ERST LESEN! » rcher.ddddddddddddLewis Hill, defending

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- While North Carolinas record-setting offense commanded headlines, the Tar Heels defensive improvement from awful to merely adequate was a key factor in matching a school record with 11 wins.For defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, the next step for that unit is obvious entering the opener against Georgia and beyond.We have to get better at stopping the run, Chizik said, and we know that.Its easily the biggest focus for the Tar Heels defense in training camp. They ended last year by giving up nearly 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in their last two games against high-powered offenses, and finished last in the Atlantic Coast Conference against the run.It was not a recurring thing of any sort, Chizik said. Sometimes it was (game) situation. Sometimes it might have been a missed tackle. Sometimes it might have been a guy that wasnt placed correctly in his gap. I think those are all the kind of scenarios you would encounter when youre not playing the run as well as youd want to.After building elite defenses at Texas and Auburn before winning a national title as the Tigers head coach, Chizik added another line to his resume in his first year in Chapel Hill just by getting the Tar Heels to stop giving up big plays all over the field.North Carolina surrendered more points and yards than any team in school history in 2014, allowing 497.8 yards and 39 points per game while also surrendering 11 touchdowns of at least 40 yards. Chiziks overhaul cut those numbers to 24.5 points and 435.9 yards with just five 40-yard touchdowns for a bend-but-dont-break unit.The biggest improvement came against the pass, where the Tar Heels ranked 12th nationally in pass efficiency defense, while the rush defense finished 121st nationally by allowing 247.4 yards per game.Those numbers were skewed by the final two games, first when then-No. 1 Clemson ran for 319 yards in a 45-37 win. Then Baylor ran for 645 yards -- the most ever allowed by UNC -- and seven scores in a 49-38 win in the Russell Athletic Bowl.The Tar Heels had allowed about 198 yards in their eight ACC regular-season contests.We played at a good level, but we have to step it up and play great, linebacker Andre Smith said. So we cant just keep settling for that but we have to raise the bar.Chizik pointed to other factors, too, such as time-and-score situations that sometimes had UNC playing conservatively while protecting big leads. Of note: Miami ran for 91 of its 99 yards after falling behind 45-0 in the third quarter, while rival North Carolina State ran for 265 of its 308 yards after UNC rolled to a 35-7 first-quarter lead.The Tar Heels will get an immediate indication of whether theyve improved in 2016. Theyll face star Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb in his return from a knee injury in the Sept. 3 opener in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta.If they can get 80 yards down the field and cant score, its not a big deal to us, cornerback Des Lawrence said of stopping the run this season. The yards are what the media is interested in. We dont really care about that.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.org Orlando Brown Jr. Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Corey Harris Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. http://www.customravensjersey.com/custom-jermaine-lewis-jersey-large-583d.html . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Earnest Byner Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. James Hurst Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Sussex 182 for 7 (Nash 65, Dexter 5-41) lead Leicestershire 135 (Dexter 52, Magoffin 5-50, Archer 4-31) by 47 runsScorecard A green pitch and humid conditions saw wickets tumble on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two match between Leicestershire and Sussex at the Fischer County Ground. After dismissing Leicestershire for 135, Sussex finished the day in front on 182 for 7, despite Neil Dexter following Steve Magoffin in taking a five-for.Sussex captain Ben Brown cannot have thought too long and hard before deciding to exercise the away teams right to bowl first, and was immediately rewarded when the first delivery of the match, bowled by Magoffin, seamed back and took the inside edge of Paul Hortons bat before being caught by Brown behind the stumps.Magoffin and Ollie Robinson continued to beat the bat regularly, but Angus Robson and Dexter added 55 for the second wicket before Robson, on 18, left a delivery from Jofra Archer which both seamed back in and stayed low before knocking off and middle stumps out of the ground. Magoffin, playing his 150th first-class game, then removed Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove with a well-pitched up delivery which swung back in and trapped the left-hander leg before.Dexter fought his way through until lunch in the company of Mark Pettini, but after the break Leicestershire lost their last seven wickets in adding just 45 runs. Archer bowled Pettini with a beauty, the ball nipping back to hit to the top of off-stump, and soon after going to his 50 with an expansive cover drive, an attempt to repeat the shot saw Dexters off stump uprooted by Archer.ddddddddddddLewis Hill, defending on the back foot, played on to Magoffin, who quickly made it five for the innings by having Clint McKay caught at first slip and bowling Zak Chappell with a ball that seamed back in. Raine edged a brute of a delivery from Archer, and Eckersley, looking to force the pace, gave mid-on a simple catch off a leading edge.When Sussex began their reply, Chris Nash and Ed Joyce, both of whom have already passed 1000 runs in the Championship this season, compiled an opening partnership of 82 before Joyce was bowled by Charlie Shreck, an inswinger clipping the top of the left-handers off-stump.Nash went to his 50, his eighth of the season, before a late decision to leave a Dexter delivery saw the ball clip the bat and cannon on to the stumps. Luke Wells was drawn into an attempted drive and edged Shreck to wicketkeeper Eckersley, and Dexter, pitching the ball up and swinging it away from the right-handers, went on to complete his first five wicket haul for Leicestershire, having Craig Cachopa and Fynn Hudson-Prentice caught behind, and Phil Salt and David Wiese leg before to keep his side in the game. ' ' '