Playoff bids up for grabs as we enter the final weekend of regular season play in the NAIA. With the exception of a switchout at #25, no ranked team lost a game they should have won this week, so the situation remained quite stable. A look at the potential playoff field, and all the scenarios after the jump.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Just as a taste of things, if the playoffs began this week the field would look like this: Azusa Pacific, tied for 21st, is idle this week. I’m listing them as in the field, because I predict they’ll climb into the top 20. #15 Northwestern (IA) plays #19 Midland Lutheran this week; the loser should drop below Azusa. #20 Walsh also plays at #11 Marian, and #21t St. Francis (IL) is at #13 William Penn. Somewhere in all this, Azusa should manage to get the help they need. The odd man out should Azusa move up would either be the MSFL Midwest runner-up or, if they lose this week, Marian.<\/p>\n In all cases throughout the rest of the article where I’m discussing teams needing help for an at-large bid, remember that a loss by either Georgetown, Cumberland, or Northwestern Oklahoma State qualifies as “lots<\/em> of help”, as losses by any of those teams will open up one or more additional at-large bids.<\/p>\n Mid-States<\/strong>: St. Xavier head coach Mike Feminis recorded career win #100 as his team clinched the Mideast League title.<\/p>\n Saturday:<\/span> In the Midwest, things cleared up quite a bit in terms of the league title, but potential playoff slots are utter chaos.<\/p>\n If St. Francis (IL) beats William Penn this week, they win the league title, and would move up in the polls enough to claim the playoff bid. Penn would be out of the playoffs altogether, and McKendree (with a win — a loss would wipe them out) would need help: ideally, a Marian or St. Francis (IN) loss, which would drive the losing team below McKendree in the rankings and force them to sweat Azusa Pacific’s final ranking.<\/p>\n If Penn and McKendree win, St. Francis (IL) becomes a non-factor altogether, McKendree would claim the title and get into the playoffs without a problem, and William Penn would need the same sort of help I just described for McKendree above.<\/p>\n If Penn wins and McKendree loses, Penn is set, and they’re getting the only playoff bid from the Midwest, period.<\/p>\n Taylor (6-4, 4-2) at #10 St. Francis (IN) (8-1, 5-1) Heart of America<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Lindenwood would also be a clear entry with a win (and, to be honest, can probably survive a loss as long as it’s not a horrible one). Missouri Valley, on the other hand, is a victim of the vicious, cold, and unfeeling nature of the schedule. Had they lost this game a month ago, they’d probably be in the playoffs with a win this week. As it stands, they need lots of help; their best case scenario is for Marian and St. Francis (IN) to lose but fail to fall out of the top 20 (which would help keep Azusa Pacific on the outside looking in). That’s a very tall order.<\/p>\n #5 Lindenwood (8-1, 8-1) at William Jewell (4-6, 4-5) Great Plains<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> I’m going to call Midland Lutheran out at this stage (it would take miracles of epic proportion to get them into at-large position), but Northwestern’s actually got a sliver of a chance. See Missouri Valley’s prospects above — only add in Missouri Valley losing too, and you’ve got the idea.<\/p>\n Concordia (NE) (4-6, 3-6) at #1 Sioux Falls (9-0, 9-0) Kansas<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> #6 McPherson (9-0, 8-0) at Bethany (KS) (4-5, 3-5) Dakota<\/strong>: Final Standings:<\/span><\/p>\n Dickinson State is in the playoffs; South Dakota Mines is watching from home. (Losing Saturday did not matter in this respect, as looking at the poll they wouldn’t have moved up from #16 anyway, and wouldn’t have made up the five spots they still needed while sitting idle this week.)<\/p>\n Frontier<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Montana State-Northern (3-6, 3-6) at #2 Carroll (MT) (9-0, 9-0) Mid-South<\/strong>: Terrance Cobb rolled for 214 yards and six touchdowns on only 16 carries as Cumberlands obliterated Faulkner.<\/p>\n Saturday:<\/span> Cumberland and Cumberlands, on the other hand, are playing for the West title. If Cumberland wins, they’re in the playoffs. If Cumberlands wins, they may not be, and yet another at-large spot opens up.<\/p>\n In short: It’s entirely possible that a league which has two “automatic bids” may end up with no playoff teams at all.<\/p>\n #17 Cumberland (TN) (8-2, 4-1) at Cumberlands (KY) (6-3, 4-1) Central States<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Southern Oregon (3-6) at #16 Northwestern Oklahoma State (7-2, 5-0) (non-conference) Independents<\/strong>: Saturday:<\/span> Webber International (6-4) at Newport News Apprentice (2-7, n\/a) Playoff bids up for grabs as we enter the final weekend of regular season play in the NAIA. With the exception of a switchout at #25, no ranked team lost a game they should have won this week, so the situation remained quite stable. A look at the potential playoff field, and all the scenarios […]<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-division-news-and-notes","category-naia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p185sV-2T","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","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=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions\/180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jonfmorse.com\/tog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n#1 Sioux Falls (Great Plains Athletic Conference)<\/em>
\n#2 Carroll (MT) (Frontier Conference)<\/em>*
\n#3 St. Xavier (Mid-States Football League Mideast Division)<\/em>*
\n#4 MidAmerica Nazarene (Heart of America Athletic Conference)<\/em>*
\n#5 Lindenwood (at-large)<\/em>
\n#6 McPherson (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference)<\/em>
\n#7 Morningside (at-large)<\/em>
\n#8 Ottawa (at-large)<\/em>
\n#9 Dickinson State (Dakota Athletic Conference)<\/em>*
\n#10 St. Francis (IN) (at-large)<\/em>
\n#11 Marian (at-large)<\/em>
\n#?? (Mid-States Football League Midwest Division Champion)<\/em>
\n#16 Northwestern Oklahoma State (Central States Football League)<\/em>*
\n#17 Cumberland (TN) (Mid-South Conference West Division)<\/em>
\n#18 Georgetown (KY) (Mid-South Conference East Division)<\/em>*
\n#21t Azusa Pacific (Association of Independent Institutions)<\/em>*
\n* – indicates already-determined conference champion<\/p>\n
\nat #3 St. Xavier 30, #7 St. Francis (IN) 6
\n#12 Marian 28, at Malone 7
\n#14 William Penn 58, at Waldorf 10
\nat #21 Walsh 42, Trinity International 17
\nat #23 St. Francis (IL) 35, Quincy 3
\nat Taylor 40, Olivet Nazarene 13
\nGrand View 20, at St. Ambrose 17
\n#13 McKendree and Iowa Wesleyan idle<\/p>\n
\nSt, Xavier won the Mideast by knocking off their closest rival on Saturday. They also effectively clinch a playoff berth; since they’re idle this week, there’s no chance in hell they’d fall out of the the top 20 from #3. Both Marian and St. Francis (IN) desperately need to win this week in order to hold onto their ranking and grab at-large bids. More on this in two paragraphs.<\/p>\n
\n#20 Walsh (7-3, 3-3) at #11 Marian (8-2, 4-2)
\nGrand View (6-3, 4-2) at #12 McKendree (7-2, 5-1)
\n#21t St. Francis (IL) (7-3, 5-1) at #13 William Penn (9-1, 5-1)
\nOlivet Nazarene (0-10, 0-6) at Malone (2-7, 1-5)
\nSt. Ambrose (4-5, 2-4) at Iowa Wesleyan (3-7, 3-3)
\nWaldorf (2-8, 0-6) at Quincy (0-10, 0-6)
\n#3 St. Xavier (11-0, 7-0) and Trinity International (3-8, 1-6) idle<\/p>\n
\nat #4 MidAmerica Nazarene 37, #9 Missouri Valley 7
\nat #5 Lindenwood 77, Graceland 33
\nat Baker 41, Evangel 6
\nBenedictine (KS) 28, at Peru State 0 (non-conference)
\nWilliam Jewell 21, at Culver-Stockton 13
\nCentral Methodist 38, at Avila 17<\/p>\n
\nMidAmerica Nazarene clinched the conference title outright with the win over Missouri Valley. Since they’re idle and aren’t going to fall 17 spots in the poll, they’ve clinched a playoff bid.<\/p>\n
\nAvila (2-7, 2-7) at #14 Missouri Valley (7-2, 7-2)
\nBaker (6-4, 6-3) at Central Methodist (3-6, 3-6)
\nBenedictine (KS) (6-4, 5-4) at Graceland (1-9, 1-8)
\nCulver-Stockton (1-9, 1-8) at Evangel (3-6, 3-6)
\n#4 MidAmerica Nazarene (10-0, 10-0) idle<\/p>\n
\n#1 Sioux Falls 49, at Dordt 0
\nat #15 Northwestern (IA) 26, Concordia (NE) 6
\n#20 Midland Lutheran 14, at Nebraska Wesleyan 6
\nat Dakota Wesleyan 49, Briar Cliff 14
\nat Hastings 43, Doane 21
\n#8 Morningside idle<\/p>\n
\nSioux Falls has clinched a share of the conference title, and the automatic bid (which is a certainty, as there’s no way they could possibly fall 20 spots in the poll even with a loss, unless voters almost unanimously decide to give them a “have fun in Division II, suckers” screw-off vote). Morningside is clearly in the playoffs if they win this week as well; a loss might<\/em> not ruin them, but I wouldn’t chance it if I were them. A five-spot slide in the polls would be too far.<\/p>\n
\n#7 Morningside (8-1, 8-1) at Dakota Wesleyan (5-4, 5-4)
\n#15 Northwestern (IA) (7-2, 7-2) at #19 Midland Lutheran (8-2, 7-2)
\nDoane (2-7, 2-7) at Briar Cliff (2-8, 1-8)
\nNebraska Wesleyan (4-5, 4-5) at Hastings (4-5, 4-5)<\/p>\n
\nat #6 McPherson 47, Bethel (KS) 0
\n#10 Ottawa 39, at Bethany (KS) 33
\nKansas Wesleyan 36, at #25 Friends 33
\nSterling 21, at St. Mary 13
\nat Tabor 55, Southwestern (KS) 28<\/p>\n
\nMcPherson has technically clinched the title, and would seal it outright with a win or an Ottawa loss. Both teams are certainly in the playoffs with a win this week. Ottawa probably cannot afford to lose. McPherson probably can, but it’s risky.<\/p>\n
\nFriends (6-3, 5-3) at #8 Ottawa (8-1, 7-1)
\n#25 Kansas Wesleyan (6-3, 5-3) at Southwestern (KS) (2-7, 2-6)
\nBethel (KS) (0-9, 0-8) at Sterling (6-3, 5-3)
\nSt. Mary (2-7, 2-6) at Tabor (3-6, 3-5)<\/p>\n
\nall games part of the Dacotah Bank Dakota Athletic Conference Bowl, Fargodome<\/em>
\n#11 Dickinson State 21, Black Hills State 0
\nMinot State 30, #16 South Dakota Mines 7
\nJamestown 48, Mayville State 14
\nValley City State 62, Dakota State 39<\/p>\n#9 Dickinson State 9-1 7-1\r\n#24 South Dakota Mines 7-3 6-2\r\nMinot State 6-4 6-2\r\nBlack Hills State 6-4 5-3\r\nJamestown 5-5 4-4\r\nValley City State 4-6 3-5\r\nMayville State 2-8 1-7\r\nDakota State 0-10 0-8<\/pre>\n
\n#2 Carroll (MT) 46, at Montana Tech 10
\nMontana Western 27, at Eastern Oregon 20
\nat Rocky Mountain 49, Montana State-Northern 17<\/p>\n
\nCarroll won the conference title two weeks ago, and by the time it’s all over they may win the damn thing by four full games. They’re almost definitely going to be in the playoff field.<\/p>\n
\nRocky Mountain (5-5, 5-4) at Eastern Oregon (5-5, 5-4)
\nMontana Tech (4-6, 4-5) at Montana Western (1-9, 1-8)<\/p>\n
\nat #18 Cumberland (TN) 45, Belhaven 7
\n#19 Georgetown (KY) 48, at Lindsey Wilson 0
\nCampbellsville 45, at Virginia-Wise 42
\nat Cumberlands (KY) 79, Faulkner 7
\nUnion (KY) 37, at Shorter 31
\nat Bethel (TN) 70, Kentucky Christian 20
\nat Pikeville 40, West Virginia Tech 36<\/p>\n
\nGeorgetown clinched the East, but still needs to beat Belhaven to secure a playoff bid. The primary effect of a loss would be to almost certainly allow Azusa Pacific to get into the field while simultaneously allowing one of the teams praying for the last at-large spot to get in.<\/p>\n
\nBelhaven (4-6, 1-5) at #18 Georgetown (KY) (7-2, 6-0)
\nCampbellsville (6-4, 4-1) at West Virginia Tech (2-8, 1-4)
\nLindsey Wilson (4-6, 3-2) at Virginia-Wise (3-7, 3-2)
\nShorter (5-5, 2-3) at Bethel (TN) (4-5, 3-3)
\nFaulkner (3-6, 2-3) at Union (KY) (6-4, 3-2)
\nKentucky Christian (0-10, 0-6) at Pikeville (1-8, 1-4)<\/p>\n
\nat #17 Northwestern Oklahoma State 31, Oklahoma Panhandle State 7 (not a conference game)
\n#24 Langston 45, at Texas College 0
\nSouthern Nazarene 41, at Bacone 19
\nat Southwestern Assemblies of God 29, Haskell 15<\/p>\n
\nNorthwestern has already won the conference title, but must win this week if they want to get in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\n#23 Langston (6-3, 3-1) at Southern Nazarene (6-4, 3-1)
\nBacone (3-7, 2-3) at Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-4) (not a conference game)
\nTexas College (0-9, 0-4) at Southwestern Assemblies of God (2-7, 0-4)<\/p>\n
\n#22 Azusa Pacific 59, at Lincoln (MO) 14
\nWebber International 37, at Southern Virginia 20
\nat Lambuth 44, Edward Waters 27
\nSouthern Oregon 24, at Menlo 13
\nBenedictine (KS) 28, at Peru State 0
\nat Kentucky Wesleyan 28, Notre Dame (OH) 14
\nat Southwestern Assemblies of God 29, Haskell 15<\/p>\n
\nAzusa Pacific is assured of the best record among the independents (by percentage over Webber if Webber wins Saturday). As mentioned all the way back at the beginning of the page, Azusa is now reduced to hope and prayer, although the odds look very good.<\/p>\n
\nDelta State (7-3, D-II) at Lambuth (4-5)
\nPacific (OR) (0-8, D-III) at Menlo (3-7)
\nHaskell (1-8) at Peru State (3-7)
\nSouthern Oregon (3-6) at Northwestern Oklahoma State (7-2)
\nUrbana (4-6, D-II) at Notre Dame (OH) (2-8)
\nColumbus State (club) at Edward Waters (0-8)
\n#21t Azusa Pacific (6-3) idle
\nSouthern Virginia (3-6) idle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"