Theres no debate about which teams are the elite of the Southland Conference. Just look at the polls -- this year or last year -- and everyone knows the answer is Sam Houston State and McNeese.Yet, the Bearkats and Cowboys cant just cruise until their playoff rematch at the beginning of November. Theyll be starting October on upset alert.Both Southland powers face potentially tough obstacles Saturday, with second-ranked Sam Houston State (3-0, 2-0) taking on rival Stephen F. Austin (3-1, 2-0) at NRG Stadium -- home of the Houston Texans -- before No. 23 McNeese (2-2, 1-1) hosts a Nicholls team which has proven its mettle on the road.Since the STATS FCS Top 25 came into existence before last season, no Southland team has made the poll besides the Bearkats and Cowboys. Both have been part of every single one since last October.That could all change next week.McNeese would drop out with a loss to the Colonels (1-2, 1-0), who received 52 votes of their own in this weeks STATS poll. Stephen F. Austin would certainly join the rankings by stunning Sam Houston, having already won 31-28 at McNeese two weeks ago on Hunter Taylors touchdown pass with 3:35 to play.That was the only drive of the game for Taylor, a former walk-on who had been playing behind Zach Conque -- son of Lumberjacks coach Clint Conque. But dad had a much quicker hook last week, pulling Zach in the first quarter, and Taylor came on to complete 31 of 46 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Abilene Christian.So it would seem the Lumberjacks will stick with Taylor even though it was Zach Conque who was the preseason all-Southland first-team quarterback ahead of second-teamer Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston. Briscoe is off to a brilliant start, throwing for three touchdowns and more than 300 yards in each of the Bearkats three games.Those have all been easy wins, and Sam Houston leads the FCS with 51.7 points per game.Were gonna need to play with great passion, energy and focus this week versus the No. 2 team in the country, Clint Conque said. This is a ring-the-bell type of week. Weve got the most prolific offense really in the country coming in.The Bearkats have won the past five meetings of a rivalry which dates back to 1923. However, three of the last four were decided by eight points or less, including last years 34-28 game in which the Lumberjacks had the edge in total yards and led deep into the third quarter.This SFA squad has won three in a row, earning the most votes of any team not to make this weeks Top 25. Coach K.C. Keeler called the Lumberjacks playoff-caliber and the best SFA team hes seen since arriving at Sam Houston in 2014.Its a really intense rivalry, Keeler said heading into the 91st edition of the Battle of the Piney Woods. Emotion is great because you cant play this game without it, but you can put yourself in a position where emotion gets out of control which we cant do.While Keeler expects emotions to run high, McNeese cant be complacent despite facing an unheralded Nicholls program which the Cowboys have dominated. McNeese has won seven straight in the series, the last two by a combined 82-10 score.The Colonels two defeats this season were close ones against FBS programs. They lost in overtime at South Alabama last Saturday and nearly pulled off a true shocker to open the season, falling 26-24 to a Georgia team ranked ninth in the country.Georgia in front of 90,000 people was kinda crazy, and a great atmosphere this past weekend (in Mobile), but our conference is so tough and McNeese uses that home-field advantage and theyll have that stadium packed and rolling, Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said.However, the luster of the Cowboys has been tarnished in September with the home loss to SFA and last Saturdays uninspiring seven-point win over Incarnate Word.Plus, McNeese hasnt shown off the formidable ground game which keyed its 10-1 season in 2015. That Cowboys squad rushed for 233.3 yards per game and 5.0 per carry whereas this one, excluding a win over Division II Tarleton State, has averaged 106.7 per game and 2.8 per carry.That leaves coach Lance Guidry concerned because even though quarterback James Tabary has played well (eight TD passes, one interception), the Cowboys are facing what has been an impressive Nicholls pass defense. Opposing quarterbacks have completed just 48.0 percent of their passes against the Colonels, who had five sacks in a win over Incarnate Word before picking off four passes at South Alabama.Its kind of scary because were having to throw the ball to move the ball and score, Guidry said of the struggling ground game. Were gonna have to be balanced, find ways to run the football. But Nicholls makes it tough. Matthias Ginter Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. 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SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- When Lydia Ko first came to a U.S. Womens Open four years ago, her hands were shaking from nerves. Now with two major titles under her belt by age 19, Ko is able to keep those emotions under control and project a picture of calmness on the golf course.Ko birdied the 18th hole to cap a 2-under 70 in the third round Saturday that put her in the lead at the U.S. Womens Open at 7 under, bolstering her chance for her third major title in less than a year.I think nerves are good because it means youre excited, Ko said. Youre ready. It means a lot to you. Youve got to be able to control it. But a little bit of nerves is always good. It can end up being a little bit of adrenaline.Whatever Ko is doing is working.She became the youngest woman to win a major last year at the Evian Championship and followed that up by winning the ANA Inspiration this spring. Now shes in contention for her first U.S. Open title after failing to make the top 10 in her first four appearances.Ko has a one-shot lead at CordeValle over 2009 winner Eun Hee Ji and Sung Hyun Park. Brittany Lang and Amy Yang are two shots back at 5 under, and Angela Stanford is in sixth place at 4 under.Im going to just try and enjoy it, just focus on the shot I have in front of me and not think about what everybody else is doing, Ko said. If I think that way, I wont get too carried away with what position I am at certain parts of the final day.Kos week at the Open got off to a somewhat shaky start. She was tied for 52nd after a 73 in the first round in the difficult afternoon conditions.But Ko got into contention with a 66 in the second round and then took sole possession of the lead on the final hole Saturday. Her approach shot spun back about 9 feet from the hole. She calmly sank the putt and then threw her ball into the stands in celebration.Ko is tied for the fewest putts through three rounds. She made two other long birdies Saturday, a 25-foot downhill putt on No. 3 and a long left-to-right swinging putt on No. 13 that she iniitially thought she had over-read.ddddddddddddThats what I was doing the majority of the day, she said. I said, Oh, man. And then I was kind of walking a little bit and then I saw the ball drop. So it kind of took me by surprise. So it was a lucky one.Ji has broken par all three rounds, with a 69 and 71 in the first two rounds followed by her 2-under performance on Saturday. She is looking for another LPGA Tour win after winning the Open at Saucon Valley seven years ago.Park, playing her first U.S. Open and second major ever, got off to a solid start with birdies on the sixth and eighth holes to move to 9 under. But fortunes quickly changed at the par-5 ninth when she hit her tee shot into a hazard for a penalty and ended up with a double-bogey.Lang birdied 14 and 15 and had the low round of the day at 68 to move to 5 under. Lang tied for second as an amateur in her first U.S. Open in 2005 but has been in the top five only once since then, in 2010.Ive been here before, and I think you really have to just get to work on what youre doing, because if you spend a lot of time thinking about where youre going to finish, youre going to drop down pretty quick, Lang said.Several other golfers are lurking close enough to make a push on Sunday. Danielle Kang is at 3 under and fellow Americans Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis and Kris Tamulis are among seven golfers five shots back at 2 under.Theres no doubt I have to shoot at least 4 to 6 under, Id say, tomorrow to have a chance, Kerr said. It depends on the wind and the weather and the pins. Sometimes they like to set it up easier on Sunday and people get some low scores. I dont know what theyre going to do, but I have to be prepared for anything. If the conditions are easier, I have to be prepared to go low.The highlight of the day might have been Lee Lopezs ace on the 191-yard, par-3 12th hole. Lopez is at even par for the tournament. ' ' '