Big games last week were of course headed up by the #1 vs #2 matchup between conference-mates Saint Xavier and Saint Francis (IN). Xavier prevailed, and the new #2 is also an MSFA member, Marian (IN). This week, there’s a relative dearth of hot matchups in the NAIA:
3-1 Taylor at #2 Marian
#4 William Penn at #15 Saint Francis (IL)
#13 Doane at #9 Morningside
#25 Cumberland (TN) at #22 Shorter
CENTRAL STATES:
Southern Nazarene kept rolling, Northwestern Oklahoma kept recovering, and Langston joined the leaders for the moment.
That’s all very interesting, but this week the conference race will get blown open as Southern Nazarene travels to NW Oklahoma. They’re going to win, which will separate them from the pack. SW Assemblies should handle Bacone, and Langston should win. Texas College probably will not.
DAKOTA:
Valley City handled Jamestown and retained sole possession of the lead. Dickinson, in full recovery mode after the horrible start to their season, kept pace by blowing out Mayville.
Dickinson is going to lose this week, but at least it won’t hurt them in the conference race. The problem there, of course, is that the DAC no longer has an autobid, but then Dickinson’s already been drummed out of playoff contention anyway. Valley City travels to Mayville, and honestly the game is still a toss-up. Jamestown visits D-III Wisconsin-La Crosse, and has a decent chance of a win.
FRONTIER:
MSU-Northern held the nation’s leading rusher, Carroll’s Chance Demarais, to 62 yards. Unfortunately, Carroll held MSU-N’s Stephen Silva, coming off a 200-yard effort last week, to only 51. With the teams’ two main weapons in check, Carroll’s depth won the day, and they moved back into a tie for the conference lead with Eastern Oregon, who got clobbered by Rocky Mountain. Montana Western got their first win of the year in a rout of Montana Tech. Incoming member Southern Oregon knocked off previously unbeaten Menlo for a nice win.
Three teams are idle this week, including Rocky Mountain, who’s climbed back into the top 25. Eastern Oregon and Carroll will win this week, while Montana Western is going to get clubbed by FCS North Dakota.
GREAT PLAINS:
Doane scored 14 points in the final four minutes, the second TD coming with 20 seconds to go, to come back and put down Midland, retaining sole possession of the lead. Northwestern strangled Nebraska Wesleyan, only allowing 40 yards of offense, 42 of which were in the air, and you know what that means. Cohl Tufford ran for 208 yards in Concordia’s rout of Dakota State.
Doane takes their unbeaten record on the road to Morningside, where their offense will probably carry the day. Also undefeated, Dakota Wesleyan heads to Dordt for an easy win. Concordia and Hastings should win, while Midland’s going to have to correct some defensive deficiencies to get past Northwestern.
HEART OF AMERICA:
Benedictine kicked Evangel right back out of the top 25, ripping off 28 points in the first quarter and then cruising to the shutout. Missouri Valley blew out Culver-Stockton to remain in the conference lead, and MidAmerica Nazarene squeaked past Baker to stay in the wake of the leaders.
Missouri Valley is idle, which will give Benedictine the chance to move into a tie for the lead, and they will. MANU, Baker, Evangel, and Peru State should all win.
KANSAS:
Before getting to this week, we have to clear up something from September 10. On that day, Friends defeated Saint Mary 24-21. However, Wednesday Friends self-reported a violation; an ineligible player had participated in the game. So: Friends forfeits the game to Saint Mary by a score of 1-0, and the standings are updated to reflect this change.
Bethany ripped Avila to remain unbeaten, and Ottawa stayed perfect in-conference with an easy win over Tabor. Bethel finally got off the floor, getting their first win in an upset over McPherson, while Friends now has an actual win to replace the one they forfeited.
Bethany and Ottawa should have no issues this week. Sterling, half a game off the lead, is idle, so they’ll fall 1.5 back. McPherson will probably lose in a non-conference tilt on the west coast. The bottom four all meet up, and Friends and Tabor should pick up those wins.
MID-SOUTH:
Campbellsville turned the ball over NINE times, directly leading to 31 of Pikeville’s 37 points, but scored three times in the final seven minutes to nearly pull out the victory. The Tigers picked off four Pikeville passes themselves, bringing the total turnover count for the game to a ridiculous 13. Virginia-Wise’s win over West Virginia Tech was not a conference game.
Georgetown won a game in which they struggled far too much for the opponent, but it was enough to remain unbeaten. Bethel also struggled more than they should have against Belhaven, but likewise, they remain atop the West.
Cumberland and Shorter both climbed into the top 25 this week, but one will fall right back out as they meet up in Rome. No idea which, unfortunately. Georgetown should get past Campbellsville, and Bethel should remain atop the West with a win over Union. Pikeville, UVA-Wise, and Belhaven should all win, and West Virginia Tech may get their first win of the year as well.
MID-STATES:
Saint Xavier won the battle of #1 vs #2 in a game that see-sawed back and forth until Xavier finally pulled away late. Marian and William Penn remained perfect, while Saint Francis (IL) and Saint Ambrose stayed unbeaten in the conference.
William Penn visits Saint Francis (IL) in a huge matchup, the outcome of which is way up in the air. Saint Francis (IN), Marian, Saint Ambrose, Grand View, Quincy, and Saint Xavier should all win. The other two games, your guess is as good as mine.
INDEPENDENTS:
Azusa Pacific retained their death-grip on the autobid assigned to the top-ranked independent, with a brutal win over Webber. Menlo slipped up, and nobody else is even within shouting distance of .500 now.
Azusa and Menlo should win this week; nobody else should be expecting a good outcome.