Fort Hays State 29
Nebraska Kearney 26 (2OT)Northwest Missouri State 38
Lindenwood 17

For most of the first half, this game was a close battle. The Bearcats had just a 10-7 lead after the Lions scored on a 27 yard Nash Sutherlin touchdown run about half way through the second quarter. NWMSU QB Braden Wright led the Bearcats down the field on the ensuing drive, and running back Isaiah Strayhorn punched in an answering TD from a yard out to push the lead back to ten with 2:32 to go in the first half. The game effectively ended when the Lions took back over. After losing three yards on a first down run and an incomplete pass on 2nd down, the Lions faced 3rd and 13 with under two minutes to go. Hindsight is always 20/20, but even at the time, I thought the Lions would run the ball and try to catch the Bearcats sleeping, and if not, kill as much clock as possible, punt the ball away, and regroup in the locker room at halftime being down just 10 points to a team that has pretty much had their way with them. However, LU QB Cade Brister dropped back and was ultimately picked off at the Lindenwood 17 yard line. Three plays later the Bearcats were up 24-7, and the Lions would never get closer than 21 points the rest of the game.

Missouri Western State 42
Emporia State 28Washburn 0
Central Oklahoma 34

This game was as bit of surprise to me for a couple reasons: 1) how one sided it was, and 2) the Bronchos defense pitched a shut out. Over the past few years the Bronchos have been very good on the offensive side of the ball, but have struggled defensively. This year, there has been no debating the improvement on the defensive side of the ball, and the team dominated the Ichabods, holding them to just 231 yards of offense. In fact, the Ichabods never reached the red zone, and were only able to get into Broncho territory on 4 of their 12 possessions. Meanwhile, UCO QB Will Collins had a nice day, completing 19 of his 24 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions to help improve the Bronchos to 5-3 on the year. Washburn fell to 4-4 and have been unofficially eliminated from the playoffs.

Central Missouri 28
Pittsburg State 48Northeastern State 19
Missouri Southern State 24Regional Rankings and Playoff Watch

The first Regional Rankings were released last week, with two MIAA teams in the top 7:

1. Ferris State (8-0)
2. Ouachita Baptist (8-0)
3. Grand Valley State (7-1)
4. Northwest Missouri State (7-1)
5. Indianapolis (6-1)
6. Southern Arkansas (7-1)
7. Fort Hays State (6-2)
8. Harding (6-2)
9. Pittsburg State (6-2)Undefeated:

Ouachita Baptist (vs. SAU, at HSU)
Ferris State (vs Davenport)

One Loss Teams:

Southern Arkansas (at HSU, at OBU)
Grand Valley State (at SVSU, vs. Ashland)
Indianapolis (at TSU, vs. SR1 Hillsdale)
Missouri S&T (at McKendree)
Northwest Missouri State (vs. FHSU)

Two Loss Teams:

Harding (vs. SEOSU)
Saginaw Valley State (vs. GVSU)
Truman State (vs. UIndy, at MUST)
Fort Hays State (at NWMSU)
Pittsburg State (at MWSU, vs. WU)

Three Loss Teams:

Henderson State, Southeast Oklahoma State, Ashland, Central Oklahoma, Missouri Western State

Games this week include: SAU at HSU, Davenport at FSU, GV at SVSU, and PSU at MWSU. Clearly we will probably see quite a bit of movement.

Week 9 PreviewsEmporia State (4-4) at Washburn (4-4) 1PM#25 Pittsburg State (6-2) at Missouri Western State (5-3) 1PM
Hall of Fame GameNebraska Kearney (4-4) at Central Missouri (3-5) 1:30PM
HomecomingCentral Oklahoma (5-3) at Missouri Southern State (1-7) 2PM#5 Northwest Missouri State (7-1) at Northeastern State (0-8) 2PM

In the Battle of the Green Teams, we have the league leading Bearcats traveling down to Tahlequah to face the last place Riverhawks, who are coming off their lone competitive game of the season in the loss to MSSU. This matchup will have the #12 NSU offense going up against the #1 NWMSU defense, and the #2 NWMSU offense against the #11 NSU defense. Simply put, this game should be a game where the Bearcats can iron out some kinks with the starters in the first half and then get some experience for the backups in the second half. Anything less than that will be a huge surprise to me.

NWMSU 49
NSU 7

Lindenwood (3-5) at #23 Fort Hays State (6-2) 2PM