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The time to make September statements is over, but there is one more month to impress the College Football Playoff selection committee before it releases its first ranking on Nov. 1.At this point, the playoff picture is somewhat premature, as teams are just now entering the heart of conference play, and the committee holds league titles in high regard. Technically, any team with a chance to win its league should still be in the conversation. (Oklahoma: So youre saying theres a chance?)The perception of wins and losses will also change as the season evolves. Will Houstons win over Oklahoma carry as much weight in November as it did in Week 1? Not if the Sooners slip into oblivion. Alabama beat USC ... well, so did almost everyone else. The same can be said for Texas thrilling double-overtime win against Notre Dame in the season opener, as the Irish are now 1-3 after losing at home to Duke.A win over a Power 5 nonconference opponent will continue to resonate with the committee and help separate those teams from other comparable programs with weaker schedules, but as the teams evolve, so does the playoff picture.Heres a look at what we know after four weeks and what questions still linger heading into October:September answers:Alabama is still the team to beat. The defending national champs entered the season with questions about their quarterbacks and running backs, but after a 4-0 start they have reasserted themselves as the premier team in the country. The gritty win over Ole Miss, which had beaten the Crimson Tide the previous two seasons, made the biggest statement and cemented Bamas perch atop the SEC West. The biggest concern right now is staying healthy, as the top two running backs, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, were injured against Kent State.Notre Dame and USC arent top-four -- or top-25.?Both fell far fast and are off to 1-3 starts, major disappointments for programs that entered the season with playoff aspirations. The Irish suffered their worst upset in two decades on Saturday when they lost at home to Duke, which was a three-touchdown underdog, and USC lost a heartbreaker to Utah on Friday night. The Trojans simply havent looked good enough to contend for the Pac-12 title, let alone a spot in the top four.Louisville has legitimate national title hopes. After embarrassing then-No. 2 Florida State 63-20, Louisville flipped a switch from playoff dark horse to contender. It has looked like the best team in the ACCs Atlantic Division and will have played both FSU and Clemson before the first CFP ranking comes out. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, but Louisvilles defense has made the Cardinals the total package entering October.The Group of 5 has hope. Houstons win over Oklahoma wasnt a fluke. Clearly the Cougars were the better team, but they still need a perfect season plus a bit of help to get into the top four. Its not impossible, but the Thursday night game against Louisville on Nov. 17 has grown in importance. In addition to needing to finish undefeated, Houston needs OU to be relevant in the Big 12 race and for the committee to acknowledge a few of its American Athletic Conference opponents in its top 25.The Big 12 is in a precarious position. Oklahoma is 1-2 but hasnt even started conference play. The excitement around Texas fizzled with its loss at Cal. TCU lost in double overtime to Arkansas, and Oklahoma States controversial loss to Central Michigan (which just lost to Virginia) was a microcosm of the hand-wringing that Big 12 fans have gone through this season. So the league turns to Baylor, a program mired in controversy, as its highest-ranked team. Whoever emerges as the league champ will likely be afforded only?one loss by the committee.Tennessee controls the SEC East. What streak? Butch Jones can exhale after overcoming an 18-point deficit in the second half to beat Florida and snap an 11-game losing streak in the series. Equally as important is that the win propelled the Vols to the top of the East standings as the front-runner to win the division, especially after Georgias dreadful performance in a 45-14 loss to Ole Miss.Lingering questions:Can anyone beat Alabama? Not even Ole Miss could do it this year. LSU certainly doesnt look capable after a loss to Auburn. With its win over Arkansas, Texas A&M became the lead contender to challenge the Tide in the SEC West, but Alabama will have home-field advantage in that game on Oct. 22. Tennessee also has new life in the East and could have two shots at Bama, and in case you didnt notice, rival Auburn still has a pulse. Anything can happen in the Iron Bowl.How will the committee view Baylor? The Bears are now the Big 12s highest-ranked team after their win over Oklahoma State, and West Virginia is the only other undefeated team in the league. For the third straight year, Baylors nonconference schedule is laughable compared to others, but is the Big 12s most polarizing program also its best? Can the Bears remain relevant in the conference race? If so, will the committee members be able to separate what has happened on the field with the transgressions off it?Can Wisconsin keep it up? The Badgers have one of the most impressive September résumés, knocking off two top-10 teams in LSU and Michigan State. Remember, though, that Wisconsin made it to the Big Ten championship game in 2014 and was dismantled by Ohio State and its third-string quarterback. Theres no doubt the Badgers found their quarterback in Alex Hornibrook, but they also face back-to-back top-five opponents in Michigan and Ohio State.Is Utah for real? The Utes are off to a 4-0 start, but they also did that last year and were 3-0 to start 2014. They havent been able to sustain their recent strong starts through conference play. Utah next travels to Cal, and should also be leery of a surging Colorado team in the ever-unpredictable South Division, which has had four different champs in each of the past four seasons.Will the ACC need its third-party tiebreaker? Its a long shot, as several things need to happen: Clemson has to beat Louisville, AND Florida State has to beat Clemson, AND none of them can lose again this season, finishing with 11-1 records. If that happens, the ACC will turn to SportSource Analytics for its No. 7 tiebreaker, using the highest-ranked team, according to their team rating score metric, to determine the Atlantic Division winner.Ohio State or Michigan? It was clear in the home loss to Wisconsin that Michigan State has issues, and Sparty didnt look ready to return to the Big Ten title game. So which one is it? Ohio State or Michigan? The Buckeyes have the better résumé right now thanks to a road win over Oklahoma, and they also have to travel to Wisconsin on Oct. 15, in addition to facing Nebraska, Michigan State and Michigan. The Wolverines host Wisconsin on Saturday. Michael Frolik Jersey . 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The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. RIO DE JANEIRO -- There have been boos and scandals for Russia in Rio, but also medals -- a lot of them.A country which arrived under a cloud with a depleted team leaves with 19 gold medals and fourth place in the medal table, leaving fans at home wondering what Russia could have achieved at full strength.While it wouldnt have been easy to win the eight extra gold medals needed to overhaul China for third place, there are plenty of events where Russians could have made their mark if they hadnt been excluded over allegations of state-sponsored doping.Heres a look at how Russian stars could have done if the doping scandal had never happened:YELENA ISINBAYEVA -- Russias two-time Olympic champion in the pole vault was in no doubt that she could have won in Rio if the Russian track and field team had been allowed to compete, suggesting Greek winner Ekaterini Stefanidi would not have a real gold. Isinbayeva might have a point, since Stefanidis winning leap of 4.85 meters was 5 centimeters short of the Russians best result this year.SERGEI SHUBENKOV -- The 110-meter hurdles gold could have been Russias, with Jamaican winner Omar McLeods 13.05-second time well within the range of Shubenkov, who ran 12.98 to win the world title in Beijing last year.MARIA KUCHINA -- The womens high jump competition was mediocre, with top contenders on such poor form that better results were actually set by the non-specialists in the heptathlon. Spanish veteran Ruth Beitia was surprised to win gold with a jump of 1.97 meters, which would only have been good enough for fifth in 20112 or seventh at last years world championships.dddddddddddd World champion Kuchina jumped 2 meters last month near Moscow.TATIANA KASHIRINA -- Weightlifting was the only sport to ban the entire Russian team, citing revelations from the World Anti-Doping Agency and a huge number of recent drug test failures. While Kashirina did once serve a ban, she was otherwise eligible for Rio and could have won gold without coming close to her world-record lifts from 2014, which total more than 40 kilograms more than Chinas Meng Suping managed for Olympic gold in Rio.ALEXANDER DYACHENKO -- The 2012 sprint kayak gold medalist was barred from Rio after being implicated in a WADA report into alleged drug test cover-ups. Its hard to compare times from different competitions due to varying water conditions, but recent performances indicate Dyachenko and partner Yuri Postrigay would have had a shot at defending their title.ELENA LASHMANOVA -- There have been so many drug test failures in Russias once dominant race walk team that Russia didnt even try to enter Lashmanova and other top walkers for Rio as a gesture of goodwill. Still, its unlikely that gesture would have been necessary if Russia wasnt already under considerable pressure over doping. Lashmanova, who once served a two-year drug ban, beat Rio gold medalist Liu Hong at the 2012 Olympics, though the Chinese walker has improved since and would have been a tough opponent this time round. ' ' '