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PARAMUS, N.J. -- The last player to win back-to-back majors in the same season didnt even make it to the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. "Thats not going to happen," said Rory McIlroy, with a smile. Hes correct, based on simple math. Padraig Harrington won the British Open and PGA Championship in 2008, and just his bad luck, the FedEx Cup was restructured that year in an attempt to create more volatility in the playoff events. It rewarded mediocrity instead. Harrington began the playoffs by missing two straight cuts and soon was eliminated. The system in place the last five years doesnt allow for that. McIlroy is the No. 1 seed when the playoffs get started Thursday at The Barclays, and he is assured of reaching the Tour Championship. But his hopes of cashing in on the $10 million prize are based more on form than a calculator. The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland is coming off three straight victories, and they were big ones -- the British Open, a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship. He is No. 1 in the world and starting to separate himself from the rest of golf. And hes not interested in getting off this amazing run. "I could just say, Look, Ive had a great year, its been an awesome summer. Im going to just see what happens for the next few weeks and not really work hard," McIlroy said Wednesday. "But I want to finish the season well. I want to be up there in contention week in and week out. I feel like the season I had deserves a finish like that. So Im going to just grind it out every week that I can until I get a bit of a break after the Ryder Cup." Now that the majors are done for the year, the FedEx Cup presents the best four-week stretch in golf -- four tournaments with the best players from the worlds strongest tour competing for a shot at the richest bonus in golf. The Barclays has one of the strongest fields of the year, even though a few players are noticeable by their absence. Tiger Woods was in town this week, but only for corporate work with McIlroy. Woods missed three months of the season recovering from back surgery and hurt his back again in only his third tournament back. He didnt come close to finishing among the top 125 who qualified for the playoffs. Dustin Johnson is No. 6, though he is taking a "voluntary leave" to seek professional help for "personal challenges." Jason Dufner is No. 57, though he is out indefinitely with a neck injury. Steve Stricker is at No. 103 and withdrew because of a hip injury that will turn his part-time schedule into no schedule at all for the next few months. Stricker was a long shot to make the Tour Championship, though this ends his streak of playing in every Tour Championship since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Phil Mickelson (No. 45) and Hunter Mahan (No. 62) are the others who have made it to East Lake each of the last seven years. As good as McIlroy has been, the playoffs offer no guarantees. The $10 million bonus is based largely on who performs well in the Tour Championship, no matter what theyve done all year or even in the three weeks leading up to it. McIlroy learned that the hard way in 2012, when he was coming off a PGA Championship victory and won back-to-back playoff events. He tied for 10th in the Tour Championship, which Brandt Snedeker won to capture the cup. He doesnt seem to mind. "I still got $3 million for second," McIlroy said. "It is volatile, but it creates excitement at the end of the season when previously there wasnt much excitement. So I dont mind how its loaded. Just means you have to play well right until the end." He has been playing nothing short of great for the last month. "What Rory has done is phenomenal and worthy of all the attention he gets," Adam Scott said. "And I think hes the rightful No. 1 golfer in the world at the moment." Scott is the defending champion at The Barclays, winning a year ago at Liberty National. The Barclays returns to Ridgewood Country Club, a classic course that figures to be a stronger test than what players faced at Valhalla two weeks ago in the final major of the year. The rough is so thick in spots that Jimmy Walker said he nearly couldnt find his golf ball during the pro-am Wednesday just a few paces off the fairway. McIlroy will play the opening two rounds with Walker and Masters champion Bubba Watson, the top three players in the FedEx Cup. The long shot is Robert Allenby, who got the 125th spot by a single point and will need a solid week just to keep playing. The top 100 in the FedEx Cup after The Barclays advance to the second round of the playoffs next week at the TPC Boston. Sheldon Richardson Vikings Jersey . 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You can watch the game live starting at 5pm et/2pm pt on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5. A spot opposite either Ohio State or Alabama in the College Football Championship Game on Jan. 12 awaits the winner of this highly anticipated matchup. Jimbo Fishers Seminoles are the defending national champions and all they have done is win 29 straight games since 2012. Florida State ran the table in 2013 en route to the national title and is in prime position to make it two years in a row, after going 13-0 in 2014, with yet another ACC crown under its belt. The teams success over the last two years has fortified Fishers status as one of the nations premier coaches. He was recently rewarded for his efforts with an eight-year contract extension through 2022. Florida State is a very special place, Fisher said. I appreciate the support of the administration in accomplishing some great things. ... I look forward to continuing to build on what we are establishing. Florida State is 27-14-2 all-time in the postseason, and has won six straight bowl games, including last years thrilling 34-31 win over Auburn in the BCS Championship Game. Mark Helfrichs Ducks have just one blemish on the season and that came early on against a tough Arizona squad, 31-24 on Oct. 2. Since then, the team has reeled off eight straight victories, including exacting sweet revenge on those Wildcats, routing Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game (51-13) to solidify its spot in the four-team playoff. Oregon is 12-15 all-time in bowl games and has won three straight postseason bouts, including last years 30-7 drubbing of Texas in the Alamo Bowl. This marks OUs seventh appearance in the Rose Bowl, with the team sporting a mere 2-4 record in the event all-time. This is the first time these two teams have met on the football field. Winning pretty is not a prerequisite to playing for a national championship these days and thats a good thing, because FSU has not done a lot of that in 2014. Still, the teams offensive success, especially in crucial times, has driven it to its current standing and last years Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston has been the main reason why. Despite a ton of off-the-field distractions that may haunt Winston into his NFL career, there have been very few on-the-field issues, as the redshirt sophomore has produced, especially in crunch time. Winston has completed an efficient 65.4 percent of his passes in 2014, for 3,559 yards and 24 TDs. While his 17 interceptions have seemed problematic, he has come up big at the right time and kept FSUs win streak alive. It certainly helps to have a pair or receiving outlets like WR Rashad Greene and TE Nick OLeary to count on. Greene, FSUs all-time leading receiver, had another hugely productive year, hauling in 93 balls, for 1,306 yards and seven TDs. OLeary, a First-Team All-American, took home the Mackey Award as the nations top tight end after catching 47 balls, for 614 yards and six scores. Karlos Williams was supposed to have a monster year for FSU on the ground, but instead posted modest numbers with 609 yards and 10 TDs on 4.4 yards per carry. What it did do however, is allow freshman Dalvin Cook to get on the field. The 6-0, 200-pound youngster averageed nearly six yards per carry and finished with a team-high 905 yards, with eight TDs.dddddddddddd Of course, the offensive success is made possible by one of the nations premier offensive lines, anchored by First-Team All-American guard Tre Jackson. Special teams has played an important role as well, headlined by First-Team All-American place kicker Roberto Aguayo. FSUs defense has taken a step back from last years fearsome group, with the team allowing 378.3 yards per game on 5.3 yards per play. The Noles were able to force timely turnovers with 24 on the season, but there was really no dominant upfield rusher to speak of, as Florida State finished with just 17 sacks in 12 games. Still, there are playmakers at each level of the defense, starting with linebackers Reggie Northrup and Terrance Smith. Northrup led the team in total tackles with 113 stops, while adding one INT, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Smith was second on the team with 85 stops and two forced fumbles. The secondary is highlighted by NFL-caliber cover corner P.J. Williams (60 tackles, 1 INT), while up front, the pressure comes from Mario Edwards Jr. (44 tackles, 11 TFL, 3 sacks) and Eddie Goldman (35 tackles, 8 TFL, 4 sacks). The Seminoles will need to be focused defensively for a full 60 minutes, as Helfrich is sure to cut star quarterback Marcus Mariota loose. The junior signal caller ran away with the Heisman Trophy this season, capping off the most celebrated individual season in Oregon history. He was OUs first-ever Heisman winner and took home three other national player of the year honors, along with two QB awards Mariota completed nearly 70 percent of his passes in 2014 (.683), for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns. Of his 372 throws this season, only two were intercepted. He also found time to finish second on the team in rushing with 669 yards and an additional 14 scores. While Mariota was the face of the offense, there were plenty of other strong seasons by the Ducks. Tailback Royce Freeman rumbled for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading a ground game that churned out 237.3 yards per game. In the passing game, Mariotas favorite targets have been Byron Marshall (621 receptions, 814 yards, 5 TDs) and Devon Allen (41 receptions, 684 yards, 7 TDs), although Dwayne Stanford (37 rec, 557 yds, 6 TDs) and Pharoah Brown (25 rec, 420 yds, 6 TDs) had great success as well. The Ducks werent the best defense around this season, giving up 413.8 yards per game, but a lot of that yardage came in garbage time with the outcome having already been determined most weeks. With 34 sacks and 24 takeaways, Oregon was still a dangerous unit with big-play ability. Some of that playmaking status has been lost with the recent knee injury suffered by star cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, but others can step up and fill the void in the postseason. Erick Dargen comes to mind, as the senior defensive back proved to be a ball- hawk this season with a team-best 82 tackles, six interceptions and one forced fumble. Other Oregon defenders of note include senior linebacker Tony Washington (49 tackles, 10 TFL, 5 sacks) and junior linebacker Christian French (22 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks). Helfrich is certainly impressed with what Florida State has been able to accomplish over the last two years. It just doesnt happen, Helfrich said. Its so difficult to have everyone focused for seven days in a row. When you get to 29 weeks, thats extremely, extremely impressive. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '