The truly important news is on the very next line, in bold, among the games of the week:
#1 Saint Xavier at #2 Saint Francis (IN)
#22 Montana State-Northern at #4 Carroll (MT)
#11 Southern Nazarene at 3-1 SW Assemblies
#25 Evangel at #12 Benedictine (KS)
#14 Midland at #17 Doane
3-1 Pikeville at #19 Campbellsville
CENTRAL STATES:
Texas College is just awful. That’s the only explanation for Northwestern Oklahoma State’s presence in sole possession of first place. Everyone else was out of conference, with expected results across the board.
The other teams get underway this week, with the Southern Nazarene/SWAG tilt pretty much being the deciding factor for the entire conference season, I suspect. None of the other teams in the league have shown the slightest interest in being competitive thus far, although Northwestern is going to improve markedly as the conference season progresses. I just don’t see them getting past SoNaz. Langston should take care of Bacone, mostly because Bacone’s not going to stop them from doing anything. Panhandle and Texas College will remain winless because they’re idle, and I’m not really sure what to make of the MS&T/NWOSU game.
DAKOTA:
Valley City jumped into the rankings after a non-con win over D-II South Dakota Tech, while Jamestown helped VCSU out by keeping Mayville from joining them atop the standings. Mayville should take down Dickinson on Saturday, but I’m not entirely sure VCSU can avoid an upset at home to Jamestown.
FRONTIER:
Eastern Oregon trailed 30-14 at the half, but charged back to knock off Montana Western. Steven Silva ran for 201 yards and a touchdown to lead MSU-Northern past Rocky Mountain, a mild upset and their first win over a ranked team in three years. Rocky Mountain exits the poll, replaced by MSUN.
They, in turn, won’t stay in the top 25 long, as they travel to Carroll. Eastern Oregon, the league’s lone remaining unbeaten, is on upset alert as they host Rocky Mountain. Montana Tech and winless Montana Western will try and see which of the two can stop screwing up.
GREAT PLAINS:
Morningside upended Midland in a wild finish, as Midland scored to take a 27-21 lead with 20 seconds to go, only to see Morningside’s Kyle Nikkel launch a 50-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Schuck after the kickoff was returned to midfield. Morningside had staggered through the first three quarters, only compiling 73 yards of offense and trailing 21-3, before mounting a fourth-quarter comeback; a 20-yard pick-six by Colby Henderson was a key factor.
Doane remained unbeaten with a win, as did Dakota Wesleyan with a day off. Hastings and Concordia planted themselves mid-table with wins against the bottom rungs, and Northwestern wrecked Dakota State in a non-conference meeting.
Doane’s stingy defense should be enough to keep the Tigers unbeaten in this week’s biggest GPAC game, and Dakota Wesleyan should also stay perfect as their offense should overcome Hastings. Northwestern ought to deal with Nebraska Wesleyan, and Concordia will pick up a non-conference win over listless Dakota State. Dordt is a slight favorite over Briar Cliff.
HEART OF AMERICA:
Benedictine and Missouri Valley both stayed undefeated, and MidAmerica Nazarene had an easy time against Avila to remain firmly entrenched in the top 10. Baker fell from the poll, but idle Evangel slipped right in to take their place.
That won’t last long, as Evangel travels to Benedictine this week. Bethany will have a field day at winless Avila, as will Missouri Valley at Culver-Stockton. MANU should get past Baker, but it will be a test of the Pioneer’s defense against Baker’s offense. Peru State ought to be able to dispatch winless and punchless Graceland.
KANSAS:
Bethany moved a half-step ahead of idle Ottawa with a workman-like shutout of Kansas Wesleyan. Saint Mary recorded their first win of the year with a mild upset win at Tabor, while Bethel remains winless following a hammering at the hands of Southern Nazarene.
As noted, Bethany will roll Saturday. Ottawa should keep pace, hosting Tabor. Southwestern, Sterling, and McPherson should all win as well, while Kansas Wesleyan at Friends is a toss-up.
MID-SOUTH:
Pikeville QB Trevor Hoskins unleashed 481 passing yards and six touchdowns to lead Pikeville over Faulkner. Demitri Travis pitched in as well, picking off three Faulkner passes. Shorter is no longer unbeaten, falling to Georgetown by a touchdown and leaving the Tigers as the conference’s sole remaining undefeated squad. Campbellsville and Bethel took the conference’s first two league games, and are, for the moment, alone atop their divisions.
Bethel should remain there, with a very winnable game against Belhaven, but Campbellsville is going to have their hands full with Pikeville’s offense. Georgetown will remain unblemished, and Shorter, UVA-Wise, and Cumberlands (KY) should all win.
MID-STATES:
William Penn avenged their only loss from last year — a loss that kept them out of the playoffs — by blanking McKendree. Everything else went according to form, save perhaps departing Walsh’s narrow upset over D-II Urbana.
Which brings us to the biggie. #1 Saint Xavier travels to #2 Saint Francis (IN) for the biggest game of the year (until the winner plays Marian, anyway). Xavier’s a very slight favorite here, but no result will surprise. Marian, William Penn, Saint Francis (IL), Malone, and Saint Ambrose should all win; the other games are iffy.
For all intents and purposes, Siena Heights, in their first season of football, is now idle until November 12. Their schedule between now and then includes only club teams, and we don’t count that stuff here.
INDEPENDENTS:
Menlo slipped into the poll after beating D-III Whitworth, while Azusa kept on rolling, crushing D-III Chapman. The remaining independents lost as expected, though Webber made a good show of it in Oregon.
Menlo and Azusa will win again this week, while the remaining teams in action… won’t. Well, scratch that; Edward Waters should handle Concordia (AL).