(STATS) -- While the FBS is littered with conference title games, the FCS is nearly void of them. Pink Lions Jerseys .Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas are having one anyway.Its an unofficial, de facto Southland Conference championship game Saturday when the top-ranked Bearkats (10-0, 8-0) host the No. 11 Bears (9-1, 8-0). While the only league with a true title game is the SWAC, Southland schedule makers must be pinching themselves because its been 28 years since two teams with perfect conference records played for the championship in the final week.If were in the top five in the country, then Central Arkansas should be in the top five in the country because its like looking into a mirror, Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler said.Both teams are headed to the playoffs regardless of the result, but theres still plenty on the line -- besides just a conference crown.Keelers squad can make a big statement to the FCS selection committee after cruising through a weak schedule and never really being challenged. SHSU won every game by at least 13 points behind an unstoppable offense led by likely Walter Payton Award candidate Jeremiah Briscoe. The Bearkats average of 53.7 points is best in the country, about a touchdown better than second-place Ohio State, and so is their average of 592.4 total yards.A team with no discernible weaknesses, Central Arkansas coach Steve Campbell said. Very strong, and theyre at the top of the statistics nationally in many, many categories. Offensively, in about every category.Theyre not at the top, however, in the selection committee rankings. The Bearkats are only No. 5 on that list while the Bears are No. 7. The top eight seeds receive first-round byes, so its very possible the loser Saturday wont get one.A defeat would crush SHSUs hopes of earning one of the top two seeds, which receive home-field advantage through the semifinals. Thats a very real and important possibility for a Bearkats team which is 37-2 at home since the start of 2011.The Bears, on the other hand, have been road warriors. Theyve won nine straight away from home, including a 5-0 record this season which includes a win over FBS foe Arkansas State and a 35-0 thrashing of defending conference champion McNeese. In fact, Central Arkansas four road wins over FCS schools have all been by at least 20 points, so it wont be scared going into Bowers Stadium.While SHSU was the preseason favorite to win the conference, the Bears were picked to finish third, but it was hard to see this coming after the Bears lost in Week 2. However, that defeat was to a Samford team which now resides at No. 18 in the STATS FCS Top 25, and Central Arkansas has recovered to win eight in a row.The Bearkats havent faced anyone of that caliber. They didnt have to play the Southlands third-place team, Southeastern Louisiana, while the Bears whipped the Lions by 30 points on the road.Sam Houstons only non-conference wins were against Division II Panhandle State and sub-.500 Texas Southern. Central Arkansas, meanwhile, lost by only six to Samford and defeated an Arkansas State team which is tied for the Sun Belt Conference lead.For the most part, weve been very dominant, but its great to have a phenomenal opponent, Keeler said. We are playing one of the best teams in the country this weekend. So I think for both of us its a big ballgame, an opportunity to move up.Central Arkansas ranks among the FCS top 10 defensive teams, allowing 16.8 points and 300.7 yards per game. The Bears are No. 1 against the run -- in FCS or FBS -- at 67.8 yards per game.However, theyre not as good against the pass, and no offense passes better than the Briscoe-led Bearkats.No one in all of college football has more touchdown passes than Briscoes 45, and he has only seven interceptions in 377 attempts. The FCS top-rated passer has thrown for 3,665 yards -- good for third among quarterbacks in both subdivisions -- and hes been sacked just seven times.Tremendous poise in the pocket, he knows where he wants to go with the football, Campbell said. Hes got great awareness, he never gets rattled. Hes a very, very calming presence, and they play a fast-tempo offense. Hes really got a great handle on everything that theyre wanting to do. Outstanding football player.He could be a big problem for a Bears defense which just allowed 340 yards passing last week to Nicholls freshman Chase Fourcade and gave up 424 to Arkansas States Justice Hansen. Each of those signal-callers had only one other 300-yard game all season. The best quarterback theyve faced is Samfords Devlin Hodges -- the FCS eighth-rated passer -- and he picked apart the Bears for 282 yards and three touchdowns.Central Arkansas employs a balanced offense, throwing and rushing for more than 2,000 yards apiece, as junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand has had a solid season with 15 touchdowns through the air and four on the ground.Keeping up with the Bearkats -- on their home field, no less -- is a different animal altogether. Then again, maybe the Bears defense is the one which can keep that scary offense in check.Defensively, they just fly to the ball, Keeler said. Steve has done a phenomenal job there. Theyve gotten better every single year. I think this is their best team, and this is one of best defenses Ive seen. Camo Lions Jerseys .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Elite Lions Jerseys .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. http://www.officiallionsnflauthenticshop.com/ . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Atlantic Coast Conference teams are getting it done with some of the top defenses in the country.Four league teams rank in the top 11 in FBS total defense this week with Boston College (292.9 yards allowed per game) leading the pack at No. 7 just ahead of Clemson (298.6) at No. 8. Louisville (301.3) and Virginia Tech (302.0) are close behind at 10th and 11th respectively.All but BC have winning records, are in the Top 25 and have chance to win their respective divisions.How stingy their defenses play will likely determine how far they go.Every week you come in and its like, `OK, its the No. 1 defense, its the No. 8 defense, its the No. 10, Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said of what he faces each week. But I dont think our guys would have it any other way. ... As a coach youre like, `Man, when are you going to get one not ranked in the top 10? but at the same time, thats what really motivates your guys to perform.Stout defenses are not new in the ACC. Six teams ranked in the top 20 this time last season and five in the top 15 just last week.Former NFL Pro Bowl linebacker and current ESPN analyst Jonathan Vilma believes the defensive success is the result of schools finding recruits who can play right away and develop through experience. He also believes the ACC plays a more wide-open style that dictates having versatile athletes.You look at how North Carolina and Clemson like to open it up, Vilma said, so the style of defense is about having athletes can cover men and play good man defense on the outside with slot corners or (linebackers). Theyre physical at the point, can run sideline to sideline and can cover and/or tight ends.Continuity also helps.A key move by first-year Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente was convincing defensive coordinator Bud Foster to stay on staff and help rebuild a unit that ranked 42nd at this point last year.Opponents have converted less than 25 percent on third down this season against the Hokies, tops in the ACC, and they are second in the league in pass defense efficiency and red zone conversions. Take away a 31-17 loss at Syracuse and theyve outscored four recent opponents 174-36, including a 34-3 win at North Carolina.Any time youre together that long with a group of guys that youve recruited and really built a defense around what you want to do, youll be pretty good, Pitt coach Pat Narduuzzi said of Fosters defense. Cheap Lions Jerseys. Yards might be hard to come by Thursday night in Pittsburgh when the Hokies visit to face the Panthers, who rank fifth against the run (96.6 yards).No matter where teams are ranked, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson expects ACC foes to make it challenging to score points and gain yardage.Its getting harder and harder, Johnson said. Its like Ive said all along, this is the best the league has been defensively, I think, from top to bottom. There have been good teams in the past but overall top to bottom, this is the best its been defensively -- at least the teams weve played so far.The stinginess displayed by Clemson and Louisville has demonstrated there is much more to the Tigers and Cardinals than their respective dynamic quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson.Practicing against those dual-threat players every day has helped the teams defenses.I think our defensive players understand the attention on Jackson, said Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, whose team has held Duke and North Carolina State to 489 combined yards the past two weeks.I tell them every day that we score points because our defense gets turnovers and gets short fields and scores, (along with) our special teams. Its all about the team and when you score points, its the team that scores points.But numbers only tell part of the story.Timely defensive stops have decided several big ACC matchups this season, few bigger than Clemsons overtime interception against N.C. State two weeks ago that sealed a 24-17 win . The Tigers committed four turnovers and had one converted into a touchdown before getting the takeaway that kept them unbeaten.That game capped a challenging stretch in which Clemson faced Louisville, BC and N.C. State, which ranked 26th at the time. The Tigers return from a bye to face another hurdle Saturday night at No. 12 Florida State, which is 55th defensively nationally but doesnt give ground in Doak Campbell Stadium.These days, not many ACC teams are giving up much of anything.---AP Sports Writers Hank Kurz Jr. in Blacksburg, Virginia, Pete Iacobelli in Clemson, South Carolina, and Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.---The APs college football page: collegefootball.ap.org Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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