(Pictured: Winona State - Sledge Hammer Trophy)

Concordia-St. Paul (2-8) at Winona State (7-3), Noon





Warriors 47-20

Wayne State (3-7) at Sioux Falls (10-0), Noon
WSC was up 17-7 against Mankato last Saturday but the Wildcat defense wilted, giving up a big game on the ground en route to a 41-30 loss. WSC throws for big yards, keeping them in games, but their defense is in the bottom third of the conference. Zach Osborn is shouldering the load for the Wildcat offense similar to the way Trey Heid does for Augustana. Osborn passes or runs the ball himself on a large percentage of plays. The WSU running game has slowly gone away.




Cougars 61-24

Upper Iowa (3-7) at Minnesota State-Mankato (7-3), Noon



(Pictured: Nick Pieruccini-MSU. Photo: MW)


Mavericks 38-20

Augustana (7-3) at Southwest Minnesota State (5-5), 1pm
AU has bounced back after suffering its third loss weeks ago against Mankato. Augie is 10th in the Regional Rankings this week and battling for a Mineral Water Bowl berth. The Vikings are on the outside looking in for an NCAA postseason slot but just being in this spot in the final week speaks well to their ability to stay the course after a rough middle of the season.




Vikings 55-38

Northern State (6-4) at Minnesota State-Moorhead (6-4), 1pm





Initially I figured to go Northern here as I think the Wolves have been the better team much of the year. However, Demetrious Carr has shown some real flashes lately and it's hard to go against MSUM after a big win a week ago. However, I'm one game back in the NSIC Pick'Em, so I'm going with the slight underdog here and rolling with the Wolves in what looks to be a very even game.
Wolves 38-37

Mary (1-9) at Minot State (2-8), 1pm - The Battle of the Big Lake (Rivalry Game)
The D2 battle of North Dakota. This game probably means more for recruiting than anything. Not that Minot State recruits North Dakota all that much.

A week ago I picked the Beavers to shock SCSU in Minot. They responded by getting shutout 31-0. Quarterback Isaiah Weed struggled, throwing for only 125 yards and 3 picks.



Beavers 20-17

Minnesota-Duluth (9-1) at St. Cloud State (5-5), 1pm


SCSU had a nice shutout on the road at Minot. Jaden Huff is a talented running back but his offensive line has struggled to get him going this season. Last Saturday they got things right and Huff rushed for two touchdowns and a season high 232 yards on 16 carries. The problem for SCSU is that UMD is one of the top run defenses in the league.


Bulldogs 48-27

Minnesota-Crookston (0-10) at Bemidji State (7-3), 1pm - The HWY 2 Rivalry (Hub Cap Game)
A week ago BSU was sitting at the 8 spot in the Regional Rankings, with the playoffs at the doorstep. A ton of penalties (12 for 189) leading to a loss to Moorhead has now dashed the Beavers chances to finish in the top 7 in the Super Region 3. However, all is not lost as BSU is the front-runner for the Mineral Water Bowl.


Beavers 61-10

Witt's Picks 2016 record: 64-16


Postseason Possibilities..
Here is a quick look at the latest Regional Rankings. Three NSIC teams are currently in the top 10 in the 45 team region.



By the look of things, 2 of the Northern Sun teams will likely make the playoffs as Augie needs 3 upsets to take place for them to get in the mix for the all-important 7th spot. I said a few weeks ago that I felt the regional committee was fairly comfortable with the 7-team grouping they have right now and they've left things the same during that time. Outside of some upsets occurring, I think they'll stay with this same seeding configuration as they don't need to make any changes to it based on conference matchups in the first round.

APU is probably the biggest wildcard in the group, as they play another regionally ranked opponent, on the road, which might impact their seeding with either a win or a loss. It would seem the committee has been very favorable so far to the MIAA, while also showing some favor to the NSIC, much less so to the GAC and very little to the GNAC. I'd fully assumed that Central Washington (6-2 record in-region) would be on the 10-line, so I was a bit surprised to see AU pop up there. Furthermore I figured BSU would be ahead of Augustana, due to common opponents, the Beavers beating MSU, who beat the Vikings.

Mineral Water Bowl
Looking again at the criteria for the MWB, it appears the selection of the NSIC representative would go a few layers deep.

Tie-Breaker
a. A divisional champion with a 6-5 record or greater, not selected for NCAA Division II Playoffs.
b. Best overall NSIC record.
c. Head-to-head.
d. Common opponent.
e. Rose Bowl Rule.
f. Lowest defensive average.
g. Coin flip.

Keep in mind, nothing is official and the selection of the MWB team has not been made yet. It's their call, not mine. However, at the moment there are four teams in the NSIC with three losses..BSU, AU, MSU, and WSU. The 4 teams haven't all played each other. In looking at the common opponents, they all played UIU, WSC, and USF. All of them beat UIU and WSC, and lost to USF. As I see it, assuming that UMD makes the playoffs (if not, they get the bid), after losing a week ago BSU is in the lead for the MWB bid since they haven't been since 2006, while all the other teams have played in the game since.