The Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 151 kb)

Short and Sweet: Despite four games pitting ranked teams against one another, there was not a single upset in the top 25 this week, making for a pretty boring recap.  So, we’ll just get on with it, in somewhat abbreviated form.

NAIA Game of the Week:
Montana-Western hosted #20 Montana Tech last Saturday in Dillon in what wasn’t expected to be too exciting a contest.  Indeed, Tech led 17-7 going into the fourth quarter before Western popped off for ten points in a little over six minutes to pull even.  The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime before Joe Mitzel picked off Western’s Jeff Logan in the second overtime; on the ensuing possession, Nick Baker hit James Roberts from five yards out to seal the win for the Orediggers.

It Only Took Three Weeks:
Wayland Baptist, most well-known for its tenure in the 70s as home of one of the nation’s best women’s basketball programs (and I do not mean in the NAIA, I mean period), picked up their first win ever in football last weekend with a 27-23 win at home over D-III Howard Payne.

The New Top 25:
at #1 Saint Xavier 37, Langston 7
– Langston got the stomping they signed up for.  Saint Xavier visits Trinity International this weekend, and will roll.
#2 Marian (IN) idle
– The Knights host #15 Grand View on Saturday.  They should win.
#3 Georgetown (KY) 33, XX Lindsey Wilson 7
– As expected, the Tigers rolled, and formerly #24 Lindsey Wilson was ousted from the top 25.  Georgetown hosts Kentucky Christian this week while the Blue Raiders visit Faulkner.  The former will be a cakewalk; the latter will not, though LWC should prevail.
#4 Morningside 35, at Nebraska Wesleyan 10
– Morningside hosts 2-0 Midland on Saturday.  They’re up to the challenge.
at #5 Missouri Valley 55, Avila 6
– That was easy.  This week’s task, beating #9 Baker on the road, won’t be.  Upset alert activated, but I do expect Valley to hang on.
#6 Benedictine (KS) 48, at Graceland 0
– After a laugher, the Ravens will host Peru State this Saturday.  Peru isn’t awful, but they’re not good enough to get past Benedictine.
#7 William Penn 48, at Waldorf 14
– In and out.  The Statesmen are idle this week before hosting Olivet Nazarene on the 29th.
#8 Eastern Oregon idle
– And they’re still idle Saturday, finally getting back into action on the 29th when they host Montana-Western.
#9 Baker 24, at Central Methodist 14
– Not Baker’s best performance of the year, but enough to remain unblemished.  They host #5 Missouri Valley this week, as noted.
at #10 Saint Ambrose 24, XX Taylor 14
– Saint Ambrose “drops” a place (they were tied for 9th last week), while Taylor drops out from #23.  The Bees are off Saturday ahead of a visit from Grand View on the 29th; Taylor visits D-III Trine, and will probably win.
at #11 Carroll (MT) 19, #22 Rocky Mountain 6
– The Saints get back to level and move up one spot.  They’re idle this week, and visit Dickinson State on the 29th.  Rocky Mountain drops three lines and goes on to host #17 Montana Tech; call that one a toss-up.
#12 Saint Francis (IN) idle
– The Cougars swap places with Carroll, and they’ll entertain Concordia (MI) on Saturday.  Mark it down as a W.
#13 MidAmerica Nazarene idle
– The Pioneers visit winless Avila this week, so count on a win.
#14 Cumberlands (KY) 48, at Union (KY) 14
– A comprehensive beatdown failed to cause Cumberlands to move in the poll at all.  Saturday, they’ll host Pikeville, and it’s kind of a crapshoot.
at #15 Grand View 27, Trinity International 15
– That’s three wins against NAIA teams for Grand View without any of them being particularly impressive.  They stay at #15, and will visit #2 Marian (IN) this week.
at #16 Northwestern (IA) 28, #23 Doane 14
– Northwestern only moved up one place, taking Doane’s old spot at #16.  They’ll host winless Dakota State on Saturday, and they have nothing to worry about.  Doane slides seven spots; they host Nebraska Wesleyan in a should-win contest.
#17 Montana Tech 30, at Montana-Western 24 (2OT)
– Tech jumps three places in the poll.  They’ll visit #22 Rocky Mountain this weekend.
#18 Saint Francis (IL) 19, Olivet Nazarene 16 (2OT)
– That’s not how you move up in the poll, Saints.  They slip a place, and will host Iowa Wesleyan on Saturday.  They’ll win that one.  Presumably.
at #19 Dakota Wesleyan 24, Briar Cliff 13
– The Tigers climb three notches with the win.  They’re off this week, waiting to visit Hastings on the 29th.
#20 Valley City State 41, at Dakota State 31
– The Vikings, who climbed a notch, should complete the sweep of their former Dakota Athletic Conference brethren as they visit Jamestown on Saturday.
at #21 Cumberland (TN) 36, Belhaven 30 (OT)
– In contrast to the other Cumberland, here we had a heartstopper which resulted in a four-spot jump in the rankings.  Cumberland will travel to Virginia-Wise this week, and they’ll win.
#24 Kansas Wesleyan 14, at Sterling 11
– This wasn’t impressive, but it was enough to get KWU into (and the KCAC back into) the top 25.  They’ll visit Bethany (KS) on Saturday, and I think the two schools may well switch places after that one’s over.
at #25 Menlo 56, Occidental [D-III] 6
– Big win gets Menlo into the top 25 for the first time this year.  They host D-III La Verne this week, and should probably pound them too.


A few more notable finals:

Nail-Biters:
at Dickinson State 21, Montana State-Northern 20
at Jamestown 17, South Dakota Mines [D-II] 14
at Robert Morris (IL) 40, Saint Joseph’s (IN) [D-II] 35

Lesser Blowouts:
at Tabor 56, Haskell 7
Faulkner 52, at Bluefield 10

Defense Is an Optional Package:
at Ottawa 50, Saint Mary (KS) 42

No Offense, But No Offense:
Bethany (KS) 16, at Bethel (KS) 0