We had ourselves a great game between two of the conference's elite programs on Thursday night in front of a national audience, but Saturday is another day of top-tier teams trying to avoid letdowns and the lesser-thans of the league trying to pull an upset.

Now we learned last week these games of heavy favorites and underdogs can be fun. On the national level, we had plenty of upsets, and in the MIAA. Central, Washburn and Pitt State came from behind to pull out victories.

Can that happen again? Sure, but there's not much reason on paper teams like Hays, Truman and William Jewell can hang with teams like Northwest, Central and Pitt State.

Instead, if you're looking for what might be an interesting matchup, take a gander at the Gateway Classic or the matchup in Emporia.

In the former, Missouri Southern and Lincoln will both be looking for their first Division II wins in a game at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The fact that Southern has played with Washburn and Central for at least portions of their games bodes well for the Lions, while Lincoln has been outscored 73-0 in the first quarter of their two conference games.

In the latter, Emporia will also be hoping for their first win of the season when they host NAIA opponent Langston, who had knocked off two NCAA opponents before getting blanked last week at Missouri Western.

Let's take a look at this week's action, beginning with the game in St. Louis.

Missouri Southern (0-2, 0-2) at Lincoln (1-2, 0-2)
Saturday, Sept. 24; 11 a.m.
Edward Jones Dome; St. Louis, MO

I love that the MIAA gets to be showcased in an NFL stadium, don't get me wrong. But I'm not entirely sure I get this game. St. Louis is 125 miles from Jefferson City and more than double that to Joplin.

It's nice to get some exposure in St. Louis, a market the MIAA will move into next year when Lindenwood joins the conference, but these teams aren't exactly Nos. 1 & 2 on my list of teams I'd like to show off.

Regardless, I'm thrilled the teams get the chance to play in the Dome, but I'll admit I'm worried the attendence will be a little light.

Now, to the game. As I said above, Missouri Southern has been in both their games before their opponents, two of the conference's powers, have pulled away. They can hang around with a stingy defense, and it appears Lincoln can only put up points against second and third-stringers.

I'll give the Black and Blue Tigers credit in that their defense did force Northwest Missouri into four turnovers, their first since the opening drive of the season.

But I think Southern's D, anchored by preseason All-American Brandon Williams on the D-line and sophomore defensive back Demon Haire, who leads the team with 17 tackles, continues Lincoln's rough welcome party back to the MIAA.

Prediction: Missouri Southern 42 Lincoln 14

Langston (2-1, NAIA) at Emporia State (0-3, 0-3)
Saturday, Sept. 24; 1 p.m.
Welch Stadium; Emporia, KS

Sticking with the games that I think are more likely to get interesting, I'll save the ranked teams for last.

I gotta admit. While I'm okay being just friends with Emporia State after our short relationship earlier in the season, I did enjoy the little fling we had last week.

Tyler Eckenrode, who I spent a lot of time blasting last year because of his unimpressive stats, looked very good at times, and that entourage of running backs are fast, shifty and flat out good.

But unfortunately, Tommy Corwin and Jamar Howard put on a show in the latter stages of the game last week, and Emporia blew an 18-point third-quarter lead to drop to 0-3.

Langston is a better team than their 47-0 beatdown at the hands of Missouri Western last week, having beaten FCS Arkansas-Pine Bluff and D2 Tuskeegee in the first two weeks of the season. But the Lions, playing their fourth of five non-home games (Pine Bluff game was in Arkansas, but at 'neutral' site in Little Rock) to begin the 2011 season, are about to face a team that is downright hungry for a win.

I think Eckenrode continues his solid play and earns the first win of his senior campaign.

Prediction: Emporia State 30 Langston 21

Fort Hays State (1-2, 1-1) at No. 1 Northwest Missouri (3-0, 3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 24; 1 p.m.
Bearcat Stadium; Maryville, MO

It's Family Day at Northwest Missouri, who will honor former coach Scott Bostwick, who died this summer of a heart attack before he ever coached a game.

I could say emotions will be high, but clearly, they have been all season. Things won't be any different for Northwest, who will likely be without starting quarterback Blake Christopher for a second straight week (broken bone in hand).

What makes this team so special is the lack of reliance on any one individual. When I talked with Jake Soy at Media Day a few weeks before the season started, I asked him if he felt any added pressure being a senior and the seasoned veteran of the Bearcat offense.

Others I had asked similar questions to were quick to say they were looking forward to the pressure, ready to step up and be the guy, etc etc.

But Soy said plain as day, "No." The team atmosphere in that locker room is unbelievable and speaks to what Bostwick and Mel Tjeerdsma built there in their 17 years in Maryville.

Not one single player on that team is worried about being 'the guy,' because everyone knows it takes an entire team to win, and that's one of the reasons I don't think the Bearcats have any problems getting by Fort Hays this week.

The Tigers do offer the best running game Northwest has seen yet this season, with the 'Smith Brothers' (Andre and Edward) - first and fourth in the league in rushing, but inconsistent play at quarterback has Hays in trouble this week.

Look for backup Trevor Adams to have another big day.

Prediction: Northwest Missouri 50 Fort Hays 20

Truman State (1-2, 1-2) at No. 19 Central Missouri (2-1, 2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 24; 2 p.m.
Walton Stadium; Warrensburg, MO
MIAA TV

The Mule run game showed improvement last week at Emporia, but could still stand to get a lot better. This might be the week that happens, as Truman ranks last in the conference in stopping the run.

Tommy Corwin started the game looking a little shaky, but came through with a great second half to lead UCM to victory.

Truman State held Pitt State in check, which is impressive, but Central is a totally different monster.

Truman quarterback J.B. Clark looks like he could be a player in this league, but he needs to work on his accuracy. He's under 50 percent on completion percentage and threw four picks in last week's heartbreaker against the Gorillas.

I'm looking for another big day for Corwin, a big play from UCM cornerback Marlon Douglas and a breakout performance by the Mules trio of running backs.

Central Missouri 37 Truman State 17

William Jewell College (1-2, IND) at No. 17 Pittsburg State (3-0, 3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 24; 7 p.m.
Carnie Smith Stadium; Pittsburg, KS

William Jewell, one of several struggling first-year Division II programs, hasn't scored a touchdown since their opening week game against NAIA foe Sterling (a 33-6 victory).

That could mean trouble for the Cardinals, who will face one of the nation's best linebackers in Nate Dreiling and a surprisingly good Pitt State team.

If Pitt can jump out on top early in this game, which I think they should be able to do, I'd like to see Zac Dickey open things up a little bit with the passing game, targeting wideouts Andrew Castaneda and John Brown.

Dickey, like his counterpart in St. Joseph, is going to need to show more passing abilities as the season goes on in order to keep their teams near the top of the conference, and Dickey gaining some confidence this week ahead of next week's showdown with Northwest Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium would be huge.

Prediction: Pittsburg State 43 William Jewell College 13

Agree with my predictions? Disagree? Good, now tell me why. Leave a comment below, e-mail me at [email protected], @ me on twitter @miAARONd2 or message me at Facebook.com/apheintz. .