It's no surprise to us here in GNAC country of Humboldt State's inclusion in this week's D2football.com Top 25. The pollsters weren't overly loving with the praise, putting the Lumberjacks at the 25th and final spot. To be honest, it's deserving and given the popularity of national polls, is about where HSU should be. A lot has been said about the 0-11 to 4-0 turnaround and I agree, it's an amazing turnaround. But Humboldt State's 2013 was a perfect storm of injuries, bad luck and dark clouds. This year it's been a storm of consistent offense, a wall of defense and some key individual players coming out and leading the Lumberjacks.

A potential win for the Lumberjacks this weekend over a 1-3 South Dakota Mines team won't sway the pollsters that much for next Top 25 poll, but every time I've ever asked head coach Rob Smith about polls he'll give his version of "Just Win, Baby". That's all a team can do. Win. So far, that's what Humboldt State has done.

Let's look at this week's schedule:

Game of the Week
Central Washington (1-0 GNAC, 2-2 overall) vs. Azusa Pacific (0-0, 3-1)
From the fan perspective, I like this matchup. I'd like to see how well Central Washington's vaunted passing defense adapts to the run-first mentality of Azusa Pacific's offense. The Wildcats did well last year, but Azusa is a different team this year.

While it hasn't been a huge uptick in yards, Azusa Pacific has thrown more in the last two weeks to the tune of 136 and 164 yards against Dixie State and Simon Fraser. DSU's and SFU's passing defenses aren't at the same level as CWU's, but again, it's a trend by APU that's noticeable when it passes for less than a 100 yards per game (the Cougars threw for 52 yards against Grand Valley). I don't expect APU to go to the air more against CWU - not with CWU's nine picks so far this season (fourth in the nation) coupled with the fact that you have All-World running back Terrell Watson in your backfield.

Let's talk about Watson for a second. He's ranked ninth in the nation wth 156 yards per game, and second in the nation with 120 carries in four games. It's no secret he's been APU's weapon of choice for the last two seasons. Last year, the Wildcats had success in holding Watson in check. Watson had just 40 yards in game one at Azusa (a 7-3 win for CWU) and had 71 yards and a score in the 24-17 win for Azusa in Ellensburg. I don't expect that to happen again in 2014, but CWU has shown success against the Cougar rushing attack. If the 'Cats contain him for around 100 yards and a score, that might be a success in itself.

Central Washington has shown improvement in its re-tooled passing attack - which is what first-year head coach Ian Shoemaker is known for - twice now passing for 300 yards in two consecutive weeks. Jake Nelson's favorite target is Greg Logan, who gets a GNAC-best 114 yards per game for CWU. Interesting to point out, however, is the fact that as much as CWU's defensive backs attract attention, Azusa's crew is No. 1 in the league in passing defense with just 165 yards against (to CWU's 169) per game.

I've been tossing this back and forth in my mind. I like Watson and I like CWU's momentum in the passing attack. I like both defenses. Watson sways me toward Azusa, but CWU's historical success against him individually sways me as well. CWU at home is a notch in its favor as well, but dropping a game at Western Oregon doesn't bode well for them either. The CWU alum in me hates this call, Azusa 23-21.

Western Oregon (2-2) at No. 6 North Alabama (3-0)
While Central Washington hosting Azusa Pacific will generate more buzz within the GNAC's confines, Western Oregon's trip to North Alabama will promote more attention outside of the league with the Wolves taking on a North Alabama team that looks pretty dang good.

Western Oregon is playing the role it's known for years: A team that wants to be a contender, will knock off a contender, but in the end will be second-best at best. It doesn't help the Wolves have a cross country trip against D2's sixth-best team.

First thing that jumps out here: UNA is ranked 10th in the nation in rushing offense, pushing the offense to nearly 280 yards per game on the ground alone. Western Oregon holds teams to 127 yards per game, which isn't bad at all. Against Humboldt State's two-headed monster of Nick Ricciardulli and Ja'Quan Gardner, the Wolves held Gardner to 53 yards, but he scored twice. Ricciardulli gained 111 yards without a score. UNA could take advantage of the run game. It has so far this year.

UNA scores more than Western Oregon (48 ppg vs. 32 ppg) and its defense holds the opposition better as well (12 ppg to WOU's 31.8). Plus UNA is playing at home. I tip my hat to WOU for playing D2's powerhouse, but in this case, they'll be limping home. North Alabama, 40-24.

No. 25 Humboldt State (4-0) vs. South Dakota Mines (1-3)
This game should feature some fan-pleasing offense. Humboldt State is very balanced offensively and while South Dakota Mines leads the GNAC in total offense (512 yards per game), the Hardrockers haven't played a team at the same calibre as Humboldt (sans 18th ranked-Colorado Mines, which was a 43-19 defeat for the Hardrockers). Despite that, SD Mines has still been burned for 555 yards per game and the 1-3 record shows that.

This could be over quickly. If SD Mines' Trent McKinney is productive (he averages 354 yards in total offense) he could keep the Hardrockers within striking distance. But with HSU's rushing attack (194 yards per game), its defense (less than 11 points per game), I don't see this being much of a game in the second half. Humboldt State, 38-10.

Dixie State (0-0, 0-4) vs. Simon Fraser (0-1, 0-4)
The good thing about this for GNAC fans is one of these teams will get their first win of the season. Both teams are the bottom two in scoring offense. They're fifth and seventh in scoring defense.

Dixie has an improved rushing presence this year, relying less on the pass and more on the ground game, while Simon Fraser's Ryan Stanford throws for 223 yards per game.

While sharing identical records and both taking big losses already, Dixie seems to be further ahead in its continued rebuilding than that of Simon Fraser. Dixie is also in the friendly confines of its Hansen Stadium, so we'll go with the Red Storm, 20-17.