Taulupe Faletau could make his return from injury this Friday, after he was released from the Wales squad to prepare for Baths West Country derby against Bristol.Faletau has not played since injuring his knee less than 12 minutes into his Bath debut, against Northampton, on the opening weekend of the Aviva Premiership season.The No. 8 had been expected to be sidelined for eight weeks, but was named in interim Wales head coach Rob Howleys autumn squad, and has continued his rehabilitation at their training base.He will now return to Bath as Todd Blackadders side prepare for the Premiership clash against the leagues basement club. A successful run out could see him force his way into contention for Wales final autumn Test against South Africa, a week on Saturday.Taulupe has progressed excellently with his recovery and he has been released back to Bath this week to prepare for their game against Bristol on Friday night, Howley said.We have a good working relationship with Bath and our medical team, led by Prav [Mathema], have been working closely and in unison with the team at Bath and it is pleasing that Taulupe is in line to make his return for them this week and will link back up with us on Monday. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Adidas Shoes Nz Sale . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.adidasshoesdiscountnz.com/ . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Womens Adidas Nz . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Adidas Clearance Nz .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Nick Saban is on the verge of another milestone victory, another number that shows just how dominant his teams have been at Alabama.A victory by the Crimson Tide against Mississippi State on Saturday in Tuscaloosa would be Sabans 40th when Alabama is ranked No. 1, matching Bobby Bowden and Woody Hayes for the most wins coaching an AP No. 1 team.Saban is currently 39-5 in games when the Tide is No. 1. Bowden was 40-5 with Florida State as No. 1. Hayes went 40-6 with Ohio State. The difference? Bowden coached Florida State for 34 seasons. Hayes was at Ohio State for 28 years. Saban is in his 10th season with the Crimson Tide.Alabama has been ranked No. 1 in 33 percent of its 132 games coached by Saban. Florida State was No. 1 in 10.8 percent of the 417 games Bowden coaches. Ohio State was No. 1 in 16.7 percent of the 276 games Hayes coached.One more note on Alabama: The Crimson Tides game against Mississippi State will be its first against an unranked opponent since Oct. 1 versus Kentucky. Alabama became just the third top-ranked team to play and win four consecutive games against ranked opponents when it beat LSU last week.In 1943, No. 1 Notre Dame played ranked opponents in four straight games and beat them all. In 2001, No. 1 Miami had a four-game winning streak against ranked opponents over a five-week span that included an open date.The picks:THURSDAY NIGHT THROWDOWNSNo. 15 North Carolina (minus 10+) at DukeThe Blue Devils need to win out to reach six wins and bowl eligibility, but the path is tough (at Pitt and at Miami after this week) ... NORTH CAROLINA 38-30.No. 13 Utah (minus 5) at Arizona StateThe Utes hoped QB Troy Williams would give them more offensive balance this season, but he is ninth in the Pac-12 in passer efficiency rating (123.19) and has thrown only nine TD passes ... UTAH 24-21.FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTSBoston College (plus 21) at No. 20 Florida StateJust when it looked as if Seminoles RB Dalvin Cook was going to make a late Heisman push, he ran for 65 yards on 18 carries last week against N.C. State ... FLORIDA STATE 38-10, BEST BET.PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONSMississippi State (plus 30) at No. 1 AlabamaMatchup of the top two rushing quarterbacks in the SEC; the Bulldogs Nick Fitzgerald has 839 yards and eight touchdowns and the Tides Jalen Hurts has 635 yards and 10 scores. .... ALABAMA 35-14.No. 2 Michigan (minus 22) at IowaThe Wolverines first road game against a team with a conference victory ... MICHIGAN 31-13.Pittsburgh (plus 21) at No. 3 ClemsonThe Panthers pass defense has been a major issue all season -- and now here comes Deshaun Watson ... CLEMSON 42-17.Southern California (plus 9) at No. 4 WashingtonThe Trojans have won five straight since a tough start to the season and have scored at least 41 points in four of the games ... WASHINGTON 35-28.Wake Forest (plus 34+) at No. 5 LouisvilleCardinals QB Lamar Jackson is 247 yards passing away from becoming the eighth FBS player with at least 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing ... LOUISVILLE 45-7.No. 6 Ohio State (minus 29) at MarylandThe Terps are coming off a blowout at Michigan and it is unclear how much QB Perry Hills (shoulder) will be able to play ... OHIO STATE 42-17.CONFERENCE CALLSIllinois (plus 266) at No.dddddddddddd. 7 WisconsinThe Badgers have allowed five touchdown passes, tied for the second fewest in the FBS ... WISCONSIN 31-7.No. 8 Auburn (minus 10+) at GeorgiaNo SEC team throws fewer passes per game than Auburn at 22.3 ... AUBURN 28-20.No. 25 Baylor (plus 15) at No. 9 OklahomaThe Bears are trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2012 ... OKLAHOMA 52-28.Mississippi (plus 10) at No. 10 Texas A&MMatchup of backup quarterbacks after injuries ... TEXAS A&M 35-23.No. 11 West Virginia (plus 2) at TexasThe Longhorns have the second most rushing touchdowns in the Big 12 with 24; the Mountaineers have allowed the fewest rushing TDs in the Big 12 with seven ... TEXAS 31-27.No. 12 Penn State (minus 7) at IndianaThe Hoosiers are 1-18 against the Nittany Lions since Penn State joined the Big Ten ... INDIANA 28-24.No. 16 Colorado (minus 16) at ArizonaThe Wildcats have lost six straight and havent lost seven in a row since 2004 ... COLORADO 31-13.Texas Tech (plus 13) at No. 17 Oklahoma StateBetter budget some time for this one: Red Raiders QB Patrick Mahomes and Cowboys QB Mason Rudolph combine to average 764 yards passing per game ... OKLAHOMA STATE 49-35.Georgia Tech (plus 15) at No. 18 Virginia TechSeven of the last eight meetings have been one-score games, and the Hokies have won five of them ... VIRGINIA TECH 28-21.No. 19 LSU (minus 3) at ArkansasAfter facing Alabama, Leonard Fournette gets a crack at the worst run defense in the SEC ... LSU 33-24.Minnesota (plus 8) at No. 21 NebraskaThe Cornhuskers are hoping to get QB Tommy Armstrong (concussion) back for what amounts to an elimination game in the Big Ten West ... MINNESOTA 27-23, UPSET SPECIAL.South Carolina (plus 11+) at No. 22 FloridaThe Gamecocks could win the SEC East at 4-4 with some help ... SOUTH CAROLINA 17-14.California (plus 15) at No. 23 Washington StateThe Bears have won 10 of 11 meetings ... WASHINGTON STATE 52-21.No. 24 Boise State (minus 17+) at HawaiiThe Broncos have won the last five meetings by a combined 45-7 ... BOISE STATE 35-14.TWITTER REQUESTSAppalachian State (plus 1) at Troy (at)matthewepleyTwo of the three Sun Belt teams, along with Arkansas State, that are undefeated in conference ... APPALACHIAN STATE 27-24.Kentucky (plus 13+) at Tennessee -- (at)WClark840WHASInstead of trying to determine a winner in the SEC East, maybe they should all join forces to face the West champion in Atlanta ... TENNESSEE 27-21.Rutgers (plus 13+) at Michigan State -- (at)jamdraperAn unexpected battle for last place in the Big Ten East. At least it was unexpected for the Spartans ... MICHIGAN STATE 28-14.Stanford (minus 3) at Oregon -- (at)sylviosoThe Cardinal and Ducks have combined to win the last seven Pac-12 championships, but this years meeting is mostly about whether Oregon coach Mark Helfrich can manage to keep his job ... STANFORD 37-33.---Record: Last week 20-5 straight; 10-15 vs. points.Season: 149-57; 93-108-3.Upset specials: 3-7.Best bets: 1-9.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---APs college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '