Die Macht » I love being in the village

(STATS) -- As FCS juggernaut North Dakota State continues to find a way to beat nearly every team and challenge that stands in its way, another national title probably seems like a foregone conclusion.But the challenge will get tougher. Theres great pressure when the feeling of a national title or bust is hanging in the air.In last weeks STATS national rankings, the top-ranked Bison have defeated nine of the next 11 teams since the start of the 2014 season, and the only reason Chattanooga and James Madison probably arent included on the Bison hit list is that they hadnt played them. The Bison are an absurd 74-5 since beginning their run of five straight national championship seasons in 2011.Tomorrow isnt promised. Remember that this time last year, nobody suspected a home loss would occur against South Dakota or that a potentially crippling injury like the one suffered by then-quarterback Carson Wentz would threaten the season as well. A lot can go wrong just as so much goes right.The Bison play in the strongest FCS conference -- the Missouri Valley -- and their rivals know how to play them better than Charleston Southern, Eastern Washington and Iowa. That may be overlooked after a murderers row of a nonconference schedule, but coach Chris Kliemans team faces a number of physical, tough games ahead.Northern Iowa woke up today believing it will beat the Bison next month. Western Illinois must think it has a shot. Illinois State, well, the Redbirds are two-time defending conference co-champs as well and are up next on Oct. 1.Over the long regular season, NDSU appears to be the best team again. But the FCS playoffs dont provide a second chance and the Bison can be beaten in a one-game situation. An opposing team just has to find the right day against the greatest dynasty in FCS history.---=SECOND AND 10=Ten more observations from the FCS weekend:1.) After having FCS co-games of the week, co-teams of the week make sense. What Stony Brook did to No. 2 Richmond -- posting a 42-14 win -- was even more surprising than No. 1 North Dakota States 23-21 upset at No. 13 Iowa. Offense has been at a premium at Stony Brook, but quarterback Joe Carbone, running back Stacey Bedell and wide receiver Ray Bolen provided excellent balance. NDSU was the more physical team than the Hawkeyes -- posting a 239-34 advantage in rushing yards -- to push its amazing FBS win streak to six.2.) With Richmonds loss, Sam Houston State appears poised to move up one spot to No. 2 following a 44-31 road victory over Lamar in the Southland Conference. But consider Jacksonville State, which was fourth last week, thrashed Sam Houston 62-10 in last years national semifinals. And Eastern Washington, which was too low at No. 8 last week, has wins over Washington State and Northern Iowa and only an overtime loss to North Dakota State. Clearly, the debate over No. 2 is strong.3.) Terrific decision by the Eastern Washington coaches in the Big Sky teams 34-30 win against No. 10 Northern Iowa. Sophomore Gage Gubrud was all-world in the Eagles first two games (60 of 80, 924 yards, nine touchdowns), but he simply didnt have it during the home opener and they went to Reilly Hennessey in the second half. The redshirt sophomore completed 21 of 29 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner on a fake field goal in the final minute.4.) Ivy League teams opened their season to a rousing 5-3 start. Dartmouth rallied to a 22-21 win over No. 22 New Hampshire, ending a streak of 13 straight losses and 20 games without a win (18 losses, two ties) against its intrastate rival. Harvard routed Rhode Island 51-21 and two of the three 2015 champs won, with Penn lacking defensive answers in a 49-28 loss to Lehigh. Brown, Princeton and Cornell also earned victories.5.) Taking the Ivy League out of the equation, 14 teams are unbeaten through two or three games. Six of them -- Albany (CAA), East Tennessee State (Southern), Georgetown (Patriot), Missouri State (Missouri Valley), Tennessee State (Ohio Valley) and Wagner (Northeast) -- are coming off losing seasons.6.) Speaking of East Tennessee State, the Buccaneers averaged 7,128 at home games when they returned to football last year after a 12-year hiatus, so drawing a school-record 13,863 to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Western Carolina matchup was significant. Even better for the Bucs (2-0), they gained a 34-31 Southern Conference win. Coach Carl Torbush continued to watch the maturation of sophomore QB Austin Herink, who threw for three touchdowns.7.) An FCS team has scored at least 80 points in each of the first three full weeks of the season. James Madison beat Morehead State 80-7, Fordham ripped Division II Elizabeth City State 83-21 and UT Martin became the latest in destroying NAIA Bacone 84-6 even though the second half was shortened to two 10-minute quarters. Last year, the FCS season high was Southern Illinois 73 points against Missouri State.8.) Eight FCS teams have beaten FBS programs, but South Carolina State isnt one of them despite having three attempts this season. Coach Buddy Poughs MEAC power was shut out by UCF and Clemson and fell to Louisiana Tech by a combined 150-24. Everybody has dreams of an upset, but financially strapped athletic programs, especially those from the historically black schools, are usually only scheduling losses.9.) As good as Saturdays action was in the FCS, dont overlook that the week opened Thursday night with Arkansas-Pine Bluff stunning Alcorn State 45-43 in two overtimes. UAPB went 2-9 overall and 1-8 in the SWAC last season and was coming off a loss to Division II Panhandle State, but two-time defending conference champ Alcorn State got caught overlooking the Golden Lions. The Braves surrendered less than 92 passing yards per game last year, yet Brandon Duncan riddled them for an FCS-season high 505 yards as well as four touchdowns. In the second OT, he had a game-tying 25-yard TD to Willie Young and then connected with John Hawkins for a winning two-point conversion.10.) The ultimate weapon in the FCS might be one of the smallest. Southern fifth-year senior Willie Quinn was at it again in a 64-6 trouncing of Alabama State, totaling 290 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, including a 73-yard punt return which gave him 10 TD returns in his career. Oh yes, the 5-foot-5 dynamo, the FCS leader in all-purpose yards, also threw a 30-yard touchdown.---=A LOOK AHEAD=Conference games begin to dominate the FCS schedule next weekend, although only four of the 10 teams in Missouri Valley Conference are in action.The Big Sky schedule gets rolling with marquee games: Eastern Washington at Northern Arizona, Montana at Cal Poly and Portland State at defending champion Southern Utah.Dayton visits San Diego in a matchup of the last years Pioneer Football League co-champs, while Alcorn State faces a must-win at Grambling State in a rematch of the 2015 SWAC Championship Game. Also, Samford is at Chattanooga in a key Southern Conference game and Harvard puts a 15-game road winning streak on the line at Ivy League rival Brown.The nonconference headliners are Jacksonville State at Liberty and Colgate at Richmond. Also, as FCS-FBS matchups continue to dwindle, Western Illinois heads to Northern Illinois and Central Arkansas visits Arkansas State. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Authentic MLB Jerseys . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. https://www.cheapmlbjerseysjustwholesale.com/nike-nba-jerseys-2020.html . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Jordan Roland Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. MLB Jerseys 2020 . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Tony Parker is keeping his minutes down as he gets back into game shape.Good thing for France he was ready to play at the end.Parker hit the go-ahead jumper with 31 seconds left, and the French beat Serbia 76-75 on Monday in an Olympic mens basketball game.Sitting on the bench for most of the fourth quarter as Serbia built a lead, Parker came back on late to help Frances run of six straight points to end the game.I was waiting for my moment, Parker said.It didnt appear one would be necessary after the French raced to a 20-4 lead. But Serbia rallied and had a 75-70 advantage before Nando de Colo scored four straight points.Parker, who had finally checked back into the game with about 3 + minutes left, then got the ball toward the corner as the shot clock was winding down and launched a shot that he said felt good as soon as it left his hands.Parker has won four championships with the San Antonio Spurs and was the MVP of the 2007 NBA Finals, but its not often he gets a feeling like Monday.Its awesome, Parker said. Its not every day you hit almost a buzzer-beater, a game-winning shot against a great team. Serbia has an unbelievable team. It was a great win for us.Parker missed some time with his French teammates as his wife delivered their second son, Liam, on July 29. Parker then rejoined the squad for his second Olympics, but early in the tournament hes only playing about 20-25 minutes as he rebuilds is conditioning.So he had a seat on the France bench while Serbias lead grew to as much as seven points in the final period. He came back on as the Serbians were making two free throws that made it 75-70.We didnt want to burn his energy too soon, French coach Vincent Collet said.France, considered a medal contender, has won two in a row afterr dropping its Olympic opener.dddddddddddd Parker became the EuroBasket career scoring leader in last summers tournament, but the French lost to Spain in the semifinals, forcing them to win an Olympic qualifying tournament his summer.There was initial fear Parker, 34, could miss the tournament after his wife became pregnant, but he was available to help the French secure their spot in early July. The French are a close-knit group staying together in the Olympic village, and Parker wanted to be a part of it.I love being in the village, he said. Its part of the Olympic experience being with everybody and sharing experiences with all the other athletes and meeting everyone. Thats what I like the most is meeting all the other athletes and enjoying ourselves. Its been a great experience.And its getting better for a French team that was routed by Australia in its opener.The French looked sharp early in this one during a blistering start in front of top-ranked Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who watched his home country after he was eliminated in singles earlier in the Olympics.The lead got away from France, and the game almost did, too. A careless turnover after Parkers jumper when de Colo threw an ill-advised alley-oop instead of trying to run out the clock gave Serbia one last chance, and Bogdan Bogdanovics shot from inside halfcourt bounced out at the buzzer.It couldnt get any closer, Parker said.But when it didnt fall, the French had a win worth celebrating.We had a rough start and now I feel like were back to our identity and were playing a lot better, Parker said.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report. ' ' '