they play on the Air Force Academy grounds on Friday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network).Boise State (10-1, 6-1) is tied for first place in the Mountain Division with Wyoming and that also rates as an issue. The Cowboys defeated the Broncos earlier this season and control their own destiny.Even if Boise State defeats the Falcons, Wyoming will claim the title if it upends New Mexico on Saturday.And if the Broncos dont reach the Mountain West title game, they are no longer in the running for a possible Cotton Bowl berth.This is a big game for us, theres no doubt about it, Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said during a press conference. Its the last game of the year and its against a team we havent beat the last two seasons.And make no bones about it ... we want to win this game.Air Force (8-3, 4-3) enters on a four-game winning streak and is brimming with confidence when it comes to facing the Broncos.Two seasons ago, the Falcons forced seven Boise State turnovers while producing a 28-14 victory. Standout strong safety Weston Steelhammer intercepted three passes to tie the school single-game record.Last season, Air Force rolled up 607 yards -- including a stunning 279 passing for the run-oriented team -- while posting a 37-30 victory in Boise.Who knows what will happen in this meeting but the Falcons are averaging 38 points during their four-game winning streak -- and had to overcome double-digit deficits in three of the games.Our strongest muscle is the one thats inside of our chest cavity, coach Troy Calhoun said, and thats what we rely upon is the heart and soul and character of our guys.Nobody personifies the Air Force mentality more than Steelhammer, who had two interceptions in Saturdays 41-38 victory over San Jose State.Steelhammer decided to attend Air Force when his only college scholarship offers were from McNeese State and Central Arkansas. He has gone on to stamp himself as one of the top defensive players in school history.Steelhammer has six interceptions this season and 17 in his career, the latter tying Tom Rotello (1983-86) for the school mark.Many of them have been pretty splendid grabs, too, Calhoun said. You look over the course of his career, I bet eight or nine of those have been where he really had to leave his feet to get. Thats hard to do.Steelhammer has a team-leading 71 tackles for a unit that ranks 19th in rushing defense at 121.1 yards per game.Boise State junior running back Jeremy McNichols will test the Falcons as he ranks third nationally with 1,575 yards while leading the country with 26 total touchdowns (22 rushing, four receiving).McNichols rushed for 206 yards and four touchdowns in last Fridays 42-25 win over UNLV and he ranks seventh in school history with 3,071 career rushing yards.He was passed over as a Doak Walker Award finalist on Monday, and that didnt sit well with Harsin.Hes one of the best backs in the country, Harsin said. Hes the most productive player. Hes put up touchdowns more than anybody else.I dont know what else from an offensive standpoint a guy can do to not have his name thrown in there with all those other backs.McNichols is carrying the Boise State offense as the attack has become more dependent on him and less on sophomore quarterback Brett Rypien.Rypien passed for just 109 yards against UNLV but has thrown for 3,025 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season.The Broncos defense will be down two starting linebackers. Senior strong-side linebacker Tanner Vallejo will undergo season-ending wrist surgery and junior middle linebacker Joe Martarano is surely done for the campaign after breaking his left fibula against UNLV.Senior middle linebacker Darren Lee will be counted on after stepping up with a career-best 11 tackles against UNLV. Lee has 56 tackles on the season -- including 6 1/2 for losses.Air Force averages 323.5 rushing yards per game with its triple-option offense and sophomore quarterback Arion Worthman will make his fourth consecutive start in place of injured senior Nate Romine (ankle).Worthman threw the winning 22-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jalen Robinette (team-leading 30 catches for 790 yards) with 32 seconds left against San Jose State and rushed for 215 yards and two scores.The rushing yardage was the fifth-best for a quarterback in Falcons history.Joe Ross Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Yan Gomes Nationals Jersey . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. https://www.cheapnationals.com/997r-frank-robinson-jersey-nationals.html . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Washington Nationals Pro Shop . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Wilmer Difo Nationals Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007.The Chicago Cubs head to San Francisco with a commanding 2-0 lead over the Giants. But waiting for them in the city by the bay is one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball history -- Madison Bumgarner. Can Bumgarner pitch the Giants back into the series or will the Cubs continue their march through the postseason?Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide tonights game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen Jake Arrieta is on the mound: There arent too many pitchers who go 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA and feel like it was a bit of letdown. Arrieta had a 1.74 ERA through June 22, dominating like he did in 2015, but he had control issues after that and posted a 4.44 ERA over his final 16 starts with 41 walks in 99.1 innings. In his final start, he allowed 10 hits and 7 runs in five innings to the Pirates. Even as he struggled in the second half, producing hard contact against him wasnt easy. Batters hit just .213 vs. Arrieta over those 16 starts. He did seem to lose the feel of that slider, which was so unhittable last year and early this season, as batters hit .271/.377/.441 against it with a strikeout rate of 15.9 percent compared to 26.4 percent in 2015. Last year, batters hit .119 with a 43 percent strikeout rate against his curveball; over these 16 starts the numbers are .279 and 31.2 percent.Arrietas fastball is still a tough pitch, averaging 93.8 mph with some late sink to it. Against left-handers, he tends to work the outer third of the strike zone, and he also works up and down the zone. With three lefties in the pen, Joe Maddon will have the luxury of a quick hook and mixing and matching out of the bullpen. -- David SchoenfieldWhen Madison Bumgarner is on the mound: The Bumgarner legend continued to grow with another shutout in the wild-card game. His career postseason record is now 8-3 with a 1.94 ERA and 6-1, 0.79 over his past eight starts and one relief appearance covering 68.1 innings. So everyone wants to put this game in the win column for the Giants before its even been played.One thing to point out: His past four postseason outings -- one against the Mets, three against the Royals -- came against two lineups weak against left-handed pitching. The Mets had three lefties who cant hit lefties and the 2014 Royals featured a lineup where its best hitters (Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas) were left-handed and the team hit just 31 home runs all season against lefties. Those clubs were ripe for a lefty to eat them up. This Cubs lineup is a much tougher proposition, ranking second in the majors in OPS against lefties.Bumgarner throws a four-seamer up in the zone and tries to get it inside to righties. He throws his cutter/slider about a third of the time and a curveball about 15 percent of the time. In the wild-card game, he threw his fastball 58 percent of the time -- his fourth-highest percentage of the season -- and threw his curveball at the second-highest rate. Right-handed batters hit just .150 against the curveball, so lets see if Bumgarner sticks with that pitch as his primary breaking ball, considering how effective it was against the Mets. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the sppotlightHunter Pence: We love the hair and the beard and the scooter and the energy, but the dirty little secret is that Pence has been a lousy postseason hitter, even as the Giants won titles in 2012 and 2014.dddddddddddd Hes 2-for-12 this postseason, and in 36 playoff games with the Giants, hes hitting .264 with 2 home runs and 12 RBIs. -- ESPN.comWhat will decide tonights gameMadison Bumgarner threw his slider just 12 percent of the time in Wednesdays wild-card game, his lowest rate in a start since September of 2010, and Mets hitters didnt miss one of their swings against it. In two starts against the Cubs this season, he threw 36 percent sliders and hitters went 3-for-22 with 7 Ks in ABs ending in a Bumgarner slider (all singles and no hard-hit balls). -- ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?It seemed like the moment Bumgarner shut down the New York Mets in the wild-card game, and his teams matchup with the Cubs was set, everyone was penciling in a win in Game 3 for the Giants. It mattered little Bumgarner would be going up against Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta as baseball observers rightly saw the Cubs as a big underdog. They are, and theyll lose Game 3, not because Arrieta will blow up, but simply because the Giants have too much pride to get swept with their ace on the mound. -- Jesse RogersIf you want to be a pessimist, you could say that the Cubs are fortunate to be up 2-0, mostly because their big bats have yet to get going. Of course, that could also be looked at as reason for optimism. Still, the road to Valhalla is rocky and winding. (Or so Ive heard.) We dont know what were going to get out of Jake Arrieta these days, but with Madison Bumgarner, all you have to do is look at a calendar. Im going with San Francisco in this one. -- Bradford DoolittleLets not even rely entirely on Madison Bumgarner and his 23-inning scoreless streak in the postseason. Thats too easy. Lets start with Jake Arrieta, who hasnt been the same guy since mid-August, delivering a 4.74 ERA in his past eight starts. His last two in the playoffs last year werent so great either. He allowed 8 combined runs and didnt make it out of the sixth inning either time. Bumgarner is on regular rest coming off his shutout in the Wild Card Game in New York, and this time the noise will be for when the Giants do something good, not the Cubs. Arrieta will be better, but not good enough. Anthony Rizzo has done nothing in this series and he wont enjoy facing Bumgarner slinging it from the left side. The Giants will manage just enough offense to stay alive and extend the series to Tuesday. -- Mark SaxonWhere the series standsThe Giants need a gem from their ace, and then anything can happen. Game 4 would feature John Lackey versus Matt Moore, and then the Giants would go back to Johnny Cueto in Game 5. But can they scratch across enough runs to win three in a row? They have 17 hits in three playoff games so far (granted, theyve faced some tough pitchers). But win these two at home and the Cubs will have all the pressure in a Game 5 at Wrigley. -- Schoenfield ' ' '