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At almost the same moment on an August afternoon that West Virginia played its season opener against Penn State, beginning a journey that now finds it two wins from its first national championship, the teams best player was otherwise occupied winning an Olympic bronze medal a hemisphere away.As the Mountaineers concluded that first week with a game against Buffalo, Kadeisha Buchanan instead soaked in the Olympic closing ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro. She even met Usain Bolt.Which is to say that from the outset this season, Buchanan ran in different circles than your typical college senior.Different circles than even your typical All-American, for that matter.But it is what Buchanan has done since arriving back in Morgantown from Rio that makes the defender espnWs national player of the year. After a tie in their opening game without her, the Mountaineers have gone 21-1-1 with her in the lineup. They shut out the Big 12 for an entire conference season, allowing nary a goal in eight consecutive games. They earned the programs first No. 1 seed and survived both snow and foes to reach their first College Cup.Center backs rarely get to be stars. The position is responsible as much for defusing highlights before they occur as creating them in their own right. But already a World Cup and Olympic veteran for Canada at the age of 21, Buchanan cant help but be the center of attention for West Virginia. Her command of a craft stands out like, well, Bolt sprinting away from the pack in Rio. None of her peers do it as well as she does it.She is a soccer mind, West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. Shes commanding. She knows where everyone needs to be. Shes directing, shes orchestrating. Coaches will always tell you that they need great leadership to be successful, and thats exactly what we have in Keisha back there.It is difficult to quantify what makes a defender special, let alone the best player in the nation. Though they may score goals, as Buchanan has three times this season, and make themselves useful on set pieces, compiling statistics isnt a center backs primary work. Beyond the mere eye test, assessing Buchanan is a process of deduction. West Virginia has the second-stingiest defense in the nation. Buchanan is the teams best defender, backed up by an international pedigree that includes being named the best young player in the 2015 World Cup and a member of FIFAs all-star team for that tournament.Someone to whom all that applies, who North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance suggested might be the best center back in the nation -- a few weeks into her freshman season -- must be pretty good, right?Yet no matter how brilliant her soccer mind or impressive her athleticism, a defender will struggle to excel alone. Maybe more than any other position, a center back is dependent on the collective. And it is in that regard that Buchanan has grown from an amazing talent into a world-class player. Gone is the quiet reserve of a 17-year-old freshman who just wanted to play, not speak or lead.When shes telling someone to move, theyre moving, Izzo-Brown said of what she sees now. And people respond so well to her, and understand that she knows the game so well, that she is our fourth coach out there. ...Its like having a coach behind your team coaching.Even if leading from behind isnt exactly what Buchanan hoped for in Morgantown. It may be a myth that a frustrated striker inhabits the soul of every great defender, but Buchanan wont help dispel it. She had already debuted for the senior Canadian national team by the time she arrived at West Virginia, having previously earned a reputation as an up-and-coming defender on youth national teams. So she knew her role in college would likely follow that same route. But with a veteran back line already in place for the Mountaineers, the former striker for her club team hoped she might get some of the goals for herself.Those dreams died very quickly, Buchanan said. I knew coming into West Virginia that I was going to play center back. I kind of wanted to play forward, but Coach didnt let me. I got over it.Her tongue-in-cheek tone made it clear it wasnt an entirely serious lament. Not entirely.But twice this season the Mountaineers have needed Buchanan to revive her old skills.Down 2-0 at halftime against TCU in the Big 12 tournament final, matching the number of goals they conceded in the 12 games immediately preceding that contest, the Mountaineers pushed Buchanan into the attack in the second half. With a little more than a minute remaining in regulation, she scored the tying goal that brought on overtime and teammate Ashley Lawrences eventual winner.That was a game the Mountaineers very much wanted, the opportunity to sweep the conference tournament and regular-season titles. Then, when Buchanan stepped to a snowy spot as the fifth and final Mountaineer in a Sweet 16 penalty shootout against UCLA, a goal was a necessity.In a shootout for the first time since the 2014 tournament, when West Virginia lost to Georgetown, Buchanan lined up an attempt. Izzo-Brown said she asked Buchanan if she wanted to be on the list of takers. Buchanan didnt hesitate. She drilled the ball into the net, turned and leaped into the air as onrushing teammates swarmed her.West Virginia is most comfortable when its season is at her feet.Although she knew of the College Cup growing up -- plenty of Canadian national team players were veterans of NCAA championships in the United States -- it wasnt until a second-round loss against Virginia Tech her freshman year that she fully felt its importance. It is the biggest prize she can win in this uniform.Ive got to get one before I leave, Buchanan recalled thinking.She has since starred in a World Cup on home soil and won a bronze medal in the Olympics.And in her final college season, the best player in the nation has done all she can to give herself a chance at a different trophy. 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Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Bernie Kosar Browns Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Like Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, Austin Allen remembers all too well how depleted the roster was when he arrived on campus as a freshman four years ago.So limited were the number of players, and their overall talent, that Arkansas was unable to field two teams to take part in full 7-on-7 summer workouts.With Allen now finally ready to lead Arkansas at quarterback after a three-year apprenticeship under his older brother, both he and Bielema believe the program is ready to compete in the brutal Southeastern Conference West Division on a yearly basis.You can just see the depth theyve built everywhere, Allen said. The whole mentality of the team has changed since my freshman year, from `I think we can to now we know we have a great team.The Razorbacks had their second straight winning season last year under Bielema, finishing 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the SEC -- with victories in six of their final seven games.They are wary of that being the conclusion to their journey back to respectability, especially after losing a host of players to the NFL. Thankfully, Bielema, who has steadied the program after a winless first season in the SEC in 2013, believes he finally has the team to withstand turnover in his fourth season.I know this team better than Ive known any roster of players that Ive had here at Arkansas to this point, Bielema said.Giving Bielema reason for optimism is the growth and maturity of Allen -- as well as a defense that believes it can return to one of the top 10 in the country like it was two years ago. The Razorbacks struggled early a year ago with their defensive pass rush, an area they expect to correct this year. Senior Deatrich Wise leads a group Bielema has praised for its overall talent and depth, having led Arkansas with eight sacks last season.While optimism and depth might not be enough earn the Razorbacks the SEC championship Bielema promised when he was hired just yet, this could just show Arkansas wiill always be a factor among the SECs elite with Bielema in charge.ddddddddddddSome other things to watch as Arkansas tries to earn its third straight winning season under Bielema:WONDER WIDEOUTSThe Razorbacks turned a position that had been a weakness into one of the stronger units in the SEC last season, with playmakers like Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed emerging to grab a combined 16 touchdown catches. Both return this season, and the receivers receive another boost with the return of season Keon Hatcher. Last years top wideout missed much of the season with a foot injury.SIDELINE STABILITYAfter having had to replace a coordinator in each of the last two seasons, Bielema enters this year with a welcome bit of stability with his signal callers. Defensive coordinator Robb Smith returns for his third year, while Dan Enos returns to run an offense that was 29th in the country last season with an average of 465.5 yards per game.RUNNING TURNOVERAs good as Arkansas backfields have been under Bielema, the Razorbacks enter this season unproven there. Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams departed for the NFL, leaving sixth-year senior Kody Walker as the starter to begin preseason camp. However, sophomore Rawleigh Williams -- who played well last season before an injury -- returns and highly recruited freshman Devah Whaley could challenge the 1,000-yard mark his first season.KEY GAMESArkansas opens the season at home against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 3, facing a team that went 9-4 with a bowl win last season. It gets tougher the next week with a trip to TCU. Four of their toughest games (Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and LSU) all come at home in Fayetteville over a five-week stretch.PREDICTIONThe SEC schedule leaves little margin for error and the Razorbacks need their defense to improve to hope for an 8-4 finish this season. ' ' '