Another week and the divide between top and bottom begins to thicken in the MIAA.

There's clearly no longer a question who belongs in my very unofficial conference power rankings, but there's plenty of argument to be had as to who goes where.

Northwest continues to pour it on against anyone they face, but they haven't faced another team in the High 5 yet.

Washburn definitely earned some points for their second half performance against Missouri Western, but you can't ignore the first half, and the other spots of futility the Ichabods have shown.

Pittsburg State, minus their scare against Truman, looks like they're poised for their first MIAA title run since 2004, but there's still questions as to how far Zac Dickey's legs are going to get them.

The final two spots in the High 5 are pretty easy to pick, with Central Missouri with just one loss and Missouri Western with two, but it's the above teams and where they fall that gets a little interesting, so let's get into it.

1. Northwest Missouri (4-0, 3-0) - Okay, I get it. All four of their opponents are 1-3. But the Bearcats aren't just scraping by with victories, and they're sure not relying on a "Oops, I should have went for 2" to lock up a win. Even with a backup quarterback, who will return to backup status this week, Northwest hasn't missed a beat and is my clear choice for the top spot in the conference.

2. Washburn (4-0, 3-0) - The 'Bods have moved up a spot from last week, not because of what Pitt State did, but instead of how they played a tough hand they dealt themselves in the first half of their game against MoWest last week. Do the dry spells, and all-around sloppiness of the first quarter, worry me? Yes, but good teams rebound, and that's what they've done two weeks in a row.

3. Pittsburg State (4 -0, 3-0) - I wouldn't agree, but I'd listen to arguments for any of these teams in any of these positions, and Nate Dreilling is one on defense, but the lack of a go-to guy on offense worries me about Pitt State. Their JuCo transfers have shown some flare, but can Dickey step up and put them in a position to be impact players? I think we all wanted to think Briceton Wilson was going to be one of, if not THE league's premier running backs, but his 5.0 yards a carry through the team's first four games are very pedestrian. Let's see what happens this week at Arrowhead before we go getting ahead of ourselves on the Gorillas.

4. Central Missouri (3-1, 3-1) - As stated, a pretty obvious spot for them here. If they can keep up the production from the ground game, this is a team that can and will make a run up this list.

5. Missouri Western (2-2, 1-2) - You wanna talk about sloppy football? The turnovers and penalties that plagued the Griffons last Thursday were worthy of a bottom-tier MIAA team. What was nice though, just like Washburn, was that they were able to limit their losses early. Had they been able to convert their two short field goals into touchdowns and not commit that personal foul on the bad Washburn snap, this could have been a very different game. The schedule gets a lot easier for Missouri Western now, and at 2-2, the Griffons really aren't that far behind what any realistic fan would have wanted with the schedule they had to open the season.

Agree with what I have to say? 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. .