The 2010 football season kicked off last week,
for some teams, while others will be kicking off their 2010 seasons this week.
Here is what we know, Winona State showed Carson-Newman that last year wasn't
a fluke with a 24-21 win on the road, Minnesota-Duluth again looks really good
as they used an opportunistic defense to intercept three passes on their way to
a resounding win over Central Washington, and Wayne State looked very similar in
2010, to how they looked in 2009, as they used the big play to help beat
Nebraska-Kearney.
Let's start with Winona for a moment, football like most sports in amazingly
simple. If you don't turn it over, don't commit penalties, and you run the
ball well, you will give yourself a chance to win more times than not. That's
exactly what Winona did on the road at Carson-Newman. They didn't turn it
over, they committed only four penalties, and Rayon Simmons and Curtis Dewberry
combined for 144-yards on the ground, including the decisive 4-yard plunge from
Dewberry to take the lead.
Evan Aber also looked very efficient in his first college start for Winona's
offense as he finished 19/36 for 229-yards and two touchdowns and no
interceptions.
Winona's Defense, also proved itself in the game, not only did they force
three turnovers against the Eagles, but after the Warriors took the 24-21 lead,
the Warrior's defense arose to stop the Eagles three times. Including the
final two drives in which they forced the Eagles to 3 and out and 4 and out
respectively, and didn't give up a total of 10-yards combined.
Minnesota Duluth was able to avenge their only regular season loss in the last
two seasons with a resounding 35-10 win at Central Washington as well. Much like
Winona, the Bulldogs defense forced turnovers as they intercepted three Central
Washington passes in the game, including one that went back for a Bulldog
touchdown. I give Central Washington credit though, they did contain Issac Odim
and Brad Foss, which is all you can hope to do; the problem was that Chace
Vogler beat them for a 55-yard touchdown run.
The key stretch in the game, really came in the
second quarter for the Bulldogs, Minnesota-Duluth scored 21-unanswered points in
the second quarter to take control of the game, and go on for the easy win.
Wayne State showed that even without Silas
Fluellen leading the offense they can still hit on the big play. The Wildcats
capped back-to-back drives in the first half with a 78-yard touchdown pass to
running back Nick Pulscher and a 59-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Montegomery.
The Wildcat defense though didn't hold a 17-7 lead in the 4th quarter as
Nebraska-Kearney was able to tie the game and force overtime. But the Wildcats
were able to turn them away in the first overtime, on four plays after Eric
Meyer took the lead for Wayne on a 10-play drive to give them the lead.
It looks like a new Bemidji State running
threat has emerged, University of North Dakota transfer Steven Battle rushed for
95-yards on 15-carries in the Beaver Bash, as Bemidji pummeled Minot State 24-7
in Minot.
Minnesota State Moorhead's offense struggled,
and couldn't generate points or many yards in their 30-0 loss to Missouri
Southern State. The Dragons could only gain 199-yards and generate 11-first
downs in the loss.
But if Minnesota State Moorhead's offense
struggled, then the University of Mary's was downright anemic against Chadron
State. The Mauraders only gained 97-yards of total offense in their 35-3 loss to
Chadron State. The Marauders will have two weeks to try and bounce back before
their home opener in Bismarck against Southwest Minnesota State on September
11th.
Congrats out to last week's NSIC Players of
the Week. Minnesota-Duluth's Chace Vogler, who posted a career best 250-yards
in total offense was named the Offensive Player of the Week. Vogler rushed for
69-yards on the day, and threw for 183 in the Bulldogs win over Central
Washington. Vogler is now 11-1 as a starter for UMD.
Wayne State's Richard Daniel was named the
NSIC Defensive Player of the Week. The defensive end, finished with 6-tackles,
two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in Wayne's overtime victory over Nebraksa-Kearney.
Winona State's Curtis Dewberry, received the
NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week award, he returned a kick all the way back
to the Carson Newman 21-yard line. Quite possibly the turning point of the game
win Winona's 24-21 win. At the time the Warriors trailed the Eagles 14-3
midway through the second quarter.
This week, is more like Week 1A, then Week 2,
the rest of the Northern Sun who hasn't opened up play yet, does this
week.
Northern Michigan at Minnesota State
There is a lot of excitement in Mankato for the
2010 Mavericks football season, and why not, this is a program coming off of one
of the best years in their program's history. The Mavericks finished 10-2 in
2009, and are pre-season ranked #21 in the American Football Coaches Association
Top 25 poll.
The Mavericks will get an early test from
Northern Michigan at home to open the 2010 season. Steve Pachan returns to lead
the Mavericks offense in 2010, and he'll get that opportunity all by himself
this year after splitting time last year. He will have a host of new targets to
throw to this year though as Omar Balton is the leading receiver to the team.
Balton finished third in catches and yards for the Mavericks last year, but tied
for the team lead with 6 touchdown receptions. Other than that, Dennis Carter,
Adam Thielen, Nate Nelson, and converted quarterback Cody Rose look to be the
leading contenders for time at the wide receiver position for the Mavericks.
But look for Pachan to look to running back
Jake Aberg a little more. Any way the Mavericks can get him touches will be
important for their offense in 2010, the sophomore ran for 1,201 yards and 10
touchdowns last season the third highest single season total in school history
last year. Aberg was named First Team NSIC South Division, and 2nd Team
Daktronics All Region, and all of that as a red shirt freshman. In addition to
all of those accolades last season rushing, I would be willing to bet the
9-passes he caught in for 152-yards in the Mavericks final game last season got
his coaches to take note that he can be used as a pass catcher as well.
Defensively, the Mavericks return first team
all conference selection Bryan Schmid upfront, he will be asked to anchor the
line this year, he finished with 47-tackles and 6-sacks in 2009. While Dan
Fehlberg led the team in tackles in 2009 with 89-returns to lead the
linebackers, and Troy Jones and Bryce Kinnery return to a secondary that
intercepted a school record 29-passes in 2009.
That will be a tall order for Junior
Quarterback Carter Kopach and the Northern Michigan offense. The Wildcats lost
their leading rushers and leading receiver from last year's team. It will be
interesting to see if they can find someone to emerge along with Dustin
Brancheau who had 33-catches last year in the receiving core.
I don't like the way that sounds for Northern
Michigan, a lot of youth offensively, against a very tested Maverick Defense. I
will take Minnesota State to get a decisive win to open their 2010 season.
Extra Point: A win for the Mavericks on
Thursday night would mean the program would go above .500 all time, and would be
the 20th win for Scott Hoffner as the Mavericks' head coach.
Mayville State at Minnesota-Crookston
Last Year: 47-21, Minnesota-Crookston
The two schools less than 50-miles apart will
meet for the fourth straight year. Mayville is an NAIA school out of the Dakota
Athletic Conference.
Crookston does have most of their key weapons
back for 2010. Keith McBride who rushed for 960-yards last season will lead the
offense for the Golden Eagles. McBride averaged 87-yards a game for UMC and
scored seven touchdowns. He also caught 15-passes for 110-yards out of the
backfield. Tim Ennis returns at the quarterback position, and the Golden Eagles'
leading receivers Antonio Williams and Jordan Lecher both return as well.
Williams finished with 37-catches for 429-yards
and three touchdowns, while Lecher had 33-receptions and 339-yards to go with
two touchdowns in 2009.
The Golden Eagles should be better in 2010 than
they were in 2009. Certainly with that many returners on the offensive side of
the ball they should be, but they still have a long ways to go before they'll
be competitive in the Northern Sun.
Thursday's game will be one of the only games
the Golden Eagles will be expected to win, early this season. They travel to
Wayne State and host Minnesota State-Mankato the next two weeks.
Last year when the Crookston met up with
Mayville, it was all Crookston as they handled the Comets 47-21. Ennis tossed
three of his eight touchdown passes last year against Mayville, and Keith
McBride rushed for 207-yards and a touchdown in the contest.
I'd expect the Golden Eagles to get off to
the 1-0 start, with another decisive win over Mayville State.
Northern State at Southwest Minnesota
Last Year: 34-10 Southwest
It's an NSIC battle of first year head
coaches! Tom Dosch begins his first year at Northern State, while Corey Sauter
will lead Southwest for the first time. Neither are strangers to the region
though, Dosch is a former assistant at the University of North Dakota, who spent
six seasons as the head coach at Jamestown College, before becoming an assistant
at Southern Illinois. Sauter, a former NFL quarterback, and Minnesota Gophers
standout, has spent the previous two seasons on the Southwest coaching staff
quickly elevating up the ranks to take over the program this year.
It was a tough offseason for Southwest though.
Not only did the Mustangs lose former head coach Eric Eidsness who went back to
South Dakota State, but they also had to deal with losing two key players due to
injuries in wide receiver Wade McDonough and middle linebacker Derek Klinkner,
and the death of another teammate offensive lineman Ben Bundy.
The Mustangs do return last year's NSIC
Offensive Newcomer of the Year in Ryan Ratekin. Expectations are so high for
Ratekin, he was chosen as the Pre-Season NSIC South Division Offensive Player of
the Year. Although the weapons at his disposal will change dramatically over
last year, the top five pass catchers and leading rusher are all gone. Look for
names like Gannon Moore and Warren Matthews to emerge at Southwest this year,
and there still is a very talented group of receivers for him to throw to, led
by returning Senior Brett Ballantine who missed most of last season with an
injury and tight end Shane LaDage.
Northern returns 8 starters to their offensive
unit, most notably running back Montrel Richardson. Richardson is speedy and a
threat every time he touches the ball, but he will take chances in the
backfield. Richardson rushed for net 900-yards and six touchdowns on the season.
His gross yardage total though was 1,014; but he also had 114-yards in losses in
2009. He and Chad Morrison both return to lead the Wolves backfield.
More interesting is the quarterback situation,
Joei Fiegler returns to Northern for his Senior season, but at least on the
initial depth chart, he has fallen behind Nick Wanner a junior transfer from
Sacramento, California. Fiegler last year threw for 2,050-yards and
12-touchdowns for the Wolves, but he also tossed 17 interceptions on the year.
As for Wanner, all we know about him is that in 2008 he led Cabrillo College to
a conference and bowl championship. Wanner accumulated 1,700 passing yards and
13 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns in his stint at Cabrillo
College.
Last time the two teams met, last year the
Mustangs ran for 259-yards and held Northern State to 10-first half points in
their 34-10 victory in Aberdeen, but with a lot of new faces and new coaches for
both teams, I don't think we can put too much into that. But, I will still
take the Mustangs to open up the season with a win at home.
Extra Point: Southwest has won the last two
games in the series, but the Mustangs have only beaten the Wolves three straight
times, once. That was during the years of 1989-1991.
St. Cloud at Augustana
Last Year: 38-16 Augustana
I talked about it in last week's column, but
there are some huge things going on at St. Cloud State, that was made very
apparent again this week, when the university held a public forum on the budget
challenges it is facing. So there is no question it will be difficult and a true
test of focus for the Huskies to remain focused on what is happening on the
field in 2010.
They open up the season in Sioux Falls against
who I think could be one of the top teams in the NSIC this year, in Augustana.
It is certainly a good situation for first year coach Mike Aldrich.
The Vikings return one of the conference's
best running backs in Joe Clark, who ran for over 1,000-yards again in 2009.
Barring injury, Clark will become Augustana's all time rushing leader in 2010.
The biggest question mark for Augustana this
year will be the quarterback position, after the graduation of Luke Butler. He
anchored the passing game that helped to maintain a balance and explosive
offense to go with one of the Top Defense's in the NSIC South. Sophomore Josh
Hanson has been named the starter. Word out of Sioux Falls is that he has had a
good camp. Hanson did appear in five games for the Vikings last season before
suffering a season ending knee injury.
On top of Clark, Augustana posses the top group
of receivers in the Northern Sun. Sam Holsen is now one of the premiere deep
threats in the conference, as he finished last year averaging an amazing
24-yards per catch. Holsen lined up opposite of Tyler Schulte will make it
easier for any first year starting quarterback.
Augustana returns several playmakers to that
defense, including linebacker Chris Janisch, who has recorded over 200-tackles
in the last two seasons. Janisch last year finished with 94-stops to lead the
team. Defensive tackle Eric Bergman and Defensive End Brady McIver will anchor
the defensive line. Nick Andreas is back as well, he finished with four
interceptions last year in the defensive backfield for the Vikings.
With consistent play from the quarterback
position, I fully expect Augustana to win the NSIC South. There it is in black
and white, a clear prediction on the NSIC South Division Champion.
St. Cloud State has some questions on the field
too. First and foremost - who will lead their offense at the quarterback position?
Mitch Watkins and Derek Stripling, the two men who played quarterback for St.
Cloud last year are both gone, so someone will have to fill in that void. The
Huskies do have some weapons coming back, Fred Williams caught 72-passes for
881-yards last season and Brandon Geiss rushed for nearly 700-yards in 2009.
Last year though, Augustana held Williams in
check, he had three catches for eight yards, and kept track of the Husky rushing
game between Geiss and Jake Mahacek. I wouldn't expect anything less from that
Augustana Defense, and I look for them to get an easy opening season win at home
against the Huskies.
Extra Point: A little something to think about;
St. Cloud State and Augustana first played against each other in football
60-years ago, 1950, was the first meeting; Thursday's meeting is the 34th in
the series history.
Minot State at Concordia St. Paul
Last Year 24-21, Minot.
This game will be an indicator as to how much
the NSIC South Division has tightened up this year. Last year, Concordia came on
strong near the end of the season, and built some momentum for 2010.
Concordia returns 17 of 22 starters in 2010.
That alone is enough to make you think this team is capable of growing quite a
bit, the Golden Bears return all of their skill position players with the
exception of wide receiver Jordan Schultenover, who's role they should be able
to fill nicely between new comer Charles Gilbert from Jacksonville, Florida and
returner Zach Hovey. Gilbert transfers in, and he is a speedy six-foot receiver,
who will line up opposite of Calvin Simon who caught 46 passes for 784 yards and
four touchdowns in 2009.
Sam Campbell is back, and when he had the
opportunity to run the ball, he was very efficient, Campbell also is a solid
receiver, and he finished with nearly 1,000-total yards from scrimmage in 2009.
That is something that the Golden Bears will have to take advantage of more in
2010, especially with an offensive line that is growing in experience.
The entire starting five up front for the
Golden Bears now are juniors, and that will be one of the big keys to the Golden
Bears this season.
Word out of St. Paul is that Spencer Ohm is likely to be the starting
quarterback this year as well. Ohm is now in his junior season for Concordia and
split time last year with Mitch Brekke. He appears likely to beat out the
redshirt freshman who is challenging for the spot.
Defensively, Concordia should show improvement.
Zach Moore really is an imposing force up front, and could emerge as one of the
most improved defensive linemen in the league this year, while the anchor of
that defense is still linebacker Trevor Glomski.
Minot State really struggled last week to move
the ball against Bemidji, in fact on offense they didn't score a touchdown,
relying instead on a kick return for their only points.
However, Tyson Schatz ran for 119-yards in Minot's win over Concordia last
year, helping Minot amass 417-yards of total offense against the Golden
Bears.
That can't happen again on Saturday if the
Golden Bears want to win, I expect we will see just how improved that Golden
Bears Defense is, and I expect Concordia to win their first game at SeaFoam
Stadium convincingly on Saturday.
Extra Point: Surprisingly Concordia was a
better road team in 2009; the Golden Bears went 3-3 on the road in 2009.
Upper Iowa at Texas A&M Commerce
Upper Iowa will head south to open up
their 2010 season. The Peacocks will travel down to Commerce, Texas.
Upper Iowa comes off a 3-8 season that actually
saw the program take some positive steps. Quarterback Ben Curran showed some big
growth, throwing for 2,023 yards and 12-touchdowns last year, and he also led a
Peacock offense that showed they could put points on the board, as they averaged
30.5 points a game, the problem for the Peacocks was that they gave up 40.6 per
game.
They do have some big pieces back for 2010
though, Curran's favorite target Jesse Hubbard will return. Hubbard caught
56-passes for 893-yards and six touchdowns last season. LaMont Willliams is also
back at the other receiver position, and the Peacocks will bring back their four
leading rushers from last year's team led by Jordan Otdoerfer and Sam Epsteen.
Otdoerfer rushed for 420-yards in seven games last year, while Epsteen led the
team again in 2009, rushing for 532-yards and eight touchdowns as well.
Defensively, Upper Iowa returns NSIC South
Division First Team Safety Nate Curran, who led the team with 92-tackles and
four interceptions last year. Upper Iowa is also very excited about linebacker
Tony Leggette. He is a former starter at the University of Alabama-Birmingham,
but transferred to Upper Iowa last year and sat out. They think he will bring a
lot to their defense in 2010.
That said, they will face a team that was
nearly ranked in the Preseason AFCA Top 25 poll. Texas A&M Commerce received
73-votes in the pre-season poll, just missed the Top 25.
The Lions finished 2009 red hot, winning five
of their final six games, and their final three to finish the season.
I'd expect that winning streak to continue at
home on Saturday.
Extra Point: At any result I think it's safe
to say there will be points scored in this game, I mentioned Texas A&M
Commerce averaged giving up 28-points a game last year as well, including one
76-56 loss to Eastern New Mexico.
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