With the exception of one random and irrelevant game, the regular season is complete, and the playoff field is set; no conference champion failed to qualify, and the field includes the top 15 teams and one interloper. If you were paying attention last week you know who I’m talking about. Also, the craziest game in your entire life happened in Birmingham; more on that later, because I’m a tease.
Conference champions (bold indicates autobid recipient):
Central States Football League: Southern Nazarene, Langston
Dakota Athletic Conference: Valley City State
Frontier Conference: Carroll (MT)
Great Plains Athletic Conference: Morningside
Heart of America Athletic Conference: Missouri Valley, MidAmerica Nazarene
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Ottawa
Mid-South Conference (East): Georgetown (KY)
Mid-South Conference (West): Bethel (TN)
Mid-States Football Association (Mideast League): Marian (IN)
Mid-States Football Association (Midwest League): Grand View, Saint Francis (IL)
Independent autobid: Azusa Pacific
The at-large selections, in descending order:
MidAmerica Nazarene
Saint Xavier
Saint Francis (IN)
Saint Francis (IL)
Valley City State
Benedictine (KS)
CENTRAL STATES:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Southern Nazarene, Langston
It was a close call, but Southern Nazarene escaped with a win over Langston. As a result, the two teams share the conference title, but SNU gets to go to the playoffs. Their first round opponent, unfortunately for them, is MidAmerica Nazarene, who destroyed them on a neutral field a month ago. This time, the field’s not neutral; it’s Pioneer Field in Olathe.
DAKOTA:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Valley City State
Idle Valley City State already knew that their ticket to the playoffs as an at-large was secure barring some sort of unspeakable disaster. Unfortunately for them, the exigencies of travel sort of bumped them down to the effective 15th seed, which means a trip to Helena to face #2 Carroll. They’re not going to enjoy the trip much.
FRONTIER:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Carroll (MT)
Carroll sealed the outright conference title with a solid win at Montana State-Northern, and they’ll host Valley City State this week. As noted, they shouldn’t have any trouble here.
GREAT PLAINS:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Morningside
Morningside crushed Briar Cliff, locking down the outright conference title. Doane and Northwestern also won, but weren’t able to climb into playoff position; I’m not making any judgments here, but I think the halo around the MSFA may be unwarranted to a certain extent, and it almost certainly deprived one of these teams an opportunity.
Morningside will host Saint Francis (IL) Saturday, and this is likely to be the best game of the day. I’m looking at Morningside as under a touchdown favorite here.
HEART OF AMERICA:
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: Missouri Valley, MidAmerica Nazarene
Missouri Valley dispatched Central Methodist with ease, MidAmerica Nazarene rolled over Evangel, and Benedictine crushed Culver-Stockton. The first result guaranteed MoVal the autobid and a share of the title; the second guaranteed MANU an at-large bid and the other half of the crown. Benedictine was on tenterhooks, and slipped into the field by the margin of three votes in the final poll. More on this later.
Missouri Valley will host Saint Francis (IN); they should win, but an upset isn’t a ridiculous idea. MidAmerica Nazarene hosts Southern Nazarene, and should have no trouble at all. Benedictine will travel to Georgetown (KY), and surprisingly this may be a good game. I figure Benedictine loses by a touchdown, but that always means there’s a chance to flip the result.
KANSAS:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Ottawa
The only thing standing between Ottawa and a playoff berth was the possibility of falling out of the top 20 from #11. A 72-6 win pretty much put those fears to rest. They’ll travel to the west coast for the only night game in the first round as they visit Azusa Pacific. Azusa should win easily.
MID-SOUTH:
EAST DIVISION CHAMPION: Georgetown (KY)
WEST DIVISION CHAMPION: Bethel (TN)
Georgetown had no trouble with Belhaven, securing their spot in the playoff field. Bethel also solved their potential problems with a win at Shorter, earning the West Division berth. They sealed the West Division title outright when Cumberlands (KY) knocked off Cumberland (TN).
Of course, the biggest news out of the Mid-South on Saturday involved two teams battling for last place in the West. When the final gun sounded to end regulation, Faulkner and Union were knotted in a tie. A 75-75 tie. No, I am not kidding. They matched touchdowns with PATs in the first OT, and matched touchdowns with missed PATs in the second, making it 87-87. In the third, Faulkner scored and converted, then stopped Union on their possession to win the second-highest scoring game in college football history, behind only the legendary 212-0 Georgia Tech win over… Cumberland (TN). That’s right, the two highest scoring games in college football history involved teams in the Mid-South conference, over 100 years apart.
Georgetown will host Benedictine (KS) in a game that’s going to be closer than you’d expect. Georgetown should win, but don’t take anything for granted there. Bethel has to travel to Saint Xavier, where they’re going to get drilled.
MID-STATES:
MIDEAST LEAGUE CHAMPION: Marian (IN)
MIDWEST LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Grand View, Saint Francis (IL)
Saint Francis (IL) beat Saint Ambrose, and then sat and waited for the final from a very tightly contested game between Grand View and William Penn. When Grand View came out on top 14-13, Saint Francis had to settle for the at-large and a share of the conference title, because Grand View earned the autobid.
Or, at least, the eligibility for the autobid, as they had to wait for the rankings to come out.
That Grand View moved into the top 20 was no surprise, nor was it unwarranted. That they only climbed five spots after beating the #8 team in the country, but William Penn fell eight is almost inexplicable — and the fact that Penn was only beaten out by Benedictine by a mere three points in the poll is mind-blowing. This isn’t meant to take anything away from Benedictine, but this is the second year in a row William Penn has been screwed. Last year, it was just bad luck. This year, it stinks of something, and the NAIA really ought to take a look at those ballots. Penn should have been in.
Five teams did get in, however. Grand View’s sneak into the playoffs earned them an early exit, as they’ll travel to #1 Marian to get their brains beaten in. Saint Xavier hosts Bethel (TN), and should handle them without much trouble. Saint Francis (IN) will travel to Missouri Valley; I’ve got them as around 10-point underdogs. Saint Francis (IL) visits Morningside, where they’ve got a shot at an upset. Finally, Quincy visits McKendree as the teams complete their regular season schedules; Quincy should win easily.
INDEPENDENTS:
Azusa already knew they were in the playoffs, and the question on their minds while they sat idle was whether they’d be traveling or staying home. Grand View’s win over William Penn answered that question; they’ll be hosting Ottawa in the week’s only night game, and should win easily.
There’s another regular season game here this week, as Ave Maria travels to Southern Virginia to close the season out for both teams. Southern Virginia should handle this, and keep Ave Maria 0-forever.