September 26th, 2017 12:00am
Brandon Misener
D2Football.com Editor
I want to start off by publicly apologizing for the timeliness of the national column.
Unfortunately, I am pinch hitting for Bob Eblen this week. His father, Dave, passed away this week and Bob has been in Fargo doing the things that must be done when we lose a loved one. Even though we can rationalize that Dave lived a long and fruitful life, losing a parent is nothing that any of us can be prepared for.
Hopefully Bob will be back next week. Until then, I’ll try to piggy back off of what he wrote last week and provide a few of my thoughts about what has happened to this point in the season.
Shippensburg Off To Good Start
I do not vote in the D2Football.com Top 25 Poll. However, I do get feedback about it from time to time from people who might not know how the poll is conducted. I think a common misconception is that the poll is entirely the opinion of the website. The truth is that the poll is a combination of the opinions of columnists, medium members, sports information directors, and football experts from around the country.
A Shippensburg fan asserted that D2Football.com had potentially slighted Shippensburg because they were undefeated yet unranked. While I just compile the numbers, I was concerned that our poll was slightly the Raiders.
So far this year, Shippensburg has played American International, Gannon, Clarion, and East Stroudsburg. The teams have a combined 3-13 record, which could be a big reason while they are unranked by either D2Football.com or the AFCA.
The Raiders are one of 24 teams that have not lost a game this year. Virginia State, Catawba, Southeastern Oklahoma, Assumption and Wingate are the other unranked teams who have yet to lose a game this year. There are 27 teams with one loss.
The Raiders have dominated this year, outscoring opponents 38-10 and out-gaining those teams 517-310 yards per game. They have done what a good team is supposed to do against inferior opponents.
Shippensburg is likely to move to move to 5-0 this week with Lock Haven on the schedule. The Raiders will have the opportunity to prove they belong with West Chester, Kutztown, and Bloomsburg left on the schedule – all one loss teams.
Injury Troubles for North Alabama and Northwest Missouri
North Alabama announced that starting quarterback Blake Hawkins will be out for the remainder of the season with a ruptured disc in his back. He had already missed time after suffering a concussion against Valdosta State. He is just one of many on a long list of injuries for the Lions.
Lion defensive tackle Chris Herise is also out for the season after suffering an injury during practice. Running back C.J. Sturdivant is out for the year with an ACL. According to the Florence Times Daily, UNA will also be without the services of defensive end Jayland Daniels for four weeks in addition to cornerback A.J. Bracey and linebacker Waid Miller. Linebacker Johnnie Anderson is questionable.
Northwest Missouri has been hit hard by the injury bug as well.
Running back Emanuel Jones was injured in the first game of the year and the Bearcats lost Cam Wilcox for the season two weeks ago. Add in the injury to wildcat specialist Randy Schmidt in fall camp and it has forced utility player Jordan Grove to bear most of the load. Last week, Northwest was forced to pull the redshirt on freshman running back Jordan Thompson.
On defense, Bobby Gruenloh was injured during the first game of the year.
Both teams made it relatively in tact to Kansas City last year to play in the championship. Is the rash of injuries that both teams are facing a product of the luck of the draw or of a very long season the previous year?
Shepherd Identity
In spite of returning seven starters on defense, the Shepherd Rams have been uncharacteristically generous on that side of the football.
Shepherd has long been known as a team that plays great defense and runs the football. Through three games this year, the Rams have been giving up 41 points and 412 yards per game. While they still average a very good 192 yards per game on the ground, they have morphed into a passing team.
Connor Jessop has followed in Jeff Ziemba*s footsteps in leading a high-powered SU offense. He is completing 69% of his passes for 1,116 yards and 13 touchdowns with an efficiency rating of 173.
In spite of the fact that winning games 50-40 is a lot of fun for fans, if the Rams want to contend for national championships they need to return to form on defense.
Top Game s This Week
#1 Northwest Missouri (4-0) vs. #23 Central Missouri (3-1)
Both teams are coming into the game with great momentum. The Bearcats routed Missouri Southern 63-0 while the Mules broke up Emporia State*s potential Stanford Band Play and returned it for their own touchdown to win 37-31.
Central Missouri has given Northwest Missouri as good a game as any team in the most recent Northwest winning streak. Northwest had to come from behind to win 34-30 in 2015, which was the second to last time the Bearcats did not win by at least two scores until their win over Washburn this year.
It will be interesting to see how Mule quarterback Brook Bolles plays in the game. He pulled to over 50% passing on the season in the ESU game, posting his best performance of the year. He is the younger brother of Blake and Brady Bolles, national championship winning quarterbacks for Northwest.
#4 California (4-0) at #17 Slippery Rock (4-0)
Both teams avoided upsets last week and will face their toughest tests of the season.
Neither team was happy with its performance on defense.
The Slippery Rock defense allowed Marc Jones to rush for a PSAC record 354 yards last week (the Gannon offense gained 585) while the Cal defense allowed Christian Strong to throw for 476 yards and five touchdowns.
The game could have playoff implications but will certainly have an impact on the PSAC West race. California, IUP, and Slippery Rock are all tied for the lead with 4-0 records. IUP faces winless Seton Hill, so the winner of this game will most likely keep pace with the Hawks.
#15 Colorado Mesa (4-0) at #10 CSU-Pueblo (3-1)
While Colorado School of Mines and CSU-Pueblo were the two teams garnering preseason attention, Colorado Mesa has surged out to a 4-0 record, including wins over Chadron State and CSM.
Pueblo has continued in its role as the top program in the RMAC, but a non-conference loss to West Texas A&M and former defensive coordinator Hunter Hughes has made this game as close to must-win as a game can be this early in the season.
The winner will have sole possession of first place in the conference.
The game is available nationally on ESPN3.
Other Good Games
Chadron State (3-1) at #25 Humboldt State (3-0)
This game could have SR4 playoff implications. Both teams have tough games remaining on their schedules (CSC has Colorado Mines and CSU-Pueblo / HSU has Central Washington twice) so a victory will go a long way if either have playoff aspirations.
This is the type of interesting non-conference games needs to see more often. Take note GAC, MIAA, and NSIC officials.
#22 North Alabama (1-2) at West Georgia (3-1)
A loss could mean that UNA will miss the playoffs in its last year in Division II and the Lions face an uphill battle this week. Not only did they lose Hawkins at quarterback, they must face one of the best teams in the Gulf South Conference, which is looking like Division II*s strongest this year.
David Dean has done a great job in his first year at UWG after the team underperformed in 2016.
Ouachita Baptist (3-1) at #19 Arkansas Tech (4-0)
This will be ATU*s toughest opponent to date. The Wonderboys could put themselves in great shape for the playoffs with a win. OBU probably cannot afford a second loss and make the playoffs in SR3.
Conference Implications
Upper Iowa (3-1) at #18 Winona State (4-0)
The NSIC South race should be a great one with Minnesota State, Sioux Falls, and Winona State all owning undefeated records while Upper Iowa is in second play with a 3-1 record. This is a race that should be interesting all season long.
Kutztown (3-1) at West Chester (3-1)
The winner should keep pace with undefeated Shippensburg.
Assumption (3-0) at LIU Post (2-1)
A win by Assumption would maintain its hold on first place in the league. LIU Post needs to win to maintain a spot amongst the front runners.
Rivalry Games
Eastern New Mexico (3-1) at West Texas A&M (2-2)
This is the 30th edition of the Wagon Wheel rivalry. Eastern has had the edge recently, but this game features two first-year head coaches. ENMU coach Kelley Lee has some experience with the rivalry as the offensive coordinator for the Greyhounds.
Saginaw Valley (2-2) at #8 Grand Valley (3-1)
This game used to be one of the great games of the year in Division II. Even though SVSU is only 2-2, the game is of note because of the uniform choices upon which the teams have agreed. Like USC and UCLA, both teams will be wearing their dark uniforms in this game.
Mailbag
As questions are sent to directly to Bob, there will be no mailbag this week.
Instead, I’d like take this opportunity to encourage you all to sign up for the message board. You can get immediate responses to your questions there from some of the most knowledgeable fans in the country.
Our message board was the original D2 Football social media and will be even more fun if more people, with a greater variety of opinions, became part of the party.
Contact
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