last-second loss to Stanford, the Bruins got everyt

(STATS) -- Liberty has made no effort to hide its desire to join an FBS conference and play with the big boys, a stance that was reignited this week when school president Jerry Falwell Jr. said the Flames might make the leap in a matter of months.Beating one of the premier teams in the FCS should make them a bit more attractive to potential suitors.Theres a golden opportunity to land a signature win Saturday against No. 3 Jacksonville State, the Ohio Valley Conference power that made it to the national championship game last season and the highest-ranked team that will have ever visited Lynchburgs Williams Stadium.Ive heard so much about the environment at Liberty, Gamecocks coach John Grass said. I think its one of the best in FCS football.Falwell Jr. is hoping the 27-year-old stadium will soon be one of the better -- albeit tinier, at 19,200 -- environments in the FBS. He announced in 2012 that the Flames (1-2) were ready to jump to the FBS, and though some brief flirtation with the Sun Belt never materialized, there could soon be a new opportunity. The Big 12 is currently considering expansion candidates -- a vote is possible as early as an Oct. 17 board meeting -- and the domino effect could leave either the American Athletic Conference or Conference USA looking for a new member or two.Grass team is coming off a 27-26 win over Coastal Carolina, another former Big South member thats making the move to the FBS. Following this transition season, the Chanticleers are off to the Sun Belt.We just talked about Coastal Carolinas budget and moving up; well, Liberty has the same kind of budget and wanting to move up, they are just waiting on a conference to take them, Grass said. They have the biggest budget in FCS football and maybe some of the lower level Power 5 schools, so they have a lot going on with their university and in the right direction.All that speculation has little meaning to Turner Gills current team, which is 0-for-2 against FBS schools in September after recording FBS wins in each of the past two seasons. The Flames are simply concentrating on finding a way back to the FCS playoffs, which they missed out on last season after making their inaugural trip in 2014.Theres an automatic path in by winning the Big South, but a victory over Jacksonville State could give them a reasonable chance of an at-large berth should they stumble. After Saturday, the schedule isnt exactly challenging until two games in six days in mid-November against Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina.Its been great focus all week, Gill said. Im not saying its been a whole lot of rah-rah stuff, but paying attention to detail and a lot of great communication from teammate to teammate. When I see that, that tells me theyre focused and ready to go.As of Friday morning, Gill was still silent in naming a starting quarterback. Neither of his options have played well thus far. Junior Stephon Masha has thrown six interceptions in just 60 pass attempts, giving him an interception percentage thats the second highest in all of Division I. And though hes completed only 51.7 percent of his throws, thats 1.7 percent better than freshman Stephen Calvert, who saw his most extensive action yet in last Saturdays 29-14 loss to SMU.The Flames will need whichever signal caller is taking snaps to succeed through the air, because theyll likely find space hard to come by on the ground. LSU had success rushing against Jacksonville State, but Coastal Carolina gained just 42 yards on 35 carries.Theres no uncertainty under center for the Gamecocks (2-1). Eli Jenkins paved the way to the title game last season and despite a dip in accuracy through three games, hes still the driving force in an offense thats cracked 500 total yards against both of its non-FBS opponents.(Jenkins), in my mind, is no question one of the top players in the country, Gill said.There are four wins over FCS top-10 foes on Gills resume since arriving at Liberty in 2012 -- the Flames knocked off both Montana and Coastal in Lynchburg last season -- but theres a reason Jacksonville State heads north as a 9 1/2-point favorite in this one. The Gamecocks have lost only three regular-season games since Grass took over in 2014 -- to Michigan State, Auburn and LSU.Jonathan Ogden Youth Jersey . 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He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.PASADENA, Calif. -- UCLA coach Jim Mora challenged his offense at halftime, asking them to play at the same level shown on defense and special teams through the first 30 minutes.The Bruins responded, with Josh Rosen throwing two of his three touchdowns and rushing for one touchdown after the ultimatum, and UCLA pulled away from Arizona 45-24 on Saturday night.Rosen was 20 of 37 for 350 yards, Kenneth Walker had four catches for 114 yards with a pair of touchdowns and Darren Andrews added 108 yards receiving and a 26-yard TD run.If we could just find a way to put it together as a football team we could be pretty darn dynamic, and thats the challenge, Mora said. I think its pretty evident we can play some really good defense. We can play some good special teams. We can play some good offense. We just got to do it all at the same time.UCLA (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) struggled to run the ball for long stretches, but it didnt matter as the injury-riddled Wildcats (2-3, 0-2) saw their offensive ranks further depleted. Quarterback Brandon Dawkins took a big hit from linebacker Kenny Young in the second quarter and was replaced after halftime. Running back Nick Wilson came up limping late in the first quarter.Right tackle Gerhard de Beer and right tackle Jacob Alsadek also suffered undisclosed injuries, while left guard Freddie Tagaloa did not travel with the team.Touted freshman Khalil Tate came in at quarterback on Arizonas second possession of the second half, leading a drive that ended in a Josh Pollack field goal. Tates next drive ended with a 31-yard touchdown to Shun Brown. Tate had 72 yards passing and 79 yards rushing in his college debut, throwing a second touchdown to Cam Denson with 38 seconds remaining.FRESHMAN FINDSTate and UCLA wide receiver Theo Howard were among the most accomplished and sought-after high school players in Southern California last year. Those talents were on full display in the Rose Bowl.Howard caught his first career touchdown earlly in the third quarter, providing the spark Mora was looking for with a 19-yard catch-and-run where he shook an Arizona defensive back and sprinted up the far sideline.ddddddddddddWith dropped passes a lingering issue for the UCLA offense, how quickly Howard can become a consistent part of the rotation could determine the ceiling for what Rosen can accomplish this season.At the start of the season, Tate was expected to redshirt as the fourth-string quarterback seeing only a handful of snaps in practice. With Anu Solomon missing the last four games with a knee injury, those reps increased and coaches told Tate to prepare for the exact situation that unfolded against UCLA.Thought he would give us the best chance to score points, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said, explaining his decision to play Tate.THE TAKEAWAYArizona: The decision to play Tate could effectively put the Wildcats into rebuilding mode this season. Despite his declaration, Rodriguez would not have put Tate in there simply as a stopgap measure. Rodriguez apparently decided that Tates development now takes precedence.UCLA: After last weeks last-second loss to Stanford, the Bruins got everything they needed to remain in the Pac-12 South race. Utah lost at California and Arizona State was pummeled at Southern California, leaving surprising Colorado as the only team in the division unbeaten in conference play. However, UCLA needs improvement from its inconsistent offense to push for the Pac-12 title.UP NEXTArizona: The Wildcats travel to Utah next Saturday. Arizona upset the No. 10 Utes 37-30 in double overtime last season, giving Rodriguez a win over a top 10 team in each of his first four seasons in the desert.UCLA: The Bruins travel to Arizona State next Saturday for their first conference road game. The visiting team has won the last four games in the series. ' ' '