RENTON, Wash. -- When the Seattle Seahawks released their depth chart for the season opener against Miami, there was a surprising hierarchy at running back.Christine Michael was slotted ahead of Thomas Rawls.Of course, it was an unofficial depth chart, one that coach Pete Carroll joked about being just that on Wednesday. But it was also an affirmation that even though Rawls is expected to be the Seahawks primary ball carrier this season, Michael has done enough since the end of last year to earn himself a share of the time in the backfield.As (offensive coordinator) Darrell Bevell said, `Hes had an awakening, Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin said of Michael. Hes always been one of those guys that has always worked at his craft, always asked questions but now hes asking the right questions. Hes matured in that regard and I couldnt be happier for him and his progress.Carroll wasnt willing to break down how the carries will be split on Sunday against the Dolphins. Rawls was a star last season filling in while Marshawn Lynch was injured, running for 830 yards before breaking his ankle in a December game against Baltimore.But the Seahawks wont discount what Michael showed in the preseason. With Rawls still recovering, Michael took the carries against the No. 1 defenses Seattle faced and averaged 6.0 yards per carry. More than anything, that could be why Michael was listed as the starter ahead of Rawls, as a reward for what hes shown so far.Carroll described Rawls status heading into the opener as equivalent to playing his second preseason game. Thats not meant to be an indication of whether Rawls will play, but perhaps a sign that his workload for the opener will be light.Were just going to watch and see how he handles it. Thats all. Just see how he handles it, Carroll said. That would be the only restriction is how hes taking the rigors of the game.And thats not a problem for Seattle with the way Michael has played in the preseason and because his running style is slightly different than Rawls. While Rawls is likely to bounce off defenders running between the tackles, Michael is more apt to make one cut and run through the opening created by the offensive line and use his speed to get into the open field.Having complementary running backs is more the style Carroll likes. His most successful teams in college at USC often featured running backs with differing skills used in a partnership. It was Carroll who adjusted to relying on one primary running back when he saw what Lynch could provide after arriving in a trade from Buffalo early in the 2010 season.I think you get a couple of guys and get that going so you can feed off of those guys. I thought our days at SC really showed that. We had multiple guys that could play with different strengths and sometimes one guy was more effective on a day than the other guys. We never played the favorites. We just played the guy that was hot, Carroll said. So I think the ability to mix guys gives us more flexibility and a higher level of play, too. But I do really appreciate the guy that needs to be out there and stay out there and gets more instinctive as the game goes on, Ive got that understanding, too.Game notes Carroll remained coy Wednesday about the status of TE Jimmy Graham for the opener. His chances are the same. Theyre good, Carroll said. ... Rookie DT Jarran Reed (toe) is expected to play Sunday if he is able to make it through practice this week.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Jason Dickinson Stars Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. 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After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Their football stadiums famously bound by water, perhaps its fitting that Tennessee and Washington are increasingly popular choices to rejoin college footballs high seas this season.The hype is understandable when you survey the two rosters. The Vols return 18 starters from a team that won its last six games a year ago and bring back experienced playmakers at most of the key positions, including nine players earning preseason All-SEC mention. The Huskies return 16 starters from one of the youngest teams in the country a year ago, led by super sophomores Jake Browning at quarterback and Myles Gaskin at running back, and bring back most of the key pieces from the Pac-12s top scoring defense.Both schools won national championships in the 1990s and bring back long (and painful) losing streaks to divisional rivals that span a combined 23 games. Tennessee has lost 11 in a row to Florida, the Vols last win coming back in 2004 when Ron Zook was coaching the Gators and future Hall of Famer Phillip Fulmer had yet to be forced out by his alma mater. Washington has lost 12 in a row to Oregon. The Huskies havent beaten the Ducks since 2003, and most of those games havent been close. Oregons 12 straight wins have come by an average margin of 23.5 points per game.So while expectations may be skyrocketing for the Vols and Huskies, the reality is this: For either program to be whole again, skids that began before high-definition television became popular in this country need to end.The fact that Washington was picked ahead of Oregon (and No. 2 behind Stanford) in the North Division last week at Pac-12 media days caused a few ripples, to the point that Washington coach Chris Petersen was almost cringing when having to discuss his clubs place as one of the preseasons darlings.He even referenced the Pokemon Go craze to describe the hype, and then playfully chided the media.Last year, the preseason hype was that we wouldnt win four games, and they were dead wrong, said Peterson, whose Huskies went 7-6, including a win over eventual Pac-12 South champion USC and a win over Apple Cup rival Washington State. So Im really scared that you guys are dead wrong again, because you usually are.Its not that Petersen doesnt believe in his team. He would just rather not paint a preseason target on a team that still needs to learn how to win, and in truth, might still be a year away. As he pointed out last week, the Huskies were in every game they lost a year ago, with the exception of the Stanford matchup, and going from seven wins to championship contention is a monumental leap most teams dont make in a single year.Ultimately, though, the most telling gauge as to where the program is in Year No. 3 under Petersen will come on Oct. 8; Washington travels to Autzen Stadium to face Oregon, with the Ducks in the midst of an alleged downturn after having the audacity to win just nine games a year ago. Never mind that Mark Helfrich had his team in the national championship game the year before. And never mind that Washington has won nine games in a season just once (2013) since its Rose Bowl championship season in 2000.The door does appear cracked for the Huskies, who hardly need a history lesson in the Oregon-Washington rivalry, which really hasnt been much of one for more than a decade.If we go, you know, 10-1 or 13-1 or however many games we play, and that one loss is to Oregon, Washington senior defensive back Kevin King said, pausing and then sighing as if he didnt want to finish the sentence, that would be tragic.Yes, it certainly would be for those along Union Bay, wherre Washington last won a Pac-12 (then Pac-10) championship in 2000.ddddddddddddWe look at it like this is an opportunity that weve created for ourselves, King said. Special teams dont come around often, so weve got to seize the opportunity.As brutal as another loss to Oregon would be for Washington, another Tennessee loss to Florida might well cause a landslide on the banks of the Tennessee River.There hasnt been this much buzz, at least legitimate buzz, surrounding the Vols program since 2001. Coach Butch Jones, in his fourth season, has embraced the expectations and wisely so. Anything less than an SEC championship game appearance this season could make for a long winter on Rocky Top. The Vols won nine games a year ago, but three of their four losses came after they relinquished two-touchdown leads.And, yes, one of those collapses was at Florida, which rallied in the final minutes to stun Tennessee 28-27 on a 63-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-13 play.Floridas coach Jim McElwain reasoned afterward, I think theres a feeling deep down, you know, that we just dont lose to Tennessee, and they didnt.Its a feeling Florida players have trumpeted often this offseason as part of a Twitter spat that hopefully is just a precursor to what we will see on the field this Sept. 24 in Neyland Stadium.When the ESPN Football Power Index tabbed Tennessee as the top team in the SEC East this season, Florida defensive back Jalen Tabor took to Twitter to vent: Well make it 12 years in a row this year.Later, he went after Peyton Manning.Might as well bring the sheriff out of retirement, tweeted Tabor, who ironically enough was serving a one-game suspension last season and didnt even play against the Vols.Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd was quick to return fire with a tweet that read: 6-0, 190. Jst talkin for attention. Not gonna end well buddy.Tabor took aim at Tennessee again during the NBA Finals after Golden State routed Cleveland in Game 2. Tabor was discussing the Cavs loss on Twitter with teammate Quincy Wilson and tweeted: They aint trippin. They just cant hang, something like UT in the fourth lol.Even longtime Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley joined the fray when he compared the Vols to the Kardashians and wrote earlier this month that they had won another summer.And to Dooleys point, lost in all the hype surrounding the Vols is that Florida did win the SEC East championship a year ago in McElwains first season -- without a quarterback for much of the season and with a woefully inexperienced offensive line. The Gators are like a lot of other people around the college football world. They have to see it to believe it.Tennessee is Tennessee, and were Florida, Gators safety Marcus Maye said. So what you see out of that is what you get, and its been that way for a while.Jones message to his players has been that they need to own it, whether thats expectations, their style of play, the football program -- everything.Thats why you come to the University of Tennessee. Thats why you coach at the University of Tennessee, Jones said. You want those expectations.Tennessee and Washington are both trying to break strangleholds in their leagues. The past seven SEC championships have been won by Alabama, Auburn or LSU. The past seven Pac-12 championships have been won by either Oregon or Stanford.Shaking up those mini-monopolies will mean shaking off a pair of epic droughts.Only then will the Vols or the Huskies truly be back. ' ' '