Well, I’m just doing this for my own gratification now. It might be a good time to let me know you actually get some benefit out of this, before it goes away. Cold hard facts: my pageviews are off 90% from last year (despite the fact that last year, I wasn’t even tweeting links to new content), and given the amount of spam comments I have to trash each day, I simply don’t know whether there’s anyone actually READING this thing outside of a couple of guys who want to contribute, and there’s not much point letting them proceed for no reason.
I don’t mean to be butthurt here; I can accept not providing value for your entertainment $0.00, I just really would like to know if I’m just wasting my time here. I mean, I could be killing zombies or watching Justified or hanging out in a local dive bar instead of doing this, if it doesn’t matter to anyone. Or, put another way, it’s not butthurt… it’s desperation.
To be fair, I could probably be doing a better job pimping myself, but it’s not in my nature. So if you really give a crap about what I’m doing… help me out a little. If you like it, retweet or otherwise pimp. If you’re ambivalent, tell me why, tell me how I can improve. If you hate the site… well, shit, if you hate the site you’re not even reading this anyway.
Oh… right. Football.
Games to keep an eye on:
#15 Pittsburg State at #1 Northwest Missouri State
#25 Ouachita Baptist at #6 Delta State
#9 Wayne State (MI) at 3-1 Northern Michigan
3-1 Western Oregon at #11 Abilene Christian
#13 Albany State vs 3-1 Kentucky State (at Indianapolis)
#24 Hillsdale at 3-0 Saginaw Valley State
3-1 American International at 3-1 Bentley
3-1 Winona State at 3-1 Minnesota State-Mankato
CENTRAL:
Winston-Salem State is firmly in the driver’s seat here now after Virginia Union upended Bowie State. Johnson C. Smith is still in the picture, but the two teams play this week at WSSU, and the Rams will be favored. Should that occur, WSSU would be two full games ahead of the Golden Bulls, and a game and a half up on Saint Augustine’s, who should beat Fayetteville this week.
In the North, Bowie’s loss throws the entire race into chaos. Bowie still holds a half-game lead on the field, but they’ve given up the tie-break to Virginia Union, and VUU has a game in hand so is actually in full control of their own destiny. Elizabeth City State and Virginia State are also in the discussion after wins last week kept them a half-game back as well. Virginia State will have to contend with Bowie this week, however, and Bowie is favored there. ECSU is idle, while Union should handle Chowan. Lincoln plays out of conference, and is likely to be destroyed by West Virginia Wesleyan.
GREAT AMERICAN:
The GAC is dealing with what would have been conference games last year, for the most part. For the teams that left the Gulf South, this was bad news; all five teams lost. The teams which left the Lone Star all won, with the exception of SE Oklahoma State, who lost an actual conference game to East Central. ECU’s Tyler Vanderzee slung five TD passes in the win, eclipsing 383 yards from SEOSU’s Logan Turner. Ouachita Baptist slipped into the poll at #25, but will not stay long as they visit #6 Delta State Saturday.
There were no offensive touchdowns in the Monticello/West Georgia game; obviously, UAM’s five points came on a field goal and a safety, while West Georgia scored on two punt returns for touchdowns and a pick-six.
Monticello and Southern Arkansas are in for beatings as they face top-5 teams from the Gulf South. Henderson and Harding face the other two GSC teams, and I don’t expect wins there either. East Central should take care of former conference mate Central Oklahoma; Arkansas Tech, on the other hand, is going to get put down by #19 Central Missouri. In the week’s lone conference tilt, flip a coin as Southwest visits Southeast.
GREAT LAKES IAC:
It’s official; Grand Valley State has hit the skids. They fall to 1-3 after losing to Findlay, and unlike the previous two weeks, they just plain got beat by a bad team. There’s no getting around it. It broke an 11-game winning streak over the Oilers stretching back to 1972.
Northern Michigan fell from the poll and the ranks of the unbeatens following a loss to Ashland, but the league still has two ranked teams as Hillsdale moved back in after beating Lake Erie and Wayne took care of Ohio Dominican to stay at #9. Saginaw Valley quietly remains unbeaten, dispatching Northwood.
In Hillsdale’s win, RB Joe Glendenning rushed for four TDs and caught another, bringing his season total to 13 overall. He’s already 8th on Hillsdale’s all-time single-season scoring list after only four games. Michigan Tech held Indianapolis to 18 rushing yards on the day. On the other hand, UIndy is the only remaining team in D-II that has not yet committed a turnover.
This week, four of the six teams still in reasonably decent shape will play one another, as Wayne visits Northern Michigan and Hillsdale travels to Saginaw. The two ranked teams should win, as should Ferris State and Michigan Tech. As for Grand Valley, they’ve really only got two more wide-open chances to actually win another game; one is this week, hosting winless Tiffin.
GREAT LAKES FOOTBALL:
Urbana lost a squeaker against Walsh, while Missouri S&T scored a surprising upset over previously unbeaten Lindenwood. That knots the two back up in the standings, although nothing really matters until conference play begins. This week, Kentucky Wesleyan’s going to get drilled. Urbana is facing a probable loss, while Saint Joseph’s might actually get off the deck against a weak first-year NAIA team. Missouri S&T could well get back over .500 at NW Oklahoma State.
GREAT NORTHWEST:
Western Oregon and Humboldt State both rolled, and they will continue to avoid one another for the next three weeks while things shake out. Humboldt should officially move into a tie for the conference lead this week as they host Dixie State. Western Oregon, on the other hand, is facing a non-conference loss in Abilene, which would give Humboldt a two-game lead in overall record. That may well be very important at season’s end. Central Washington should get their first win this week, facing a Simon Fraser team with no defense.
GULF SOUTH:
Since all five GSC teams are playing GAC opponents this week and next, I’ll just direct you back up a few paragraphs for analysis. Short version: all five teams won Saturday, and should again this week.
LONE STAR:
Abilene Christian, West Texas A&M, and Midwestern State all kept pace with one another; the victims in all this were TAMU-Kingsville, who fell from the rankings after losing to Midwestern (who themselves moved into the poll at #22), and Incarnate Word, kicked out of the first-place tie by WTAMU. This week, Abilene will likely slip a half-game off the lead, as they play a non-conference game while Midwestern and West Texas should both pick up conference wins. Kingsville should beat Commerce, and Angelo should handle Eastern New Mexico.
MID-AMERICA:
Not a single upset Saturday, at least among teams officially in the conference. (We already mentioned Lindenwood’s slip-up earlier.) Washburn’s win moved them to 4-0 for the first time since 1986.
This week, we will see one of the conference front-runners fall a game off the pace as Pittsburg visits Northwest in their annual grudge match. Northwest should win, but I’ll be honest and note I’m praying for a Pittsburg upset. (My mom’s alma mater, you see, so it’s hate week here in the cave.)
Washburn and Central Missouri should win easily; the rest of the games, conference or otherwise, are toss-ups.
NORTHEAST TEN:
Straight form last Saturday. This week, New Haven shouldn’t have any trouble with Stonehill, Merrimack should deal with Saint Anselm, and Southern should get past Assumption. That leaves the showdown between AIC and Bentley, and since the other three teams without a conference loss will likely stay that way, neither team can afford to lose.
NORTHERN SUN:
As predicted, Bemidji’s visit to the poll ended immediately, though they put up one hell of a fight against the defending national champions. Saint Cloud bounced back from their startling loss a week ago to take down Mary. Mankato and Winona kept pace for the actual conference lead with wins. (Remember, the NSIC crowns division winners AND a conference winner.)
Richard Hailey rambled for 237 yards in Crookston’s loss to Moorhead. It’s his second 200-yard effort of the season, and he’s averaging 176 an outing. On the other side of the field, Moorhead’s Jeff Schuette recorded 16 tackles and forced a fumble at the goal line in overtime to stop Crookston’s effort to tie the game and force a second OT.
Duluth and Saint Cloud should stay on the right side of the ledger this week, but either Winona or Mankato will be giving up ground as they face off at the latter campus. The two teams are almost indiscernable from one another on paper so far, so it should be a good one. Wayne State (NE), also undefeated in conference play, will get their first divisional game in a likely win over SW Minnesota State. Mary should pick up a win against Crookston, and Bemidji should handle Upper Iowa without incident. I have no idea what to expect with Concordia/Augustana.
PENNSYLVANIA:
The four ranked teams, as well as two of the three unranked teams at 2-1, were all victorious this week. The lone upset was Shippensburg’s defeat at C.W. Post, removing Post from the winless column.
Two PSAC running backs broke the 200-yard mark Saturday; Bloomsburg’s Eddie Mateo ran for 201 and three TDs, while West Chester’s Rondell White ran for 203 and amassed 299 all-purpose yards.
Expect more of the same this week; the four ranked teams all face flawed competition, while Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock should also win easily. West Chester will probably get by C.W. Post; I have no idea who’ll win the Millersville/Cheyney pillow fight.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN:
Of the five teams who opened conference play with a win, four repeated Saturday. Only Western New Mexico failed to remain part of the party at the top of the standings. The three unbeaten teams in the league are good bets to stay that way this week, which means Chadron State is destined to fall off the pace. Colorado Mines and Western New Mexico are also probable winners this week.
SOUTH ATLANTIC:
Once again, the Sally is unrepresented in the poll after Carson-Newman’s upset loss to Newberry, who suddenly find themselves all alone in first place. Catawba also scored an upset, picking up their first win of the year at Tusculum. Mars Hill’s victory was keyed by Jonas Randolph’s 202 rushing yards.
The way the conference has been playing out thus far, there’s only one game I’m comfortable predicting this week: Catawba should lose to UNC-Pembroke.
SOUTHERN IAC:
Albany State and Morehouse joined Clark Atlanta atop the East Division standings, while Stillman has moved out into a game-and-a-half lead over the rest of the west, winning yet another nailbiter Saturday. (Note Stillman’s PF/PA; subtracting their beatdown by FCS Samford, they’re 3-0 with a 60-51 PF/PA ratio.) With that in mind, I have to call the Stillman/Lane matchup a tossup. Albany has a tough test against Kentucky State in Indianapolis, but I expect them to win a close one there. Morehouse should handle Clark; I’m uncertain about the other two games.
Benedict fired head coach Stanley Connor following the team’s loss to Fort Valley State. James Woody has been named interim coach for the remainder of the season.
WEST VIRGINIA:
Everything went as expected, as Shepherd remained in the #3 slot without breaking a sweat and West Virginia Wesleyan remained unbeated and unrewarded. WVWU’s Adam Neugebauer threw for 427 yards in the win.
Both teams should remain unbeaten this week, and Fairmont is a solid pick; I’ll go ahead and suggest Glenville will get past West Liberty as well. Seton Hill and WV State will battle for their rightful share of last place, and either one is a good candidate to finish there.
INDEPENDENTS:
There were no surprises among the independents Saturday. Coming up, expect McMurry, UNC-Pembroke, and Notre Dame to register wins. North Greenville is iffy, and I’m not at all sure what to make of the William Jewell/Sioux Falls game, other than to note you’d expect better from a Sioux Falls team that came into the season on a one-game losing streak which just happened to follow a 42-game winning streak.