I've been waiting three years (as long as I've been with D2Football.com) for this, and I CAN NOT wait to get to the Jungle.

Sure, the Fall Classic is fun. Arrowhead Stadium is cool. The tailgating is awesome. But games like this are meant to be played on campus. Especially when your campus boasts the best Division II stadium in the country.

And that's what we finally have this week at Northwest Missouri State heads to Pittsburg State with a Super Region 4 title on the line. The two met in Pittsburg in 2005, the first of five straight years the Bearcats ended up in the national championship game, but Northwest hasn't made a trip back to Pittsburg since.

I could sit here and break down the numbers all day long, but this game is going to come down to three big things.

1. Which team will better handle the weather? The Weather Channel is calling for relatively mild temps, but a 90 percent chance of rain and winds around 20 miles per hour. Both teams have played in windy conditions in this year's playoffs, so it's entirely possible neither will be too phased. Playing with the wind can be a huge advantage though, and Pitt is hoping they can negate that again this week like they did last week against Washburn with an 11-minute drive in the third quarter.

2. Can Northwest Missouri overcome the Jungle? What a 12th man Pittsburg has. The Gorillas have won 90 percent of their games at Carnie Smith Stadium since it opened in 1924. Northwest is going to bring a nice crowd, but roughly 8,000 screaming Gorillas on both sides of the stadium like that is hard to overcome. John Coffey, the voice of the Bearcats, told me the players won't be phased and actually prefer that kind of atmosphere, but I'm not so sure. This place is like NOTHING the MIAA has to offer, and I think the Fall Classic puts Northwest at a disadvantage here because they're not used to going to the Jungle.

3. Can either team jump out to an early lead? Northwest has done it twice just this postseason, and Pitt did it to Northwest earlier, but I don't think either team will be able to come back from a big early deficit. Maybe Pitt because they'll have the Jungle on their side, but it will still be tough. At this point, both teams are playing too good to have second-half collapses.

Given the weather, you might think this game will turn into a defensive slugfest, but I'm not so sure. These are two really good offenses. Pitt coach Beck told me it might be NOrthwest's best EVER and as Zac Dickey continues to improve, the sky seems the limit for the Gorillas. I put the over-under on the point total in this game at about 55, well under the teams' scoring averages, but enough to keep things exciting to an offensive-minded fan.

Dickey's play will be huge. I can honestly say I'm over the "you need to pass the ball to win" theory, but he still needs to get things going one way or another. Having John Brown there to help him is sure nice when it comes to that. This team will go as far as those two can carry him. If they get going early, the Bearcats better watch out.

James Franklin is one Bearcat who actually has some experience at Carnie Smith. The Northwest running back played there for UNO last year and scored two touchdowns in a blowout Maverick victory. The Cats have proven that when he gets going, they're hard to beat and he'll need to find the end zone at least once or twice for Northwest Missouri to come out on top.

Defensively, I think it's obvious that Pitt State is a little more scary. All-world linebacker Nate Dreilling can do anything and the defensive line has been huge all season long. But that powerful Bearcat offense will find ways to exploit the PSU defensive unit.

This game is really hard to call, and a lot of me wants to say Pitt takes it and moves on. But you can't forget the fact that Northwest Missouri has won six consecutive regional titles and just flat-out knows how to win playoff games.

I look for a big game from Jordan Simmons, both running the ball and returning kicks, and another Bearcat victory.

Prediction: Northwest Missouri 30 Pittsburg State 28