Glenville State, why do you do this to me/us?

I mean, really, I fully understand the trip to Carson-Newman on the first Thursday of the season. I kind of understand the Thursday night game at Tennessee-Chattanooga since, well, they're calling the shots. And I bet you thought you'd be getting on national television again in having another Thursday night game, this time against Fairmont State.

But why are you going all the way to Saint Louis, Missouri, to play on a Friday night?

Really, I (and other WVIAC media) would like to know. It's not like Missouri doesn't play high school football, and it's not like they're some state lacking in good high school football like, say, Wyoming.

I can only guess that the schedule really was that difficult to fill this year. Fine. At least you're playing an opponent that will get my interest rather than some NAIA school that you could roll over in a laugher.

Only five games on the schedule this weekend, so let's go!

Glenville State (1-2) at Lindenwood (2-1)

I remember several years ago seeing that Valparaiso, a Division I school, was facing someplace called Lindenwood in college football. If I recall correctly, this Lindenwood might have even beaten Valparaiso, which made me think, "Wow, that's pretty awful. What the heck is this Lindenwood place?" Well, now we know: they're a program on the rise to Division II after conquering the NAIA and that is clearly dedicated to being competitive in the very tough MIAA.

I actually listened to some of the Lindenwood-Central Missouri game last weekend, the Lions' first loss of the season (then again, their other opponents, Lincoln University of Missouri and Southwest Baptist, have been nothing worth giving much thought to) by a 35-28 margin. They were in it all the way with a team that beat powerhouse Northwest Missouri State. Interestingly enough, their style could fit in well in the WVIAC: they have a good but not top-notch runningback in Denodus O'Bryant, who is also a big threat in the return game, but they especially have a quarterback that loves to throw in Ben Gomez, who averages over 300 yards per game. What does make things a little different is the balance among three top receivers: Andrew Helmick (200 yards, 3 TD), Matt Angell (196 yards, 3 TD), and Alex Robinson (208 yards). It's hard to really assess their defense, though I would have expected a little better in their first two games than giving up six touchdowns.

Glenville State has certainly had defensive problems of its own: 56 points from Carson-Newman, a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns from Fairmont State after holding them in check through 45 minutes, and 35 points in a not-as-close-as-the-scoreboard-indicated blowout at Tennessee-Chattanooga. So the real question will be whether QB Darold Hughes, RB Rahman Lee, and the Pioneers can simply outscore Lindenwood. They've actually done reasonably well against the pass, though part of that was simply because that's not Carson-Newman's offensive style.

Coming off a game against an FCS opponent, a Division II team is usually a bit more battered, bruised, and tired than usual. That shouldn't be surprising: FCS teams have nearly double the scholarships (if both schools are maxed out according to NCAA regulations) and will naturally get better athletes. So I wouldn't be surprised if Glenville State's offense takes a step back this week. They can afford it more now than they would be able to when conference play picks back up for them next week.

Prediction: Lindenwood 41, Glenville State 24


West Liberty (2-1) at Fairmont State (0-3)

West Liberty is building momentum. Fairmont State lost pretty much all of theirs in their come-from-ahead loss in overtime at Bowie State.

It has taken over a year, but now L.D. Crow is starting to look more like the kind of quarterback that fans on the Hilltop were expecting. No, he won't be confused for Zach Amedro, but they'll take what they can get, especially when WR Brandon Schroeder is helping him out this much. The defense, though, is the real story, as once again, they put in another solid performance, but thanks to the offense, the fourth quarter of last week's win over West Virginia Wesleyan was pretty much just a formality. RB Kenjay Trueblood may not be building up great numbers, but given that the offensive line is not particularly strong, he's still definitely a player to watch throughout the season.

Fairmont State's offense isn't really getting things going, though. A 10-0 lead last week came thanks to a field goal from Johnny Dearstine and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown by Ryland Newman. The runningback corps of Collin Alford, Daniel Monroe, and Shad Alexander is pretty badly banged up (as evidenced by the numerous substitutions last week), and QB Bobby Vega looked like he got hit pretty hard too. But the real problem is the defense, which did fine stopping the run (though that was largely because they kept putting eight in the box against a team that ran much better than it threw) but couldn't provide sufficient pass coverage.

It may be Fairmont State's first home game of the year, but that won't be enough for the Falcons to get things together.

Prediction: West Liberty 24, Fairmont State 20


Seton Hill (0-3) at West Virginia Wesleyan (0-3)

Eesh. Someone has to win this one, right? Well, at least one of these teams has shown it can throw the football, and you won't find the name Montana anywhere on that team's roster.

Yes, QB Ryan Morris is the reason why Seton Hill nearly beat Urbana (though after the Blue Knights' loss to woeful Central State, that close call doesn't look as good anymore), and he's the reason the Griffins had positive yardage last week against Shepherd. The defense has gotten into a pattern of starting horribly and then getting better, though, which has made Morris feel that much more pressure.

The Bobcats, on the other hand, don't know who they want at quarterback (the correct answer may be choice D: None of the Above). Nate Montana started, Jeremy Musselman finished, and the running game failed to show up. Last year, West Virginia Wesleyan only averaged about 75 rushing yards per game but had an air attack to make up for it. This year, that number has dropped to 50...and the passing average has dropped by about 80.

West Virginia Wesleyan may have played its best second half of football this season last week in the loss to West Liberty, and even then, it wasn't very good. The team seems to be in disarray, and I'm still not convinced of the Bobcats' secondary's ability to keep Morris's receivers in check. Expect this one to be a long game filled with a lot of passes, most of them falling incomplete.

Prediction: Seton Hill 34, West Virginia Wesleyan 26


Concord (1-2) at West Virginia State (1-2)

Given the circumstances, the fact that Concord nearly beat Charleston last week is very telling on several accounts. Maybe Charleston isn't as good as we think. Maybe Concord's defense is really that good, holding star player Jordan Roberts to less than 50 yards on the ground for the day. Maybe freshman QB Albert Rose is going to be someone very special for Concord for the next three plus years. Maybe Calvinaugh Jones will be the next Brian Kennedy and have a 200+ yard game when it's needed to get into the playoffs one day. Still, last week's result was a loss, and that was pretty much because of a big turnover late in the fourth quarter that gave Charleston the winning score in a 17-14 battle. Field position was key on the day, and Concord had that in control.

West Virginia State remains a mystery to me. We all knew the Yellow Jackets couldn't compete with North Carolina A&T and Elon. But how banged up are they? It's a known fact that facing just one FCS opponent can have season-long impacts in terms of injuries. Two FCS opponents just seems crazy to me. Still, QB Ricky Phillips looked much better against a better Elon team, and LeFloyd Phillips finally showed up this season to join Aubura Taylor at runningback.

I'm thinking Concord is catching West Virginia State at a good time right now, fresh off of two very hard, tiring games. If this were later in the season, the Yellow Jackets may have a better chance of grabbing the win.

Prediction: Concord 28, West Virginia State 14


Game of the Week
Shepherd (2-1) at Charleston (3-0)

A Charleston victory could just about end the conference title chase this weekend. A Shepherd victory means next week's game at Ram Stadium against Concord could be the WVIAC title clincher. I know Glenville State may take issue with those words, but we'll have all of October to worry about that.

Shepherd didn't have any problems not having Kenny Williams or Justin Ford last week (or probably the rest of the season, as it turns out). Jihad Rasheed really is a better answer at runningback, though I'd still like to see the Rams build up a star and get more depth out of their ground game. Larry Lowe and William McKenzie are the clear #1 and #2 receivers on this squad, something Shepherd teams haven't always identified in years past. Bobby Cooper looked good, but then again, Seton Hill was the opponent.

I still don't know if Charleston's first two opponents were that weak (maybe so) or Concord's defense was that good. John Knox has been strong at quarterback in place of Maurice Leak, though, and has been the dual threat I saw in Leak two years ago. The rest of the offense has struggled, though, and I'm not sure what to think right now.

Big-time teams win when it matters. Charleston needs this victory to prove that they're ready to be taken seriously. Shepherd has more talent on its roster and should win this game if they don't beat themselves. I'm also starting to think that Shippensburg really was that good and that this year's Great Valley Classic could end up having a playoff rematch.

Prediction: Shepherd 27, Charleston 20


Next week, get ready for me to liveblog from Ram Stadium for Concord at Shepherd, the likely Game of the Week. This weekend, don't expect to hear from me: I'm taking a much-needed family vacation.