Central Washington (2-3, 2-2 GNAC) vs. #18 Humboldt State (5-0, 3-0)

You know how you could feel like something special was in the air last month in Arcata? You didn't know exactly how many people would be in the stands for round one of this rivalry, but you knew it was going to be packed. That's the same feeling around Ellensburg. Fans are talking it up, social media sites are buzzing, which leads one to believe that Tomlinson Stadium will be packed. Maybe not as packed as the Redwood Bowl in September (7,031), but overflow packed. In fact, anything less than 5,000 will be a disappointment on Saturday.
Why? Because this is part two of the game of the year. Not to take anything away from Western Oregon at all, in fact who knows what that matchup against HSU will be like next weekend? But while WOU's record is better than CWU's, the Wildcats are trending upward while WOU has lost its last two contests.
"This is a big game," CWU offensive guard Justin Eden told the (Ellensburg) Daily Record on Thursday. "As far as we're concerned, it's just as big, even bigger (than last time), though, because a chance to get into the conference race is on the line."
That's motivation right there and it's motivation the Lumberjacks are respecting.
"Central is not accustomed to losing," Humboldt State coach Rob Smith said in HSU's game release. "And they have already responded. We will get that same type of effort when they play us. They will be at their best and will be playing with great motivation."
Lots of respect on both sides, but that doesn't take away the confidence both sides have in their own teams.
Humboldt is 5-0, has already earned a last-second win over the Wildcats last month and is now getting some national respect with its No. 18 ranking in this week's D2football poll. The Lumberjacks still have the GNAC's No. 1 scoring offense (36.2 ppg) and No. 1 scoring defense (18 ppg). The 'Jacks average more than 100 ypg better on offense than second place WOU (476 to 364 ypg). The 'Jacks have Lyndon Rowells as their No. 1 threat on the ground and quarterback Mike Proulx has a handful of different receivers (Chris Bolt, Dirk Dallas, Kevin Miles for example) to choose from.
The Lumberjack offensive line is No. 1 in the nation in protecting Proulx as well.
Defensively, Jona Faraimo and Andrew Iupati (both have 5 TFL apiece) had plenty to do with UC-Davis netting just 78 yards on the ground last week.
And while games aren't won solely on one play, you can't forget the fact that Brian Blumberg is 7-for-8 in field goal tries, including the 27-yarder that clinched the "W" against CWU last month.
But Central is very much looking like the team of the past few years as a three-game losing streak awoke the beast.
The Wildcats have found their running game, with Levi Taylor rushing for more than 100 yards against Simon Fraser and Western Oregon. Quarterback Ryan Robertson threw four picks in the first three games of the year, but has been intercepted just once in the previous two games (and wasn't picked off once against HSU last month).
Defensively, the Wildcats are improving, as they lead the GNAC with 317 ypg average and hold opposing offenses to 20 ppg, just two points less than the Lumberjacks. Even with DE Tyrell Nielson and DL Alex Griffith out with knee injuries, D-linemen Andrew Oney, Taylor Tanasse, Mike Reno and Donnie Johnson have really closed holes in the middle.
Humboldt State has made very few mistakes and over the last couple of games, CWU has played with very good discipline as well. Mistakes plagued CWU the first time around, especially on special teams with two missed extra points, one of which resulted in a HSU touchdown on the fumble. But Humboldt wasn't mistake free either, losing two fumbles of their own and having one pass picked off.
What has continued to get better for CWU, however is the aforementioned running game and special teams play. If the Wildcats can still create turnovers against Humboldt as they did last month, but this time attack with a more balanced offense, the game could go in CWU's favor.
What's going against Humboldt is the drive to Ellensburg. A coach is never going to come out and say that a road trip is the reason for a loss, but it didn't help to be on a bus for the better part of two days in last year's close loss (26-18) to Central Washington in Ellensburg. The Lumberjacks, however, counter that with a very healthy and very mature team this weekend.
Central Washington is at home, during homecoming and have very much taken advantage of playing in two straight home games with Saturday being three straight. The team seems to have taken pride in playing a spoiler or "back-in-the-GNAC-race" mode, which can do wonders in expecting to win. The 'Cats also have the look of a different team that is clearly more of a cohesive unit than what they displayed in early September.
With that said, Central Washington keeps the glimmer of hope for a GNAC title alive with a 31-28 victory.

Western Oregon (3-3, 3-1) vs. Simon Fraser (2-4, 1-4)
At first glance, this one might be difficult to predict as Western Oregon has taken its lumps in the previous two games, Simon Fraser picked up its first GNAC win last week and the last time these two teams played WOU escaped with a 35-28 victory.
This time, however, WOU is at home in Monmouth and its Simon Fraser's turn to take the trip over the border.
Simon Fraser, on the legs of the GNAC's rushing leader Bo Palmer, is going to get its yards on the ground. Even with a tenacious defense, WOU can't contain Palmer every play. What's going to have to be the difference for the Clan is continuing to find the aerial attack that emerged last week against Dixie State while keeping its counterpart, WOU's Evan Mozzochi, in check. Mozzochi can put the ball in the air and at 6-4, 230 pounds isn't an easy open-field tackle kind of guy.
Unlike the previous meeting where WOU scored the first 21 points and then watched as SFU scored 21 points in the second quarter, the Wolves must score early and hold SFU's offense from responding. If Palmer and the SFU passing game are both efficient, that will be difficult.
But WOU is different than Dixie's defense which yielded all those yards to SFU last week, and the Wolves will take advantage of playing at home, 27-20.

Dixie State (1-5, 1-3) vs. NAIA #7 Azusa Pacific (5-1)
It's rare to lose a contest when your team scores 56 points, but Dixie State is going to have to find a way to close the door on a triple-overtime loss to take on an NAIA team that's giving the rest of the GNAC a look into what to expect next year.
Azusa Pacific comes into St. George on Saturday, less than a year away from calling this an actual conference contest. That doesn't mean anything today, but what does mean something is the fact that Azusa's Cougars are 5-1 and ranked No. 7 at the NAIA level.
Dixie showed a balanced offense last week, netting season highs in both rushing and passing, which kept the Red Storm in the game until the final play against Simon Fraser. They're going to need that once again as well as holding tough on defense since the word "explosive" might be an understatement for APU.
The Cougars average 323 ypg on the ground and another 180 ypg in the air. Quarterback John van den Raadt is the team's leading rusher at 92 ypg with eight TDs, but Johnell Murphy is just one ypg and one TD behind. Eight different players have scored a rushing touchdown for Azusa and another six have scored from the passing game.
Offensively, APU is putting nearly 51 ppg on the board while holding opponents to just 18.
Yes, Dixie is a Division II team going against an NAIA squad, but this squad is showing mastery of its opponents. APU gets this one done, 40-17.

Jon Guddat covers the GNAC for D2football.com.