defense couldnt make a stop.We

Andrew Luck against Aaron Rodgers.Two of the NFLs best quarterbacks will take center stage on Sunday at Lambeau Field, However, neither Lucks Colts nor Rodgers Packers have played to expectations at the seasons midpoint. Sundays game could be a turning point for the winner.Indianapolis is 3-5. After opening with back-to-back losses, its alternated wins and losses the next six weeks and is coming off a 30-14 home drubbing at the hands of the Chiefs.Weve played some good football, weve played some not-so-good football, coach Chuck Pagano said. Were more than capable. Theres plenty of video evidence there that shows that. Now, its just a matter of playing four quarters and being more consistent. Thats what were back on the practice field trying to do.Green Bay is 4-3. Its lost two of its last three games, with the lone win coming against Chicago, which played most of the game with its third-team quarterback.There is a feeling of optimism, however, for the injury-plagued Packers. They lost on a last-second touchdown at Atlanta last week despite not having their top two running backs (Eddie Lacy and James Starks), top three cornerbacks (Sam Shields, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins), two of their wide receivers (Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery), premier defender (Clay Matthews) and their primary tight end (Jared Cook).You look at the inactive last week, thats a pretty doggone good team thats sitting, and thats not even counting Eddie and Sam, who are on the IR, Rodgers said. Thats the way the league goes. Theres going to be years like this with a lot of injuries. Nobody feels sorry for you. Theres no excuses. Youve got to go out and play and make plays and find a way to win games, and thats one thing weve got to figure out these next nine games that weve got to win ballgames like that.Much of the optimism revolves around Rodgers. After an unproductive start to the season, Rodgers over the past two weeks ranks third in passer rating, second in completions and first in touchdown passes.Theyve got one of the greatest quarterbacks, if not the greatest quarterback, to ever play this game in Aaron Rodgers, Pagano said. The guys unbelievable. I dont let our guys look at numbers because you can just look at the stats and say, Theyre ranked this, that and the other. I just see a talented, talented football player whos as good as there is at that position in this league surrounded by a bunch of talent.Rodgers will face a Colts defense that has proven vulnerable against the pass. Indianapolis ranks 31st with 287.8 passing yards allowed per game. While former Packers linebacker Erik Walden has six sacks, the Colts just havent made enough plays defensively. Theyve allowed a 66.8 percent completion rate with 14 touchdowns vs. two interceptions.Some of the injuries, its made us be even a little bit more creative because weve had to come up with way to put guys in position to be successful, Rodgers said. Weve been a lot more efficient in the passing game the last couple weeks than we had before that.Based on the quarterbacks and secondaries, this could be a shootout. Luck is putting up monster numbers with 2,284 yards and 16 touchdowns. Hes topped 300 yards four times this season and will be attacking a Packers secondary riddled with questions. Even one of the Packers fill-in corners, Demetri Goodson, is hurt -- he missed Wednesdays practice with a concussion -- thought its possible Rollins will return after missing the last three games with an injured groin.Looking to exploit that banged-up secondary will be fleet-footed receiver T.Y. Hilton, who is sixth in the league with 46 receptions and fourth with 709 yards. However, the Colts must do a much better job of protecting Luck. Hes been sacked 31 times, including at least five in four games.It is frustrating when you dont play well, Luck said. Certainly, no ones pointing fingers. I think we all feel as an offense that we didnt hold up our end of the bargain. I know I dont feel like I held up my end of the bargain of being the quarterback for a team and giving us a chance to win. But now we go back to the drawing board and then go back out to practice and work on the mistakes and get ready to play a good Green Bay team. Certainly, theres a bit of frustration, but Coach Pagano does a great job of channeling I think everybodys energy in a positive way and moving on. Kris Russell Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cheap Edmonton Oilers Jerseys . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. http://www.cheapedmontonoilersjerseys.com/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Drake Caggiula Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cheap Oilers Jerseys Authentic . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Arkansas Rawleigh Williams wiggled through the line of scrimmage and then laid a vicious stiff arm on a Mississippi State defender before running toward the end zone.Near the end of his 42-yard dash for his second touchdown of the night he nearly broke into laughter -- one of the referees had tripped over his own feet and fallen along the sideline.I started laughing in my head, but then I looked up and said, `I need to score. That guys coming, Williams said.Just like the rest of the night, he made it with room to spare.Williams ran for a career-high 205 yards and four touchdowns -- and also threw for a touchdown -- to lead Arkansas over Mississippi State 58-42 on Saturday night.The Arkansas offense did just about anything it wanted against Mississippi State, gaining 661 total yards. The 5-foot-11, 203-pound Williams was easily the Razorbacks biggest star, running for touchdowns of 72, 42, 7 and 33 yards -- all in the first half.The holes were huge, Williams said with a wide grin. It just felt like I was running straight. I didnt have to do too much.Then to top off his big night, Williams took a handoff in the third quarter and stopped short of the line of scrimmage before jumping in the air and tossing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Austin Cantrell.Arkansas coach Bret Bielema enjoyed watching Williams touchdown pass, but it was the aforementioned stiff arm that really caught his attention.He played with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, Bielema said. Played with a purpose.Arkansas (7-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) broke a four-game losing streak to Mississippi State. Austin Allen completed 18 of 25 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns for the Razorbacks. Even Arkansass backup running back Devwah Whaley got in on the fun, running for 112 yards and a touchdown.dddddddddddd.Mississippi State (4-7, 2-5) had a big night on offense as well.Nick Fitzgerald ran for 131 yards and four touchdowns and also threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bulldogs could never hold the Razorbacks long enough to climb back into the game after falling into a 38-14 hole by halftime.Mississippi State receiver Fred Ross caught 10 passes for a career-high 171 yards and two touchdowns.But all those big numbers didnt matter because the Bulldogs defense couldnt make a stop.We missed tackles, had some bad fits, didnt execute clean, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. When you give up that many yards its not one thing. Its several things.THE TAKEAWAYArkansas: The Razorbacks have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the SEC this year, but this was definitely one of their better performances, especially on offense. Arkansas Williams had huge running holes all night long and took advantage.Mississippi State: Its the second straight week the Bulldogs have given up at least 50 points after losing to No. 1 Alabama 51-3 last weekend. The lopsided loss to the top-ranked Tide might be excusable, but this defensive disaster against the Razorbacks is much harder to explain.UP NEXTArkansas: The Razorbacks have a quick turnaround before playing at Missouri on Thanksgiving Day.Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have a road game against rival Mississippi in the Egg Bowl.-----More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '