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MINNEAPOLIS -- Adam Thielen caught a touchdown pass to cap Minnesotas opening drive and finished with a career-high 127 yards, and the Vikings defense flustered Brock Osweiler and the Houston Texans on their way to a 31-13 victory on Sunday.Marcus Sherels returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown and Cordarelle Patterson scored on another sharp throw by Sam Bradford, who produced another turnover-free game and deftly guided the Vikings (5-0) into their bye week.Brock Osweiler was overmatched by Minnesotas relentless rush and coverage, finishing 19 for 42 for 184 yards, one interception and a late touchdown pass while taking four sacks. The Texans (3-2) were denied on 12 of 13 third downs, unable or unwilling to do much other than dump off short passes. Lamar Miller only had eight carries for 20 yards during a dud of a performance by the Texans that felt a lot like the 27-0 loss at New England two weeks ago.With leading receiver Stefon Diggs out for the game with a groin injury, Thielen and Patterson capably stepped up for the Vikings. Whitney Mercilus had 1 1/2 sacks as Houston took advantage of a banged-up offensive line to plenty of pressure on Bradford, but with touchdowns on their first two drives the Vikings were in cruise control as they eagerly unleashed their defense again on another out-of-sync quarterback.Will Fuller wasnt targeted until the first play of the second half and had only one catch, a head-scratching fourth-and-16 call in the third quarter at the Vikings 39 that netted 4 yards on a screen play.RHODES (MOSTLY) CLOSEDAfter stifling Odell Beckham Jr. on Monday night in the win over the New York Giants, Minnesota cornerback Xavier Rhodes hounded Houstons DeAndre Hopkins. Rhodes was called for pass interference (34 yards) and holding (5 yards) to give the Texans their first two first downs during a second quarter drive that yielded a field goal, but Hopkins was held without a catch in the decisive first half.Hopkins finished with 56 yards and a touchdown on five receptions after the Texans went into catch-up mode.INJURIESTexans: SS Quinitin Demps (calf) and CB Johnathan Joseph (concussion) both left with injuries in the second quarter, removing two more starters from a secondary already without CB Kareem Jackson (hamstring). ... In the third quarter, LG Jeff Allen left with a concussion and backup TE Ryan Griffin hurt his neck making an awkward tackle following Andrew Sendejos interception for the Vikings. Backup LB Brian Peters (quadriceps) was also hurt. He surprisingly handled kickoffs rather than Nick Novak, who made two of three field goals.Vikings: RG Brandon Fusco (concussion) was forced out on the first drive of the game, replaced by Zac Kerin and leaving the OL without three starters. With Rhett Ellison and David Morgan already inactive with knee injuries, a third TE went down when MyCole Pruitt hurt his knee in the third quarter. ... Patterson hurt his hip in the second quarter and stopped returning kickoffs but was back on offense for the TD, his first from scrimmage since Oct. 19, 2014.UP NEXTTexans: Host Indianapolis next Sunday night.Vikings: Take a well-timed bye week, before playing at currently unbeaten Philadelphia on Oct. 23.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom Denis Potvin Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Cheap Islanders Jerseys . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. http://www.customislandersjersey.com/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Denis Potvin Jersey Large . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Custom Islanders Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Big games for sure. But must-wins? Far from it.If No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State are going to lose this season, this would be an excellent week to do so.During the brief history of the College Football Playoff, only two teams -- one each season -- have entered the semifinals unbeaten. So chances are, all the teams that look primed to make a playoff run, like the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes, will take a loss at some point.But heres the key for those contenders: Dont lose to a division rival, which could cost a chance to win the conference.Thats why this week is not a terrible to time for Alabama and Ohio State to stumble. Both are playing cross-division rivals on the road. The Tide go to No. 9 Tennessee and the Buckeyes are at No. 8 Wisconsin. Neither favorite would relinquish control of their division if they lost.The Tide could still roll through the SEC West and to Atlanta for the conference championship game. The Buckeyes could still go through Michigan to win the Big Ten East and move on to Indianapolis to play for a title.Last season, Ohio States only loss -- to East Division rival Michigan State -- kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship and the playoff. Alabama almost got itself into the same position by losing to Mississippi early in the season, but Florida and Arkansas gave the Tide the help it needed to win the conference by defeating the Rebels.So, Tide and Buckeyes fans, dont sweat Saturday.The picks:FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTSDuke (plus 35+) at No. 7 LouisvilleAnother Friday night of Lamar Action Jackson and the Cardinals ... LOUISVILLE 48-20.MARQUEE MATCHUPSNo. 1 Alabama (minus 13) at No. 9 TennesseeThe last time the Volunteers beat the Tide was 2006, the year before Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa ... ALABAMA 35-17.No. 2 Ohio State (minus 10) at No. 8 WisconsinThe Buckeyes have won seven of the last eight meetings, and the Badgers are going to try to pull an upset with one of the least productive offenses in the Big Ten ... OHIO STATE 28-16.No. 12 Mississippi (minus 8) at No. 22 ArkansasTwo of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in Chad Kelly and Austin Allen and two suspect defenses. Expect another wild one between the Rebels and Razorbacks ... MISSISSIPPI 42-38.CONFERENCE CALLSNorth Carolina State (plus 17+) at No. 3 ClemsonThe Wolfpack defense could use another rain storm ... CLEMSON 45-17, BEST BET.No. 10 Nebraska (minus 3+) at IndianaFirst meeting since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten. Last time they played was 1978, the final game of a four-year series that Nebraska swept by an average score of 47-10. This should be closer ... NEBRASKA 27-24.Kansas (plus 34) at No. 11 BaylorThe Jayhawkss are getting better.dddddddddddd Still a long way to go ... BAYLOR 55-17.Tulsa (plus 21+) at No. 13 HoustonGreg Ward Jr. and the Cougars bounce back at home ... HOUSTON 48-24.Wake Forest (plus 21) at No. 14 Florida StateAt 5-1, the Demon Deacons are already one of the biggest surprise teams in the country. Beating the `Noles would push it to another level ... FLORIDA STATE 38-13.Colorado State (plus 31+) at No. 15 Boise StateThe Broncos have won all five meetings by an average of 45-18 ... BOISE STATE 45-18.North Carolina (plus 9) at No. 16 MiamiThe ACC Coastal could shake out in the next few weeks with Miami facing the Tar Heels and then Virginia Tech ... MIAMI 35-31.No. 17 Virginia Tech (minus 19+) at SyracuseHokies QB Jerod Evans has thrown 15 touchdown passes and just one interception ... VIRGINIA TECH 38-21.Missouri (plus 14) at No. 18 FloridaThe Gators will have QB Luke Del Rio back from injury ... FLORIDA 31-13.Kansas State (plus 10+) at No. 19 OklahomaSooners WR Dede Westbrook has 390 yards receiving and five touchdowns in his last two games ... OKLAHOMA 42-17.No. 20 West Virginia (minus 1) at Texas TechThe Mountaineers are maybe the most overlooked unbeaten team in the country ... TEXAS TECH 45-41.No. 21 Utah (minus 9) at Oregon StateInjuries could leave the Utes leaning on a walk-on tailback this week ... UTAH 27-20.No. 24 Western Michigan (minus 11) at AkronThe Broncos have zero turnovers, which almost seems impossible through six games ... WESTERN MICHIGAN 35-28.TWITTER REQUESTSMississippi State (plus 7) at BYU, Friday -- (at)brianhadadThe Bulldogs string of six straight winning seasons, the most since the 1940s, is in jeopardy ... BYU 30-24.Stanford (plus 3) at Notre Dame -- (at)dvolpi88Two preseason top 10 teams trying to salvage what are quickly becoming lost seasons; possibly no Christian McCaffrey for Stanford ... NOTRE DAME 33-28.UCLA (plus 4+) at Washington State -- (at)dansjensenBruins QB Josh Rosen (wrist) is uncertain to play ... WASHINGTON STATE 28-24.Arizona State (plus 13) at Colorado (at)EvanMillsteinA pivotal game in the Pac-12 South, but arent they all in this muddled division? ... ARIZONA STATE 42-38, UPSET SPECIAL.Illinois (minus 6) at Rutgers -- (at)HodgeUMahThe loser gets the Big Ten basement all to itself ... RUTGERS 21-17.---Record: Last week 14-4 straight; 9-8-1 vs. points.Season: 89-29; 56-58-2.Upset specials: 2-4.Best bets: 1-5.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---More college football coverage at www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '