Early August ushers in the feeling of relief that comes with the opening of fall camp and two-a-days. Prognosticators come out of the woodwork and quickly are in midseason form. And no matter what team is up for discussion, its fans are declaring that this is the year.

As with any new season, new personnel changes in both staffing and roster additions always make it difficult to predict without hesitation results and storylines before the season progresses. But of course, those are excuses, so here comes the predictions.

As to be expected, Humboldt State is getting all the preseason national love amongst GNAC competitors. While the Lumberjacks at 9-1 last year missed out of the playoffs, multiple preseason polls have them tabbed in the lower half of the top 25 to open 2012, which seems about right. Plenty of emphasis goes into polls, in D2 the only poll that matters is the coveted regional rankings poll, which will come out in October. Last year, Humboldt was on the outside looking in. Snub? Of course it was. Any subjectivity in that answer? Of course there is, but it's still correct.

For GNAC football, change continues to be commonplace. This year, it's the addition of Azusa Pacific. Two years prior, SFU came into the mix. Prior to that Western Washington dropped football, which was after Dixie State joined the group. Of course before that the GNAC members either went to an independent schedule or went to the now-defunct North Central Conference. For 2013, who knows what offseason headline will dominate the most?

But that inconsistency is what keeps the GNAC in the spotlight. 2012 scheduling continues to incorporate the round robin schedule and with the addition of APU, just one non-league game dots the calendar for each team and it comes in less than a week for all six members. This forces all teams to basically run the table to be considered for just six spots in the Super Region 3 playoffs.

Wait, SR3? Yeah, we'll get to that.

Back to the six spots and what the GNAC needs to do to get to that. Let's get it out there now: As much as fans of the GNAC would like multiple teams to make the top six, it's not going to happen. Don't believe it? The GNAC's "play-each-other-twice" mantra makes it easier to fill the schedule, but impossible to put together a resume that will easily stand with the likes of a Northwest Missouri or Minnesota Duluth.

And yes, the SR3 is a new home for the GNAC, but most of the teams are pretty familiar with each other. At quick glance, the only difference is the Northern Sun replacing the Lone Star as a regional competitor. Of course for Central Washington, UMD, Minnesota-Mankato and St. Cloud State are old NCC rivals.

Let's take a look at the weeks' worth of non-leaguers. No GNAC squad plays anyone within the SR3, although there are a couple of games that will raise an eyebrow of curiosity.

Western Oregon made national waves last year scheduling Grand Valley, Abilene Christian and Montana. The Wolves have just GV on the 2012 lineup, but GV travels to Monmouth this time around. While the Lakers missed the playoffs last year, they did end the season with seven straight wins.
The biggest draw of Humboldt's contest versus Mesa State is not so much the game itself (Humboldt should win), but the chances of Mesa having a solid enough campaign later in the season which will bolster Humboldt's stength of schedule. Mesa is picked as a middle-of-the-pack finisher in the Rocky Mountain.
For Central Washingon traveling to Texas A & M-Kingsville, it will give a very early indication if the Wildcats will bounce back from 2011's 4-6 record or if their playoff chances are reduced to virtually zero by Sept. 2nd.
Dixie State travels to Adams State, a team the Red Storm have scheduled multiple times over the last four years. Adams is tabbed as fourth in the RMAC, one spot better than Mesa.
Azusa and Simon Fraser play non-Division II teams, although it'll be interesting to see how the Cougars play against a level up. APU travels to UC-Davis, a team that lost to Humboldt last year. Simon Fraser travels to Oregon to take on Division III Pacific. For both APU and SFU, neither game will help them in terms of strength of schedule.

However, for three teams, the immediate focus probably isn't the playoffs (although you might be hard-pressed to find a coach or player that will publicly come to that conclusion). Azusa is brand new to D2, Simon Fraser made big strides last year, but is still not there. Dixie continues its rebuilding process. For HSU, CWU and WOU, all could be considered teams that could make a run at the playoffs, but again only one will have a chance at making it this year. Time will tell.

Please don't label this as "no imagination" but this blogger has the GNAC shaping up just like the GNAC pollsters.

1. Humboldt State - The Lumberjacks lose Mike Proulx and Lyndon Rowells, but return a good nucleus of starters and the two-deep on both sides of the ball. The 'Jacks also open the season with three straight at home. Two possible road blocks for HSU this year: at Central Washington on Sept. 29 and at Western Oregon to end the regular season on Nov. 10. That road trip comes a week after an even longer road trip to SFU the previous week.

2. Central Washington - In what's been typical for the Wildcats, CWU brings in a ton of Division I talent to Ellensburg. Last year, chemistry and discipline was a big issue, this year the team has already been quoted as it being better. In exact opposite of Humboldt, CWU opens with three straight on the road. Two possible road blocks for CWU this year: opening at Kingsville on Sept. 1 and at Humboldt State Oct. 27.

3. Western Oregon - With all the attention Humboldt is getting as the leader of the GNAC, it's the Wolves who return the most from the GNAC's 2011 all-conference team with 10 total. If WOU gets by Grand Valley in less than a week, this conference is going to get a whole lot more crowded at the top.

4. Azusa Pacific - The Cougars lose all-world quarterback John van den Raadt, and they jump up a division, which obviously brings two very large questions to answer very quickly. APU has been a consistent playoff performer as an NAIA independent over the last few years and is pretty familiar with their GNAC counterparts through non-league scheduling in the past.

5. Simon Fraser - The Clan showed signs of significant improvement last year, opening with a win over Pacific, earning their first conference win over Dixie State (a 62-56 overtime showcase) and then ending their season with a major upset over Central Washington. Simon Fraser will start at 1-0 and then will lose its next three against CWU, HSU and WOU.

6. Dixie State - It looks like the Red Storm bring back nearly everyone from 2011. The bad thing about that is the fact that in 2011 Dixie went 1-10. The good thing? The squad comes in with another year of experience under it's belt.

Jon Guddat covers the GNAC for D2football.com. Contact Jon at [email protected].