but he is 0-2 in three starts away from Coors Field. C

In the Southland and Southern conferences, there are the two teams at the top and then everyone else.The winner between Central Arkansas and Samford on Saturday night would make a good case for being No. 3 in its league, and may even earn a number in the rankings.Last year, Sam Houston State and McNeese were the only Southland teams to finish in the STATS FCS Top 25 and make the playoffs. It was the same in the SoCon with Chattanooga and The Citadel. So it comes as no surprise that those four teams comprise the two favorites in their respective leagues, and theyre all ranked -- in the top 15 no less -- while none of their conference cohorts are.Its very possible, however, they could have company after this week.Though neither Central Arkansas nor Samford cracked the Top 25 following dominant season-opening wins, the Bears got the third-most votes among teams not to make it with 200 and the Bulldogs received 24 of their own. So a victory Saturday would almost certainly push Central Arkansas into the Top 25, and Samford may squeak in by beating a Bears team picked to finish third in the Southland and which suffered its only conference losses last season to Sam Houston and McNeese.A 7-2 Southland record wasnt enough to get Central Arkansas a spot in the FCS playoffs, and Samford was a big reason why. The Bulldogs dominated the Bears in a 45-16 win to open last season, a loss that looked even worse to the playoff committee after Samford went 3-4 in SoCon play.But the site for the rematch is a different one. This time the Bulldogs must head to The Stripes at Central Arkansas, the purple-striped field at Estes Stadium.I have not been since they installed the new turf, said Samford coach Chris Hatcher, who previously coached there while with Murray State. Its a loud and a pretty rowdy crowd.And theyre a big, physical football team. I think, last year was not indicative of how good of a team they had. We jumped on them early, hit them with some deep balls. Were going to have to do the same to get their crowd out of the game, and hopefully well be able to stop the run well like we did last season.The Bears were held to 119 yards on the ground that day, their third-worst total of 2015. This season began in much different fashion, rushing for 283 yards and four touchdowns in last weeks 56-13 rout of Houston Baptist.This week were playing Samford and its a totally different animal, UCA coach Steve Campbell said. ... They are very explosive offensively.The Bulldogs put up 77 points in the opener, but it came against Division II Mars Hill. Devlin Hodges completed 39 of 49 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, finding freshman TaDarryl Marshall 14 times for 100 yards and a score.It was a continuation of Hodges impressive play from last seasons 3-0 finish when he threw for 1,047 yards and seven TDs, growing more accustomed to playing in the fast-paced Samford offense.Each week we play a faceless opponent. Its not so much playing against UCA. We dont need to worry about what they do, we just need to come out and be us and do what we do and play with a lot of tempo, Hodges said. Whether we need to run the ball 50 times or pass the ball 50 times, we have to be able to execute.While Hodges didnt play in last years win over the Bears, counterpart Hayden Hildebrand was a second-stringer at the time and attempted only four passes. Hes the reigning Southland offensive player of the week after throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns while throwing only four incompletions against Houston Baptist, not to mention he rushed for 52 yards and a score.Hayden Hildebrand, I thought, played exceptionally well, Campbell said. He did a great job of controlling the offense and a great job of protecting the football. He did a great job of getting the football to the playmakers.While Campbells team doesnt have to face either of the Southlands ranked teams until visiting No. 11 McNeese on Oct. 15, Samford could use a win to boost its confidence going into a bye week before taking on sixth-ranked Chattanooga.Whichever team wins will show it may also deserve to be mentioned among its conferences elite. Toronto Blue Jays Shirts . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. Stitched Blue Jays Jerseys . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Blue Jays Jerseys 2020 . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, having ended a long drought his last time out, attempts to win his second straight start when Philadelphia hosts the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.Eickhoff (7-12, 3.78 ERA) squares off against rookie left-hander Tyler Anderson (4-3, 3.04) in the second contest of a three-game series.Eickhoff beat the San Diego Padres on Sunday, going six innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits while striking out five. He did not walk a batter.It was his first victory since he beat the Atlanta Braves on July 4. In the next five starts, he went 0-3 with a 5.08 ERA. That includes his only career start to date against Colorado, an 8-3 defeat July 9 in which he gave up eight runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.He gave up two home runs in his victory over San Diego. One was a two-run shot by Ryan Schimpf in the sixth inning, allowed the Padres to tie the game. Eickhoff has an 11.57 ERA in the sixth inning this season.If you look at the line, its tough to look at, Eickhoff told reporters afterward. But I just tried to keep us in the game the best I could. It was a great team win.Anderson has gone seven innings each of his last two starts, matching his career high. He was saddled with a no-decision in last out Monday versus Texas despite giving up one run on two hits while striking out five and walking three. The Rockies lost 4--3.dddddddddddd.The 26-year-old owns the lowest ERA for a Rockies starter through 11 games in club history. His road ERA (3.06) is likewise respectable, but he is 0-2 in three starts away from Coors Field. Colorado has scored one run in those three starts.Anderson beat the Phillies in his only previous start against them July 9. He went six innings in that 8-3 victory, allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out six. He didnt walk a batter.Philadelphia, averaging 6.1 runs per game in August, battered Jon Gray and four relievers in a 10-6 victory Friday night. Ryan Howard went 3-for-5 with five RBI, and his fifth-inning grand slam off Gray -- a 457-foot shot into the Colorado bullpen in center field -- snapped a 3-3 tie.It was the 14th career grand slam for Howard, who already held the club record in that category, and his 374th career homer. He is tied with Rocky Colavito for 76th on the all-time list.Howards big night coincided with the induction of the retired Jim Thome, once his mentor, into the clubs Wall of Honor.Its something pretty special, Howard said. I mean, you want to go out there and try to get the win on a special night like this. ... Being able to get something to hit and having it land on the other side of the fence is the bonus. ' ' '