NAIA Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 149kb)
NAIA Game of the Week:
There were five games this last weekend in which both teams were ranked, all of which would have been good candidates for Game of the Week five days ago. Unfortunately, four of them were blowouts. Fortunately, on the other hand, we have the benefit of 20/10 hindsight here at Those Other Guys, and as a result we can zoom in on the one that wasn’t.
Then-#20 Saint Ambrose paid a visit to then-#6 Saint Francis (IN) on Saturday for a cross-divisional (read: non-conference) Mid-States Football Association matchup. Oddly, there’s not a great deal to say about the contest. Each team scored a rushing touchdown on a long drive in the first quarter; each team scored through the air on lightning-quick drives in the fourth and added two-point conversions. In between, Saint Ambrose turned the ball over twice on lost fumbles (and a third time after Saint Francis scored their second touchdown); Saint Francis turned it over twice on interceptions (and a third time on their final possession with 11 seconds to go). Saint Ambrose rushed 47 times for 157 yards; Saint Francis 47 times for 176. Saint Ambrose threw 24 times, completing 12 for 149 yards; Saint Francis 25 times with 16 completions for 207, but the three interceptions balanced out their advantage.
No, there was one main difference between the two squads in this game, and it decided the strategy for the entire contest. Midway through the first quarter, Saint Francis scored on a nine-yard Antoin Campbell run to take a 6-0 lead, but Emerson Weber missed the extra point. Quinn Treiber did not miss the point after when Cole Kelly scored on a two-yard plunge later in the first, and Saint Ambrose took a 7-6 lead. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the scoreboard finally changed again when Wes Hunsucker — the third quarterback utilized by Saint Francis on the afternoon — hit Austin Coleman for a 70-yard touchdown strike. The two-point conversion, called for as a result of the prior missed point after, was successful and Saint Francis found themselves with a 14-7 lead.
Then things got hairy.
On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Kelly fumbled at his own 35, putting the entire contest in jeopardy. Saint Francis got 12 yards on their first play, but was unable to achieve another first down afterward, prompting a 33-yard Weber field goal attempt with 4:49 to go which would have given the Cougars a 10-point lead. Sean Santiago blocked the kick, and Saint Ambrose took over on their own 20. They couldn’t get a first down, turning it over after a rush for no gain on fourth-and-7 at their own 23. Disaster again failed to strike the Bees, as Saint Francis lost a yard on a fumble, lost another on a tackle for loss, lost yet another on a failed quarterback draw, and then turned the ball over on downs when a Hunsucker pass to Aaron Knight only got the Cougars back to the original line of scrimmage. Four plays later, Eric Williamson hit Mike Munro for a 50-yard gain, and on the following play found Zach Grant for a 15-yard touchdown to pull the Bees within a point with only 1:45 to go. The Bees had had quite enough nonsense, and decided to go for broke rather than kick for the tie; Williamson hit Mitch Overstreet with a lob to convert, and Saint Ambrose had a 15-14 lead. On the second play after the kickoff, Hunsucker was picked off by Adonis Brown; with 1:27 to go and all the Cougars’ timeouts spent earlier in the half, Saint Ambrose was able to kill the clock and escape with an upset victory.
Who Do You Think You Are, Memphis?:
Haskell’s entire athletic department got hammered by the NAIA yesterday and placed on probation through 2014 for — presumably, given the existence of an ongoing investigation by the school itself — incidents involving the falsification of recruits’ ACT scores. This is actually a stickier problem than it appears just from that information, as Haskell — being the semi-official national university for Native Americans — obviously enrolls a large number of students from reservations, where record-keeping is sometimes non-standard. It is NAIA policy not to release specific information regarding violations or penalties; that’s left up to the institution, and Haskell has yet to release a statement. As such, we don’t know what specific penalties are involved here other than the probation. NAIA policy would tend to indicate forfeiture of any contests involving ineligible athletes, as you’d expect, but the NAIA does not institute post-season bans unless a school’s membership is temporarily suspended.
The only concrete comment thus far has been from Al Waller, commissioner of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (Haskell’s conference for Olympic sports), who pointed out Haskell’s difficulties establishing eligibility and noted the conference has tried to help them as much as possible.
The New Top 25:
at #1 Saint Xavier 31, #11 Saint Francis (IL) 3
– The Cougars remain atop the poll, and will host Langston on Saturday; should be a romp. Saint Francis falls from #7, and will visit Olivet Nazarene for a likely win.
#2 Marian (IN) 31, at Siena Heights 3
– The Knights slide up a spot thanks to Carroll’s inexplicable downfall. They’re off this week, returning to action on the 22nd at home against current #15 Grand View.
at #3 Georgetown (KY) 34, Faulkner 20
– The Tigers move up a spot as well. They’ll travel to #24 Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, and will most probably come out on top.
at #4 Morningside 34, #17t Northwestern (IA) 7
– The teams were #8 and #10. Morningside fixed that up in a jiffy, trouncing their rivals. They’ll visit Nebraska Wesleyan this weekend, and should cruise; Northwestern hosts #16 Doane, and they should not.
#5 Missouri Valley 41, #13 MidAmerica Nazarene 7
– MVC came into the game ranked ninth; MANU was fifth. Missouri Valley claimed the Pioneers’ place; they host (and should easily beat) Avila Saturday, while MidAmerica is idle until they visit Avila on the 22nd.
#6 Benedictine (KS) idle
– The Ravens move up from #13 in the preseason poll. They’ll travel to Graceland this weekend, expecting a win.
at #7 William Penn 31, Luther [D-III] 9
– The Statesmen are 3-0 now, and have moved out of that grey zone they’ve inhabited for the last couple of years — a zone which has left them bitterly on the outside looking in when it comes time to pick playoff teams. Their first task toward staying ranked highly enough to stop worrying: a trip to 2-0 Waldorf on Saturday, which they should probably survive.
at #8 Eastern Oregon 17, Montana State-Northern 14
– Eastern Oregon struggles against a winless team, but the previous two weeks’ work helps to move them up eight spots in the poll. Well, whatever. They’re idle this week and next week, returning to action at home against Montana-Western on the 29th.
at #9t Baker 48, Evangel 17
– A good solid butt-whoopin’ helped move Baker up nine spots in the poll. They visit Central Methodist on Saturday; they’re in little danger.
#9t Saint Ambrose 15, #17t Saint Francis (IN) 14
– Saint Ambrose entered the season at #20; Saint Francis at #6. Their roles are now largely reversed. Ambrose hosts #23 Taylor this week, and should probably win; Saint Francis is idle and will host Iowa Wesleyan on the 22nd.
at #20 Montana Tech 37, #12 Carroll (MT) 20
– Carroll loses two in a row, and having fallen from #2 is now ranked outside the top 10. First time either event has occurred since 2004. They’ll host #19 Rocky Mountain this weekend, and there’s no telling what will happen. Montana Tech, who moved into the top 25 with the win, visits Montana-Western; they’re a slight favorite.
#14 Cumberlands (KY) 55, at #25 Cumberland (TN) 13
– The rivals were ranked 19th and T-22nd, respectively, coming into the game. The Kentucky version visits Union (KY) on Saturday; the Tennessee gang hosts Belhaven. Both should walk with victories.
#15 Grand View 14, Olivet Nazarene 6
– Grand View hasn’t been all that impressive, and this close win didn’t help; they remain right where they were before the season started at #15. They host Trinity International this weekend, and they should prevail.
at #16 Doane 35, Dakota State 15
– Cruise control win for Doane, who move up from #20 as a result. They visit #17t Northwestern (IA) this week.
at #19 Rocky Mountain 52, Southern Oregon 30
– Rocky Mountain gets a ticket to the top 25 with the win. They’ll visit #12 Carroll on Saturday.
at #21 Valley City State 38, Mayville State 13
– The win salvages the Vikings’ poll position, as they only fall four spots instead of out after last week’s drubbing at Morningside. They visit 0-3 Dakota State this week, and it’s a good bet they’ll start clawing their way back toward playoff eligibility.
#22 Dakota Wesleyan 26, at Concordia (NE) 23
– Another new entry into the poll. DWU hosts Briar Cliff this weekend, and I’d expect a victory.
at #23 Taylor 41, Iowa Wesleyan 14
– Taylor rolled, and even got themselves onto SportsCenter with a play of the day. They were unranked in the preseason poll. Saturday, they’ll visit #9t Saint Ambrose, and are likely to fall right back out again.
#24 Lindsey Wilson 53, Pikeville 36
– Sometimes, the voters confuse me. Lindsey Wilson gets their first regular-season appearance in the NAIA top 25 ever, and it’s well-deserved. But Pikeville’s 2-1 as well, and they didn’t even get a single vote in a ballot which calls for voters to consider three weeks’ worth of performance. Ah, well. Lindsey Wilson hosts #3 Georgetown this weekend and will probably tumble right back out of here.
at Kansas Wesleyan 31, XX Ottawa 28
– Ottawa is now 0-2 and have fallen from a tie for 11th to unranked. They’ll host 0-2 Saint Mary (KS) on Saturday; they should get a win.
XX Bethel (TN) idle
– Bethel started 0-2, and surrendered their 11th-place tie for life among the unranked. They’ll travel to Campbellsville this weekend for a crapshoot.
Bacone 19, XX Langston 0 (at Tulsa OK)
– Langston drops out of the poll from a tie for 22nd after getting whitewashed in their conference opener. It gets worse, as they travel to #1 Saint Xavier Saturday to get pummeled.
McPherson 14, at XX Bethany (KS) 0
– Coming into the week, Bethany was ranked (at #24), was the only KCAC team with a win, and was the only KCAC team without a loss. None of those statements is true any longer. This weekend, they’ll visit 0-2 Bethel (KS), and will most likely get back on the right side of .500 in the process.
Union (KY) 14, at XX Campbellsville 13
– Campbellsville was the #25 team in the preseason rankings; starting 0-2 will sort of put an end to that sort of thing. They host another castoff, Bethel (TN), on Saturday.
And a few more interesting finals:
Nail-Biters:
at Oklahoma Panhandle State 30, Lindenwood-Belleville 23 (OT)
Graceland 24, at Briar Cliff 17
Lesser Blowouts:
Robert Morris (IL) 62, at Haskell 6
Trinity International 42, at Concordia (MI) 0
Defense is an Optional Package:
at Waldorf 47, Presentation [D-III] 29
No Offense, But… No Offense:
at Midland 7, Nebraska Wesleyan 3
at Tabor 12, Sterling 7
at Campbell [FCS] 10, Virginia-Wise 0