2017 UMAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. St. Scholastica – 73 points ( 3 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern – 72 points ( 5 First Place Votes)
3. MacMurray – 61 points
4. Eureka – 54 points (2 First Place Votes)
5. Westminster – 49 points
6. Greenville – 41 points
7. Crown – 35 points
8. Minnesota Morris – 30 points
9. Iowa Wesleyan – 21 points
10. Martin Luther – 14 points
1. St. Scholastica – 73 points ( 3 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern – 72 points ( 5 First Place Votes)
3. MacMurray – 61 points
4. Eureka – 54 points (2 First Place Votes)
5. Westminster – 49 points
6. Greenville – 41 points
7. Crown – 35 points
8. Minnesota Morris – 30 points
9. Iowa Wesleyan – 21 points
10. Martin Luther – 14 points
You can follow the link to get the full article, which included key match-ups and team previews. Here are a few thoughts I had on the poll and article, along with quick week one reviews:
St. Scholastica has been the team to beat basically since the UMAC began receiving an automatic playoff bid in 2011. They have won the conference 4/6 years (tied in 2012, NW was champ last year) and been in the top 3 all 6 years. Last year, however, they were beat out by Northwestern and Eureka, who ironically ended up facing off for the championship in the last season game of the year. Now, I'm not gonna be "that guy" who says CSS is off their game, but they certainly can't take any breaks this season. They got walloped by No. 10 ranked St. Johns University in week one, which I think we all saw coming; what we didn't see coming was the final score. 98-0 is embarrassing, but I can tell you that any other UMAC team would have suffered the same fate or worse. They are still the favorite, as seen in the coaches poll, but we have seen some good football from some different teams in the UMAC - last year, and already this season.
Northwestern took home the conference championship by defeating Eureka in the final game of the season. They had some stellar defensive play last year, and need to repeat that in order to stay on top. While they weren't able to take down Augsburg in week one like they did in 2016, they're hoping to ride their defense to a flock of wins this year (see what I did there? Flock...Eagles? No? K.). Northwestern has deep roots in the origins of UMAC history, as they have been a member of the conference going all the way back to 1974, with 15 conference championships (including ties) under their belt. While last years was the only one (so far) in the current DIII playoff bid era, they look to add to that impressive pedigree.
MacMurray has been a historically mediocre football team, which has been credited to its small enrollment. As of late, though, they have been on the up and up. They have steadily improved from a dismal campaign in 2013 (0-10) to be third in the conference last year (8-2) and remain a top competitor in the UMAC behind fantastic Sr. RB Chazz Middlebrook, who was the 2nd leading rusher in Division III football last year with 1,703 yards and 18 touchdowns. They beat Rockford University in week one 22-14, in which Chazz started off the year with a bang, rushing for 288 yards on 39 carries and scoring 3 touchdowns. I know this is a week one review, but the guy has 734 yards through the first 3 games. He's on pace to get 2,447 yards, which wouldn't even be a DIII record; he's gotta pick up the pace if he wants to get over 2,790. MacMurray will be tough with Chazz leading the charge.
Eureka was in the mix for the conference championship last year as well, and received a few first place votes in the coaches poll. Eureka hopes to go out on top with guns blazing, as they announced that due to travel costs this would be their last season in the UMAC. This is sad news, as they are a really good fit in this conference. The UMAC will move on as a 9-team conference for the time being, though I have heard rumors of a few teams that may land themselves in Eureka's stead. In week one, Eureka had a 21-7 lead over Knox but couldn't stymie a comeback in the final quarter and ended up taking the loss, 28-21. While Knox hasn't been particularly good, they did win their week two game as well, so it begs the question; what does this tell us about Eureka? Does Eureka have a shot at the conference title? Only time will tell.
Westminster is a team that is really hard to pin down. While they can play with the best in the conference at times, there are also times where they play down to their opponents level. They can always throw a monkey wrench into the predictions. While it will take some solid play for them to break into the upper echelon of teams in the UMAC, they seem to have the potential to do it. They played a difficult MIAC opponent in week one, Gustavus Adolphus College, who has been pretty tough in recent years. The final score wasn't what they wanted (38-0), so they have much to improve on just like everyone else. They will likely rely on Sr. RB Latif Adams, who has been a solid player for a few years now, receiving UMAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2nd team all-conference in 2016.
Greenville had a down year last year, only defeating Crown and Martin Luther, and took a shellacking at the hands of Millikin in week one (76-3). While that game obviously doesn't mean a whole lot when it comes to UMAC play (see: week three), it still says something when somebody scores 76 points on you. Maybe that happened because the 2016 UMAC Defensive Player of the Year Nicholas Morrow is now playing for the Oakland Raiders instead of the Panthers. Greenville hopes to get back on their own track and compete to be at the top of the UMAC once again. They will look to So. QB George Harris to continue growing to lead the offense.
Crown had a tough season last year, staying close in most of their games but only being able to pull out victories against Martin Luther and Morris. They faced an up-and-coming MIAC opponent in Hamline, and took a beating to the tune of 51-0. Crown had a stretch of 4-6 seasons from 2013-15 where they looked poised to step forward, but last year seemed at least on the surface to be a step back. They look to gain back that ground this year with the help of Jr. DL Tyler Byrd and several other experienced defenders.
Minnesota Morris was somewhat of a surprise last year, going 5-0 at home en route to a 6-4 record good for 5th in the conference. They were able to stay pretty close in all of their games and upset St. Scholastica at the Big Cat, so I would say it was a successful season. My guess is that this drop in the preseason ranking has to do with the unexpected loss of their head coach, who opted to take the head coaching job at Occidental College and leave Morris with two head coaches (hmm...really?). They had a bright spot in their week one loss to Martin Luther (14-7), as their So. LB/P Drew Shipley earned UMAC ST Player of the Week by punting 7 times for 291 yards, an average of 41.6, and downing 4 of those punts inside the 20. Shipley had a solid year as an LB last year as well, the future looks bright for this kid.
Iowa Wesleyan has had a rocky start since their admittance to the UMAC in 2013, with only one winning season (2014). They look to change that this year by leaning on experienced defenders, Sr. DL Christian Henriksen and So. DB Joseph Mosely. Iowa Wesleyan was yet another UMAC team that took a big L in week one, falling to Cornell 62-25. In their lone winning season, they only experienced losses from the stronger UMAC opponents in St. Scholastica, Northwestern, and Greenville, and non-conference opponent Simpson to take 4th in the conference. They look to get some of that magic back this year and pull some upsets.
Martin Luther had their worst season in the current UMAC era, going winless and hopeless; the closest game they played was a non-conference game against Maranatha Baptist in which they lost 20-7. Well, you know what they say about rock bottom; there's nowhere to go but up. And up they went, surpassing their 2016 win total in week one of 2017 by defeating Morris 14-7. In past years, Martin Luther has been a wild card of sorts, as their offense has been like a box of chocolates; you never really know what you're gonna get. MLC is always hoping that it gives them an advantage, and a win isn't a shabby way to start off the year. In fact, Martin Luther and MacMurray were the only UMAC teams to take home the W in week one. MLC will be looking to build momentum off their week one win and put together a competitive season.
Crown had a tough season last year, staying close in most of their games but only being able to pull out victories against Martin Luther and Morris. They faced an up-and-coming MIAC opponent in Hamline, and took a beating to the tune of 51-0. Crown had a stretch of 4-6 seasons from 2013-15 where they looked poised to step forward, but last year seemed at least on the surface to be a step back. They look to gain back that ground this year with the help of Jr. DL Tyler Byrd and several other experienced defenders.
Minnesota Morris was somewhat of a surprise last year, going 5-0 at home en route to a 6-4 record good for 5th in the conference. They were able to stay pretty close in all of their games and upset St. Scholastica at the Big Cat, so I would say it was a successful season. My guess is that this drop in the preseason ranking has to do with the unexpected loss of their head coach, who opted to take the head coaching job at Occidental College and leave Morris with two head coaches (hmm...really?). They had a bright spot in their week one loss to Martin Luther (14-7), as their So. LB/P Drew Shipley earned UMAC ST Player of the Week by punting 7 times for 291 yards, an average of 41.6, and downing 4 of those punts inside the 20. Shipley had a solid year as an LB last year as well, the future looks bright for this kid.
Iowa Wesleyan has had a rocky start since their admittance to the UMAC in 2013, with only one winning season (2014). They look to change that this year by leaning on experienced defenders, Sr. DL Christian Henriksen and So. DB Joseph Mosely. Iowa Wesleyan was yet another UMAC team that took a big L in week one, falling to Cornell 62-25. In their lone winning season, they only experienced losses from the stronger UMAC opponents in St. Scholastica, Northwestern, and Greenville, and non-conference opponent Simpson to take 4th in the conference. They look to get some of that magic back this year and pull some upsets.
Martin Luther had their worst season in the current UMAC era, going winless and hopeless; the closest game they played was a non-conference game against Maranatha Baptist in which they lost 20-7. Well, you know what they say about rock bottom; there's nowhere to go but up. And up they went, surpassing their 2016 win total in week one of 2017 by defeating Morris 14-7. In past years, Martin Luther has been a wild card of sorts, as their offense has been like a box of chocolates; you never really know what you're gonna get. MLC is always hoping that it gives them an advantage, and a win isn't a shabby way to start off the year. In fact, Martin Luther and MacMurray were the only UMAC teams to take home the W in week one. MLC will be looking to build momentum off their week one win and put together a competitive season.
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