Northwest Missouri State is the no-duh favorite for yet another MIAA title in 2014. Don't take my word for it. Scroll down for the 2014 MIAA preseason coaches and media polls.

It's never an easy feat to win an MIAA championship, and most would argue it will be even harder now with the conference moving to an all-inclusive schedule.

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Somehow, I don't think the Bearcats are too worried. Northwest has finished six of the last eight seasons with perfect conference records. I got no problems with them being perched firmly on top of the league coming into the season.

But can they do it again? Run the table in the deepest conference in the country? It would mean another undefeated regular season; and could still be their only chance at an outright MIAA title.

I don't think so. The MIAA looks tough this year. Even more so than other years, and it's because of the depth of the conference. I think the middle of the league is getting better, giving the Bearcats and the rest of the league more chances at a slip-up in what might have in years past been considered an easy win.

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The same 6 teams that were in the mix the last two years (NWMSU, PSU, ESU, MWSU, WU, UCM) are right back in the thick of things, but teams like Missouri Southern and Fort Hays are looking to build on the momentum gained in 2013 (due in part to the unbalanced conference schedule). Heck, even Lindenwood doesn't have to look too far in the past to recall a time they won 9 of their first 12 conference games and held a halftime lead in Warrensburg. The Lions lost six of their last seven last year, including that game at Central Missouri, but return a lot of talent.

It's stories like Lindenwood's, or even Pittsburg State's (the 2011 national champions have not appeared in the playoffs since) that prove the vulnerability of anyone playing in the MIAA. Miraculously, Northwest Missouri has, in 6 of 8 years, found ways to emerge unscathed, but I don't see it happening this year.

So who will break Northwest's winning streak? Who knows. It's still a little early to be speculating on that, but it allows for further prognastication as to what that will do to the race to a conference title. Will Northwest lose only one? Can anyone else navigate their way through the season with a single loss? If two teams finish 10-1, co-champions will be crowned even though one team will have beaten the other.

That's the fun irony of the new all-inclusive schedule this year. I think the "true champion" everyone wants to see isn't going to happen.

Here's a look at the 2014 MIAA preseason coaches' and media polls:

Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (11) 121
2. Pittsburg State (1) 106
3. Central Missouri 94
4. Emporia State 88
5. Missouri Western 82
6. Washburn 79
7. Missouri Southern 67
8. Fort Hays State 50
9. Lindenwood 39
10. Central Oklahoma 26
11. Nebraska-Kearney 23
12. Northeastern State 17



Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (37) 466
2. Pittsburg State (1) 422
3. Emporia State (1) 353
4. Missouri Western 348
5. Washburn 306
6. Central Missouri 285
7. Missouri Southern 258
8. Fort Hays State 191
9. Lindenwood 142
10. Nebraska-Kearney 109
11. Central Oklahoma 96
12. Northeastern State 66

Sound off!!!

What do you think about the new conference schedule? Do you want to see a return to non-conference action?

What other storylines are you following as the 2014 MIAA football season approaches?

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