Kritik und Lob » time Pro Bowler Doug Martin, has been out with

(STATS) -- They met in a terrific intersectional game that could have been overlooked on a busy early September evening, but Central Arkansas and Samford are commanding attention as the regular season nears its final month.They can be found in their conference title races and moving up the STATS FCS Top 25. On Monday, Central Arkansas reached No. 19 and Samford rose to No. 20.The first nine spots went unchanged in the national media poll, with Sam Houston State continuing on as No. 1, gaining 120 of the 163 first-place votes. Jacksonville State, Eastern Washington, North Dakota State and The Citadel also received first-place votes.Samford beat Central Arkansas 35-29 back on Sept. 10 and both teams have been impressive since then.UCA (6-1) has won five straight games, including one over FBS opponent Arkansas State, as well as 22-12 over Lamar this past Saturday, which pushed the Bears to 5-0 in the Southland Conference and a half-game behind Sam Houston in the standings.Samfords only loss is to Chattanooga, so the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1) are one game behind The Citadel and in third place in the Southern Conference, but after playing at Mississippi State this week, they have an Oct. 29 game at the conference leader.Linked by their early-season game, UCAs team mantra may as well be Samfords because both surging teams hope to win their conference title and qualify for the FCS playoffs.We started off our year with our motto being Finishing, UCA coach Steve Campbell said. Last year, we played well at times and did some good things. But our whole deal is about finishing and making sure that were getting better each week.Sam Houston (7-0) is getting better, winning each of its games by double digits, including 38-21 at Nicholls this past Saturday (the Bearkats built a 24-0 halftime lead). Coach K.C. Keelers team will step out of the conference schedule on Saturday by hosting Texas Southern and then wraps up the regular season with three more Southland games. They will host Central Arkansas on Nov. 19, the final day of the regular season.The other teams in the Top 5 also received first-place votes: Jacksonville State (6-1), which beat Eastern Kentucky 24-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference, had 16; Eastern Washington (6-1), which topped Montana State 41-17 in the Big Sky Conference, had 18; North Dakota State (6-1), which held off Western Illinois 21-13 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, had six; and The Citadel (7-0), which beat Wofford 24-21 in overtime in the Southern Conference, had three.CAA Football leader Richmond (7-1) was sixth, meaning the top six teams were from a different FCS conference. South Dakota State (5-2) was seventh, followed by James Madison (6-1), Charleston Southern (4-2) and Chattanooga (7-1), whose one-spot rise was the only change in the Top 10.Villanova (6-2) and North Carolina A&T (6-1) climbed to a season-high No. 11 and 12, respectively. Then it was Western Illinois (5-2), Cal Poly (5-2), Youngstown State (5-2), Montana (5-2), North Dakota (6-2), Coastal Carolina (5-2), Central Arkansas and Samford.Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Grambling State (5-1), Stony Brook (5-2), Eastern Illinois (5-3), Harvard (5-1) and Tennessee State (5-2). Harvard moved back into the ranking, while Albany fell out.Ten conferences had at least one representative in the rankings, led by the Big Sky, CAA Football and Missouri Valley with four each.A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 20, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. Vans Sk8 Hi Reissue . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Vans Shoes Sale . -- 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. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale/white.html . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Vans Old Skool Black Sale . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Vans Old Skool Sale . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. TAMPA, Fla. -- As if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back situation couldnt possibly get any worse, another one likely has been lost for the season. Antone Smith suffered a knee injury in Thursday nights 43-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.Unfortunately, Antone suffered a significant injury and I think that would probably be a season-ending injury, it looks like, head coach Dirk Koetter said Friday. That would be the same for [defensive end] Howard Jones, a season-ending [knee] injury.Smith rushed for 25 yards on five touches, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. He caught three passes for 27 receiving yards before leaving the field on a cart. He was used primarily as the teams third-down back.It is unclear when Jones -- who had five sacks last season -- suffered his injury, but he was seen leaving the locker room on crutches, as was Smith.The Bucs running backs have been decimated by injuries. The teams starter, two-time Pro Bowler Doug Martin, has been out with a hamstring injury since Week 2. His replacement, Charles Sims, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury against the Denver Broncos in Week 4.ddddddddddddJacquizz Rodgers, the teams third running back to start a game this season, suffered a sprained foot against the Oakland Raiders in Week 7.Koetter was asked if hed ever seen so many injuries to one position before.I havent seen it, Koetter said. For whatever reason, were being hit hard at two positions. Running back and defensive end have been the positions that weve been hit really hard on. Other teams in the league have their issues at different positions, but Ive never seen where were a one-back team and we have four running backs go in one year. Ive never seen that.Tampa Bays defensive line has been hit especially hard by injuries. In Week 5, the Buccaneers were missing three of four starters along the defensive front. ' ' '