Winning the Pacific-12 Conference is nothing new for the Stanford football team. After all, the Cardinal has won three of the past four Pac-12 titles under David Shaw, entering his sixth season.But getting the preseason nod as the favorite? Thats a first for this regime.Amid those expectations, No. 8 Stanford opens its season against Kansas State on Friday night at Stanford Stadium.This is hardly a slam-dunk opening victory, but it does figure to be the easiest game of a brutal first half of the season for the Cardinal, which returns Heisman runner-up running back Christian McCaffrey but is breaking in only its third starting quarterback since 2009.Redshirt junior Ryan Burns won the job in camp, following in the footsteps of Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan. But Burns, who has thrown one collegiate pass, isnt a lock to keep the job. Sophomore Keller Chryst competed well enough in camp to get a look, too.Keller Chryst will play as well, Shaw said. Were going to play both guys and try to win a game. There hasnt been a huge separation between the two. Both guys have played extremely well. Ryan has been enough ahead to get the nod.Kansas State, which was 6-7 last year in an injury-riddled campaign, welcomes back quarterback Jesse Ertz, who suffered a torn ACL on the teams first snap last season. Ertz, who should be active in the run game, beat out Joe Hubener and Alex Delton in fall camp to reclaim his starting job.One day youd say this guy lit it up and the next day it was somebody else, said Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who has 193 wins with the Wildcats, the most of any FBS coach at his current school.It was very competitive, and Jesse pulled himself away probably in the last four days of being able to have greater consistency on the practice field.The Friday night will be a good spotlight for McCaffrey in advance of a full holiday weekend of great college football matchups. McCaffrey had 20-plus touches in every game last season except the season-opening loss to Northwestern (17). Hell get all the work he can handle this week with speedy sophomore backup Bryce Love out with an undisclosed injury.Love is likely to return after the bye week for Stanfords trip to Southern Cal.With 3,864 all-purpose yards last season, McCaffrey shattered the 27-year-old NCAA single-season record of 3,250, set by Oklahoma State legend Barry Sanders. McCaffrey had 2,019 rushing yards, 645 receiving yards, and he picked up the rest of his yardage on kick and punt returns.Hes the best player in the country and well continue to challenge him, Shaw said. We know he can handle it.Stanfords bread-and-butter is its power running game, but the offense has ample speed in McCaffrey and receivers Michael Rector, Trent Irwin and Francis Owusu.Kansas States defense allowed 452.2 yards and 31.5 points per game last season, when young players gained experience as injury fill-ins. A veteran coming back is senior safety Dante Barnett, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the 2015 opener.This is the first meeting between Stanford and Kansas State.After this, the Cardinal plays No. 20 USC, at No. 16 UCLA, at No. 14 Washington, Washington State and at No. 10 Notre Dame. It wont be easy for Stanford to replicate its 12-2 record of a season ago. We have a chance to be good, Shaw said. How good, you never know. Fake Jerseys 2019 . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Fake Soccer Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. http://www.fakejersey.com/fake-basketball-jerseys/ . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Fake NHL Jerseys . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Fake Jerseys . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short says he is willing to play under the final year of his rookie contract if a long-term extension cant be reached before the end of training camp.Its not about the contract, the 2013 second-round pick said on Wednesday after reporting to training camp at Wofford College. I started up with this team and I love the Carolina Panthers. I love the organization. Hopefully, things will get done.Short, who tied Cincinnatis Geno Atkins for the most sacks (11) by a defensive tackle last season, is scheduled to make just over $1 million this season.Based on recent extensions by Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, the going rate for a player of Shorts caliber is $17.2 million a year.The Panthers are believed to be offering Short somewhere between $13 and $15 million a year.Short smiled when asked about the Cox and Wilkerson deals.Just to see those guys rewarded like that, its a blessing, he said. Those guys have been working hard. They deserved it. Im happy to see they got it.Asked if he considered himself along the same caliber as Cox and Wilkerson, Short said, Im working to that level.Short reported for a three-day minicamp in June and never hedged on reporting to training camp.dddddddddddd He sat out two weeks of non-mandatory workouts, his only leverage in negotiations.Its a process, said Short, the first time hes discussed his situation since skipping organized team activities. Weve got to go through it. Im just here to play football now.Asked whether this put him in an uncomfortable situation, Short said: Uncomfortable? Its a good uncomfortable. You want to be in this position, but you also want to get things done. Its going to take time, and Im patient.A year ago, cornerback Josh Norman turned down a long-term extension when the Panthers didnt offer a deal to his liking. He said during training camp he was betting on himself.Norman made the Pro Bowl, then had the franchise tag placed on him when a deal couldnt be made after the Super Bowl. The Panthers later rescinded the tag, and Norman signed with the Washington Redskins.Short wouldnt go so far as to say he was betting on himself.Thats a whole different guy. Thats a whole different character, he said of Norman. I cant really put myself in his shoes and what he went through. Everybody is different. I wouldnt say. ' ' '