As proud as the GNAC was that Azusa Pacific and Humboldt State had solid out-of-conference victories against opponents with stronger football pedigrees, the calendar turned another page and the euphoria of huge wins hopefully turns into momentum and swagger for opponents that loom next. For the other five football-playing schools in the GNAC, the page can't turn quickly enough to help forget week one.

Before looking at week two, let's have a quick recap of last week:

Azusa
I've already posted on Azusa's win over Grand Valley and the pollsters obviously took notice. Azusa jumped into D2football's top 20, sitting at 17th place after the Cougars' upset victory over the Lakers. When people say the national rankings don't mean anything, it's the regional rankings that decide the playoffs, I will agree to a point. For the general public, nobody understands the regional rankings system, but everyone understands national polls. It's the old adage of the higher the ranking the better the team must be. Don't always agree with the sentiment, but this is something for Azusa to hang its hat on. It will help with recruiting, exposure and maybe even media coverage. It will help with getting fans in the seats, it will help with donations...as long as APU builds off the win. On paper, the Cougars are the best in the GNAC, but when is the last time a GNAC team went undefeated in league play? CWU in 2009, five seasons ago. It's easier said than done. There's a very slim margin of error for Azusa to make the postseason.

Humboldt
As for Humboldt, what a way to start its season after such a 2013 to forget. While Texas A&M-Kingsville has taken a step back from being a force to reckon with, the Lumberjacks still went on the road in a football haven to knock off TAMUK 27-14. Much of the pre-game hype (including from this blogger) was centered around the return of Nick Ricciardulli and Jeremiah Maluia. Ricciardulli netted just 62 yards on 21 carries and Maluia was kicked out for targeting midway through the game. The stats that did pop out were freshman Ja'Quan Gardner's 156 yards and one score on just 17 carries. The Lumberjack defense held the Javelinas to 256 total yards as well.

Dixie State
This one is a heartbreaker. With such a back-and-forth contest, you know someone will go home broken. Dixie State and Colorado Mesa were neck-and-neck in the opening quarter before Mesa took a 23-13 halftime lead. Dixie then outscores the Mavericks 21-3 in the third stanza for a 34-26 advantage going into the fourth. Midway through the fourth Mesa found the end zone and converted the 2-point attempt to tie it up. Late in the game, Dixie drives deep into CMU territory (including converting on a 4th-and-9 due to a personal foul by CMU) to kick a field goal and go up by 3, 37-34 with 42 seconds to go. CMU then connected on three passes and one rush for a combined 44 yards in a matter of seconds and later converted a 40-yard field goal as time expired. Mesa then scored in overtime and intercepted Dixie at the goal line to seal the deal.

Western Oregon
The Wolves were in this game late. After spotting Portland State 17 points, Western Oregon stormed back only to run out of gas in the 45-38 loss to the FCS school. Portland State had leads of 17-0 and 31-14 before WOU tied it up at 31 apiece early in the fourth quarter. Portland State reclaimed the lead and held off the Wolves. Ryan Bergman was a horse for WOU throwing for 413 yards and three scores without a pick. Kamakana Aelu (131 yards, 1 touchdown) and Paul Revis (109, 2 touchdowns) were his favorite targets. WOU was very one-dimensional, however, gaining just 17 yards on 26 rushing attempts. Being down 17 points probably does that to you.

Central Washington
The Wildcats got beat. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. CWU had a heckuva opener on the road with FCS No. 5 Montana and the 48-14 loss certainly indicated a one-sided affair. The game was 24-0 before CWU got on the board, but the Wildcats never threatened. As a team, CWU gained just 56 yards on the ground.

Simon Fraser
After trading leads throughout the game, Simon Fraser watched as Menlo scored with 1:02 left to seal the game, 31-24. You never like to lose, but when you lose the season opener at home to a lower-division team, it indicates that the new coaching staff at SFU has some work to do in week two and beyond.

South Dakota Mines
This one didn't look good from the start as Colorado Mines jumped out to a 19-0 cushion and never looked back in its 43-19 win over South Dakota Mines.

What's going on this weekend?

Game of the Week
Humboldt State (1-0) vs. #17 Azusa Pacific (1-0)
Fans don't need a stat sheet (which is good, because after one week, it's difficult to find trends) to understand the significance of this game. How good is Humboldt? They were 0-11 last year and are now 1-0 after winning in Texas. How good is Azusa? They beat a Grand Valley team some had pegged as a national championship-calibre team.

What unit will earn the spotlight here? The running games or each teams' front seven on defense poised to stop the run? Azusa's Terrell Watson is already a known beast. For Humboldt, it looks like it's a two-headed monster in Nick Ricciardulli and Ja'Quan Gardner getting the carries.

Humboldt is at home, has a win and seems to be recouping the swagger. Azusa is ranked, the preseason favorite and already has been tested by one of the best in the nation. To me, it's a toss up. I like Humboldt in the Redwood Bowl, but you can't discount a solid APU team. This clock is going to run a bit with great running games on both sides, which might indicate a lower scoring affiar. With a coin flip it's...Azusa, 19-14

Central Washington (0-1) vs. Dixie State (0-1)
On the flip side, this has every indication of a potentially high scoring affair. Dixie State had 640 yards of offense last week against Colorado Mesa while yielding 417 yards on defense. Central Washington - while we didn't see it last week against Montana - has a different philosophy on offense. No huddle, air it out and when that doesn't work, give it to the running backs who can churn up yards. Montana wrapped that up last week against the Wildcats, but no disrespect to Dixie, the Red Storm on the road are not Montana at home.

Anyone remember last year in Ellensburg? CWU needed a field goal as time expired to steal the win over the Red Storm. I don't see that happening this year. Central Washington, 27-20.

Simon Fraser (0-1) vs. Western Oregon (0-1)
The Clan losing at home to Menlo does't bode well for a team now taking to the road against a decent Division II opponent in Western Oregon. I don't see SFU having an answer for Ryan Bergman and Co. in the air. Western Oregon, 33-14.

South Dakota Mines (0-1) at Black Hills State (0-1)
These South Dakota rivals have a long rivalry as this will be the 129th time since 1895 the two teams have met. 129 times? That's considered an established rivlary and a very even one at that. South Dakota Mines has a slight edge in the series of 60-57-11. Last year the Hardrockers beat the Yellowjackets, 43-35, rattling off 23 staight points. I'm going out on a limb here and taking the Hardrockers. SD Mines, 30-28.