7-0? 7-0???

I really thought that had to be a misprint on the d2football.com scoreboard, but there it was:

Fairmont State 0
Clarion 7
FINAL

For a team that didn't look to have problems on offense, zero points (and only one field goal attempt too) was far from what I expected from the Falcons to start the season. The defense was fine: I'd take holding my opponent to 7 points anytime the weather isn't something like a monsoon.

Anyways, enough about what I really considered to be the shocker of the conference on Thursday night. We've got five more games coming tomorrow, and yes, I will actually be at TWO of them:


Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (0-0) at West Virginia State Yellow Jackets (0-0)

Not much was expected from Johnson C. Smith last season. After all, the Golden Bulls were routinely a program at the bottom of the CIAA, lucky to be pulling off wins against even more woeful Livingstone. Certainly much wasn't expected of an offense that was largely a mystery. So giving up 64 points was a stunner not only to West Virginia State fans but to me as well.

The offense begins and pretty much ends for the Golden Bulls with sophomore QB Keahn Wallace, who started his college career throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets last year. Dedrick Anderson, the team's top rusher from last season, is also back, and the fact that he had over 150 yards in this one game last year but only 558 for the season says plenty about what the Yellow Jackets' defensive line looked like last year. Surprisingly, despite not losing many players from last season, where they won the Pioneer Bowl to cap off a 6-5 year, Johnson C. Smith was picked to finish eighth in the CIAA and only had two all-conference players: DE Derrick Johnson II and OT Rico Arellano. Defense was not a strength last season for the Golden Bulls, who allowed about as many yards as they accumulated on the year and were particularly prone to giving away points in the fourth quarter.

One area that definitely will not be a concern for West Virginia State is quarterback, as Ricky Phillips returns under center and performed wonderfully, particularly given challenges on the offensive line. Fabian Payne may be gone, but big things are expected of RB Aubura Taylor, a transfer from Fairmont State whose running style helps make things easier on the offensive line, who don't have to sustain their blocks for as long. The defense is built up with junior college transfer Herman Ellis and Jarrod Zirkle on the line, Tyler Long as the clear leader at linebacker, and Dominique Matthews and Cooksey Hunter in the backfield. At just about every defensive position, more transfers are in contention for starting jobs as well.

When last season started, the Yellow Jackets had already been riding a long losing streak. Confidence was very low, and it showed in a blowout loss to a team that they could have played closer against. Now the Yellow Jackets have a win and several close losses to build on from last year. The problem is once again keeping many of the players they have and not having to rely so much on transfers. Like I said with Seton Hill earlier in the week, playing the transfer game has a high variance and can go very well or very poorly. There's more stability here than in Greensburg, but there still needs to be time for the units to jell. I don't think there has quite been enough time yet for this team to be able to pull off a win in this one.

Prediction: Johnson C. Smith 41, West Virginia State 28


#24 Shepherd Rams (0-0) at Shippensburg Red Raiders (0-0)

My day will start the same place it did two years ago at the annual Great Valley Classic in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, in a game that I expect to be much closer than many others seem to think.

When Shippensburg started the 2011 season, there was a lot of change: a huge number of new faces on the roster, a new head coach, and a brand new offensive scheme, opening things up much more than the old Wing T ever did. Ten offensive starters and ten defensive starters return for a team that went 7-4 last season and finished the year, once again, on a four game winning streak. Quarterback Zach Zulli, initially used just as a punt returner, is back under center, as are top receivers Bryan Barley, Jacob Baskerville, and Trevor Harman. Mike Frenette came up just short of 1000 yards on the ground last season and is hungry to break that mark this year, but don't be surprised to see Zulli tuck it and run every once in a while as well. On the other side, watch out for Dainen Green and Jake Metz, co-leaders in sacks in 2011 with 7.5 each.

Shepherd fans remember the disappointment of a key mid-season two-game stretch well: a loss at Concord on a miserable Saturday weatherwise where the Rams just didn't get much of anything going their way followed by a shootout overtime loss at West Virginia Wesleyan. Many people said it was after those games that the Rams played their best football of the season, finishing with a 9-2 record. But my big question is this: how will returning quarterback Bobby Cooper handle his role as the clear leader of this offense now that RB Tommy Addison is gone? Kenny Williams returns to carry the football, and anyone who follows Shepherd knows that head coach Monte Cater has at least five other players set up behind Williams with most of them getting carries in this game. Larry Lowe, Robert Byrd, and Justin Ford will be the key receivers in the passing game. On defense, DL Howard Jones will be the key, as he only looked stronger as the season went on in 2011. Corey Washington had, by comparison, a down year in 2011 compared to 2010, but he will be the leader in the defensive backfield. Plus don't overlook LB Dominique Dixon along with a healthy amount of experience returning in the middle. With Troy McNeill and DJ Scott returning, special teams should not be a concern, though the breakaway potential in the return game may not be what it was with Addison.

Shepherd has all the pieces to be a great team, but do they have the chemistry to work together toward the same goal? How will the offensive line come together in 2012, a unit that may have been missing something in 2011? Shippensburg probably doesn't have quite the talent that Shepherd does, but with so many starters returning, you know that they are a squad that has built up teamwork in camp and has had to make fewer adjustments. That's going to show in the early part of the game, so look for Shippensburg to take an early lead. But as I said repeatedly last year, few coaches in the country are better at making the right halftime adjustments to win than Monte Cater, and he'll do it again to give the Rams yet another win in this "rivalry."

Prediction: Shepherd 30, Shippensburg 24


Catawba Indians (0-0) at West Liberty Hilltoppers (0-0)

Seven is the magic number for each of these teams: that's where each was picked to finish in their respective conferences. In fact, only Brevard and Catawba aren't really given a shot at winning the SAC this year while some might consider West Liberty's seventh place finish in the conference coaches' poll to be a bit generous.

3-8 in 2011 was pretty much a disaster by Catawba's standards, but that doesn't faze returning quarterback Jacob Charest, who threw for close to 2000 yards last season. The ground game was a problem last year, though, and leading rusher Josh Wright isn't back for Catawba, so Bobby Morrison will have to fill his shoes, though Charest can scramble too, plus he'll have four returning offensive linemen to help him out. The problem, though, is Catawba just didn't score last season, relying on defensive studs like DBs L.J. McCray (also a big threat in the return game) and Scottie Floyd.

Let's be honest about most of what happened to the Hilltoppers in 2011: they beat themselves. Quarterback L.D. Crow wasn't very good last year, but he'll be getting the start for this one, though talk is he may not have much room for error before getting pulled. Hopefully that's inaccurate because a quarterback worried about making mistakes is just going to make that many more of them. Crow needs to settle down and let top receivers like Brandon Schroeder help him out. Junior college transfer Kenjay Trueblood should help out with the ground game as well. DB Alec Wood was hurt in the spring, but two key defensive linemen should return from injury: Matt Betz and Derrick Rovira.

It's easy to say that 2011 was a disaster for West Liberty, but there were definite highlights: a good performance against a strong Southern Connecticut State team early in the season before confidence had vanished as well as a close, tough loss to playoff-bound conference champion Concord late in the year. What did both of those games have in common? They were played at home on the Hilltop. Catawba has a lot more issues to figure out coming into this season, like who will carry the football and how they're going to score. West Liberty simply needs to protect the football and clean up special teams, both things that can swing wildly from one season to the next. SAC Columnist Ryan Brown said, "I just can't justify picking a 1-10 team with nothing else to base it on." However, I can. What I can't justify is picking a 3-8 team who may have beaten an up-and-down UNC Pembroke team but who only knows how to throw the football...right into a defense that actually held its opponents to fewer passing yards than its offense amassed (and that's even with 25 interceptions on the year!). This may be crazy, but I actually believe that West Liberty has cleaned things up and that Crow can at least be respectable...IF he's allowed to work through any mistakes he makes and doesn't start the game fearing for his job.

Prediction: West Liberty 20, Catawba 17


West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats (0-0) at Millersville Marauders (0-0)

For my sake, I'm hoping the Shepherd-Shippensburg game doesn't go into overtime (and ends fairly quickly, for that matter) because right afterwards, I'll be hopping back in the car and heading about two hours east for my second game of the night, just making it in time for a 6:00 pm kickoff where I'll get to see the, um, vaunted? quarterback Nate Montana.

First, a few words about Millersville. Their last winning season came in 2000 when they finished 6-4, just one year after not only making a playoff appearance but even winning a playoff game 21-14 over Shepherd. Since then, the Marauders have gone 37-82 with 14 of those wins (and one embarrassing loss) coming against Lock Haven and Cheyney. 16 starters return for the Marauders, but when that's coming from a team that finished second to last in the country in passing offense, that may not say much. That could change, though, with Wake Forest transfer Ted Stachitas starting under center along with RB Myron Myles coming to Millersville from Temple joining Mike Jones, plus Matt Egenrieder is back at wide receiver. Defensively, the story isn't much better: the Marauders gave up over 400 yards per game in 2011. LB Pat Maloney is the real star of that unit.

I know that some people are all kinds of excited about Nate Montana starting at quarterback for the Bobcats. Right now, I'm going on record that I'm not a believer. Maybe I can be converted, but let's be honest here: if he weren't the son of Joe Montana, would anyone be caring about him now? Here is a man who has played at high school powerhouse Concord De La Salle (as a third stringer), Notre Dame (briefly), Pasadena Community College (where he played in five games and not as a consistent starter), and Montana (as a backup). The last time he was a true starter was in junior varsity football. Sorry, but this is NOT the resume of a quarterback to be feared no matter what his pedigree is!

Okay, rant over. It will be interesting to see what happens with this Bobcat offense this year following all the losses they took from 2011. The running game was never the real strength last year, but perhaps Nyquan McGirt can change that. A brand new corps of receivers comes in for the Bobcats this season. On the other side, DE Brian Vukela finally gets a chance to shine on his own, having gotten out of the shadow of Jonas Celian. Don't overlook LB Jake Leninsky either, though.

West Virginia Wesleyan ran away with this game last year 55-3, and it really wasn't even that close. Millersville looks to have made some upgrades, but there are still a lot of holes to fill on this team. I'm not buying into the idea that the Bobcats are the third best team in the WVIAC (especially after Charleston's convincing win last night), but they won't need to play at that level to win this one.

Prediction: West Virginia Wesleyan 34, Millersville 10


Game of the Week
#23 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (0-0) at Concord Mountain Lions (0-0)


When you're the defending conference champions and aren't picked to repeat, plus you open the season against another conference's defending champion and favorite to win who has cracked the top 25, yeah, it's definitely a big game. Concord needs to get used to this role because this is a program that is on the rise, something nobody thought would be said a few years ago following an 0-11 season.

Forget the fact that Lenoir-Rhyne returns seven offensive and seven defensive starters from last year. Forget the fact that the Bears had a top ten defense in the country and bring back LB Demetrius Green. The really scary thing is Lenoir-Rhyne's Bear Bone offense, something that Concord will not see again the rest of the season and has to deal with in week one. It does help at least a little bit that Major Herron is gone and that the show under center belongs to senior Reuben Haynes, though Haynes has seen plenty of action over the past couple years. Artis Gilmore also returns at wide receiver as do runningbacks Isaiah Whitaker and Corron Boston. DB Michael Green and DL Brandon Martin head their respective units, particularly a very deep defensive line.

If Concord is going to win this game, experienced quarterback Zach Grossi will need to get momentum right from the start, something that hasn't happened the last couple years. RB Brian Kennedy has departed, but his injuries last year helped give Chris Rodriguez the experience to slide into the starting role with ease. While Ryan Stewart and Randal Hawkins were among a number of wide receivers that could see playing time, no one has gotten more talk before the season begins than Western Michigan transfer Ansel Ponder. On defense, one of the biggest losses actually hasn't been a real loss, as Joe Greenway has graduated and moved to a role on the sidelines for Concord as a graduate assistant. Still, there's plenty of strength on the defensive line with the returns of Josh Miller and Silas Agyemang. Jake Lilly is back at linebacker as the team's leading tackler while CB Riyahd Richardson had a fantastic 2011 in the backfield, and look for a now-healthy Davon Marion to join Richardson back there.

Severe storms that led to a delay at the start of the game clearly threw Concord off, a surprise given that they hosted last year's matchup. That won't happen again this year, as the forecast calls for much nicer weather. However, that won't make stopping the Bear Bone any easier, as Lenoir-Rhyne brings an offense where any one weak link on defense can be exploited repeatedly all night long. Concord doesn't have an obvious weak unit, but they may have one-on-one matchups that aren't in their favor. Add in the fact that Grossi just typically doesn't start the season strong in the first game (but often looks dynamite after that), and while I think Concord can keep it close, the visitors may just have too much firepower in this one.

Prediction: Lenoir-Rhyne 24, Concord 20


Be sure to follow me tomorrow as I liveblog the afternoon Shepherd-Shippensburg game and the evening West Virginia Wesleyan-Millersville matchup. Plus follow me on Twitter all season long @Byko.