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Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck wont be watching when the College Football Playoff poll is released Tuesday night.Hell be too busy dealing with other, more pressing matters.See, Fleck understands the 17th-ranked Broncos didnt position themselves for an unbeaten season, a Mid-American Conference championship and perhaps a playoff spot by worrying about things beyond their control. Hes turned Western Michigan into a national power by earning respect for the program on the field and keeping it by winning game after game.We are everybodys big game, we are everybodys elite opportunity and we know that, Fleck said. We used to play against teams like that when we werent very good. We were there. We know where weve been. So now weve embraced this completely opposite role.While the Broncos (8-0, 4-0) relish this new role, they attack it with the same vigor they needed to reach this point -- even if Tuesday nights game at last-place Ball State (4-4, 1-3) looks like a gimme to everyone else.For Western Michigan , its chance to show the college football world why they are one of five remaining unbeaten teams in the country and why they deserve to be in the CFP discussion. The first batch of rankings will be released shortly after the Broncos game begins.Play poorly on national television, in a game most believe should be a rout, and the performance could taint Western Michigans national perception for the rest of the season.But its also a potentially dangerous predicament for the Broncos.Ball State can take more risks than usual, will likely play in front of a big, raucous crowd and has something to prove, too.If you want to be the best, youve got to beat the best, and they are the best in our conference, first-year Ball State coach Mike Neu said. Its great to have that challenge here at Scheumann Stadium. We look forward to that.If Western Michigan keeps it up, the possibilities could be limitless -- if they keep climbing the CFP charts.For now, Fleck and the Broncos will let everyone else debate where they belong. Theyll be content to add a few more chapters to their 10-game winning streak -- the schools longest since 1940-41.Like we say, start fast, accelerate in the middle and finish strong, running back Jarvion Franklin said. So I think we started fast, and I guess we accelerated in the middle and now we have to finish strong.Here are some other things to watch Tuesday night:NO. 1 vs. NO. 2: Franklin and Ball State running back James Gilbert are the top two runners in the MAC and both could top the 1,000-yard mark on Tuesday. Gilbert, who first committed to Western Michigan before switching to Ball State, leads the MAC with 987 yards and 11 touchdowns and has four straight 100-yard games. Franklin has 909 yards and seven TDs and averages 113.6 yards per game.TIDY ON TURNOVERS: One reason Western Michigan is undefeated -- theyve had only three turnovers all season, the fewest in the FBS. Another reason: Their turnover margin of plus-1.5 per game, was second in the nation heading into the weekend behind only No. 4 Washington (plus-2.0).RUN, RILEY, RUN: Ball State quarterback Riley Neal scored on two TD runs at Buffalo in the Cardinals last victory. He has run for six scores this season, and Ball State is 3-1 when Neal scores on a TD run.KEEPING UP WITH DAVIS: Broncos receiver Corey Davis is the FBS active leader in yards receiving (4,524). But Davis has much bigger visions. The MACs career receiving leader needs 482 yards to break the FBS career yardage record (Trevor Insley, Nevada, 5,005 yards). He also leads the nation with 11 TD receptions, giving him a school-record 44 in his career and three away from tying the conferences career mark.---The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org/ Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Cheap Authentic Jerseys . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. http://www.cheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/ . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Clearance NFL Shop . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Wholesale Jerseys For Sale .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When youve been to the final four five straight times and eight of the past nine years, youre not going to garner much sympathy in a sport as deep as volleyball.But falling one win shy of a national championship yet again didnt settle well for Texas coach Jerritt Elliott or his Longhorns, beaten by Stanford 3-1 on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.It stinks going home with the silver, said Elliott, who has guided Texas to eight final fours in his 16 years. I walk away from this really, really devastated that we didnt win this.When youve been the best, second is tough. Texas (27-5) knows the feeling of being No. 1, having won this thing in 1988 and 2012. But instead of hoisting up the trophy a third time -- something that seemed like a real possibility two nights earlier, when Texas stunned No. 1 Nebraska 3-0 -- the Longhorns were left with talking about coming achingly close again.Junior Ebony Nwanebu and freshman Micaya White buried each other in a long embrace, while the Cardinal celebration erupted around them. Sophomore Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani immediately found Elliott.Yaazie put her arm around me and said, Were going to get you one of these next year, Coach, Elliott said. Were going to make this thing happen.It wont be easy, considering Stanford returns much of its talent. But Nwanebu could pull this team together in the same way that Stanfords Inky Ajanaku did this season.Nwanebu, who finished with 16 kills and hit .289, struggled to get out full sentences in the postmatch news conference.Its weird to think I have one more season, she said. I have one more season to win a championship. I know Caya said in the locker room that all of us need to work our butts off to get to this point next year and have a different outcome. Im going to do everything in my power to do that.Poised and powerful against the Cornhuskers, Texas looked like it might have the kind of hitters who could counter the No. 1 blocking team in the nation. Instead, the Longhorns found themselves scrambling for another plan against the Cardinal trees -- 6-foot-6 Kathryn Plummer, 6-foot-6 Audriana Fitzmorris and 6-foot-8 Merete Lutz.Texas senior Paulina Prieto Cerame, who had 12 kills against Nebraska, managed just two against Stanford, with eight errors. That forced Elliott to shift his lineup, moving Bedart-Ghani to the outside and briinging in freshman Orie Agbaji to play middle.ddddddddddddTexas was never able to find the magic that had the Cornhuskers on the defensive almost the entire evening on Thursday.With Paulina struggling, we were against the wall, Elliott said. We made a switch, and it became more difficult, because the young middle who came in wasnt that experienced. It made us a lot more predictable.The fact that Texas likely overachieved in 2016 was little consolation on this night. The Longhorns were the NCAA runner-up a year ago and started the season at No. 2 in the AVCA poll, but they were dealt a blow to their depth in the preseason. Two-time All-American middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu was declared academically ineligible.It took an emotional toll on this team early on.This team had its challenges, Elliott said. Nicole Dalton and Paulina and Chloe [Collins] and our captains were committed to what this program is about, and thats finding a way to make it happen.Nebraska swept Texas to open the season, and Kansas secured the Big 12 title. But the Longhorns gelled in the NCAA tournament, staving off elimination when they trailed throughout the fifth set in the regional semifinals against BYU, only to survive 16-14.The way they grew and developed, I couldnt be more proud of this group and the fight they had, Elliott said. Late in October, I dont think anybody would have picked us to be in the finals.Next year, the story could have a happier ending. Texas brings in the top two recruits in the nation in 6-foot-2 outside hitter Lexi Sun and 6-foot-3 middle blocker Brionne Butler. Ashley Shook should contend for the starting setter spot as a freshman.With White, Nwanebu, Ogbogu, Bedart-Ghani and starting middle blocker Morgan Johnson returning, Texas is a good bet to return to this spot, and it might be prepared to win a pair in the final four in 2017.Were ready to take that next step, Elliott said. I think weve got the pieces to do that. Well see when we have competition and chemistry and how Ill manage that; thats going to be a big part.I have to walk away from what these seniors have meant and reflect on how proud the program is. And I know well get back here, and I know well win one in the next couple of years. ' ' '