One team can clinch their conference title this week, although that title no longer carries with it an automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs. An NAIA coaching legend notched career win #250, and a couple of undefeateds were upset as the season tips into its second half.
Five games entirely within the top 25 this week, plus another big game involving a top-5 team facing a pesky foe:
#2 Marian (IN) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
#21 Rocky Mountain at #3 Carroll (MT)
#4 Missouri Valley at #9 Benedictine (KS)
#5 Georgetown (KY) at 4-2 Pikeville
#15 Southern Nazarene vs #7 MidAmerica Nazarene (at Cessna Field, Wichita KS)
#8 Morningside at #13 Dakota Wesleyan
CENTRAL STATES:
Could it be that Northwestern was just playing a brutal non-conference schedule early? Let’s examine. SW Oklahoma State (D-II)? Well, they’re contending in the GAC. Colorado State-Pueblo (D-II)? Uh, they’re 6-0. South Dakota? FCS. And there you have the three losses suffered by NWOKS. Meanwhile, a look at Southern Nazarene’s schedule makes me realize they hadn’t really played anyone yet.
So, it probably should not have been surprising that Northwest won, or that Northwest is now alone in first place, and I probably should not have said SNU was going to win last weekend, because that was DUMB. Having duly chastised myself for being blinded by a gaudy stat line…
Langston won, and Texas College lost, and neither of these events was even remotely surprising. Bacone scored a nice road upset for themselves, trailing 38-3 in the third quarter before exploding with five unanswered scores, then upending SW Assemblies in overtime.
This week, I suspect that SW Assemblies will “upset” Langston on the road. Panhandle will get their first win of the year, because they’re playing Texas College, and Northwest will remain atop the leaderboard after a trip to Muskogee. In Wichita, Southern Nazarene is going to find out what playing a real team is like when they get whipped by MidAmerica Nazarene in a neutral-site non-conference test. If all goes as predicted, Northwest will be a game and a half clear of the closest challengers, and will really just need to beat Langston next week to all but assure the conference title is theirs.
DAKOTA:
Valley City extended their lead to a full game by drilling Mayville as WR LeTheo Proctor caught five passes for 149 yards and four touchdowns (and rushed for one on a reverse as well). Both Dickinson and Jamestown were blown out in non-conference tests, albeit to teams above their paygrade.
This sets up the game that will pretty much define the rest of the season, as Dickinson visits Valley City. If VCSU wins, and I expect them to, they’ll have a two-game lead… and CLINCH ALERT, because if Mayville also beats Jamestown, VCSU immediately wins the conference title. A Jamestown win would stave that off until either VCSU wins again, or Jamestown loses again; they play next week. That Mayville/Jamestown game could go either way, though.
Now, if Dickinson upends Valley City this week, all bets are off, moreso if Jamestown wins as well. VCSU would still clinch next week with a win and a Dickinson loss to Mayville, but if VCSU were to lose this week, expectations for future weeks would be altered quite a bit.
FRONTIER:
No conference games were played last weekend, and three teams had a bye. Carroll pounded Dickinsons, while Eastern Oregon was upset by next year’s new conference member Southern Oregon. Montana Western was, obviously, overmatched by a ranked FCS team.
Everyone’s back in action Saturday as the second pass of the double round-robin begins. Carroll already doubled up Rocky Mountain on the road, so it’s safe to assume they’ll beat them at home. The exact same can be said for Eastern Oregon over Montana Tech. Montana State-Northern only beat Montana Western by a touchdown at home earlier in the year, but they’ve proven to have more mettle than that in other games, so expect them to emerge with a win on the road this time out. The end result should be Carroll and EOU sitting a game up on MSUN.
GREAT PLAINS:
Doane is no longer unbeaten, getting schooled on the road at Morningside in a loss which, going by the rankings, wasn’t an upset. The game turned on a 14-point turnaround at the end of the first quarter, when Anthony Dunn’s pass into the end zone was picked off by Colby Henderson and returned all the way back to the Doane five yard line. Morningside scored on the next play.
Dakota Wesleyan, however, does remain perfect on the year with a resounding win over Dordt, holding the Defenders to 98 yards of total offense on the day. Midland, surprisingly, was destroyed by Northwestern, knocking them from the top 25.
For the second week in a row, Morningside faces an undefeated team ranked #13 team in the country. This time, however, I don’t expect them to be so fortunate. Dakota Wesleyan has offense to spare, and their defense has also been significantly stingier than Morningside’s. Northwestern and Nebraska Wesleyan should win, and Briar Cliff should have no trouble at all in their non-conference tilt with winless Dakota State. Hastings will probably manage to slow the game down enough to get past Midland; if not, Midland’s porous defense is still there to be exploited.
HEART OF AMERICA:
The only thing surprising about last weekend’s slate in the HAAC was Peru State getting completely shut down by Trinity Bible, who you may remember as the last four-year college team to have 100 points scored against them. So that’s sort of embarrassing. The top four teams all won, three of them with ease; Evangel had some difficulty with Graceland.
MidAmerica Nazarene plays out of conference, as discussed above. That will allow the other three teams at the top to equalize the number of conference games played. Unfortunately for MANU, the team behind them is Evangel, and they’re going to wreck Peru State to move into a tie with the Pioneers. Worse, the big game of the week is Missouri Valley at Benedictine; the two unbeatens will collide in Atchison with the prize being a full-game lead over the other three leaders. This game’s very, very hard to project. Home field may be the difference here.
KANSAS:
Bethany… had an issue, falling by three to Saint Mary for their first loss of the season. Ottawa had no trouble with Southwestern, and takes sole possession of the conference lead with a perfect 4-0 mark after a woeful start to the season in non-conference play. Sterling was idle, and remains in the mix.
Two teams step out of conference this week, and both should lose. Ottawa, Bethany, and Sterling should all win this week, keeping the top of the ladder unchanged, and Friends should get past Southwestern.
MID-SOUTH:
Cumberland won the battle at the bottom of the rankings with a four-point edging of Shorter, helped out by James McLain’s 92-yard kickoff return for a TD to open the second half. Georgetown remains the conference’s only unbeaten, easily dispatching Campbellsville, while Bethel remained atop the west with a narrow win over Union. Lindsey Wilson gave Georgetown breathing room with a narrow upset over Pikeville, despite Pikeville’s Larry West recording three interceptions. Justin Gaines rambled for 250 yards on the ground to help Belhaven get past Faulkner, including a 27-yard run to put the Blazers in the lead and a 43-yard scamper four minutes later to seal the win.
That affords Georgetown the opportunity to chase the Pike from the race altogether this week as the Tigers travel east, and they should take advantage of it. Bethel is idle, and will still have at least a half-game lead over Cumberland come Sunday; the latter should have no trouble with Faulkner. Shorter will likely prevail over Belhaven, as will Lindsey Wilson over Union. West Virginia Tech will finally play a conference game, but that’s not going to result in their first win of the season; Virginia-Wise has no hope against FCS #5 Wofford.
MID-STATES:
The only real upset of the week was Saint Francis (IL) pipping previously unbeaten and #4 William Penn at home by a point, but in the grand scheme of things that wasn’t a particularly stunning outcome. The Saints fell behind 27-0 as Penn scored on their first four possessions, but fought back after forcing a fumble on their own 16 which halted a potential fifth straight scoring drive. The comeback was complete when E.J. White hit Desmond Page for an 8-yard TD reception with 13 seconds to go. The Saints chose to forego kicking to send the game to OT, instead going for two; White again hit Page to complete the conversion, and the win.
That shook up the Midwest League race, dropping Penn into a tie for third with Grand View, who shelled Waldorf. SFIL now has a full-game lead over Saint Ambrose, although SAC has two games in hand. In the Mideast, the top two teams in the nation cruised to wins. Saint Francis (IN) was technically out of conference, and required two overtimes to shake Walsh and hand head coach Kevin Donley his 250th career win.
The only remaining obstacle to a second 1vs2 matchup involving Saint Xavier is this week, as Marian takes their perfect record on the road to Saint Francis (IN). SFIN’s a good team; Marian is a great one, and should pass this test. Saint Xavier will easily deal with Quincy, as should Taylor with Concordia. In the Midwest, the four teams still in the fight should all pick up wins, though Penn and Grand View will lose a half-step on SFIL and Ambrose due to playing non-conference games. No call on Waldorf/Olivet; they’re both stinkers.
INDEPENDENTS:
Azusa ripped McPherson, while Menlo ground out a tough road shutout on the east coast. Edward Waters and Southern Virginia took advantage of bottom-feeding NCAA teams, while Haskell and Dakota State continued their respective exercises in futility.
Azusa remains at the head of the “automatic at-large” pack, with Valley City and Menlo being their only real threats. Menlo may cease being one this week, as they travel to Pacific Lutheran for a game that’s no sure thing at all. Azusa will travel to face future conference-mates Dixie State, and should win. Edward Waters has the edge on Webber, while Ave Maria, Dakota State, and Southern Virginia are all staring at losses.
A Note:
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