The gears grind slowly as the D-II season lurches into motion. The #2 team in the nation has a rude awakening, the bottom falls out of the top 25, and right in the middle of the rankings, someone got something wrong. All this and more… next.
CENTRAL:
Before we get into recappage, a note: the CIAA occasionally designates games against non-conference opponents as conference games, and likewise occasionally designates games between conference foes as non-conference games for one or both teams. This situation was exacerbated this season by the sudden withdrawal of Saint Paul’s, leaving everyone’s schedules in a mess. Affected games thus far: Virginia Union/Saint Augustine’s was a non-conference game for VUU, and a conference game for SCC. Lincoln’s game against Cheyney was a conference game. Elizabeth City State/Winston-Salem was a conference game for ECSU, non-conference for WSSU.
Elizabeth City State is already in trouble, but they’re better than they look just glancing at the standings. Their overtime push of Delta State helped send the Fighting Okra plummeting from #2 to #11 in this week’s poll, and they suffered a close loss to a decent WSSU team. They could make a couple of adjustments and be a threat, or they could keep stumbling along. Worth watching. Outside of that, there were statements made by Bowie State and Johnson C. Smith, and Chowan — the only school in this league that isn’t an HBCU, for those unaware — took the early lead in the conference race with an authoritative pounding of Livingstone. Virginia Union’s pitched two shutouts already, and I think we’re in for a very interesting race in the East. In the West, maybe not so much. The conference’s only pre-season ranked team, Shaw, lost to what’s not expected to be a particularly strong Stillman team, leaving the door wide open for the eventual Winston-Salem/JC Smith winner.
EAST DIVISION
Chowan 1-0 43 7 1-0 43 7
Virginia Union 0-0 0 0 2-0 39 0
Bowie State 0-0 0 0 1-0 28 7
Virginia State 0-0 0 0 0-1 3 37
Lincoln (PA) 0-1 19 21 0-1 19 21
Elizabeth City St 0-1 17 22 0-2 38 50
WEST DIVISION
Johnson C. Smith 0-0 0 0 1-0 64 27
Winston-Salem State 0-0 0 0 1-0 22 17
Fayetteville State 0-0 0 0 0-1 27 33
Shaw 0-0 0 0 0-1 13 16
Livingstone 0-1 7 43 0-1 7 43
Saint Augustine's 0-1 0 12 1-1 30 17
This week:
THURSDAY:
1900 ET: FAYETTEVILLE STATE at Carson-Newman (1-0)
SATURDAY:
1300 ET: Benedict (0-1) at BOWIE STATE
1300 ET: SAINT AUGUSTINE'S at New Haven (1-0)
1300 ET: VIRGINIA STATE at West Virginia State (0-1)
1400 ET: ELIZABETH CITY STATE vs LIVINGSTONE
(at Rocky Mount NC; conference game for Livingstone only)
1400 ET: JOHNSON C. SMITH at Brevard (0-1)
1700 ET: LINCOLN (PA) at Kentucky State (1-0)
1800 ET: CHOWAN at North Carolina-Pembroke (1-0)
1800 ET: SHAW at Delaware State (1-0; FCS)
1900 ET: WINSTON-SALEM STATE at VIRGINIA UNION
(at Richmond VA; conference game for WSSU only)
The big game is the late game, of course; a loss doesn’t really affect Virginia Union one way or the other, but a win would signal that they may well be the team to beat. Virginia State, Bowie, and Chowan will probably win, while Shaw is staring 0-2 in the face and I don’t expect Fayetteville to come home in a good mood. None of the other games are titled too strongly either way; I don’t know what will happen in the JCS/Brevard game, as Brevard looked okay against FCS Gardner-Webb.
GREAT AMERICAN:
And the first victory in the history of the brand-new conference belongs to Arkansas-Monticello; enjoy it, Weevils, nobody can ever take it away from you. Unless you were cheating or something, although that hardly ever happens in D-II. This is relevant as UAM was expected to battle for last place, while Arkansas Tech was picked to finish right behind Henderson and Harding. Harding’s curbstomping of USA, on the other hand, doesn’t tell us much as USA was also in the pre-season logjam at the bottom of the pile.
As the season progresses, be aware that not all teams will be playing a full 8-game conference schedule, as previous obligations made that impossible. (It happens when you start a new conference with only a year of lead time.) Win-loss percentage will determine the conference champion.
Arkansas-Monticello 1-0 38 31 1-0 38 31 Harding 1-0 63 14 1-0 63 14 East Central 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 21 SW Oklahoma State 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 28 Ouachita Baptist 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 SE Oklahoma State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 Henderson State 0-0 0 0 0-1 14 38 Arkansas Tech 0-1 31 38 0-1 31 38 Southern Arkansas 0-1 14 63 0-1 14 63 This week: 1900 ET: ARKANSAS TECH at Southwest Baptist (1-0) 1900 ET: Texas College (0-2; NAIA) at ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 1900 ET: HENDERSON STATE at HARDING 1900 ET: Central Oklahoma (0-1) at SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 1900 ET: SOUTHERN ARKANSAS at SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 2000 ET: EAST CENTRAL at OUACHITA BAPTIST
The big game, possibly the biggest game of the year for the new conference, is between pre-season favorites Henderson State and Harding. East Central and Ouachita could go either way, SWOK should handle USA, and Arkansas Tech should recover against SW Baptist. UAM will surprisingly go to 2-0, and SEOK is probably opening with a loss.
GREAT LAKES IAC:
The Hillsdale/Ferris and Findlay/Northwood games were non-conference meetings. The only real surprise of the weekend was Ferris State’s win over Hillsdale, which cost the Chargers their spot at the bottom of the poll. Indianapolis was picked last in the North in their final season in the conference; their convincing non-conference win may hint at a better outcome.
NORTH DIVISION Ferris State 0-0 0 0 1-0 20 17 4 Grand Valley State 0-0 0 0 1-0 44 20 Indianapolis 0-0 0 0 1-0 41 0 Michigan Tech 0-0 0 0 1-0 23 6 Northern Michigan 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 24 Northwood (MI) 0-0 0 0 1-0 14 10 Saginaw Valley St 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 SOUTH DIVISION Lake Erie 0-0 0 0 1-0 13 10 Ohio Dominican 0-0 0 0 1-0 32 20 17 Wayne State (MI) 0-0 0 0 1-0 69 24 Ashland 0-0 0 0 0-1 20 27 Findlay 0-0 0 0 0-1 10 14 Hillsdale 0-0 0 0 0-1 17 20 Tiffin 0-0 0 0 0-1 34 40 This week: 1200 ET: NORTHERN MICHIGAN at FINDLAY 1200 ET: OHIO DOMINICAN at NORTHWOOD (MI) 1200 ET: TIFFIN at WAYNE STATE (MI) 1300 ET: LAKE ERIE at MICHIGAN TECH 1900 ET: INDIANAPOLIS at ASHLAND 1900 ET: FERRIS STATE at SAGINAW VALLEY STATE 1900 ET: GRAND VALLEY STATE at HILLSDALE
Conference play starts up, and Hillsdale goes from ranked to staring at 0-2. Expect wins by UNM, Wayne, Tech, Ashland, Saginaw, and Grand Valley; ODU/Northwood could go either way.
GREAT LAKES FOOTBALL:
MUST was the only team that didn’t look horrible, and there’s not much more to say than that. Pre-season expectation was that a repeat of last year’s three-way tie including everyone but KWU was a possibility; it may be that there’s instead a three-way tie for second.
Missouri S&T 0-0 0 0 1-0 34 23 Kentucky Wesleyan 0-0 0 0 0-1 0 41 Saint Joseph's (IN) 0-0 0 0 0-1 20 32 Urbana 0-0 0 0 0-1 24 69
This week:
1300 ET: Shepherd (1-0) at SAINT JOSEPH’S (IN)
1300 ET: URBANA at Charleston (WV) (0-1)
1800 ET: KENTUCKY WESLEYAN at Pikeville (2-0; NAIA)
1930 ET: Midwestern State (0-0) at MISSOURI S&T
I wouldn’t expect anyone to escape with a win this week, although MUST has the best chance. The strongest statement I can make here is that KWU is going to get rolled and rolled hard.
GREAT NORTHWEST:
CWU was picked to win the conference, but their opening-day loss isn’t cause for panic considering the opponent. They lost their ranking, but that’s small potatoes. The weekend went as should have been expected across the board. Azusa Pacific lost a tough game against an FCS team; they’re not eligible (or even technically in D-II yet), but we’ll have to keep an eye on them with regard to next season. Their loss to San Diego earned them the #1 ranking in this week’s NAIA poll. Heh.
Humboldt State 0-0 0 0 1-0 29 3 Simon Fraser 0-0 0 0 1-0 36 28 Central Washington 0-0 0 0 0-1 10 21 Dixie State 0-0 0 0 0-1 14 24 Western Oregon 0-0 0 0 0-1 20 44 Azusa Pacific --- -- -- 0-1 40 42 This week: THURSDAY: 2000 ET: CENTRAL WASHINGTON at HUMBOLDT STATE SATURDAY: 1700 ET: WESTERN OREGON at SIMON FRASER 2000 ET: Colorado Mesa (0-1) at DIXIE STATE 2100 ET: La Verne (0-0; D-III) at AZUSA PACIFIC
The GNAC, due to their size and remoteness, plays a double round-robin. That means that CWU/HSU will be the first of two meetings between the expected top two teams in the conference, but it will still set the tone for the conference race early. WOU should handle their Canadian friends, and Dixie’s probably getting thumped.
GULF SOUTH:
Delta State’s having a rough go, sort of. An opening week overtime win over Elizabeth City State was unimpressive; this week’s loss to Northwestern State was… less impressive than you’d think, as Northwestern’s not that good and Delta is, after all, the defending national runners-up. Valdosta scrapped out a nice OT win, the result of which was a flat-out theft of Wingate’s former ranking. North Alabama took care of business, although UCO’s relative strength this year is still a but uncertain.
5 North Alabama 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 10 14 Valdosta State 0-0 0 0 1-0 34 28 11 Delta State 0-0 0 0 1-1 51 45 West Alabama 0-0 0 0 0-1 10 20 West Georgia 0-0 0 0 0-1 10 20 This week: THURSDAY 1900 ET: Newberry (0-1) at VALDOSTA STATE SATURDAY 1800 ET: DELTA STATE at Fort Valley State (0-1) 1900 ET: Glenville State (0-1) at NORTH ALABAMA 1900 ET: Tarleton State (0-1) at WEST ALABAMA IDLE: WEST GEORGIA
The conference could go 4-0 this week, although the Delta/Fort Valley game is critical. If Delta looks bad again, their season’s going swirly.
LONE STAR:
There were no real surprises this week; only West Texas A&M’s loss to CSU-Pueblo even counts as an upset, and it was a mild one at that.
3 Abilene Christian 1-0 27 24 1-0 27 24 Angelo State 0-0 0 0 1-0 35 12 6 Tex A&M-Kingsville 0-0 0 0 1-0 21 10 Midwestern State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 Eastern New Mexico 0-0 0 0 0-1 36 43 Incarnate Word 0-0 0 0 0-1 21 31 Texas A&M-Commerce 0-0 0 0 0-1 14 15 West Texas A&M 0-0 0 0 0-1 24 26 Tarleton State 0-1 24 27 0-1 24 27 This week: 1400 ET: ANGELO STATE at Chadron State (0-1) 1900 ET: TARLETON STATE at West Alabama (0-1) 1930 ET: MIDWESTERN STATE at Missouri S&T (1-0) 2000 ET: EASTERN NEW MEXICO at INCARNATE WORD 2000 ET: Minot State (0-1) at TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE IDLE: ABILENE CHRISTIAN, TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE, WEST TEXAS A&M
The week’s only conference game is sort of a pillow fight. Tarleton will have to score a mild upset to come away with a win, while Midwestern an Angelo are slight favorites. Kingsville, however, should be working on depth by the third quarter.
MID-AMERICA:
A nice opening week for the MIAA, as the only losses suffered by anyone in the conference were in conference games. Even the new members next year had a good week, relative to opposition. The only teams in trouble after week one are Missouri Western, who got upset and upset hard by the Gorillas, and Truman, who’s just plan bad. Fort Hays’ win over Emporia was a small upset, but not anything to get worked up over. And let’s give a hand to Lindenwood, who’s not even fully a D-II team yet and knocked off FCS Northern Colorado.
12 Central Missouri 1-0 42 14 1-0 42 24 Fort Hays State 1-0 27 17 1-0 27 17 2 NW Missouri State 1-0 65 3 1-0 65 3 25 Pittsburg State 1-0 34 7 1-0 34 7 Lincoln (MO) 0-0 0 0 1-0 35 3 15 Washburn 0-0 0 0 1-0 33 17 Emporia State 0-1 17 27 0-1 17 27 Missouri Southern 0-1 24 42 0-1 24 42 Missouri Western 0-1 7 34 0-1 7 34 Truman State 0-1 3 65 0-1 3 65 Lindenwood --- -- -- 1-0 22 20 Southwest Baptist --- -- -- 1-0 28 19 Central Oklahoma --- -- -- 0-1 10 31 Northeastern State --- -- -- 0-1 3 31 This week: THURSDAY: 1900 ET: LINCOLN (MO) at WASHBURN SATURDAY: 1400 ET: NORTHEASTERN STATE at Nebraska-Kearney (1-0) 1400 ET: FORT HAYS STATE at TRUMAN STATE 1900 ET: CENTRAL MISSOURI at MISSOURI WESTERN 1900 ET: CENTRAL OKLAHOMA at Southeastern Oklahoma State (0-0) 1900 ET: Graceland (0-1; NAIA) at LINDENWOOD 1900 ET: Sioux Falls (0-1) at NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE 1900 ET: Arkansas Tech (0-1) at SOUTHWEST BAPTIST 2000 ET: EMPORIA STATE at PITTSBURG STATE IDLE: MISSOURI SOUTHERN
Sure things: Washburn, Fort Hays, Central Missouri, Lindenwood. Pittsburg is in good position, but strange things happen when they play Emporia. Northwest should win, but we can’t ignore the fact that Sioux Falls’ current two-game losing streak was preceded by over 40 wins in a row. Northeastern State is going to lose, mark it down; everything else is fluid.
NORTHEAST TEN:
Absolutely nothing surprising happened in the NE10 last weekend, with the possible exception of AIC’s overtime win over CW Post.
American Int'l 0-0 0 0 1-0 13 7 Bentley 0-0 0 0 1-0 50 3 Merrimack 0-0 0 0 1-0 60 3 New Haven 0-0 0 0 1-0 35 32 Stonehill 0-0 0 0 1-0 35 7 Assumption 0-0 0 0 0-1 7 28 Pace 0-0 0 0 0-1 14 56 Saint Anselm 0-0 0 0 0-1 30 56 S. Connecticut St. 0-0 0 0 0-1 21 35 This week: 1200 ET: West Virginia Wesleyan (1-0) at BENTLEY 1300 ET: AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL at Bryant (0-1; FCS) 1300 ET: MERRIMACK at Edinboro (1-0) 1300 ET: Saint Augustine's (1-1) at NEW HAVEN 1300 ET: STONEHILL at PACE 1300 ET: SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE at West Liberty State (0-1) 1500 ET: ASSUMPTION at Seton Hill (0-1) IDLE: SAINT ANSELM
WV Wesleyan and Bentley may be an interesting matchup. Both teams absolutely pounded their opponents in week one, but both opponents were pretty substandard, so it’s hard to gauge anything. You can probably mark New Haven and Stonehill down for wins, and AIC will probably lose. The rest? Who knows?
NORTHERN SUN:
The North Division just went to town Saturday, although some results are dubious — especially Crookston’s near-escape from Mayville State and Moorhead’s win over Robert Morris (IL), who just started playing football… well, that day, basically. Still, Crookston and Moorhead are expected to be the bottom two teams on the ladder, so opening with wins makes everyone look good.
Mary might have scored an upset, but Chadron may just not be that good this year. The two best games in D-II happened here this week, with Duluth cementing the top spot in the nation and Saint Cloud dominating the team ranked just ahead of them in the polls. Nothing particularly odd happened down south.
Neither of the two games matching conference teams counted as a conference game, but every game played by current conference members from this point forward will be an in-conference matchup.
NORTH DIVISION Bemidji State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 27 0 Minnesota-Crookston 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 29 1 Minnesota-Duluth 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 20 12 Minn. St.-Moorhead 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 28 17 Mary 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 24 Northern State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 30 17 10 Saint Cloud State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 26 3 Minot State --- -- -- --- -- -- 0-2 31 70 SOUTH DIVISION Concordia-St. Paul 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 43 31 Upper Iowa 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 1-0 15 14 16 Augustana (SD) 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0-1 12 20 Minn. St.-Mankato 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0-1 24 31 SW Minnesota State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0-1 17 30 Wayne State (NE) 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0-1 20 41 Winona State 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0-1 6 23 Sioux Falls --- -- -- --- -- -- 0-1 17 33 This week: 1300 ET: WINONA STATE at MINNESOTA STATE-MOORHEAD 1400 ET: BEMIDJI STATE at AUGUSTANA (SD) 1400 ET: NORTHERN STATE at MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO 1400 ET: WAYNE STATE (NE) at MINNESOTA-CROOKSTON 1400 ET: UPPER IOWA at MINNESOTA-DULUTH 1800 ET: MARY at SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE 1900 ET: CONCORDIA-SAINT PAUL at SAINT CLOUD STATE 1900 ET: SIOUX FALLS at Northwest Missouri State (1-0) 2000 ET: MINOT STATE at Texas A&M-Kingsville (1-0)
Winona, Augustana, Mankato, Wayne, Duluth, and St. Cloud should all win this week; the Mary/Southwest game isn’t so clear. Don’t expect either of the provisional members to win.
PENNSYLVANIA:
Three games last weekend are cause for either alarm or optimism: California, the West’s expected champion, got smacked around in a top-25 contest, while Mercyhurst had loads of trouble, escaping in overtime against Notre Dame (OH). Edinboro, on the other hand, picked sixth in the West, scored an impressive win over perennial WVIAC threat West Liberty State. Everything else went pretty much according to form, although Gannon should have beaten Lake Erie.
There is no “conference” record in the PSAC, only divisional games count in the standings.
EASTERN DIVISION 9 Bloomsburg 0-0 0 0 1-0 27 20 Cheyney 0-0 0 0 1-0 21 19 East Stroudsburg 0-0 0 0 1-0 56 14 19 Kutztown 0-0 0 0 1-0 56 30 Long Island-CW Post 0-0 0 0 0-1 7 13 Millersville 0-0 0 0 0-1 3 55 Shippensburg 0-0 0 0 0-1 27 53 West Chester 0-0 0 0 0-1 32 35 WESTERN DIVISION Edinboro 0-0 0 0 1-0 30 14 18 Mercyhurst 0-0 0 0 1-0 24 23 Slippery Rock 0-0 0 0 1-0 51 14 Indiana (PA) 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 Lock Haven 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 22 California (PA) 0-0 0 0 0-1 3 26 Clarion 0-0 0 0 0-1 17 31 Gannon 0-0 0 0 0-1 10 13 This week: 1200 ET: SHIPPENSBURG at GANNON 1200 ET: KUTZTOWN at MERCYHURST 1300 ET: BLOOMSBURG at CLARION 1300 ET: Merrimack (1-0) at EDINBORO 1530 ET: LONG ISLAND-C.W. POST at CALIFORNIA (PA) 1600 ET: EAST STROUDSBURG at INDIANA (PA) 1800 ET: CHEYNEY at SLIPPERY ROCK 1800 ET: WEST CHESTER at Delaware (0-1; FCS) 1930 ET: MILLERSVILLE at LOCK HAVEN
The big game this week is #19 Kutztown at #18 Mercyhurst, obviously. Bloomsburg, Indiana, and the Rock should all win; West Chester is a sacrifice. Millersville/Lock Haven and Shippensburg/Gannon are pillow fights of the highest order. A week ago, I’d have pencilled in a win for California; now, I’m not so sure.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN:
Surprises: Chadron’s upset loss to Mary, and CSU-Pueblo’s upset win over West Texas A&M. The comprehensive nature of Mesa’s loss to Humboldt can’t be ignored either. New Mexico Highlands, picked last in the conference, can be pleased with their OT win over Eastern New Mexico; they may not get another.
Adams State 0-0 0 0 1-0 24 14 24 Colorado Mines 0-0 0 0 1-0 33 0 21 Colorado St-Pueblo 0-0 0 0 1-0 26 24 Fort Lewis 0-0 0 0 1-0 48 30 13 Nebraska-Kearney 0-0 0 0 1-0 41 20 New Mex. Highlands 0-0 0 0 1-0 43 36 W. New Mexico 0-0 0 0 1-0 35 28 Chadron State 0-0 0 0 0-1 24 31 Colorado Mesa 0-0 0 0 0-1 3 29 Western State 0-0 0 0 0-1 12 35 Black Hills State --- -- -- 0-1 7 19 This week: 1400 ET: Angelo State (1-0) at CHADRON STATE 1400 ET: South Dakota Tech (0-1) at COLORADO MINES 1400 ET: Northeastern State (0-1) at NEBRASKA-KEARNEY 1500 ET: ADAMS STATE at BLACK HILLS STATE (non-conference) 1705 ET: FORT LEWIS at Northern Arizona (0-1; FCS) 1800 ET: WESTERN STATE at Idaho State (0-1; FCS) 2000 ET: COLORADO MESA at Dixie State (0-1) 2000 ET: Northwestern Oklahoma State (0-1; NAIA) at COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO 2100 ET: Oklahoma Panhandle State (0-1) at NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS 2100 ET: WESTERN NEW MEXICO at San Diego (1-0; FCS)
The three teams playing FCS games are all doomed. Mines, Kearney, Adams, and Mesa should all grab wins. The other games are tossups.
SOUTH ATLANTIC:
Well, losing to a top 20 team isn’t shameful, but it’s definitely not the way pre-season SAC favorite Wingate wanted to get started, especially with a game they weren’t going to be favored to win in the first place looming ahead. Catawba didn’t help themselves any, losing a game they had no business losing and looking very bad in the process. On the other hand, Brevard, the consensus last-place pick, didn’t perform too badly against a halfway-decent FCS team, so there could be a shakeup in the lower division of the conference.
20 Carson-Newman 0-0 0 0 1-0 45 20 Lenoir-Rhyne 0-0 0 0 1-0 26 6 Mars Hill 0-0 0 0 1-0 27 7 Tusculum 0-0 0 0 1-0 20 10 Brevard 0-0 0 0 0-1 17 34 Catawba 0-0 0 0 0-1 5 30 Newberry 0-0 0 0 0-1 17 46 23 Wingate 0-0 0 0 0-1 28 34 This week: THURSDAY: 1900 ET: NEWBERRY at Valdosta State (1-0) SATURDAY: 1400 ET: Johnson C. Smith (1-0) at BREVARD 1800 ET: CATAWBA at Coastal Carolina (1-0; FCS) 1800 ET: MARS HILL at Western Carolina (0-1; FCS) 1800 ET: TUSCULUM at Georgia Southern (1-0; FCS) 1900 ET: Fayetteville State (0-1) at CARSON-NEWMAN 1900 ET: LENOIR-RHYNE at Davidson (0-1; FCS) 1900 ET: WINGATE at Albany State (1-0)
With one exception, every game this week for the SAC is pretty much a foregone conclusion, with Carson-Newman being the only team that should really expect to win. The Wingate/Albany State game is massive, however. Albany’s most likely going to win this game, but the real question is going to be how well Wingate plays, win or lose. A win, or another close loss, and it just means Valdosta was better than expected. If they get trucked, they’re toast.
SOUTHERN IAC:
Miles, the pre-season pick for second place in the west, got pounded by pre-season #3 in the east Morehouse. The end result is that the expected 3-4-5 teams in the west are currently on top of the division, althouth Tuskegee hasn’t addressed the audience yet. Fort Valley conducted themselves with great bravery, hanging in against FCS Florida A&M, while Albany State went one better and knocked off their FCS foe. And then there’s Stillman, who sort of came out of nowhere to kick Shaw out of the top 25.
The Miles/Morehouse game does not count in the conference standings, and Miles has to be thankful for that.
EAST DIVISION 7 Albany State 0-0 0 0 1-0 37 34 Morehouse 0-0 0 0 1-0 47 9 Benedict 0-0 0 0 0-1 0 27 Clark Atlanta 0-0 0 0 0-1 7 41 Fort Valley State 0-0 0 0 0-1 22 28 WEST DIVISION Kentucky State 0-0 0 0 1-0 39 21 Lane 0-0 0 0 1-0 17 10 Stillman 0-0 0 0 1-0 16 13 Miles 0-0 0 0 0-1 9 47 Tuskegee 0-0 0 0 0-0 0 0 This week: 1300 ET: BENEDICT at Bowie State (1-0) 1400 ET: Langston (1-0; NAIA) at TUSKEGEE 1530 ET: MOREHOUSE at Howard (0-1; FCS) 1700 ET: Lincoln (PA) (0-1) at KENTUCKY STATE 1800 ET: LANE at CLARK ATLANTA 1800 ET: Delta State (1-1) at FORT VALLEY STATE 1900 ET: Wingate (0-1) at ALBANY STATE 1900 ET: Concordia (AL) (0-1; NAIA) at MILES 1900 ET: STILLMAN at Samford (0-1; FCS)
The big game, of course, is Delta State at Fort Valley. If the FVSU team that showed up in Orlando is still around on Saturday, Delta’s season could be wrecked, and there will be a definite battle for supremacy in the SIAC between Fort Valley and Albany. As mentioned about four inches above, the Wingate/Albany game is also a critical matchup. Expect wins from Tuskegee, Kentucky State, Lane, and Miles; Benedict, Morehouse, and Stillman are probably doomed this week.
WEST VIRGINIA:
West Liberty can’t be thrilled; the pre-season #2 pick in the conference didn’t look good against Edinboro. On the other hand, West Virginia Wesleyan, picked for a seventh-place finish, absolutely plowed Millersville, so they may be underrated. The rest of the week’s schedule adhered to form.
Fairmont State 0-0 0 0 1-0 31 17 8 Shepherd 0-0 0 0 1-0 53 27 W Virginia Wesleyan 0-0 0 0 1-0 55 3 Charleston (WV) 0-0 0 0 0-1 7 27 Concord 0-0 0 0 0-1 6 26 Glenville State 0-0 0 0 0-1 20 45 Seton Hill 0-0 0 0 0-1 14 51 West Liberty State 0-0 0 0 0-1 14 30 West Virginia State 0-0 0 0 0-1 27 64 This week: 1200 ET: WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN at Bentley (1-0) 1300 ET: Urbana (0-1) at CHARLESTON (WV) 1300 ET: SHEPHERD at Saint Joseph's (IN) (0-1) 1300 ET: Southern Connecticut State (0-1) at WEST LIBERTY STATE 1300 ET: Virginia State (0-1) at WEST VIRGINIA STATE 1330 ET: FAIRMONT STATE at West Virginia Tech 1500 ET: Assumption (0-1) at SETON HILL 1900 ET: CONCORD at Elon (0-1; FCS) 1900 ET: GLENVILLE STATE at North Alabama (1-0)
WV Wesleyan/Bentley and Southern Connecticut/West Liberty are the two interesting games this week; both will go a long way toward answering questions about which direction those teams are headed. Charleston, Shepherd, and Fairmont look to win, while Concord and Glenville don’t, and WV State is probably heading for a loss as well. Seton Hill? Not sure.
INDEPENDENTS:
Poor McMurry. Fresh out of D-III, with hardly anyone on scholarship yet, and someone thought it would be a good idea to have them play Stephen F. Austin. Oh, well. Pembroke and North Greenville got solid but expected wins, while Notre Dame acquitted themselves admirably against an excellent Mercyhurst squad. William Jewell has to be disappointed with their empty showing against Colorado Mines.
N Carolina-Pembroke 0-0 0 0 1-0 46 17 North Greenville 0-0 0 0 1-0 33 27 Central State (OH) 0-0 0 0 0-1 21 39 McMurry 0-0 0 0 0-1 6 82 Notre Dame (OH) 0-0 0 0 0-1 23 24 Okla. Panhandle St. 0-0 0 0 0-1 23 34 South Dakota Tech 0-0 0 0 0-1 30 48 William Jewell 0-0 0 0 0-1 0 33 This week: 1200 ET: CENTRAL STATE (OH) at North Carolina Central (0-1; FCS) 1200 ET: NOTRE DAME (OH) at Walsh (0-1; NAIA) 1330 ET: NORTH GREENVILLE at Presbyterian (0-1; FCS) 1400 ET: McMURRY at Texas San-Antonio (1-0; FCS) 1400 ET: SOUTH DAKOTA TECH at Colorado Mines (1-0) 1800 ET: Chowan (1-0) at NORTH CAROLINA-PEMBROKE 2100 ET: OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE at New Mexico Highlands (1-0) IDLE: WILLIAM JEWELL
I’m not sure I expect any of the independents to secure victories this week. Central State, North Greenville, and McMurry are right out for obviouos reasons. South Dakota Tech is up against a potent Colorado Mines squad, and Panhandle… well, nobody ever knows what’s going on with them this early. Pembroke has the best chance, but Chowan looked very good in week one, and after their performance against Mercyhurst you can’t summarily discard Notre Dame’s chances against Walsh.