This week’s D-II preview will be truncated due to time issues; the upcoming games are not included in the post, but I will discuss the important ones. Next week, we should be on a proper schedule, especially since the realignment drama in FBS seems to have screeched to a halt. Last week, the reigning #1 fell, and five teams in the top 10 lost all told.
CENTRAL:
A key upset happened, as Lincoln (PA) knocked off Virginia Union 19-10, which for the time being leaves the conference completely in the hands of Bowie State (41-14 winners over Livingstone) and Winston-Salem, who pounded Chowan 55-24 and moved into the poll at #22. Write Shaw off after a 23-17 loss to Benedict left them 0-3.
This week: Winston-Salem will continue their march, hosting winless Fayetteville State. Virginia Union has one last shot at relevance, hosting unbeaten Bowie State, but expect Bowie to prevail. Elizabeth City State should win over Shaw. Four other games, too sketchy to call.
GREAT AMERICAN:
Ouachita Baptist beat Arkansas-Monticello 38-20, and SE Oklahoma State knocked off Southern Arkansas 24-21. That puts them both in the driver’s seat… for now.
This week: 2, 5, and 6. Those are the rankings of the teams that Harding, Southern Arkansas, and Henderson State have to contend with this week, so don’t expect great things there. Ouachita (vs Texas A&M-Commerce) and Southeastern (vs East Central) both have winnable games, but they’re also both in danger of upsets.
GREAT LAKES IAC:
Well, sure. We all expected #15 Grand Valley to start 1-2, right? A 34-33 loss to Indianapolis has done the unthinkable: GVSU is unranked. #14 Wayne State (MI) moved into the top ten after beating #22 Michigan Tech 27-10, while Northern Michigan entered the poll at #23 following a 38-17 win over Northwood.
This week: #9 Wayne travels to Ohio Dominican, where they should win. Northern Michigan hosts Ashland, and should also come out on top. Unbeaten and unranked Saginaw Valley State hosts Northwood, while GVSU hosts Findlay in a game they simply have to (and should) win.
GREAT LAKES FOOTBALL:
1-3 once again, and Urbana was once again the sole winner with a 24-6 victory over William Jewell. The conference is theirs for the taking, at least as things stand now.
This week: Urbana should have no trouble with winless NAIA team Walsh, while the other three teams are likely to lose again this week.
GREAT NORTHWEST:
Western Oregon stepped into the discussion with a 14-7 win over Central Washington; it is already effectively a two-team race between WOU and idle Humboldt State.
This week: Humboldt should beat Simon Fraser, while WOU should dispatch Dixie State. CWU is idle, and they need the break.
GULF SOUTH:
#4 North Alabama traveled out west and took a 23-17 win over #3 Abilene Christian. The win moved the Lions to the #2 spot this week. #14 Valdosta State also secured a major road win, beating #6 Albany State 30-27 in their rivalry game. Valdosta moves all the way up to #5 thanks to the chaos in the top 10. And #10 Delta State, the pre-season #2, has now rebounded back to #6 after a 47-32 win over Arkansas Tech.
This week: All three ranked teams have probable wins on the docket as the GSC wraps up some old scheduling business with their former pals who left to form the GAC.
LONE STAR:
#3 Abilene’s loss has been discussed; they fall to #10 this week. #5 Texas A&M-Kingsville also lost, dropping a 42-21 decision at home to formerly-ranked West Texas A&M. Net result: TAMU-K drops all the way to #16, while WTAMU returns to the poll at #21. Angelo State moved to 3-0 on the year with a 20-0 win over Central Oklahoma, while Midwestern State is now 2-0 after beating TAMU-Commerce 63-17.
This week: Abilene hosts Angelo, and we’ll see if Angelo is for real here. Obviously, Abilene is the favorite. Midwestern hosts Kingsville in a toss-up, while WTAMU hosts Incarnate Word in a game they should win.
MID-AMERICA:
The other conference to avoid the upset bug. #2 NW Missouri State hammered Lincoln (MO) 73-7 and claimed the #1 spot in this week’s poll, #13 Washburn beat Missouri Southern 30-14 and moved to #8, #19 Pittsburgh State squeaked past Truman 27-26 and rose to #15, and Central Missouri got past Emporia State 45-38, climbing to #20.
This week: All four ranked teams have easily winnable games, although Central Missouri faces a startlingly lifelike Truman squad and Washburn faces 2-1 Missouri Western. NW Missouri and Pittsburgh should have no challenges, facing Fort Hays and William Jewell respectively. Future member Lindenwood is also 3-0 and facing a sure win against Missouri S&T.
NORTHEAST TEN:
#23 New Haven almost pulled off an upset of not just an FCS team, but FCS #4 William & Mary, falling 13-10. Surprisingly, the loss dropped them into a tie for the 25th and final spot in this week’s poll, rather than boosting them. Saint Anselm remains the only winless team in the conference after a 59-34 loss to Southern Connecticut State.
This week: New Haven travels to Assumption for a likely win. Bentley should keep pace, hosting Saint Anselm, while American International and Southern Connecticut should also manage wins.
NORTHERN SUN:
BLAMMO. #1 Minnesota-Duluth lost 7-0 to Wayne State (NE), and #9 Saint Cloud State fell to Winona State 29-16. UMD falls to #11, Saint Cloud to #18, and 3-0 Bemidji State enters the poll at #24 after beating SW Minnesota State 41-10.
This week: Bemidji’s stay in the poll will be short as they get their first test straight away, hosting Duluth. Saint Cloud visits 2-1 Mary, and should win but an upset is certainly possible here. Wayne State visits Northern State in a winnable game, which will help keep them in the discussion; Winona State hosts Upper Iowa in a meeting of 2-1 teams hoping to stay in the race also.
PENNSYLVANIA:
#8 Bloomsburg rises to #4 after a 20-16 win over Indiana (PA). #16 Kutztown, 49-6 winners over Lock Haven, also climbs four spots, as does #21 California (PA) following their 22-19 win over East Stroudsburg. Not climbing? #25 Mercyhurst, who fell out of the poll despite thumping C.W. Post 34-7. Don’t ask me, I don’t have a vote. (Mercyhurst was one vote short of the tie for #25.) Edinboro moved to 3-0 and into the poll at #19 after beating Cheyney 41-13.
This week: Bloomsburg hosts Millersville, Kutztown hosts Cheyney, California hosts Clarion, and Edinboro visits Gannon. All four ranked teams should win easily. Mercyhurst will probably scrabble back into the rankings as well, visiting Lock Haven.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN:
#11 Nebraska-Kearney throttled Colorado Mesa 52-10, and are now ranked #7. #18 CSU-Pueblo moved to #14 on the strength of a 20-11 win over Adams State, but #20 Colorado Mines dropped out of the poll after losing 40-34 at home to New Mexico Highlands. NMHU is now 3-0, so keep an eye out there.
This week: Kearney hosts Western State, Pueblo entertains Fort Lewis, and NMHU hosts Mesa. All three should be wins. Colorado Mines, meanwhile, visits Western New Mexico; both teams are 2-1, and the winner is in the thick of the discussion as well.
SOUTH ATLANTIC:
#17 Carson-Newman tripped and fell, losing 20-7 to Lenoir-Rhyne. They barely hung on to the poll, tied for 25th. Mars Hill is the only other school in the conference over .500 after a 28-10 win over Brevard. An uncharacteristically mediocre start to the season for the SAC.
Carson-Newman should pick up a win at home over Newberry. Mars Hill hosts North Greenville in a toss-up, while Lenoir-Rhyne is idle.
SOUTHERN IAC:
#6 Albany State falls to #13 following their 30-27 loss to #14 Valdosta State. A bunch of teams moved to 2-1 on the year; falling to 2-1 was Kentucky State, 31-29 losers to Stillman at home.
This week: Albany should win at Miles, and Kentucky State will win a non-conference tilt with Kentucky Wesleyan. Clark Atlanta is going to get drilled by FCS Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Morehouse should take down Lane in a battle of 2-1 teams. Can Fort Valley State get off the mat? They’re 0-3, and travel to 1-2 Benedict in a game that they must win, but may not.
WEST VIRGINIA:
#7 Shepherd crushed Seton Hill 64-7, and moved up to #3 in the wake of the chaos above them. West Virginia Wesleyan moved to 3-0 with a 43-8 drubbing of West Liberty, but Fairmont State was not able to keep pace, falling 36-30 to Glenville State.
This week: Shepherd and WVW both have wide-open routes to 4-0, as they play winless Charleston and Seton Hill respectively. Fairmont visits winless West Liberty, so they should at least remain a half-step back of the leaders.
INDEPENDENTS:
UNC-Pembroke was the only unbeaten among the indies, but they fell to Wingate 29-26. North Greenville beat Tusculum 27-7 to move to 2-1. Everyone else lost.
This week: Pembroke has a winnable game against Glenville, and North Greenville visits Mars Hill in a toss-up. I have my doubts that any other independent will win, although Notre Dame (OH) should probably be a slight favorite over NAIA Siena Heights.