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1B Sports Tehama Tracker Saturday���s games Weekend Dec. 29-30, 2012 ARMED FORCES BOWL at FORT WORTH, TEXAS Rice ESPN Air Force 8:45 a.m. PINSTRIPE BOWL at NEW YORK West Virginia Syracuse ESPN 12:15 p.m. KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL at SAN FRANCISCO Navy ESPN2 Arizona State 1 p.m. ALAMO BOWL at SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Texas ESPN Oregon State 3:45 p.m. BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL at TEMPE, ARIZ. TCU ESPN Michigan State 7:15 p.m. NBA Boston CSNB Warriors 7:30 p.m. Sunday���s games NFL Arizona FOX 49ers 1:25 p.m. Raiders CBS San Diego 1:25 p.m. NBA Boston CSNC Kings 6 p.m. Monday���s games MUSIC CITY BOWL at NASHVILLE, TENN. N.C. State ESPN Vanderbilt 9 A.M. at EL PASO, TEXAS Georgia Tech CBS 11 a.m. LIBERTY BOWL at MEMPHIS, TENN. Iowa State Tulsa ESPN 12:30 p.m. CHICK-FIL-A BOWL at ATLANTA LSU Clemson SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ��� Just two months ago, the San Francisco 49ers grabbed control of the NFC West from the Arizona Cardinals behind Alex Smith's near perfect performance on a Monday night in the desert. Oh, how much has changed since. The slow and steady Smith has been replaced by Colin Kaepernick, a high-risk, high-reward quarterback who coach Jim Harbaugh is counting on to lead the suddenly fragile 49ers (10-4-1) deep into the playoffs. The Cardinals (5-10) are on their fourth starting quarterback in Brian Hoyer and have lost 10 of 11 games to put coach Ken Whisenhunt's job in jeopardy. One team is headed to the postseason, the other for a head start on the NFL draft. The only question left is where each will be seeded for their final destinations. San Francisco can clinch its second straight division title and keep its shot at a first-round bye alive in Sunday's regular-season finale against Arizona at Candlestick Park. The once promising Cardinals are 60 minutes away beginning another offseason of upheaval. "Sometimes in a game like this, anything goes," Harbaugh said. "Their mindset will be to win the game. So you have to be ready. You have to be alert for just about anything." At the very least, last week should've reminded the 49ers of that much. San Francisco's 42-13 shellacking in Seattle handed Harbaugh the worst loss of his NFL coaching career. It showed how flimsy the 49ers and their second-ranked defense can be without Justin Smith, the versatile lineman whose streak of 185 games ended with what the team has called an elbow injury. Smith is not expected to play against Arizona and his status for the playoffs remains murky. Harbaugh has shown the ability to rebound his team quickly. The 49ers are 7-0 after a loss or tie in his tenure, and he'll need to rally his players again at the most important time. The 49ers can still secure the No. 2 playoff seed ��� and the first-round bye that comes with it ��� with a win coupled with a Green Bay loss at MCT file photo The 49ers need to beat the Arizona Cardinals Sunday to win the NFC West. Minnesota. If they lose and Seattle (10-5) wins at home against St. Louis, the Seahawks will steal the NFC West and send San Francisco on the road for the first round. "It's for the NFC West," 49ers running back Frank Gore said. "That was our goal coming into this season ��� to win the NFC West. We get a chance to do that this Sunday. That's what we want. We're upset about last week. We've got to win." Last week was a 42-13 loss at Seattle. That alone should provide an attitude strong enough to keep San Francisco sharp. Hoyer is making his first NFL start, less than three weeks after the Cardinals claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh. The former Michigan State quarterback spent three seasons as a backup to Tom Brady in New England, was out of a job for most of the year and then relieved Ryan Lindley in Arizona's 28-13 loss to Chicago last week. Hoyer has appeared in 14 NFL games, including 13 with the Patriots. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 105 yards with one interception against the Bears while operating an offense that ranks last in the league. "It's a crazy business, but to me it's the best job in the world," Hoyer said. Quarterback will be near the top of Arizona's to-do list when the season is over, although just who will be in charge of that decision is uncertain. Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said he will assess the situation after the final game to determine if Whisenhunt comes back for the last year of his contract. General manager Rod Graves also might be gone. If Whisenhunt stays, some of his assistants almost certainly won't. "It's been tough," Whisenhunt said. "This business is about winning games. And when you don't do that, it makes everything more difficult." Arizona started the season with four straight wins and still had a chance to pull even with San Francisco after dropping three straight in October. Then the 49ers routed the Cardinals 24-3 on Oct. 29, a game Smith completed 18 of 19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a 157.1 rating in a performance that earned NFC offensive player of the week honors. Smith suffered a concussion the next game against St. Louis, Kaepernick took over and had his own Monday night breakout in a home win against Chicago. Kaepernick, a second-round pick out of Nevada last year with a strong arm and fast feet, is 4-2 as a starter. The sometimes spectacular, sometimes shaky quarterback will lead an offense that has been depleted by season-ending injuries to wide receivers Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams. Tight end Vernon Davis also must clear the league's NFL concussion protocol after getting knocked off his feet by Seattle's Kam Chancellor last week. The absence of so many key targets will put even more pressure on Kaepernick in a quarterback debate that continues to rage on ��� maybe this week more than most. "I just think that Alex worked for seven years to get to the position he was in," said Cardinals guard Adam Snyder, who spent seven years playing alongside Smith in San Francisco. "He was 19-5 (the past two seasons) and had the best QB rating in the league and was doing his job to win games, you know? "I don't know. It was surprising to me. But, hey, they get paid to make those decisions, and that's the decision they went with." Pryor to get 1st start at QB for Raiders SUN BOWL USC 49ers look to clinch NFC West ESPN 4:30 p.m. On the tube Saturday COLLEGE FOOTBALL ��� 8:45 a.m., ESPN ��� Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Texas, Rice vs. Air Force ��� 12:15 p.m., ESPN ��� Pinstripe Bowl at New York, West Virginia vs. Syracuse ��� 1 p.m., ESPN2 ��� Fight Hunger Bowl at San Francisco, Navy vs. Arizona State ��� 3:45 p.m., ESPN ��� Alamo Bowl at San Antonio, Texas vs. Oregon State ��� 7:15 p.m., ESPN ��� Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl at Tempe, Ariz., TCU vs. Michigan State MEN���S COLLEGE BASKETBALL ��� 9 a.m., ESPN2 ��� Santa Clara at Duke 2 p.m. ��� 9 a.m., ESPN2 ��� UNLV at North Carolina ��� 9 a.m., FSN ��� Tulsa vs. Florida State, at Sunrise, Fla. ��� 10 a.m., CSNB ��� Presbyterian at South Carolina ��� 1 p.m., CBS ��� Kentucky at Louisville ��� 1 p.m., CSNB ��� Florida A&M at Georgia ��� 1:30 p.m., FSN ��� Air Force vs. Florida, at Sunrise, Fla. ��� 4:30 p.m.. ESPN2 ��� Washington at UConn NBA ��� 4 p.m., NBATV ��� New Orleans at Charlotte ��� 5 p.m., WGN ��� Washington at Chicago ��� 7:30 p.m., CSNB ��� Boston at Golden State SOCCER ��� 4:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Premier League, Tottenham at Sunderland ��� 6:30 p.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Premier League, Manchester City at Norwich City ��� 6:55 a.m., ESPN2 ��� Premier League, West Bromwich at Manchester United ��� 9:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Premier League, Newcastle at Arsenal ��� 11:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Premier League, Wigan at Aston Villa (same-day tape) ALAMEDA (AP) ��� The Oakland Raiders are ready to get a long look at Terrelle Pryor to see if he can be their quarterback of the future. Pryor got the nod to start Sunday���s season finale in San Diego in place of the injured Carson Palmer. After being deemed not ready to be the backup when Palmer got hurt last week in Carolina, Pryor now gets the chance to make his first career start. ������We know what his strengths are, we know what his weaknesses are,������ coach Dennis Allen said Friday. ������But really, to give him an opportunity to go out in a game, against a division opponent, at their place, and give him a chance to play, it gives us a view into the future.������ Allen said he told Pryor and Matt Leinart early in the week that he was leaning to Pryor but wanted to see how practice developed. He said he thought Pryor responded well and now wants to see what his athleticism can bring to a team that has failed to score a touchdown the past two weeks. Pryor said he���s confident he is ready to start his first game since the Sugar Bowl for Ohio State against Arkansas on Jan. 4, 2011, but admitted to having some anxiety. ������I���m nervous. Until the first play I���m going to be nervous,������ he said. ������I���m human like you guys. I���m human like everybody. I just happen to play one of the best sports in the world. I���ll be nervous until the first snap.������ Pryor was taken in the third round of the supplemental draft in August 2011 by late Raiders owner Al Davis. Pryor missed almost all of training camp and then served a five-game suspension before he could be activated. He got on the field just once as a rookie ��� committing a false start before his only play ��� as he needed to work on his footwork and mechanics. Pryor got a few chances to shine in the preseason but was then inactive the first 11 games of this year. He played briefly the past two weeks in specialty packages. He completed one of two passes for 5 yards, ran the ball once for 2 yards and caught a 22-yard pass. Pryor said he guarantees he will have no Sunday NBA ��� 6 p.m., CSNC ��� Boston at Sacramento NFL ��� 10 a.m., CBS ��� Houston at Indianapolis ��� 10 a.m., FOX ��� Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants ��� 1:25 p.m., CBS ��� Oakland at San Diego ��� 1:25 p.m., FOX ��� Arizona at San Francis- MCT photo Terrelle Pryor will start Sunday. problems with the logistics of quarterback, calling the play in the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage on time and recognizing defenses. ������I���m confident,������ he said. ������I���m sure my teammates have confidence in me as well. Like I said, you can���t put everything on my shoulders, can���t try to do everything. Just go out and let the players make plays and let myself make co ��� 5:20 p.m., NBC ��� Dallas at Washington SOCCER ��� 5:25 a.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Premier League, Chelsea at Everton ��� 7:30 a.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Premier League, Liverpool at Queens Park Rangers Monday COLLEGE FOOTBALL ��� 9 a.m., ESPN ��� Music City Bowl, NC State vs. Vanderbilt, at Nashville, Tenn. ��� 11 a.m., CBS ��� Sun Bowl, Southern Cal vs. Georgia Tech, at El Paso, Texas ��� 12:30 p.m., ESPN ��� Liberty Bowl, Iowa St. vs. Tulsa, at Memphis, Tenn. plays.������ Pryor will be the 15th player to start at quarterback for the Raiders since the start of the 2003 season. ������Of course he brings the running ability, but he���s trying to be a leader out there, have command of the huddle and doing the job that a starting quarterback should do,������ receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said. Leinart had hoped to be able to make his third start since 2007 but thought the Raiders might give the nod to Pryor to see what he can do in a real game. ������The competitor in me wants to play, wants to start, but I do understand that they need to evaluate him, and I get that,������ Leinart said. ������Obviously, you���re not happy by any means, but at the same time I���m a team player. I���ve learned a lot this year, and I���m happy to help.������ The Raiders also could have a new starter on the offensive line as starting right guard Mike Brisiel missed his third straight practice as he recovers from an ankle injury and concussion. Brisiel, one of Oakland���s biggest free-agent signings this past offseason, has struggled in his first season with the Raiders. He has committed a team-high 10 penalties and been part of a running game that has struggled to generate any consistency. Brisiel is listed as questionable and will be a game-time decision. If he can���t start, rookie Tony Bergstrom would get the nod. Bergstrom was Oakland���s top draft pick in April at 95th overall but has struggled to get on the field. He has played eight games this season and gotten 75 snaps on offense, with most coming as a tight end in Oakland���s six-linemen alignment. ������He���s going to go through some growing pains like any new player would,������ offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said. ������I feel good about him. I like what I���ve seen in practice. I also have seen the rookie mistakes that I know this might show up in a game. But I���m looking forward to get him some reps to see him play live.������ ��� 4:30 p.m., ESPN ��� Chick-Fil-A Bowl, LSU vs. Clemson, at Atlanta MEN���S COLLEGE BASKETBALL ��� 9 a.m., ESPN2 ��� Cincinnati at Pittsburgh ��� 11 a.m., ESPN2 ��� Michigan St. at Minnesota ��� 1 p.m., CSNB ��� Alabama A&M at Mississippi State ��� 1 p.m., ESPN2 ��� Indiana at Iowa ��� 3 p.m., ESPN2 ��� Gonzaga at Oklahoma St. ��� 5 p.m., ESPN2 ��� Harvard at Saint Mary���s NBA ��� Noon, WGN ��� Charlotte at Chicago SOCCER ��� 1 a.m., FOX SOCCER ��� Hyundai ALeague, Sydney FC at Adelaide United