tial has netted three goals in his last four appearances for Unite

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Even though Virginia Tech in the midst of a conference championship race, Notre Dame with its losing record has more at stake when they face the Hokies for the first time.The Fighting Irish (4-6) need to win their final two games to become bowl eligible and avoid becoming just the 14th team in 128 years of Notre Dame football to post a losing record. For Virginia Tech (7-3), the game has no bearing on its bid to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division.Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer said avoiding the stigma of a losing season is a motivating factor in the final two games against the Hokies and USC.Six and six is a big feat to get to rather than being 5-7. We want to be a team who continues on a winning tradition at Notre Dame, he said.Coach Brian Kelly believes Notre Dames 44-6 victory over Army last week was its most complete game this season. He wants to see the Irish build on that.I want to make sure that how we play is going to be reflective of where we finish and how we build that for next year, he said.The Hokies are coming off a disappointing 30-20 loss to Georgia Tech, so now must beat rival Virginia to clinch the division title. Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said the focus this week is on continuing to improve.This is an ongoing process and its not always a straight ascension. This is a great opportunity and comes at a good time for us to go on the road and play a very talented team in what Im sure will be a hostile environment, he said.Other things to know about the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game:NOT AN OPTIONThe defenses for both teams are happy to be returning to playing against more traditional offenses after facing triple option opponents. The Hokies played Georgia Tech, while the Irish faced Navy and Army in consecutive weeks. Its like a monkey off your back, Notre Dame linebacker Nyles Morgan said. Its back to basics.BALL SECURITYIt has been an issue in all of the Hokies losses. Jerod Evans threw two interceptions in last weeks loss to Georgia Tech, doubling his total for the season, and also fumbled. He still ranks fifth among all Power Five conference quarterbacks in efficiency, and the Hokies are tough to beat when they take care of the ball. Notre Dames loss to Navy two weeks ago marked just the second time under Kelly that the Irish lost when not committing a turnover.NO STREAKSIf Notre Dame fails to win Saturday it would mark the first season without consecutive victories since 1960. The Hokies are trying to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since losing to Miami and to Duke in four overtimes in October 2015.DEFENSIVE SETBACKVirginia Tech allowed the Yellow Jackets to rush for 309 yards last week, but they have been stronger against the run in other games, allowing 144 yards on average. Thats 40th nationally. They rank 14th against the pass, allowing 185 passing yards per game.POOR RATINGSThe Army-Notre Dame game last week was the lowest-rated game in 26 seasons of NBC broadcasting Fighting Irish football games. The game averaged 1.52 million viewers. The previous low was against Air Force on Oct. 8, 2011, in a broadcast that averaged 1.59 million viewers. Notre Dame is averaging 2.89 million viewers this season, down 9 percent from last year.---AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . 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. NFL Jerseys China . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. http://www.cheapjerseyschinanba.com/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Wholesale NBA Jerseys Free Shipping .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout.Jan Vertonghen could return to Tottenhams defence as they host Manchester United on Super Sunday. The defender, who has been out for three months, may take his place alongside Toby Alderweireld as they look to get their title bid back on track.Tottenham dropped points at Liverpool last week, and will need a win at White Hart Lane on Super Sunday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD to keep the pressure up on Leicester. United, meanwhile, head into the weekend with their top-four hopes very much alive following impressive back-to-back wins over Manchester City and Everton. Harry Kane and Matteo Darmian compete for the ball during match at Old Trafford Team newsVertonghen is fit again and could start if boss Mauricio Pochettino selects the Belgian over the in-form Kevin Wimmer.Clinton Njie has also recovered from a knee problem and has returned to full training while Erik Lamela is back after shaking off a knock. Nabil Bentaleb (knee), however, is out.Wayne Rooney will not be ready to return for Manchester United despite returning to training. The 30-year-old will step up his rehabilitation from a knee injury by playing for Uniteds Under-21s on Monday and is joined on the sidelines this weekend by Adnan Januzaj.Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee), Luke Shaw (leg) and Will Keane (groin) are others absent at White Hart Lane, where Ashley Young and Phil Jones could get their first minutes since returning from injury Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping for a big win Opta statsManchester United have now won back-to-back Premier League games against Spurs, after a five game winless run (D3 L2). They last won three in a row against them in 2010 (a run of four).Mauricio Pochettinos Spurs are yet to score against Manchester United in three meetings.Manchester United havent lost any of the last 14 Premier League games against Spurs at White Hart Lane, but have drawn six of the last eight (W8 D6).Tottenhams last home win over Manchester United in the league came on the final day of the 2000/01 season when Glenn Hoddle was managing them. Louis van Gaals top-four hopes are very much alive Harry Kane has netted a league-high 22 goals this season in the top-flight, more than any other Tottenham player has ever managed in a single Premier League campaign.ddddddddddddFrench striker Anthony Martial has netted three goals in his last four appearances for United in all competitions, while he is now their top scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals.Manchester United have bagged just 39 goals in their 31 league games this season; they last netted fewer at this stage of a top-flight campaign in 1989/90 (37).Since making his Premier League debut in September 2013, Christian Eriksen has created 250 goal-scoring chances for team-mates, a haul only Mesut Ozil (266) can better in that timeframe. Anthony Martial has netted three goals in his last four appearances for United in all competitions Mersons predictionsBoth teams have got to win this. Its getting to that part of the season where its good because draws are no good to anybody, but I dont see anything other than a Tottenham win.Tottenham are a very good team and I expect them to keep the pressure on Leicester. They did very well when they had to play catch up with Bournemouth and beat them quite convincingly. If Leicester dont win then its a bonus.If Leicester do win, I think that will be it. Even if Tottenham also pick up three points, theyd still be seven points behind with five games to go, so for me, this weekend is the big weekend.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1 (Sky Bet odds 14/1)BettingTottenham are 10/11 favourites with Sky Bet to maintain their title challenge with all three points against Manchester United (16/5). Spurs remain 11/2 second favourites to win the title while United are 13/8 to grab a top four finish. Four of the last six meetings between the two have ended in draws and its 12/5 for that trend to continue. Two of the last three have finished in score draws and a draw with both teams scoring is available at 7/2. All the Sky sports pundits are unanimous in their support of the hosts and have all tipped up a 2-1 win with Harry Kane netting the opener at odds of 20/1.Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-SideTottenham v Manchester United is this weekends Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side fixture, with £10,000 to be won again by the top-scoring team.All you have to do is select six players, including one Elite Player, along with a Power Play period and a golden goal to be in with the chance of winning the jackpot. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford and Daley Blind are this weekends Elite Players.Pick your Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side team here. ' ' '