It's always fun when the Mules and Bearcats get together. The 'Bods and Gorillas have had a few epic battles, but haven't seen each other since meeting two times in four weeks in 2011. Both matchups can be called "must-wins" for each team and are part of what should be a fun-filled Saturday in MIAA football, but it's the third key battle I'm most interested in.

Central Oklahoma, 2-0 after victories over Fort Hays and Missouri Western, looks to keep their improbable start to the season going when they travel to Emporia State. This game is big for both teams as the Bronchos are looking to establish themselves as an at-least mid-level MIAA team and the Hornets are trying to prove to everyone the last two seasons were a sign of things to come and not just a sign of their imbalanced schedule.

So let's get into Week 3 of MIAA football.

Central Oklahoma (2-0) at No. 23 Emporia State
Saturday, Sept. 20; 2 p.m.
Welch Stadium; Emporia, Kan.

It'd be hard to not begin here with the quarterbacks. Emporia QB Brent Wilson is putting up huge numbers once again, leading the MIAA in completions (and yeah, attempts), passing yards and passing TDs. And while once in a while he shows a little mobility by busting out of the pocket, it's his counterpart from UCO that appears to be the more versatile gunslinger as of yet this season.

Redshirt freshman Chas Stallard ranks third in the MIAA in both passing and rushing - out-passing guys like Brady Bolles, Hayden Hawk and Mitch Buhler and out-rushing guys like Vershon Moore and Phil Jackson. It's his playmaking ability that gave UCO the upset victory last week over Missouri Western and gives the Bronchos a real shot in this game.

As good as UCO and Stallard have been so far though, I'm not sure they have the firepower to keep up with this potent Emporia offense. ESU may have lost by 19 points at UCM last week (50-31), but they were a few mistakes and a guy named LaVance away from hitting the half-century mark themselves and leaving Warrensburg with a victory.

Central Oklahoma's 26 points per game (their exact total in both wins this season) just won't be enough. UCO's defense has been solid against Hays and Western, but I don't see either team's offense as even playing in the same league as Emporia.

The Bronchos have turned four turnovers into 3 touchdowns - not bad at all - and will need to keep that trend going.

UCO WR Marquez Clark left last week's game in the fourth quarter with an injury, totaling 172 all-purpose yards before the Bronchos even mounted a comeback. The school says he is expected to be at "full speed" Saturday, which is good because Stallard is going to need him.

Prediction: Stallard continues his impressive start to the season with some help from Clark, but Emporia's offense is just too much. Emporia State 40 Central Oklahoma 35

Central Missouri (1-1) at No. 1 Northwest Missouri (2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 20; 1 p.m.
Bearcat Stadium; Maryville, Mo.

They're the defending national champions, the No. 1 team in the country and the favorite for yet another MIAA title... And yet I feel like I've barely mentioned Northwest Missouri this year. That's probably because I've been busy gushing over Pitt State and Emporia and calling the Bearcats' upcoming opponents 'lame.'

Northwest moved down a spot in my MIAA power rankings and lost a few of the coaches' first-place votes in the AFCA poll, but don't be fooled. I don't see a reason why the Bearcats should be any less feared than usual as we breach the quarter-way-through portion of the season.

That's the fun thing about this game, though. Central, despite losing 11 of the last 12 against Northwest, never seems too phased when they meet up -- at least in the last few years. Granted, it helps that their fifth-year coach, Jim Svoboda, is obviously a little more familiar with this opponent as he was a longtime assistant in Maryville.

The Mules won a thriller two years ago in Warrensburg and then jumped up 17-0 in Maryville last season, before Brady Bolles helped turn things around in the second half (coming in for an ineffective Trevor Adams who ended up winning MIAA OPOY).

For the Bearcats, as has been the case the last few years, it's a "team" approach - a lack of a single superstar - that is so threatening. Not so much for the Mules, at least after last week.

LaVance Taylor, a four-year starter for UCM, had a career day last week against Emporia. I don't think anyone expects him to put up those kinds of numbers against Northwest on the road, but he will once-again be the key to UCM's success. QB Hayden Hawk has only thrown a single touchdown on the year (to guess who) and the defense has been hit-and-miss (pretty good against a confused MoWest team and up and down against Emporia).

Meanwhile, the Bearcat defense is looking dominant once again, but let's not be confused. Kearney and Southern are VERY one-dimensional teams, and while I believe Taylor's threat is more fearsome than Hawk's, there's balance to UCM's attack. This will be the first test for the Bearcats, where the Mules have already had to battle through two ranked opponents.

Prediction: Family shines brighter than a single star. Northwest Missouri 31 Central Missouri 21

No. 8 Pittsburg State (2-0) at Washburn (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20; 2 p.m.
Yaeger Stadium; Topeka, Kan.

In Week 1, when Washburn looked good, Lindenwood was a little better. Last week, when the Ichabods looked bad, UNK was just a little worse.

This week, Washburn is going to have to be a LOT better than Pittsburg to come out with a victory. And if coach Craig Schurig has found a way to plug the holes in his defense that helped Lindenwood strike back everytime the 'Bods scored two weeks ago, I think it COULD happen.

But I'm not saying it will. In fact, I think it won't. The "improved" defensive performance last week was likely in large part due to the treacherous weather conditions in Kearney, and Pittsburg is just flat-out a lot better than Lindenwood (as proven last week) and UNK.

I don't think this game will be a blowout; Washburn's 'Big 3' I've been talking about all season (Buhler, Beard, Moore) are good enough to keep them close.

Prediction: Close is a relative term. Pittsburg State 41 Washburn 24

Northeastern State (0-2) at No. 24 Missouri Western (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20; 6 p.m.
Spratt Stadium; St. Joseph, Mo.

Can somebody tell me what the heck Missouri Western is still doing in the D2Football.com Top 25? I mean I'm all about MIAA teams getting some love, but I'm also about them deserving it. And the Griffons just don't.

Now, all of a sudden, they get a chance to beat the worst team in the conference and have a chance to jump up a few spots, depending on what happens?

There's much debate as to which poll gets it right, the D2 or the AFCA coaches poll, and I'm not afraid to admit I think we here at D2Football.com usually are pretty good. But the AFCA has Western much more accurately pegged at this point in the season; With only 3 total points, the Griffs would be ranked 46th in the country, if the poll went that far, behind MIAA rivals Emporia, Central Missouri and Central Oklahoma.

Missouri Western, in just 2 weeks, has dug themselves a pretty big hole. It helps that the Griffs get NSU and unpredictable Lindenwood over the next two weeks. Maybe they'll dig themselves out.

Prediction: Hey, 2-1 is 2-1 right? Missouri Western 3 Northeastern State 0

Missouri Southern (0-2) at Nebraska-Kearney (0-2)
Saturday, Sept. 20; 3 p.m.
Foster Field; Kearney, Neb.

Both these teams have battled tough with No. 1 Northwest Missouri and kept themselves in games with another of the top-half MIAA teams. But both are 0-2 and not really showing any real signs of life this year. The 'Cats pulled away from both in the second half, Southern imploded against Emporia and Kearney's slopfest with Washburn is a tough one to read.

Prediction: The teams pass for a combined total of 90 yards, with Southern pulling out a squeaker. Missouri Southern 24 Nebraska-Kearney 20


Lindenwood (1-1) at Fort Hays State (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20; 7 p.m.
Lewis Field; Hays, Kan.

Nestled comfortably into the middle of the MIAA TANQB, both teams still have realistic hopes of repeating recent successes.

Prediction: Lindenwood bounces back from the beating Pitt put on them. Lwood 31 Hays 21

Sound off!!!

What do you think of my predictions?

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