And so we conclude the final hours during which each Mountain East Conference team is undefeated. The season begins with three games on opening night, an out-of-conference matchup Friday evening and the final two games on Saturday.



WV State at Charleston

The Yellow Jackets have their shortest commute of the season as they open just down the road against the Golden Eagles. Coach Pennington double his team's win total in his first season as head coach; sporting one of the top offenses in the conference. They finished 2017 ranked 2nd in Scoring, Total Yards, Passing and 1st Downs. They were best in the conference in Third-Down Conversions converting on a little over 50%. WV State just needs to get over the hurdle of defeating the top teams in the conference, but they're close--their worse loss last season was 15 points to Shepherd.

Hoping to stop the WV State's offense is the University of Charleston who fielded one of the toughest defenses in the Conference. The Golden Eagles ranked 2nd in Scoring and Total Yards; and they had the MEC's best rushing defense.

An interesting matchup will be Charleston's ground game which ranked 2nd in the MEC, while the Yellow Jackets' rushing defense ranked last in the conference. Without seeing what each team has to offer this season, I'll go with WV State who seems to be a team on the rise.

WV State 32
Charleston 21



West Liberty @ Urbana

Urbana seeks consistency after hot and cold streaks throughout 2017. They opened 2017 with a pair of 3-point losses (21-24 against West Liberty in week 1), but closed the season with a pair of victories--scoring 36 points in each.

West Liberty struggled on offense last season. They had difficulty maintaining control of the football last season finishing -7 in turnover margin (an 11 turnover drop from 2016). Their offense scored 8 points per game less, 52 total yards less per game, 42 passing yards per game less, 10 rushing yards per game less, and 30 less first downs.

While West Liberty came away the victor in last year's matchup, the Hilltoppers failed to win a single away game. Last year's home team won, the same happens in 2018.

Urbana 30
West Liberty 22



Glenville State @ UVA-Wise

The Cavaliers followed up their 2016 Cinderella season with one less win. Like West Liberty, ball control was a problem as they ranked last in the MEC in turnover margin at -9, seven worse from the previous season. Glenville State was on the opposite side of the spectrum, +8 in turnover margin. That being said, 4-out-of-6 of UVA-Wise's losses were within a one-possession score. They scored at least 10 points more than each opponent when they won.

Turnovers aside, which can often be a result of a lucky bounces and unfortunate breaks, this is a fairly even matchup. I'm not sure if the Pioneers enjoy playing on the road, or just have too many distractions at home, because 3-of-their-4 wins last season happened at away games. I would be inclined to go with that, but the ultimate flip-of-the-coin is for some reason I already picked UVA-Wise in the MEC Pick 'Em.

UVA-Wise 24
Glenville State 20



Fairmont State @ Stonehill

The Fighting Falcons make quite the trek as they head up to New England to open the season against the Stonehill College Skyhawks. Fairmont State continues to produce as one of the top teams in the conference. They tied with Notre Dame College at 8-3 last season, following a 2016 season during which they earned a long-awaited playoff spot. Their defense was among the best in the conference, ranking 1st in Scoring, Total Yards and Passing Yards, 2nd in Turnover Margin and 3rd in Rushing defense.

Stonehill finished the season 6-4. They opened the season with a 44-28 win over a solid Bloomsburg University team, but many of their remaining wins were over many of the weaker programs in the Northeast-10 conference.

Fairmont State will likely not take Stonehill for granted though. The Fighting Falcons' playoff hopes were significantly dimmed following an opening week upset loss to East Stroudsburg--a historically-weak PSAC-East team. East Stroudsburg went on to finish 3-8 last year.

Despite the lengthy road trip, Fairmont State gets off to a much better start this year.

Fairmont State 42
Stonehill 17



Shepherd at Notre Dame College

The Rams enter their final season in the Mountain East Conference; having accepted an invitation to join the PSAC next year. They seek to end their tenure in the conference just as they started it--as conference champions. Shepherd was crowned MEC champion in all but one season. This latest quest however, begins without a veteran head coach or a veteran quarterback. Legendary Head Coach Mote Cater retired, but long-time assistant and Offensive Coordinator Ernie McCook begins his reign. Last season, McCook's offense ranked 1st in Scoring, Total Yards, Passing Yards and First Downs, 2nd in Third-Down Conversions and 3rd in Rushing Offense. While the defense saw a drop off, it's not too bad itself ranking 1st in Sacks, 2nd in Rushing Defense and 3rd in Total Defense. The Rams' only loss last season came in the playoffs against the Findlay Oilers.

Looking forward to the challenge is the Notre Dame Falcons. A top team in the MEC in their own right, I contend that a win against Indianapolis in the final week of the season would have propelled them into the playoffs. Head Coach Mike Jacobs has finished 9-2 and 8-3 during his first two seasons leading the Falcons. While their stats may not be as flashy, the Falcons find a way to win. For the most part, they kept pace last season in their opening week loss on the road 49-54. An upset loss against WV Wesleyan in the middle of the season put a damper on their playoff chances, but the knocked off fellow MEC tough team Fairmont State 19-14; proving they can win the tough ones and keep pace with the high-scoring affairs.

It's a great matchup to watch, one that you'd almost like to see a little later in the season. It's certainly a tough test for both teams right out of the gate; and I probably said it last year--it's a shame one of these schools has to open the season with a loss. Shepherd will try its best behind true freshman quarterback Tyson Bagent, but you have to go with the top until someone knock them off their conference perch.

Shepherd 42
Notre Dame 33



Concord @ WV Wesleyan

Don't look now, but WV Wesleyan may be a team on the rise. The Bobcats have steadily improved in the win column over the past three seasons (2-8, 4-7, 5-6). They upset Notre Dame College and played some FCS competition when they took on Duquesne.

The punters may see a lot of action in this one. WV Wesleyan is ranked 10th in many offensive categories while Concord ranks 11th.

WV Wesleyan's better-ranked defense and three additional wins enough to convince me they leave the first week of play tied for the conference lead, undefeated at 1-0.

WV Wesleyan 22
Concord 17





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