By this point of the season, with three games down, teams start developing trends that opponents can identify. It doesn't mean a team can't or won't change - especially when they focus on an upcoming opponent's weaknesses - but teams rely on what works and you tend to not stray from production.

A few observations after three weeks of football:
* Humboldt State's defense might be legit. The Lumberjacks are holding teams to an average of 9 points per game (TAMUK scored 14, the highest of the season) and 220 total yards of offense.
* Humboldt State's offense might be legit. The Lumberjacks are very balanced with 621 yards of rushing and 610 yards in the air, while scoring nearly 36 points per game. Obviously, they have yet to play through the entire GNAC, but so far, Humboldt is clearly the league's No. 1 squad on both sides of the ball. Ja'Quan Gardner and Nick Ricciardulli are Nos. 2 and 3 in the GNAC in rushing and have 7 touchdowns between them.
* Azusa Pacific might not be as good as well all thought. After defeating then-No. 2 Grand Valley (now 0-3) in overtime, the Cougars were shut down on the road against Humboldt State and then watched as Simon Fraser made last night's game interesting in the fourth quarter. Terrell Watson is a stud, but even he's human (51 yards against Humboldt).
* We all expected South Dakota Mines to struggle, but we also expected more. Trent McKinney is a productive quarterback, averaging 304 yards in total offense including 46 yards per game on the ground. As a team, Mines can't stop anyone's offense, yielding 43 points per contest and nearly 600 yards of offense.
* Western Oregon's receivers Tyrell Williams, Paul Revis and Kamakana Apelu are fun to watch. Combined, the trio average not quite 240 yards per game. Revis and Apelu are just freshmen.
* The new coaches at Simon Fraser and Central Washington have led their respective teams to a combined 1-5 start. For Simon Fraser, the Clan don't have much of a tradition of sustained excellence. The Clan are last in the GNAC in rushing with 63 yards per game. For CWU, the loss against FCS Montana was expected, and while a loss against Western Oregon isn't embarrassing, it certainly signals the Wildcats have fallen from the ranks of striking fear in opponents.

Later this week, we'll visit the schedule and pick it apart a bit. Despite the fact that we've already been playing each other, Central Washington and Simon Fraser kick off the first GNAC league contest in a neutral site in greater Seattle and Western Oregon becomes the next team to try and knock Humboldt from it's perch as the top dog in the GNAC.