11/17/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Gowins, Ryan Barnes, Matt Parent and Larry Warner have been named The Sportsbook Betting Lines's FCS national players of the week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Edwin Gowins, Stony Brook, 5-10, 220, Freshman, Running Back, Bellport, N.Y.
Gowins completed his second incredible rushing performance in a row, piling up 250 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries to lead Stony Brook to a 40-26 Big South Conference victory over VMI. He had 278 yards and three TDs in the previous week's 68-9 victory over Iona, the top rushing game in FCS this season.
His 250 yards against VMI was the second best rushing day in Big South history and he averaged 12.5 yards per carry. Gowins opened the scoring on his second carry of the day, darting 36 yards for his first touchdown. He added a 65-yard scoring jaunt in the third period to give the Seawolves the lead for good at 26-19 and he finished things off with a 32-yard TD burst in the fourth quarter.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Ryan Barnes, Harvard, 6-2, 200, Senior, Safety, Richmond, KY.
Barnes helped Harvard stayed tied for first place in the Ivy League with a three-interception game in the Crimson's 24-21 victory over Penn at historic Franklin Field on Saturday.
Playing for the first time since suffering a shoulder stinger on Oct. 25, Barnes clinched the win with his third interception in the back of the end zone with 10 seconds remaining as Penn threatened to pull the game out. Barnes had three pass breakups to finish with six passes defended and added five tackles, four of them solo stops.
His first interception, also in the end zone, killed an eight-minute Penn drive that had opened the game. Barnes picked off another pass near mid-field with 9:37 left in the third quarter to set up a 20-yard Patrick Long field goal that gave Harvard a 17-0 lead.
Matt Parent, New Hampshire, 6-1, 245, Senior, Linebacker, Long Beach, CA.
Parent played a key role in New Hampshire's critical 52-21 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Massachusetts Saturday at home, returning an interception for a touchdown in the opening minutes, setting up another first- quarter score with a fumble recovery and adding another fumble recovery in the fourth period.
Parent's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown tied the league record that was established by four-time All-American safety Tony LeZotte against Towson in 2005. That gave the Wildcats a 10-0 lead and his fumble recovery and five-yard return on the next UMass drive set up quarterback R.J. Toman's 48- yard TD scamper on the next play. Parent ended his day with six tackles, including one tackle for a four-yard loss as the Wildcats stayed alive for an FCS playoff berth.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Larry Warner, Southern Illinois, 5-5, 169, Junior, Kick Returner/Running Back, Vicksburg, MS.
Warner helped No. 10-ranked Southern Illinois to a crucial 38-35 victory over South Dakota State at home with a kickoff return for a touchdown and 269 all- purpose yards. He also had another touchdown on the ground as the Salukis stayed in position to win the Missouri Valley Conference auto bid and eliminated South Dakota State from contention.
Warner's 89-yard kickoff return score came in the first quarter after South Dakota State had tied the game at 7. It was the third kickoff return for a touchdown this season for Warner to break a Southern Illinois record.
He added 76 yards on the ground on 19 carries and scored on a two-yard run to give the Salukis a 35-21 halftime lead and caught a team-high six passes for 73 yards. Warner added one punt return for 12 yards to go with his two kickoff returns for 108 yards. He ranks second nationally in kickoff returns (35.4 per return) and 21st in punt returns (11.4).
<< Pair of Capitals lead list of NHL's Three Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals forwards Nicklas Backstrom
and Alexander Ovechkin, along with Nashville Predators goaltender Dan Ellis,
were selected as the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending November 16.
Backstrom
<< Pujols named NL MVP
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert
Pujols has been named the National League's Most Valuable Player, as voted on
by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Pujols, who won this award in 2005
<< 'Canes re-assign Dwyer
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina Hurricanes re-assigned forward Patrick
Dwyer to the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League, it was announced
on Monday.
The 25-year-old Dwyer, who was recalled from Albany on Nov. 2, and ma
<< JMU clinches bid, maintains top spot in FCS Poll
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Madison clinched the Colonial
Athletic Association automatic bid to the playoffs on Saturday and retained
its No. 1 ranking in The Sportsbook Betting Lines FCS Top-25 poll on Monday.
The Dukes (9-1) received 1
This Week in Golf - November 18th through November 23rd >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LPGA TOUR - ADT CHAMPIONSHIP, Trump
International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, Florida - This week's ADT
Championship marks the end of a season -- and, more importantly perhaps, the
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Sorenstam back to No. 2 in rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Annika Sorenstam moved back to No. 2 in
the world rankings after tying for second place behind Angela Stanford at the
Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday.
Sorenstam moved up one position this week,
Bucs RB Graham likely done for season >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest
Graham is likely done for the season with a right ankle injury suffered in
Sunday's 19-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Bucs head coach Jon Gruden addressed
Huskies are unanimous No. 1; LSU unranked >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut remained the top team in the
latest Associated Press women's college basketball poll, but LSU's lengthy
streak in the rankings came to an end.
The Huskies (1-0) are a unanimous pick this
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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