Anmelden » (4-1), Youngstown State ((4-1)NEC (1): *Duqu

MIAMI -- Grateful for great blocking that paved the way to his first career 200-yard game, Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi offered to treat his offensive line to dinner.The response: Well take a rain check.I just wanted to show some appreciation to those guys, Ajayi said. They told me, `Its not a one-hit thing, and, `Lets do it again. And lo and behold, we did it again.Ajayi tied an NFL record by topping 200 yards rushing in a second consecutive game, and this week he became the first running back to win offensive player of the week in back-to-back weeks since LaDainian Tomlinson a decade ago.Even then there was little celebrating, because Ajayi has the Dolphins thinking big.By carrying Miami (3-4) to victories over Pittsburgh and Buffalo, he saved the season and raised hopes the franchises eight-year postseason drought might soon end.When were in the playoff hunt, I can celebrate, tackle Branden Albert said. Until then Im not celebrating. He doesnt need to take us out to dinner. Im just happy hes doing good and were doing good as a team.The Dolphins have reason to believe their recent success can be sustained.Following a wave of injuries and illness in an offensive line that includes four former first-round draft picks, the group was finally intact for the past two games, allowing Miami to physically dominate teams coached by Mike Tomlin and Rex Ryan.In other words, the wins were no fluke.This team can be special if we keep doing the things were doing, center Mike Pouncey said.Mostly what theyre doing is handing the ball to Ajayi, a second-year pro from England who has more than doubled his career rushing total in the past fortnight.At 6-foot and 229 pounds, Ajayi mixes a bruising running style with breakaway speed, and hes the first player since the 1970 merger to rush for 200 yards in two of his first three career starts. He has the only 200-yard games in the NFL this season, and his averages of 6.4 yards per carry and 4.1 yards after contact lead the league .Thats a big man running hard, not slowing down, sticking his foot in the ground, getting north, first-year Miami coach Adam Gase said. Hes running through arm tackles, and all of a sudden we started getting all these explosive plays.Fans, the media and flattened defenders ask the same question: When did this guy come from?Ajayi (pronounced uh-JYE-ee) was born in London to Nigerian parents and is a British citizen with lots of family and friends in England. He speaks with a British accent, and sounds particularly English when asked if hes the best soccer player on the Dolphins.I would believe so, he said with a smile.Lately hes their best football player, too. He moved to the United States in grade school unfamiliar with the game, but soon took it up while also playing soccer.The divided attention slowed his progress.My dad sat me down and was telling me to decide on one, because, he told me, I could be good at both, or be great at one, Ajayi recalled.Showing the instincts of a good running back, he chose the right path. After starring in high school near Dallas, Ajayi went to Boise State, where he became the first FBS player to total 1,800 yards rushing and 500 receiving in a season.The Dolphins waited until the fifth round to draft him in 2015, and even then the pick was critiqued as a reach, because of doubts about his durability because of a knee issue.Ajayi came off the bench in nine games as a rookie and totaled 187 yards rushing. He was anointed a likely starter this season after Lamar Miller departed in free agency, but during training camp, Gase perceived a misplaced sense of entitlement regarding playing time and became increasingly annoyed.When the Dolphins opened the season at Seattle, Ajayi didnt even make the travel roster.We had a rough 10 days, Gase said. But he centered himself and then started over.In Week 5, Ajayi made his first start and became hard to stop. He blossomed into the Dolphins Great Briton, and teammates now rave about his resilience and relentlessness.To play the way hes playing, it just makes me smile every time I think about it, Pouncey said, because a lot of guys would have tanked and gone the other way, getting benched right after thinking youre starting the season off.Gase is optimistic he can keep his international celebrity humble, hungry and healthy. In interviews, Ajayi seems genial, modest and a little overwhelmed by all the attention hes getting, whether from the BBC or school friends he had lost touch with.Im learning a lot about myself, he said. Im taking each week by itself, and just pushing to get through what happened earlier this year, and moving forward from that. Being in this position, it feels good, and we just want to keep building off that and not be satisfied.Celebratory dinners can wait.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine Cheap NBA Jerseys From China . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. NBA Jerseys China . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. http://www.cheapnbajerseysusa.com/ . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Wholesale NBA Jerseys Authentic . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . (STATS) -- Whos in, whos out?Midseason is a time to start looking into the STATS crystal ball at the potential FCS playoff field. Selection Sunday is Nov. 20.The big winner to date is CAA Football, which comes in with the most projected bids at five, and its nearly six because Stony Brook is the first team left out of the 24-team field.Some adjustments in the way the NCAA selection committee constructs the bracket will make for a more balanced field. Conferences with four or more bids wont be jammed into one side of the bracket and the committee can adjust a seed line to maintain balance (its done below with Richmond and Youngstown State).---=PROJECTED BIDS BY CONFERENCE=*- automatic qualifierBig Sky (4): Cal Poly (3-2), *Eastern Washington (5-1), Montana (4-1), North Dakota (4-2)Big South (1): *Charleston Southern (3-2)CAA (5): Albany (4-1), *James Madison (5-1), New Hampshire (4-2), Richmond (5-1), Villanova (5-1)Missouri Valley (4): *North Dakota State (5-0), South Dakota State (3-2), Western Illinois (4-1), Youngstown State ((4-1)NEC (1): *Duquesne (3-2)OVC (2): *Jacksonville State (4-1), Eastern Illinois (4-2)Patriot (1): *Lehigh (4-2)Pioneer (1): *San Diego (4-1)Southern (3): *Chattanooga (6-0), Samford (4-1), The Citadel (5-0)Southland (2): *Sam Houston State (5-0), Central Arkansas (4-1)Bubble Burst: Southern Utah (3-2), Stony Brook (3-2), Tennessee State (4-1), Wofford (4-2)---=STATS PROJECTED PAIRINGS=Top 8 seeds have first-round byesWestern Illinois-North Dakota winner at No.dddddddddddd 1 seed North Dakota StateCharleston Southern-The Citadel winner at No. 8 seed RichmondCal Poly-Central Arkansas winner at No. 5 seed Sam Houston StateDuquesne-Albany winner at No. 4 seed ChattanoogaEastern Illinois-South Dakota State winner at No. 7 seed Youngstown StateSan Diego-Montana winner at No. 2 seed Eastern WashingtonSamford-Lehigh winner at No. 3 seed Jacksonville StateVillanova-New Hampshire winner at No. 6 James Madison ' ' '