The non-league portion of the GLIAC schedule is over, and on the whole the league fared quite well. For many fans, how these games will impact the "overall strength" of the league is what they're following...especially in regards to how it might impact the playoff-worthiness of teams that are in that discussion in November. Tiffin played an NAIA club (game doesn't count in the NCAA's eyes), and the HC/FSU and UF/NU games cancel each other out (one win, one loss in each...wash). Outside of that, the GLIAC was 7-1...some of those games weren't "in-region" so they don't help as much, but overall this is a good result. Special kudos to Tech and Northern for helping the league post 2-0 against the NSIC, the biggest competitor with the GLIAC for SuperRegion 3 playoff spots. Their wins don't guarantee anything, but they absolutely can help if the committee needs an additional reference point when selecting who makes the bracket.

As for the games themselves, here are a few notes:

Bloomsburg 27, Ashland 20

The Ashland offense had trouble getting things rolling in the first half, due in part to an injury to running back D.J. McCoy. Add in a couple of special teams miscues, and Bloom had a 17-0 lead at the end of three. The Eagles then fought back to tie it, only to have another pair of special teams gaffes set up short fields and ten more Husky points. Taylor Housewright struggled a bit running the offense, but it seemed to have as much to do with his receiving corps being inexperienced. True freshman Jordan McCune had 77 yards and a pair of scores filling in for McCoy, but it paled in comparison to Franklin Quiteh's 144 yards and a score on the ground for BU.

Grand Valley 44, Western Oregon 20

Offensively, the Lakers did enough to get things done. Heath Parling was solid in his first start tossing three touchdown passes, including a pair to Charles Johnson in his first action as a Laker. More importantly, Grand Valley's defense appeared a bit more stout that it did in the early part of 2010. Western Oregon was limited to a pair of field goals against GV's starting defense, and the Lakers registered five sacks and fourteen tackles for loss after spending a large portion of the evening in the Wolves' backfield.

Lake Erie 13, Gannon 10

Despite being without the services of quarterback Sean Bedevelsky (long story, we'll talk about that in my next post), The Storm still managed to overcome four turnovers and a ten-point deficit to get the win. Brendan Gallagher was solid in Bedevelsky's stead, hitting on 20 or 28 for 199 yards and a score. The larger story was LEC's defense, which struggled through most of 2010 but was a force in this one. Gannon only managed a field goal via their offense, which is a far cry from the 40 points per game LEC yielded last year. It's only one game, but it sure is a step in the right direction.

Northern Michigan 31, Minnesota State 24

The Huskies prevailed in a great battle at the SuperiorDome, that saw these two clubs battle back-and-forth throughout. The 'Cats broke a 24-24 tie late in the fourth on Carter Kopach's second touchdown pass of the game, and the Northern defense got a last-minute interception in their own end zone to seal it. In addition to 13 of 19 passing for 147 yards passing, Kopach also led the Northern ground attack with 80 yards. As I mentioned last week, he's THAT important to their offense and 'Cat fans have to be thrilled that he's back.

Indianapolis 41, Kentucky Wesleyan 0

As expected, this one was never close. Kentucky Wesleyan was thoroughly overmatched and the UIndy defense was dominant, including not allowing KWC any deeper than the Greyhound 26 yard line...and that was late in the fourth against the UIndy reserves. Chris Mills was more than solid under center, completing 13 of 20 for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

Malone 40, Tiffin 34 - 2OT

The Dragons fought through a seesaw affair in Canton, but fell short in their bid to knock off Malone for the second straight year. James Capello's first start at quarterback for Tiffin was an eventful one, as the transfer notched 300 yards passing with three touchdowns in addition to his 52 yards and a score rushing. Unfortunately, he was also sacked four times and tossed four interceptions. Some of those kinks can get worked out, but what has to be most concerning for Dragon fans was the 272 rushing yards TU allowed...not a good sign, as the 304 per game they gave up on the ground last year was a major issue.

Ferris State 20, Hillsdale 17

The Bulldog defense generated two key turnovers in their own end to stop Hillsdale drives, and those takeaways turned the tides of a ten-point lead Hillsdale had built in the third quarter. The ground games dominated play...Joe Glendening led Hillsdale with 153 yards and a TD, but was upstaged by a brilliant performance from FSU's Skyler Stoker. Stoker registered 162 yards and two TD's on only 16 carries.

Ohio Dominican 32, St. Joseph's 20

Ohio Dominican trailed at the end of one, but put together a 92-yard drive in the second (the first of two such drives on the day) to take the lead for good. Mike Noffsinger became the Panthers' all-time leading rusher with his 117-yard, two touchdown performance.

Wayne State 69, Urbana 24

Urbana hit for an 86-yard touchdown pass on the second play from scrimmage in an effort to make things interesting. Wayne then proceeded to be "less-than-gracious" as hosts, scoring 35 unanswered points after Urbana's opening salvo and finishing with a school-record 69 on the day. Several Warriors had big days, including wide-out Troy Burrell who caught two of quarterback Mickey Mohner's four touchdown passes. Josh Renel found the end zone twice on the ground for Wayne as a part of their 302 yards rushing on the afternoon.

Northwood 14, Findlay 10

Early morning rain made the field at Hantz a bit sloppy...and the play seemed to follow suit. Monterae Williams ran for 144 yards for Findlay, but could not help the Oilers find the scoreboard often enough despite their crossing mid-field on seven of their ten possessions. Tim Zabawa ran for both of Northwood's touchdowns.

Michigan Tech 23, Winona State 6

The Tech defense was the story as they forced four WSU turnovers, registered five sacks, and held the Warriors to 48 rushing yards. Tyler Scarlett was more than solid in his debut at quarterback, hitting on 21 of 28 for 199 yards, a TD, and an INT. Akeem Cason scored both of Tech's touchdowns and Garret Mead was 3/3 on FG's, including a 42-yarder.