Week Five Picks

We've got some good matchups this week. Just looking at the surface level, I see only one game that I'm fairly confident of the outcome. There are two games that could influence the conference standings in terms of championship running and another two that will most likely be hard-fought games to earn their team some respect.

Martin Luther at Westminster - This is going to be a good one. Martin Luther has a pretty potent offense, and from what I've read so far Westminster seems to play to their opponents level. If that's the case, we could have a barn-burner on our hands. I've bet against Martin Luther the last few weeks, and they gave me the bird each time, so I'm rolling with the Knights. I'm guessing it will be a high scoring affair, with Martin Luther coming out on top, 42-35.

MacMurray at Greenville - What seems to be a no-brainer could be more of a legitimate game than MacMurray is hoping for. The last time Greenville was at home, they pulled off an upset against what is possibly the best defense in the UMAC, and MacMurray didn't handle Iowa Wesleyan with ease last week. MacMurray needs to keep their head on a swivel so they aren't blindsided this week. With that said, I'm still going with the UMAC-leading and top 5 DIII nationwide offense in MacMurray, but it could be closer that we think. MacMurray wins 28-17.

St. Scholastica at Northwestern - Here's my game of the week. St. Scholastica is (as I've said repeatedly over the first half of the season) still the team to beat until someone proves otherwise, and Northwestern needs to win this if they hope to salvage the season with dreams of a UMAC championship. This is a pretty even matchup on paper; St. Scholastica has a decent offense and a mediocre defense, and Northwestern has a great defense and a terrible offense. We could be in for an exciting game. I'm guessing there won't be much scoring though; I'm picking St. Scholastica in another Northwestern-themed defensive battle, 21-17.

Eureka at Iowa Wesleyan - Now here's a game that I'm decently certain that I can predict the outcome of. Eureka has proven to be a tough opponent, with their only conference hiccup coming week two against Northwestern. They can still remain in the running for conference champs, but they need to hope for an upset or two or secure one for themselves. I'd say they're pretty safe in this one though; while Iowa Wesleyan has been able to put points on the board, they're still a middle-of-the-road team that needs to prove themselves with a few statement wins. Eureka will knock off Iowa Wesleyan easily, 38-14.

Crown at Minnesota Morris - Both of these teams are desperate for a win, which will really make this an interesting game. Minnesota Morris has been terrible on the offensive side of the ball, and only mediocre on the defensive side. Crown has been able to drive the ball, but the question remains; are they able to finish and put points on the board? Their defense has been straight-up bad, last in the conference in scoring defense and second-to-last in yardage. Both of these teams haven't been able to show much yet this year, so this is an important game for both of them. I think Crown will start to get back on track with a win this week, 34-17.

Now that the UMAC standings are beginning to be shaped and molded, it is really interesting to watch the happenings in the conference. There are still several very important games that have yet to be played, which bodes well for us fascinated DIII football fans. I will be at the Crown-Morris game and tweeting updates, along with retweeting updates from other games around the conference on Saturday. Hold onto your butts, UMAC fans; half the season is nearly over.