October 11th, 2016 12:00am
Eight ranked teams lost last week, running the two week total of losses by teams in the D2Football.com Top 25 to a staggering 16. But if you dig a bit further, you will find that many of ranked teams that suffered defeats did so at the hands of other ranked teams. This seems to be one of those years where the schedules are front-loaded and many of the best games are taking place in the first half of the season.
One team that has to really be looking forward to seeing the softer part of a schedule is West Georgia. The Wolves lost their second straight game last week, 39-28 to rival Valdosta State. It was a combination of things that doomed the Wolves. Quarterback Will Gardner threw four interceptions as part of a five turnover day. The UWG defense which had been so good through five games gave up 30 first downs and 546 yards of offense.
In some other regions, UWG would be in huge trouble from a playoff perspective. But there are just 30 teams in Super Region Two and seven of them will make the playoffs. Even with two losses, the Wolves can easily make it if they right the ship. Two years ago UWG lost two regular season games and then went on to finish one drive short of making it to Kansas City in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Will Hall can get this team back on track.
News and Notes
-Wingate (5-1) and Newberry (5-1) are the only two teams in the SAC that are over .500. In fact, the only other SAC team that doesn*t have at least four losses is Carson-Newman. Wingate and Newberry don*t meet until the final game of the regular season.
-Black Hills State racked up 574 yards of offense and forced six turnovers in beating 18th ranked and previously unbeaten Colorado Mesa 48-34. This was the first win over a ranked opponent for the Yellow Jackets since moving to D2. BHSU (5-1) is also tied atop the RMAC standings with CMU and sits a half-game ahead of South Dakota Mines. It has been a crazy year in that league.
-Oklahoma Panhandle State has opted to drop its athletic program to NAIA status, effective next year. Just this season the Aggies had joined the LSC, so the loss of OPSU will leave that conference with nine teams, which makes for some difficult scheduling. In the long run this move is probably for the best for OPSU, as the school has struggled badly in D2.
-West Florida has not played like a brand new college football team, which should be a scary proposition for the rest of the Gulf South Conference. The Argonauts are 4-2 after beating Mississippi College last week and quarterback Kaleb Nobles is fourth in the nation in passing at 340 yards per game. UWF still has some tough games remaining with Delta State, North Alabama and West Georgia but this team has a very real shot of finishing with a winning season. This team has just four seniors and 17 upperclassmen on the roster so the future is bright.
-The four semifinal teams in 2014 were CSU-Pueblo, Minnesota State, West Georgia and Concord. This year those four teams are a combined 13-11. Yes, there is some parity in D2 football.
Top Games this Week
Minnesota State (4-2) at Augustana (4-2)
These two teams both expected to return to the playoffs this year but this is looking like an early playoff elimination game. The Trey Heid to Matt Heller passing combination has been outstanding this season for Augie, but the Mavericks have the better running game and defense. Minnesota State 34 Augustana 27
Slippery Rock (5-1) at Indiana (4-1)
These two teams both suffered their lone loss to California, but in very different fashions. IUP lost last week on a field goal in the final minute while SRU was pretty much run off the field. This is the PSAC*s most bitter rivalry and anything can happen in these types of games. The big question mark in this game is the health of IUP quarterback Lenny Williams, who was injured late in last week*s loss to California. IUP 39 Slippery Rock 27
Sioux Falls (6-0) at Winona State (5-1)
Statistically the Warriors have the top defense in the NSIC, allowing just 277 yards per game. Sioux Falls comes in with the top offense in not only the NSIC, but the nation, as the Cougars average 585 yards per game. Something will obviously have to give. WSU senior Jack Nelson is a talented quarterback and I expect him to give the Cougar secondary some problems. The Warriors are outstanding on both kickoff and punt returns and any additional "hidden yards" would be of benefit when facing a team this explosive. This should be a great game, but I give the Cougars a slight edge because of their rushing attack. Sioux Falls 37 Winona State 34
Truman State (5-1) at Grand Valley (6-0)
TSU plays solid defense and has an offense that does an excellent job with ball control (just four turnovers all season). If they can continue performing like they have, the Bulldogs can stay in this game. However, GVSU has more talent and I expect the Lakers to eventually put this one away. Grand Valley 35 Truman State 19
South Dakota Mines (5-1) at Colorado Mines (4-2)
Hardrockers versus Orediggers. These are definitely two of best nicknames in all of D2. This is SD Mines first year in the RMAC and it will be interesting to see if a rivalry develops between these two engineering schools. Both teams average about 529 yards per game so I expect a high scoring affair. Colorado Mines 41 South Dakota Mines 34
Southeastern Oklahoma (4-2) at Harding (6-0)
When you look at Harding*s remaining schedule, it*s not difficult to see that SOSU might be the only opponent capable of preventing the Bisons from running the table. Both Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State have been somewhat successful in slowing down the Harding option game the last two weeks. The problem is that you have to score points as well and the Harding defense has been outstanding. Harding 30 Southeastern Oklahoma 19
Mailbag
[Q] Has Shepherd*s successful 2015 season helped bring more respect to the Mountain East Conference? Shepherd had a tough road to the national championship game. They played Slippery Rock, IUP and Grand Valley State. Why was Shepherd ranked below Grand Valley State in the D2 polls? Do you think the MEC can get two teams into the playoffs?
[A] Super Region One is forced to respect the MEC because over the last five years this league has done so well come playoff time. I will say that nationally, I don*t think the respect is there. The win by Shepherd over GVSU last year was nice, but people also remember Shepherd looking badly overmatched by Northwest Missouri in the championship game and Concord being embarrassed by Minnesota State the year before in the semifinals. This is also why respect is slow to come in the polls.
I definitely think Shepherd is a strong contender to win the region again. The defense is solid and with Jeff Ziemba at quarterback and Billy Brown at wide receiver the Rams look good. The only other MEC teams that are really in playoff contention are Fairmont State (6-0) and Notre Dame College (5-1). FSC hasn*t played the good teams in the conference and could easily still lose three or four games. NDC has a better chance of making it in my opinion.
Contact
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