Nothing untoward happened in Week 9, which means we’ve got another conference champion in the books and a big moving day coming Saturday. Stuff and things after the jump.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A note on the NAIA playoffs: all conference champions who finish the season ranked in the top 20 of the NAIA poll earn automatic bids. Since the poll matters, no automatic bids can be determined until the final poll on November 14. Having said that, it’s almost a certainty that one playoff spot has been claimed:<\/p>\n
Carroll (MT) (Frontier Conference champion)<\/em><\/p>\n Mid-States<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> In the Midwest Division, McKendree wins if both St. Francis (IL) and William Penn lose this week, and Penn wins next week, regardless of whether McKendree wins next week or not. They also win any scenario in which they win next week, unless St. Francis (IL) beats Quincy and Penn, in which case St. Francis wins. St. Francis also wins if they beat Penn and McKendree loses next week. Penn wins if they beat Quincy and St. Francis, and McKendree loses next week.<\/p>\n That leaves one final completely ridiculous scenario: If St. Francis and Penn both lose this week, McKendree loses next week, and Penn defeats St. Francis, there is a three-way tie at 5-2 which cannot be resolved head-to-head. I have no information on successive tiebreakers, so I don’t know who wins the division in this extremely unlikely instance. I strongly suspect William Penn comes out on top (the other two contenders have lost crossover games, while Penn has not).<\/p>\n #7 St. Francis (IN) (8-0, 5-0) at #3 St. Xavier (10-0, 6-0) Heart of America<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> #9 Missouri Valley (7-1, 7-1) at #4 MidAmerica Nazarene (9-0, 9-0) Great Plains<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> #1 Sioux Falls (8-0, 8-0) at Dordt (0-9, 0-9) Kansas<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Bethel (KS) (0-8, 0-7) at #6 McPherson (8-0, 7-0) Dakota<\/strong>: Sunday:<\/span> all games part of the Dacotah Bank Dakota Athletic Conference Bowl, Fargodome<\/em> Frontier<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> #2 Carroll (MT) (8-0, 8-0) at Montana Tech (4-5, 4-4) Mid-South<\/strong>: at #20 Cumberland (TN) 29, Union (KY) 18 Saturday:<\/span> Central States<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-3) at #17 Northwestern Oklahoma State (6-2, 5-0) (not a conference game) Independents<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Nothing untoward happened in Week 9, which means we’ve got another conference champion in the books and a big moving day coming Saturday. Stuff and things after the jump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-division-news-and-notes","category-naia","tag-naia-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p185sV-2p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions\/167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nat #3 St. Xavier 41, #16 Walsh 10
\n#7 St. Francis (IN) 63, at Olivet Nazarene 7
\n#12 Marian 20, at Taylor 6
\n#13 McKendree 50, at Quincy 21
\nat #15 William Penn 70, Peru State 6 (non-conference)
\nMalone 34, at Trinity International 0
\nat St. Francis (IL) 56, Waldorf 10
\nat Grand View 73, Iowa Wesleyan 6
\nSt. Ambrose idle<\/p>\n
\nIn the Mideast division, things are very clear. The winner of the St. Francis (IN)-St. Xavier game wins the division.<\/p>\n
\n#12 Marian (7-2, 3-2) at Malone (2-6, 1-4)
\n#14 William Penn (8-1, 4-1) at Waldorf (2-7, 0-5)
\nTrinity International (3-7, 1-5) at #21 Walsh (6-3, 2-3)
\nQuincy (0-9, 0-5) at #23 St. Francis (IL) (6-3, 4-1)
\nOlivet Nazarene (0-9, 0-5) at Taylor (5-4, 3-2)
\nGrand View (5-3, 3-2) at St. Ambrose (4-4, 2-3)
\n#13 McKendree (7-2, 5-1) and Iowa Wesleyan (3-7, 3-3) idle<\/p>\n
\n#4 MidAmerica Nazarene 56, at Central Methodist 28
\n#5 Lindenwood 40, at Benedictine (KS) 24
\nBaker 12, at William Jewell 9 (OT)
\nat Evangel 41, Avila 37
\nCulver-Stockton 38, at Graceland 33
\n#9 Missouri Valley idle<\/p>\n
\nMANU wins the conference title with a win this week, or with a Missouri Valley loss next week. Missouri Valley gets the crown with wins this week and next and a Lindenwood loss. Otherwise, it’s Lindenwood’s trophy, unless both MVC and Lindenwood win this week and next, which leaves a three-way tie. I don’t know who gets the tiebreaker there.<\/p>\n
\nGraceland (1-8, 1-7) at #5 Lindenwood (7-1, 7-1)
\nEvangel (3-5, 3-5) at Baker (5-4, 5-3)
\nBenedictine (KS) (5-4, 5-4) at Peru State (3-6) (non-conference)
\nWilliam Jewell (3-6, 3-5) at Culver-Stockton (1-8, 1-7)
\nCentral Methodist (2-6, 2-6) at Avila (2-6, 2-6)<\/p>\n
\nat #8 Morningside 43, Hastings 7
\nat #14 Northwestern (IA) 16, Dakota Wesleyan 10
\n#25 Midland Lutheran 31, at Briar Cliff 10
\nat Concordia (NE) 24, Dordt 7
\nNebraska Wesleyan 34, at Doane 14
\n#1 Sioux Falls idle<\/p>\n
\nAt this point, there is only one situation in which Sioux Falls can fail to at least tie for the conference title, and if that happens with any team (or combination of teams) that it’s able to happen with, SXF wins the tiebreaker in all situations. The one situation which leads to Sioux Falls failing to win the conference title would be for Sioux Falls to lose this week against winless Dordt, and to lose next week against Concordia while Morningside beats Dakota Wesleyan. That would give the championship to Morningside.<\/p>\n
\nConcordia (NE) (4-5, 3-5) at #15 Northwestern (IA) (6-2, 6-2)
\n#20 Midland Lutheran (7-2, 6-2) at Nebraska Wesleyan (4-4, 4-4)
\nBriar Cliff (2-7, 1-7) at Dakota Wesleyan (4-4, 4-4)
\nDoane (2-6, 2-6) at Hastings (3-5, 3-5)
\n#8 Morningside (8-1, 8-1) idle<\/p>\n
\nat #6 McPherson 40, Tabor 14
\n#10 Ottawa 49, at #23 Kansas Wesleyan 45
\nat St. Mary 38, #19 Friends 35
\nat Sterling 26, Bethany (KS) 7
\nSouthwestern (KS) 52, at Bethel (KS) 14<\/p>\n
\nMcPherson has beaten both Ottawa and Friends already. That means that Friends cannot win the conference title now, as they cannot get clear of McPherson. Therefore, Ottawa must win out while McPherson loses twice; otherwise, McPherson is the KCAC champion.<\/p>\n
\n#10 Ottawa (7-1, 6-1) at Bethany (KS) (4-4, 3-4)
\nKansas Wesleyan (5-3, 4-3) at #25 Friends (6-2, 5-2)
\nSterling (5-3, 4-3) at St. Mary (2-6, 2-5)
\nSouthwestern (KS) (2-6, 2-5) at Tabor (2-6, 2-5)<\/p>\n
\n#11 Dickinson State 45, at Minot State 13
\nat #18 South Dakota Mines 24, #24 Black Hills State 20 (2OT)
\nat Jamestown 19, Valley City State 13
\nat Mayville State 21, Dakota State 14<\/p>\n
\nDickinson wins the conference title with a win. Should they lose and South Dakota Mines win, SDSM wins the title. Should both win, they’ll share it, and both teams will likely make the playoffs; should both lose, it’s a four-way tie, and it’s possible none of them will.<\/p>\n
\n#11 Dickinson State (8-1, 6-1) vs Black Hills State (6-3, 5-2)
\n#16 South Dakota Mines (7-2, 6-1) vs Minot State (5-4, 5-2)
\nJamestown (4-5, 3-4) vs Mayville State (2-7, 1-6)
\nValley City State (3-6, 2-5) vs Dakota State (0-9, 0-7)
\n(season complete)<\/em><\/p>\n
\nat #2 Carroll (MT) 42, Montana Western 3
\nat Rocky Mountain 48, Montana Tech 38
\nEastern Oregon 39, at Montana State-Northern 36<\/p>\n
\nCarroll has won the conference title.<\/p>\n
\nMontana Western (0-9, 0-8) at Eastern Oregon (5-4, 5-3)
\nMontana State-Northern (3-5, 3-5) at Rocky Mountain (4-5, 4-4)<\/p>\n
\nIn the East, Georgetown wins the division if they beat Lindsey Wilson. Outside of that, there are too many possibilities to go into until we get through this week’s games.<\/p>\n
\nat #21 Georgetown (KY) 58, Virginia-Wise 29
\nat Shorter 42, Webber International 14 (non-conference)
\nBethel (TN) 40, at Faulkner 38
\nat Lindsey Wilson 9, West Virginia Tech 7
\nat Belhaven 24, Cumberlands (KY) 21
\nSouthern Virginia 45, at Kentucky Christian 28 (non-conference)
\nCampbellsville and Pikeville idle<\/p>\n
\nBelhaven (4-5, 1-4) at #18 Cumberland (TN) (7-2, 3-1)
\n#19 Georgetown (KY) (6-2, 5-0) at Lindsey Wilson (4-5, 3-1)
\nCampbellsville (5-4, 3-1) at Virginia-Wise (3-6, 3-1)
\nFaulkner (3-5, 2-2) at Cumberlands (KY) (5-3, 3-1)
\nUnion (KY) (5-4, 2-2) at Shorter (5-4, 2-2)
\nKentucky Christian (0-9, 0-5) at Bethel (TN) (3-5, 2-3)
\nWest Virginia Tech (2-7, 1-3) at Pikeville (0-8, 0-4)<\/p>\n
\n#17 Northwestern Oklahoma State 44, at Southwestern Assemblies of God 7
\nat Langston 31, Lincoln (MO) 21 (non-conference)
\nOklahoma Panhandle State 34, at Southern Nazarene 31 (non-conference, technically)
\nat Bacone 54, Texas College 6<\/p>\n
\nNW Oklahoma State won the conference title last week. Now they need to hang on to their top-20 ranking to secure a playoff bid.<\/p>\n
\n#24 Langston (5-3, 2-1) at Texas College (0-8, 0-3)
\nSouthern Nazarene (5-4, 2-1) at Bacone (3-6, 2-2)
\nHaskell (1-7) at Southwestern Assemblies of God (1-7, 0-4) (non-conference)<\/p>\n
\nat Shorter 42, #22 Webber International 14
\nAzusa Pacific 38, at Southern Oregon 13
\nat Lambuth 42, Central State (OH) 6
\nat Linfield 38, Menlo 0
\nSouthern Virginia 45, at Kentucky Christian 28
\nNorth Greenville 21, at Notre Dame (OH) 14
\nat #15 William Penn 70, Peru State 6
\nat North Carolina Central 20, Edward Waters 7
\nHaskell idle<\/p>\n
\n#22 Azusa Pacific (5-3) at Lincoln (MO) (1-8, D-II)
\nWebber International (5-4) at Southern Virginia (3-5)
\nEdward Waters (0-7) at Lambuth (3-5)
\nSouthern Oregon (2-6) at Menlo (3-6)
\nBenedictine (KS) (5-4) at Peru State (3-6)
\nNotre Dame (OH) (2-7) at Kentucky Wesleyan (4-5, D-II)
\nHaskell (1-7) at Southwestern Assemblies of God (1-7)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"