Week 8 Chat

[Tundra_Man]

Southwest Minnesota State at Wayne State (12:00)
Minot State at Upper Iowa (12:00)
Minnesota State-Mankato at Augustana (1:00)
Minnesota-Duluth at Bemidji State (1:00)
Minnesota State-Moorhead at Mary (2:00)
Sioux Falls at Winona State (2:00)
Concordia-St. Paul at Northern State (6:00)

Wow, lots of great matchups this week! The only fairly easy picks I'm seeing are Concordia @ Northern and SMSU @ Wayne. The other games all look to be very competitive and could go either way. Even Minot at Upper Iowa looks like a pretty even contest, and guarantees one of them won't end the season winless.

[MrMustang]

separation week up and down the standings, both divisions too will get some clarity

[Purple Mav Man]

I would assume Minot is leaving right now in order to get to Fayette in time for Saturdays game :) 690 miles and 11+ hours on a bus…sounds fun

[WPHB]

I am gonna say that Winona and USF is the game of the week. Will be interesting to see if Winona is legit and if USF will put together a complete game. If they do play a complete game, could be a long day for Winona. Good news/bad news for Winona is they get both USF and Augustana at home but in back-to-back weeks. Bemidji v. Duluth game looks really good too!

[Thunder]

The confidence pick em is tough this week! I ended up giving 5 points to a one win Mary squad. I think Duluth-Bemidji is the best game this week, that one should be a barnburner. Mankato-Augie should also be a good game. Mankato isn't the fire breathing dragon of years past, but they still know how to stay in and win games. I think USF got their wake-up call last weekend in Bismarck. I expect the Coo to go to Winona and run over the Warriors with Reisdorfer and Freeman.

[Otis Day]

I would assume Minot is leaving right now in order to get to Fayette in time for Saturdays game :) 690 miles and 11+ hours on a bus…sounds fun

This game is begging for a trophy or something. So many possibilities here....

Beavers vs. Cocks (I mean, come on). Longest conference roadtrip. Unique color schemes (Christmas and two tone blue).

[BulldogFan]

Duluth @ Bemidji should be a good one. Duluth has to close out perfect and it will be tough playing 4 out of their last 5 on the road. Olson went out last game with a hand injury so not sure if he will be back this week. Walljasper came in and actually threw the ball quite well, could be dangerous combined with his running. Also will need to sort out K this week if Cox cant go. He left early in the game after getting what looked like a concussion. He did make a TD savings tackle though.

[Otis Day]

I really hope Thunder is right and last week was USF's wake-up call. This staff hasn't gained my full confidence in the past 5 years as far as dropping random games, Saturday didn't help that. Though this game is even in bigger PO implications and standings wise.

WSU has been a thorn in the Coo's side since joining the NSIC (USF 4 - WSU 5). Taking nothing for granted as a fan right now. WSU looked pretty good against SMSU. Road trip makes a me a little nervous but if the Coo play to their potential, they should be able to pull ahead late.

[Purple Mav Man]

This game is begging for a trophy or something. So many possibilities here....

Beavers vs. Cocks (I mean, come on). Longest conference roadtrip. Unique color schemes (Christmas and two tone blue).

You never know what’s going to happen when the Beavers and Cocks…come together. Should be a good old fashioned smash fest. I just hope it doesn’t get sloppy.

There, I’m good now.

And yes, some type of trophy. But what?….

[NSU4LIFE]

This game is begging for a trophy or something. So many possibilities here....

Beavers vs. Cocks (I mean, come on). Longest conference roadtrip. Unique color schemes (Christmas and two tone blue).

Minot needs yo keep those throwback greens from last week. Those were great

[Purple Mav Man]

I am gonna say that Winona and USF is the game of the week. Will be interesting to see if Winona is legit and if USF will put together a complete game. If they do play a complete game, could be a long day for Winona. Good news/bad news for Winona is they get both USF and Augustana at home but in back-to-back weeks. Bemidji v. Duluth game looks really good too!

Mavs have a similar schedule, but in Sioux Falls for both games. At Augie Saturday and at Sioux Falls the following week

[WPHB]

Not to mention that the Mavs have to finish up against a pretty tough Winona squad at the end of the year. If Mavs can win at least one of the games in SF, that Winona game "could" have playoff implications depending on how Winona weathers the next two weeks. Kinda cool in my first true NSIC year to see how the playoff implications depend on so many different outcomes.

[Thunder]

I was kind of surprised to see Inkbot's regional rankings this week have 7 of the 10 teams from the NSIC. Things will definitely sort themselves out a little in the last 4 weeks with some big games. The NSIC does seemed destined to have 3 teams in the playoffs. I would be shocked to see 4 get in. The top 2 teams (maybe top 3) are from the LSC (Angelo, maybe TAMU-Kingsville) and RMAC (Colorado Mines) but the NSIC has a strong group behind them.

[Purple Mav Man]

Not to mention that the Mavs have to finish up against a pretty tough Winona squad at the end of the year. If Mavs can win at least one of the games in SF, that Winona game "could" have playoff implications depending on how Winona weathers the next two weeks. Kinda cool in my first true NSIC year to see how the playoff implications depend on so many different outcomes.

With two losses already, and one of them to Northern, the Mavs have to win out to make the playoffs. Count me as beyond shocked if they do that. I see them going 2-2 to finish out. They are in desperate need of playmakers after losing Gunn and Zylstra in 2019. Along with their QB situation. And let’s not forget the always fragile pass defense. In years previous, you just couldn’t run on the Mavs, but you could always hurt them via the pass if you gave your QB time. Some teams could and would beat them. Now it seems, every team can stop the Mavs pass rush and hurt them through the air. So there’s your fix…just, oh, 5-8 players away :) I’m confident they’ll get back there again, but it’s been a painful process as a fan.

[Winona Warrior]

Southwest Minnesota State at Wayne State (12:00)
Minot State at Upper Iowa (12:00)
Minnesota State-Mankato at Augustana (1:00)
Minnesota-Duluth at Bemidji State (1:00)
Minnesota State-Moorhead at Mary (2:00)
Sioux Falls at Winona State (2:00)
Concordia-St. Paul at Northern State (6:00)

Wow, lots of great matchups this week! The only fairly easy picks I'm seeing are Concordia @ Northern and SMSU @ Wayne. The other games all look to be very competitive and could go either way. Even Minot at Upper Iowa looks like a pretty even contest, and guarantees one of them won't end the season winless.

It's like the first week of playoffs with most of these match ups. If you can win Three of the last Four games with the teams 5-2 or better have a good chance of making playoffs. Its also that time of the year where the healthiest teams will win. I agree the match ups are exciting and that is what makes this conference so unpredictable and competitive.