Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. David Ross Jersey .com) - Win three straight national championships and then play with a chip on your shoulder. Incredibly, thats what the North Dakota State Bison did in the 2014 season on their way toward capturing an unprecedented fourth straight FCS title this past Saturday and then the unanimous No. 1 ranking in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 on Monday. In the final national media poll, North Dakota State collected all 152 first- place votes and 3,800 points. Realistically, there appeared to be reason to doubt NDSUs chances after last season when it lost a superb senior class as well as former head coach Craig Bohl to the University of Wyoming. All that did, though, was motivate the Bison. What weve done this year shows that it wasnt those 24 seniors that got us three national championships, senior linebacker Carlton Littlejohn said. Its everyone around -- everyone in the program from coaches to players to even training staff, like were a whole Bison family. Its not 24 seniors thats going to win us a national championship. Exactly, senior running back John Crockett added, and its a band of brothers going out there and basically fighting for each other and not wanting to let the other one down because they know that the other one is going to do everything he can not to let him down. NDSU completed its 15-1 season by defeating Illinois State, 29-27, in the FCS championship game in Frisco, Texas, winning on quarterback Carson Wentzs 5- yard run with 37 seconds remaining. The Bison rallied from fourth-quarter deficits in three of their four postseason wins. The contributions were widespread for NDSU this season. First-year coach Chris Kliemans team placed a national-high six players on The Sports Network FCS All-America Team, and that didnt even include Wentz, a redshirt junior who was voted the Most Outstanding Player in the national final. Looking toward 2015, the Bison will lose 16 outstanding seniors (wide receiver Zach Vraa has announced he will return for another season). Of course, the senior losses have been overcome while the Bison have gone 58-3 since the start of the 2011 season - one more national title than defeats. National runner-up Illinois State (13-2) finished with the No. 2 ranking under sixth-year coach Brock Spack. The Redbirds, whose team featured dual-threat quarterback Tre Roberson and FCS rushing leader Marshaun Coprich, had an impressive postseason run, avenging a loss to the only team (Northern Iowa) to defeat both the Redbirds and North Dakota State during the regular season and then going on the road to beat both fourth-seeded Eastern Washington and top- seeded New Hampshire. New Hampshire (12-2) was No. 3 in the final poll. The CAA Football champion finished the regular season with the top ranking and reached the national semifinals for the second consecutive season. Big Sky Conference champion Eastern Washington (11-3), a national quarterfinalist, was No. 4 and Big South Conference co-champion Coastal Carolina (12-2), which also reached the final eight in the postseason, was No. 5. They were followed by No. 6 Sam Houston State (11-5), a national semifinalist and co-champion in the Southland Conference; No. 7 Villanova (11-3), a national quarterfinalist; No. 8 Chattanooga (10-4), a national quarterfinalist and the Southern Conference champion; No. 9 Jacksonville State (10-2), the Ohio Valley Conference champion; and No. 10 Northern Iowa (9-5). Next up were No. 11 Fordham (11-3), the Patriot League champion; No. 12 South Dakota State (9-5); No. 13 Montana (9-5); No. 14 Southeastern Louisiana (9-4), the Southland co-champion; No. 15 Harvard (10-0), unbeaten champion of an Ivy League which doesnt participate in the FCS playoffs; No. 16 Richmond (9-5); No. 17 Liberty (9-5), the Big South co-champion; No. 18 James Madison (9-4); No. 19 Indiana State; and No. 20 Montana State (8-5). Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Eastern Kentucky (9-4); No. 22 Youngstown State (7-5); No. 23 Bethune-Cookman (9-3), which was one of five teams to share the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title; No. 24 Sacred Heart (9-3), the Northeast Conference co-champion; and No. 25 Idaho State (8-4). The Missouri Valley had the most teams ranked in the final Top 25 with six, followed by the Big Sky and the CAA with four each. Eleven of the 13 FCS conferences had at least one team in the Top 25. A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote. Ian Happ Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Kendall Graveman Cubs Jersey . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-brandon-kintzler-jersey/ . -- Arizona coach Sean Miller rose from his seat every time Roberto Nelson touched the ball and yelled "Shooter!" He could have been talking about his own team, too.NEWARK, N.J. - Henrik Lundqvist has done more than set a couple of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. The Swedish goalie is keeping the Blueshirts in the thick of playoff contention. Lundqvist made 21 saves in posting his Rangers record 50th NHL shutout, and New York improved its playoff chances with a 2-0 victory over the fading New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Lundqvists fifth shutout of the season broke a tie with Ed Giacomin for the career mark, and it came less than a week after he set the Rangers record for wins, eclipsing Mike Richter (301). "We might as well do it in one week so we dont have to talk about it for a while," Lundqvist said. "Just a great feeling. This game was so important, and the points were important." The win came just 24 hours after Lundqvist posted a 3-1 win over Columbus in a game between teams fighting for playoff positions in the Metropolitan Division. New York is in third place, four points in front of Columbus and one point behind Philadelphia. Both teams have played fewer games than the Rangers. "We are still in a position where we are fighting for our lives," Lundqvist said. "We have to keep pushing ourselves and have the mindset that every point could be the difference right now. Its going to be until the end, the last game. A lot of it is going to be mental, how we push each other and approach every game as a must win." Lundqvist has held opponents to two goals or fewer in 16 of his last 23 games, and he is 6-2 with two shutouts in his last eight starts. "Hes been tremendous," defenceman Ryan McDonagh said. "He has been in this position before. He is the leader on the back end, the backbone of our team. You can see it. He is talking a lot and making great efforts on second and third pucks around the crease. We need him to continue." Rick Nash scored his team-leading, eighth game winning goal and Derek Stepan added an empty-net, power-play tally with 8 seconds left to give the Rangers their third straight road win. New Jersey lost for the fourth time in five games and is in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year. "It was a tough one," said New Jerseys Martin Brodeur, who made 25 saves. "We played a good game out there. It was a chess match. Just kind of a fluky goal was decisive in this game. Its unfortunate." Lundqvist was good and lucky. He stopped Jaromir Jagr on a first-period breakaway and had a third-period shoot in close go off the post. Cole Hamels Cubs Jersey. He also survived a wild goal-mouth scramble, with Jagr and Travis Zajac whacking at a loose puck with 39 seconds to play after the Devils pulled Brodeur while New York was on a power play The Rangers are nine points ahead of the Devils with 10 games left. New Jersey has a game in hand. Nash made it 1-0 at 10:33 of the second period on a shot from the left boards that seemed to catch Brodeur off guard after Rangers forward Chris Kreider was sent flying through the crease. Following a turnover in the Devils zone, Stepan attempted a cross-ice pass to Kreider as he cut toward the crease. The rookie was knocked off his feet and might have distracted Brodeur as he tumbled to the ice. The puck went to the side boards, and Nash fired in his 23rd goal before Brodeur could cover the bad-angle shot. "I took a peek first and saw he wasnt back yet," Nash said. "With him, hes a great goaltender so you have to shoot everything on net." Brodeur said he lost his bearing after bumping with Kreider. "Even now, I dont know where the puck went," he said. "I ran into the guy who was trying to get the tip-in, and by the time I recovered I think the puck was in." Lundqvist and Brodeur have been one of the best matchups in recent years in this series and they didnt disappoint. Lundqvist, who had very little to do early, faced his first shot when Jagr got a breakaway after taking a pass from his end. The 41-year-old forward tried to beat Lundqvist with a move from left to right. He then reached back with his stick to tuck the puck into the left corner. Lundqvist kept his pad on the ice and made the save. He also stopped Dainius Zubrus from between the circles midway through the period. Brodeurs best stops in the first period came late with a glove save on a screen shot by McDonagh and two saves on Marc Staal in the closing minutes. He was outstanding in the third period, particularly on a power play when Jagr was sent off for cross-checking. NOTES: Rangers D John Moore missed his first game since early December because of concussion-like symptoms sustained in the game against Columbus on Friday. Raphael Diaz, acquired from Vancouver at the trade deadline, made his debut in Moores place. ... Devils fourth-line forward Ryan Carter returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury. Stepan has points in 11 of 13 games. ... The Rangers are 14-4-1 in games in which Nash scores a goal. ' ' '