MINNEAPOLIS -- The transition in head coaches at Minnesota from Jerry Kill to Tracy Claeys has been subtle, save for a contrast in personality and size.Claeys had one big target for change, though. The offensive line needed to be restored as a power. Road graders was the label he used to describe the type of players desired up front.Jonah Pirsig and the rest of the returners received the message after their 6-7 season a year ago.Offensive linemen have just really bought into the fact that we need to be bigger and we need to be stronger to kind of change the culture, the senior right tackle said, adding: Were only going to see good things from that.With junior college transfers Vincent Calhoun and Garrison Wright joining Pirsig in the starting five, the Gophers will be bigger. Obsessive work in the weight room over the winter and spring has drawn rave reviews, so the group is stronger. Will it be better?Theres no question that theyve made a lot of progress, Claeys said.In 2015, the Gophers were second-to-last in the Big Ten in scoring, third-to-last in yards and fourth-to-last in rushing. Claeys fired offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Limegrover, picking Jay Johnson and Bart Miller as dual replacements. The five up front, of course, will go a long way toward senior quarterback Mitch Leidners success.I know theyve outworked everybody in the entire country, as far as that goes, Leidner said. They straight grind.Here are some other key angles to follow for the Gophers:LEIDNERS HELPERSWith Shannon Brooks hobbled by a foot injury, Rodney Smith will take the lead at running back following a promising freshman year for both of them. Senior Drew Wolitarsky is the only proven wide receiver. Tight end Brandon Lingen, named a captain as a junior, will likely be Leidners go-to guy.Its been an incredible thing to try to help lead this team in maybe some different capacities than I wouldve before, Lingen said.SECONDARY SCRUTINYSpeedster Jalen Myrick, who was second on the team last season with three interceptions, will lead an inexperienced collection of cornerbacks with Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray in NFL camps. Safety Damarius Travis has returned for a fifth year after a hamstring injury in the 2015 opener led to a medical redshirt. Myrick and Travis will be counted to maintain the secondary as a team strength.One bonus for the defensive backs is that Jay Sawvel, their fiery former position coach, has replaced Claeys as defensive coordinator.Hes not only yelling at us, Travis said. Hes yelling at everybody.SEASON OPENERThe Gophers host Oregon State Sept. 1, their now-annual Thursday night lid-lifter. After kicking off last season with a 23-17 loss to TCU, ranked then No. 2 in the nation, the Gophers ought to have a smoother start. The Beavers finished 2-10 last year, including 0-9 in Pac-12 play, and allowed an average of 37 points per game that ranked 113th out of 127 FBS teams.KEY GAMESThe Big Ten opener at Penn State on Oct. 1 will be a big test, as will the Nov. 12 trip to Nebraska. For the Gophers, though, rare are the games more important than border-state rivals Iowa (home, Oct. 8) and Wisconsin (road, Nov. 26). The Hawkeyes are the defending Big Ten West Division champions, and the Badgers have beaten Minnesota 12 straight years. The Gophers have lost 10 consecutive games at Wisconsin since winning there in 1994.PREDICTIONBy trading TCU for Oregon State on the nonconference slate and swapping East Division crossover opponents Michigan and Ohio State for Maryland and Rutgers, the Gophers are set up for a significant jump from their 5-7 regular-season finish that got them to a bowl game only because there werent enough eligible FBS teams to fill the spots. An 8-4 record with a 5-4 mark in the Big Ten, now on a nine-game schedule, is a safe bet for 2016. Nine or 10 wins wouldnt be unrealistic, either. Hydro Flask Pas Cher France . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Bouteille Hydro Flask Pas Cher . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. http://www.hydroflaskbouteille.fr/bouchon-hydro-flask-outlet.html . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. Bouchon Hydro Flask . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Hydro Flask Pas Cher .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. INDIANAPOLIS -- Kyle Busch had a commanding lead wiped out with one ill-timed caution. He snagged it back just in time to extend his dominant run in the Nationwide Series -- and seal his latest win with a kiss. Busch was the newest driver to kiss the bricks, leading 92 of 100 laps Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He turned his baseball cap around, dropped to his hands and knees, and planted a big one on the bricks. Howd they taste? "Like bricks," he said. Busch even gave the bricks a celebratory slap. Not bad after a late scare off a restart dropped him to third with six laps left and nearly turned Brian Scott into the surprise winner. Busch fell back after some hard racing with Joey Logano that almost wiped out his near-flawless racing. But his No. 54 Toyota was the fastest car all day and he roared back to take the lead with three laps left. He won for the eighth time in 15 races this season. He took his usual bow before he grabbed the checkered flag. Then, off to the bricks. "Its Indianapolis. Its pretty awesome to be able to win here, whether you are driving Nationwide or Cup, sports cars, Formula One, MotoGP, anything," he said. "Its pretty cool, this place, with the history and all the automobiles that have raced on this surface and the surfaces before it. And all the fans who have been here over the years, its awesome." Crew chief Adam Stevens became choked up atop the pit box. Thats what winning at Indy can mean, even in the second-tier NASCAR series. It was the wave of emotion Scott wanted to feel. Scott, who has never won a Nationwide race in 128 starts, briefly took the lead and was in position to become the upset winner. He just couldnt hold off Busch. Few can in Nationwide. He has a record 59 Nationwide wins in 259 starts. "I should have won here last year but I messed up, I almost messed up again and gave it away," Bussch said.dddddddddddd. "I was able to persevere there to get it back. Such a great race car." Busch won from the pole and gave Toyota its first NASCAR win at Indianapolis and second ever at the track. Scott had a career-best second-place finish. Logano was third. Brian Vickers finished fourth and picked up a $100,000 bonus from series sponsor Nationwide as the highest finishing driver in the "Dash 4 Cash" program. Scott said he was "just praying" to pull away from Busch and reach Victory Lane. "I feel like he was able to get by me because I was a a little too cautious on corner entry," Scott said. "Id give anything to rewind, go back and be able to do it again. Its great to have a second-place finish, but its frustrating to be so close and have to sit there and watch the other team celebrate." Busch said he had "no friends" on the final restart following a debris caution when he got scraped by Logano. His easy ride turned into a hard, final push. "Brian got by me, and I had to go to work," Busch said. "Had to put the driver hat on to run him down and get back past him. He was doing a lot of blocking, running a line we dont usually run to take the air, which is what you are supposed to do." None of the top four drivers in points entering the race finished better than 12th. Sam Hornish Jr. had engine failure and finished 34th to lose his grip on the lead. He blamed debris in the grill for the blown engine. Austin Dillon was 12th but that was enough to grab the points lead. It was a big week for Dillon after he won the Truck Series race on the dirt at Eldora Speedway. "Wish we could have got a little bit more," Dillon said. "Weve got to have a better day than today to win the championship. Well keep fighting hard and hopefully were holding that Cup at the end of the year." ' ' '