acklands waterfront and a crowd estimated at up to 1,000 tu

(STATS) -- College football teams rarely kick off a new season with a conference matchup, but the Southern Conference is celebrating a return to nine teams with a beauty of a first game.The Citadel, which surprised most people in winning a share of the conference title a year ago, will get the fun underway at Mercer, and the host Bears look a lot like the Bulldogs going into last season.At least we will know where we are, first-year Citadel coach Brent Thompson said, and I think it made camp that much more interesting because we had to be prepared, we had to treat every single day like it was game day, every single week like it was game week and thats what made the difference for the most part in camp.FCS teams trying to knock off FBS teams and new coaches making their debuts are the other storylines of the first full weekend of action. Last year, there were nine FCS wins over FBS teams, including four on opening weekend. This season, there are 19 FCS programs that have new coaches.---=FCS GAME OF THE WEEK=The Matchup: No. 15 The Citadel (0-0, 0-0 Southern) at Mercer (0-0, 0-0)Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET Saturday at Five Star Stadium in Macon, GeorgiaTelevision: Fox Sports SoutheastSeries: The Citadel leads, 8-4-1 (last meeting: The Citadel won 21-19 last Oct. 31 in Charleston, South Carolina)The Skinny: Each of the last two meetings have ended with a two-point Citadel victory. This is the third meeting since Mercer returned to football in 2013.Brent Thompson, The Citadels offensive coordinator the last two seasons, is making his head coaching debut. His triple option offense averaged six yards per carry in last years win as Cam Jackson and Tyler Renew surpassed 100 yards and a third back nearly did as well in a 367-yard assault. But the big difference is returning quarterback Dominique Allen is suspended for the game and redshirt freshman Jordan Black is running the offense. Their defense, led by All-America cornerback Dee Delaney, forced 31 turnovers last season.Mercer upset Chattanooga at home last season to hand the co-champ its only SoCon loss. But the Bears won only one other conference game in a 5-6 season. Still, with 10 returning starters on each side of the ball, the Bears are the dark horse in a potentially deep SoCon title race. Fourth-year QB John Russ will have to produce more than he did in last years loss to The Citadel, but running backs Tee Mitchell and Alex Lakes form a 1-2 punch which takes pressure off Russ. Defensive ends Tosin Aquebor and Isaiah Buehler must protect the edge when the Bulldogs triple option seeks the perimeter.Prediction: The fashionable pick is to go with Mercer breaking through with a rousing win, but heres a guess The Citadels title experience pays off in the fourth quarter. The Citadel, 23-21.---=STATS FCS TOP 25 SCHEDULE=All Times ETX-Predicted WinnerThursday, Sept. 1Shorter (0-0) at X-No. 6 Chattanooga (0-0), 7 p.m. -- Alejandro Bennifield breaks in as Chattanoogas new starting quarterback. No pressure, hes just replacing a three-time Southern Conference offensive player of the year (Jacob Huesman).X-No. 20 Western Illinois (0-0) at Eastern Illinois (0-0), 7 p.m. -- It wont look good if debuting WIU coach Charlie Fisher beats third-year EIU coach Kim Dameron to the first non-conference win. Dameron led the Panthers to the playoffs last year, but hes 0-8 outside the Ohio Valley Conference. North Alabama (0-0) at X-No. 3 Jacksonville State (0-0), 7 p.m. -- JSU coach John Grass has filled some holes with FBS transfers, including former Auburn running back Roc Thomas. Can you smell what the Roc is cooking?X-No. 19 North Dakota (0-0) at Stony Brook (0-0), 7 p.m. -- In a matchup of similar styles -- run the ball and let the defense provide good field position -- UNDs playoff hopefuls have to prove they havent lost too much on the offensive line.X-No. 9 William & Mary (0-0) at North Carolina State (0-0), 7:30 p.m. -- The Tribe lost a lot on defense, but their dynamic offense, behind the triple threat of quarterback Steve Cluley, running back Kendall Anderson (whos nursing a shoulder injury) and all-purpose wideout DeVonte Dedmon, can outscore the Wolfpack.Friday, Sept. 2No. 21 Colgate (0-0) at X-Syracuse (0-0), 7 p.m. -- No Orange crush, this is the perfect storm for an FCS-FBS upset: a veteran Colgate squad taking on a rebuilding Syracuse team with a new coach in Dino Babers.Saturday, Sept. 3Kentucky State (0-0) at X-No. 7 Charleston Southern (0-1), 11:45 a.m. -- Buccaneers fans thank the schedule maker for putting a Division II opponent in between North Dakota State and Florida State.No. 23 Villanova (0-0) at X-Pittsburgh (0-0), 1:30 p.m. -- Nova coach Andy Talley, beginning his swan song, thinks his defense is ready to keep the Wildcats in games while the offense keeps maturing.X-No. 4 Richmond (0-0) at Virginia (0-0), 3:30 p.m. -- A deep, versatile defensive line will provide pressure on new Virginia QB Kurt Benkert, so the Spiders linebackers and defensive backs can try to force turnovers.Central Washington (0-0) at X-No. 17 Portland State (0-0), 5:30 p.m. -- After a difficult offseason (two players died less than three months apart), Vikings coach Bruce Barnum has another team feeding on emotion.Morehead State (0-0) at X-No. 12 James Madison (0-0), 6 p.m. -- JMU will score in bunches, but new Dukes coach Mike Houston will have a problem if his defense cant contain Eagles quarterback Austin Gahafer, the active FCS leader in passing yards (8,514).St. Augustines (0-0) at X-No. 25 North Carolina A&T (0-0), 6 p.m. -- A&T running back Tarik Cohen figures to be out of the game in the second half. By then, he should be well on his way toward a fourth straight 1,000-yard season.Valparaiso (0-0) at X-No. 10 Illinois State (0-0), 7 p.m. -- This is a good, easy way for the Redbirds to get the pieces in place following key senior losses.Tarleton State (0-0) at X-No. 11 McNeese (0-0), 7 p.m. -- Lance Guidry makes his McNeese head coaching debut. Heres how the Cowboys break in transfer quarterback James Tabary: Tartleton State ranked 168th and last in Division II in total defense last season.Oklahoma Panhandle State (0-0) at X-No. 2 Sam Houston State (0-0), 7 p.m. -- Lacking a big-time schedule, coach K.C. Keeler and Co. will try to put up some big scores for the FCS playoff committee to consider come November.No. 24 Towson (0-0) at X-South Florida (0-0), 7 p.m. -- The Towson seniors were part of the 2013 team that was the FCS runner-up. Theyll be thrilled to get back to the playoffs a second time this year.No. 5 Northern Iowa (0-0) at X-Iowa State (0-0), 8 p.m. -- UNI won in Ames in 2013, but fell 31-7 last year. While pass rusher Karter Schult returns, the Panthers need some other defensive stars to emerge after they lost a number of stars.X-No. 16 Coastal Carolina (0-0) at Lamar (0-0), 8 p.m. -- Terrific matchup as Lamar senior Kade Harrington begins chase of a second straight 2,000-yard campaign. The FCS community will likely shun the independent Chanticleers as they transition toward the FBS.No. 8 South Dakota State (0-0) at X-TCU (0-0), 8 p.m. -- Its a good thing Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium opens in another week because the Jackrabbits road schedule includes North Dakota State, Illinois State and Northern Iowa in addition to TCU.No. 14 Eastern Washington (0-0) at X-Washington State (0-0), 8 p.m. -- Oh, how Cougars coach Mike Leach would love to have wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the 2015 STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year, on his offense.No. 22 New Hampshire (0-0) at X-San Diego State (0-0), 8:30 p.m. -- Will it still be sunny and 75 at game time?Saint Francis (0-0) at X-No. 13 Montana (0-0), 9 p.m. -- With all the transfers, the Griz might be sitting on a better team than people realize.No. 18 Northern Arizona (0-0) at X-Arizona State (0-0), 10:45 p.m. -- This time last year, nobody even knew about NAU greyshirt QB Case Cookus. All he did was go on to throw for an FCS freshman-record 37 touchdowns. Tim Tebow Jersey . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Keith Hernandez Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/mookie-wilson-mets-jersey/ . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Tom Seaver Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Gary Carter Jersey . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Several hundred cyclists turned out Tuesday for an early morning ride with Lance Armstrong, who is in New Zealand to film a commercial for a local brewery.Armstrong issued an invitation by social media to join him cycling around Aucklands waterfront and a crowd estimated at up to 1,000 turned out.Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from cycling in 2013 after admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.Armstrong told the New Zealand Herald newspaper that he was glad to know he still has some support.New Zealands Lion Breweries has confirmed it brought the 45-year-old Texan to New Zealand. In an internal staff emaiil, the brewer said we are using Lance to tell a cautionary tale called `The Consequence, which depicts how much you stand to lose when you pursue success at all costs.ddddddddddddWe wanted to highlight that actions have consequences and we couldnt think of anyone better to demonstrate that than Lance, the email said.Armstrong arrived in Auckland on Sunday from Houston, telling reporters he is in New Zealand on business but has bought his bike and golf clubs.He took part in a ride later that day with a small group including New Zealand Ironman triathlon champion Cameron Brown. ' ' '