The Way-Too-Early 2018 Preview

Due to Eureka moving on to the NACC, the UMAC will be a nine-team conference until further notice. UMAC teams will probably end up finding two non-conference games, which really isn't a bad thing. Unless those teams are MIAC teams; then we're in trouble. I'm assuming a few of the Illinois teams will keep Eureka on the schedule as one of those non-conference games, but I doubt Eureka would accept contracts to play Minnesota/Iowa teams if they can help it, as the reason they cited leaving the UMAC was due to travel costs. It is obviously wayyyyy too early to tell anything about the 2018 season, but here's how I could see 2018 panning out:

1. St. Scholastica
2. MacMurray
3. Northwestern
4. Martin Luther
5. Greenville
6. Westminster
7. Minnesota-Morris
8. Crown
9. Iowa Wesleyan

I think St. Scholastica will take back the reigns on the UMAC, until MacMurray or another team can prove that they are a perennial contender. Here's my reasons why each team is ranked the way they are:

St. Scholastica may have lost a few important pieces, but they return sophomore QB Zach Edwards, who led the UMAC in all passing categories and even was ranked in the top 20 in the nation in passing efficiency for part of the year. While senior WR Hunter Thompson will not return, junior WR Aaron Olson will, who led the UMAC with 22.6 yards per catch and was second in the UMAC in receiving yards with 770 and in TD receptions with 10. I think St. Scholastica will have a good enough returning core to pick up the slack from this year. 

MacMurray showed that they are the real deal this year, even though they were bounced out of the title race by Eureka. The real hit they will take next year is the loss of senior RB Chazz Middlebrook, who up until injury struck was the #1 RB in the UMAC and top 3 in the nation. Here's why I put St. Scholastica just slightly above MacMurray: when Chazz was involved in the gameplan, the Highlanders averaged 247.6 rushing yards per game, and without him, they averaged 85.3. Junior RB Marquez Ellison will have to pick up the slack next year, but they do return junior QB Nathan Randall and sophomore WR Demetrius Curry, who will still be effective offensively. Honestly I think MacMurray is right there and I would not be surprised if they duked it out with St. Scholastica for the title next year.

Northwestern graduates a huge class of very experienced seniors. Honestly, the only reason I have them placed so high is I have a hard time seeing any other team supplanting them. If their offense does not improve, they could certainly end up further down the list, especially as they will lose several defensive starters. Their defense may not be as dominant as it was this year due to the level of experience they will lose to graduation.

Martin Luther showed some spunk this year, and it will be interesting to see if they can break into the upper tier in the UMAC. This year was their first non-losing season since 2010, and they haven't been contenders for the UMAC title since 2009. They didn't lose many seniors, and the important ones they did lose were defensive backs. This means that their offense will only be better; their defense needs improvement anyways. I guess we'll find out if the Knights are the real deal in 2018, or if 2017 was just a fluke.

Greenville was a top offensive team in the UMAC this year, but their record wasn't really reflective of that fact. They lose senior RB Johnny Pruiett, who was the #3 RB in the UMAC this year, but will return QB George Harris, who threw for 1700 yards and 17 TDs. I think they will remain a top offensive team, the question will be if they can improve on defense and get those Ws. I see Martin Luther and Greenville as almost interchangeable in these standings.

Westminster will lose a tough trio in seniors Trent White (QB), Latif Adams (RB), and Chase Abbington (WR). Their defense was respectable as well this year, but because of the loss of these three who accounted for 90% of the Blue Jay offense (literally, I did the math), they will have to rebrand for 2018. That is the reason I have them a bit lower on the list; some new faces will have to step up for Westminster to take them places.

Now, these next three I pretty much just randomly chose. They were all pretty bad and had close games with each other this year, and I think it could be pretty similar in 2018. All of these teams are looking to bounce back like Martin Luther did from 2016, but they've got a ways to go.

Minnesota-Morris was pretty icky this year. They had some decent defense at times, but the offense was horrid. Luckily they lose only 4 seniors, so they have the offseason to build the numbers. If sophomore QB Justin Masloski can help improve the offense and sophomore LB Drew Shipley can commandeer the defense, perhaps they can bust out of the funk that was 2017.

Crown had a few promising offensive moments, but their defense wasn't able to keep them in many games. They need to improve that defense, because their offense was right on the cusp of average. They only graduate 6 seniors, but two of them are starting offensive lineman, which may set back the offensive growth. It will probably help to have a dependable QB, which they will hope freshman Luke Lithander will grow into.

Iowa Wesleyan had another "Iowa Wesleyan-ish" year; the offense was okay, and the defense was bad. The offense takes a hit by losing senior WRs Rodolfo Amezcua and Joshua Broadway, but the Tigers also don't graduate many seniors, so hopefully they will be able to bolster their numbers in the offseason. They will look to freshman QB Demarco Collins to take the reins next year, as he showed some flash in his first season.

Congratulations to all seniors and other players who finished up their eligibility on your final season, I hope it was enjoyable and you were able to make the most of it! I write this mostly for the players, because I remember being one and enjoying reading about my own team. I hope everyone has enjoyed my posts this year, I look forward to returning in 2018 to follow the UMAC once again! Keep following on Twitter and Facebook for updates regarding 2018 schedule and anything UMAC football related. Happy Thanksgiving!

2017 Season Review

The 2017 season has come and gone. We had a new UMAC champion who will never be one again, and a few teams and individuals who ended the season in the top 20 in the nation in certain areas. 2017 was one for the books, and 2018 is now up for grabs. Because Eureka will be leaving the conference, there will not be a repeat UMAC champ in 2018. Will St. Scholastica regain their iron grasp on the UMAC, or will some other team (ahem, MacMurray) battle them for the crown? Let's look back at each teams 2017 season, and see what they have to look forward to in 2018. Just for fun, lets start with the last place team and work our way up.


Crown - Poor, poor Crown. Crown's terrible defense this year (last in UMAC in scoring defense with 43.3 ppg and yardage with 455.6 ypg) led to their second 0-10 season in the UMAC era. While they showed some offensive flash at some points of the season, inconsistency led to the 8th ranked UMAC offense with only 17.2 ppg and 277.5 ypg, only slightly better than Northwestern and Minnesota-Morris. There have been years in the recent past where Crown's record has not shown how competitive that they can be, but this was not one of those years; only three of their games were lost by 14 points or less. Crown had only six seniors this year and they have a lot of young guns and a smaller roster, so if they can keep the guys they have while bringing in a decent recruiting class, they may be able to compete next year. Notable losses include starting OL Cody Bedlion (All-UMAC second team), Chris Larson, and DL Brian Howard. Rotating senior QB Ryan Synoground and junior Taylor Watkins will turn the reins over to freshman Luke Lithander, who started a few games at the back end of the 2017 season.


Minnesota Morris - Morris had a rough offensive year. If not for sophomore QB Justin Masloski ripping off a long TD run once in a while, they barely showed any life at all. Luckily for them, their defense wasn't completely awful, ranking 5th in the UMAC in scoring defense (28.6 ppg) and 7th in total yardage allowed (381.3 ypg). That defense was led by sophomore LB Drew Shipley, who led the UMAC in total tackles with 114, which was also good enough to tie for #12 in the nation. If they were able to show a little bit of offensive spark, they may have been able to turn the corner on a few close games this year to Martin Luther (twice), Northwestern, and Iowa Wesleyan, and their record could have been very different. Morris also presents a young and small roster, with only four seniors listed, which bodes well for co-head coaches Marty Hoffmann and Matthew Johnson if they are able to bring in a sizeable amount of recruits. Senior WR Taylor Holleman will be missed, along with senior DB Mitch Fischer, as they were solid contributors to their respective units.


Iowa Wesleyan - The Tigers haven't had a great run since going to NCAA DIII and the UMAC, with only one winning season (6-4 in 2013) in their time in the conference. They didn't fare much better this year, but I guess they aren't the first team I reviewed, so that's...something. Iowa Wesleyan has been known to be fairly efficient offensively, but lacking on the defensive side of things, and it was the same story this year; they ranked 6th in the UMAC in offense (23.9 ppg, 321.6 ypg) and 9th in defense (allowed 37.8 ppg, 449.6 ypg). The Tigers did pull it together and had a couple close games with Greenville and Westminster at the end of the year, but came up short and only were able to boast victories over Crown and Minnesota Morris. Iowa Wesleyan has only five seniors listed on their roster, but two of them are WRs Rodolfo Amezcua and Joshua Broadway, who played a huge part of the offense this year, with 73 receptions, 951 receiving yards, and 9 TDs between the two. Senior QB Alex Payne conceded the starting role to freshman DeMarco Collins during the season, who didn't put up huge numbers but showed some talent. Again I will say that if the Iowa Wesleyan coaching staff is able to gain a nice amount of recruits in the offseason, they should be able to be competitive in the future.


Greenville - The Panthers had a pretty stellar offensive season, ranking 4th in the UMAC in scoring offense (26.6 ppg) and 3rd in total offense (417.6 ypg). That last statistic was no doubt bolstered by the tremendous 811 yard effort against Iowa Wesleyan, but they were definitely proficient in most of their games, they just weren't able to come away with as many victories as they probably would have liked. While Greenville has perennially been one of the better teams in the UMAC since the establishment of the conference, in the past 3 years they have gone a combined 9-21. This year was an improvement from last year, however, so they have that to talk about. With an upset of Northwestern in week three that you could argue derailed the Eagles season and playing pretty tough against MacMurray, Eureka, and Westminster, you can hardly call this season a failure though. Greenville has 8 seniors; 3 of them starting offensive linemen, one of which was Steven Davis who was named to the 2017 All-UMAC first team. They will also lose senior RB Johnny Pruiett, who was the #3 RB in the UMAC with 948 rushing yards and 6 TDs and named to the 2017 All-UMAC second team. These losses may put a dent in their overall offensive experience level, but they are still left with some decent weapons for 2018.


Martin Luther - After an 0-10 season in 2016, the Knights came back to pull off a surprise 5-5 season this year, which earned head coach Mark Stein UMAC coach of the year honors. Martin Luther boasted a potent rushing offense this year (218.4 ypg), which kept them competitive in most of their games this year, and was good for #3 in the UMAC behind only Eureka and Greenville and also #38 in the nation. Their defense, however, wasn't up to the challenge and slunk to eighth in the UMAC, allowing 33.9 ppg and 391.4 ypg. The Knights were a true middle team this year, beating the bad teams but just not good enough to take out the good ones. They will hope to change that next year, as they only lose five seniors from this years squad. Three of those seniors roamed the defensive backfield with two of them (Josh VanDeylen and Nate Wong) combining for 94 tackles, and one anchored the defensive line (Jacob Schlomer) with 29 tackles and 3 TFL, so they will need to find replacements defensively but should be solid again offensively.


Westminster - This was a tough team to get a read on pretty much the whole year. Is it just me, or is that Westminster every year? They always seem to have the talent to be a good team, but lack consistency to take it to the next level. But I digress. Westminster finished off the year with an upset of MacMurray and an exciting overtime win over Iowa Wesleyan, remaining undefeated at home. Their only close loss was a tight one to Northwestern, and if they would have been able to pull that one out they could have ended with a respectable 7-3 record which would have put them at #4 in the UMAC. 6-4 still isn't terrible, but middle of the pack of a bad conference certainly doesn't earn you bragging rights. You could also argue that this could have been their year, as they had a great trio of seniors offensively in QB Trent White, RB Latif Adams and WR Chase Abbington who all earned All-UMAC honors with White placed on the first team and Adams and Abbington on the second team. Westminster graduates 9 seniors, 3 aforementioned, 2 OL and another WR, and 2 LBs and a DB who combined for 97 tackles, 8.5 TFL, and 4 interceptions. Westminster has the most experienced senior class, which may show a bit next year as some of the most important cogs will be missing.


Northwestern - The Eagles took a slight step back after earning the conference title in 2016, and finished with a 6-4 record and their 7th consecutive winning season. Fourth in the conference isn't too shabby, but for a team that has finished in the top three the past three seasons, it was a bit of a disappointment. They started off the year pretty strong by defeating Eureka, but followed that up with a loss at Greenville that shook up the conference standings early. The Eagles dropped to 2-4 after losses to St. Scholastica and MacMurray, but rattled off 4 straight wins to end the year on a high note. If it weren't for their stellar defense leading the UMAC in points allowed (16.1 per game) and being #3 in yards allowed (318.3 per game), they would have been much worse off, as the offense put up a paltry 17.1 ppg and 238 ypg, nearly last in the UMAC (ahem, Morris). Northwestern will part with a large class of seniors - 14 to be exact, which may put a damper on the overall experience level of the team. Six of those seniors were in the top 11 tacklers on the team and four of them received All-UMAC honors (Beau Walter, Gideon Burnham, Daniel Stratton with first-team, Ben Johnson with second-team), which may speak to the loss they will feel on the defensive side of the ball next year. That group also includes kicker Ben Lyons, who nailed a school record 54-yard FG, and OL Brian Doering, who both received All-UMAC second team honors. First-year head coach Matt Moore will have the task of replacing this talented group, which sounds like may include a bit of work.


St. Scholastica - The Saints go 7-3 again and miss out on the UMAC title for back-to-back seasons for the first time since the beginning of the automatic qualifying bid in 2011. St. Scholastica took a 98-0 drubbing from St. John's in week one, but came back and dominated up until the last few games of the year, where they took close losses to both Eureka and MacMurray. While they are probably disappointed that they couldn't close out the year with the championship, they will come back hungry for a title next year when Eureka is out of the picture. Turns out a dominant offense and an average defense will get you places; St. Scholastica used sophomore QB Zach Edwards to his full potential, as he led the Saints to the #2 scoring offense (34.9 ppg) and #1 passing offense (266.3 ypg) in a run-oriented conference. St. Scholastica has 9 seniors listed on their roster, and many of them were consistent contributors. Senior RB Jack Peru accounted for 413 rushing yards, 200 receiving yards, 3 TDs, and a kick return TD, and WR Hunter Thompson caught 30 passes for 684 yards and a UMAC leading 12 TD catches, which earned him All-UMAC first team honors. Three offensive linemen will depart an experienced group, including Elliot Simon who earned All-UMAC first team honors and Andy Lawrence who earned second team honors. They also will have to do without quite a defensive crew in 2018, including DL Jake Zoellick and DB Kenneth Jinkins, who both also earned All-UMAC first team honors.

MacMurray - The Highlanders looked to be the favorite early on, as they won seven in a row to start the year off with a bang. When the nation's leading rusher, senior RB Chazz Middlebrook exited the seventh game due to injury, it changed a few things, and not for the better. Even though junior RB Marquez Ellison was able to fill in adequately in the first game, the MacMurray running game took a huge hit and they were only able to scrape together 102 rushing yards over their next two games, their only losses on the year. Chazz was able to come back and put together a nice 111-yard effort in their final game, a win over St. Scholastica to keep them from sharing the conference crown, but the damage was done and MacMurray's hopes of taking the conference title were dashed. With the downtick in the offense over the last few games of the year, the MacMurray offense dropped to #2 in the UMAC in total offense behind Eureka (430.5 ypg) and #3 in scoring (31.3 ppg). Their defense remained solid, allowing only 20.2 ppg (#2 in UMAC) and 327.5 ypg (#4 in UMAC). MacMurray only lists 6 seniors on the roster, but 4 of them earned first-team All-UMAC honors, including Middlebrook, OL Jon Pollock, LB London Gulley, and DB Cory Farneti. MacMurray will hope to remain dominant and take advantage of Eureka's absence to capture their first conference crown in 2018.

Eureka - What can we say about the Red Devils that hasn't already been said? Junior RB LeAnthony Reasnover ran Eureka to a conference title on his way to UMAC Offensive Player of the Year, paving the way with 1,834 rushing yards (1st in UMAC, 2nd in nation) and 32 total TDs (1st in UMAC and nation). An outstanding offensive line led by Ryan Barth, the UMAC Most Valuable Lineman, made it all possible, along with only allowing three sacks all year. The Red Devils rolled to the top of the conference in scoring offense (39.3 ppg), total offense (432.2 ypg), and total defense (allowing 257.1 ypg) by being stellar on both sides of the ball. Eureka graduates the largest amount of seniors in the UMAC with 19, with notable losses including LB Chris Friend (All-UMAC first team), OL Mike Slingsby (All-UMAC first team), DL Trever Ziebert (All-UMAC first team), and DL Ray Vogel (All-UMAC second team). While they lose a large number of seniors, head coach Kurt Barth seems to have this program headed in the right direction, and they should remain competitive in their new conference, the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

Even though Eureka lost to #4 ranked St. Thomas 47-8 in the first round of the DIII playoffs, they represented the UMAC about as well as they possibly could have. They held the #10 offense in the nation to 397 yards, nearly 100 below their per game average (493.2). St. Thomas' nation-leading defense held Eureka to 155 total yards and stopped LeAnthony Reasnover in his tracks, holding him to 41 yards rushing and 76 total yards. Due to the ineffectiveness of the run game, Eureka was forced to pass, which is a little out of their comfort zone, as QBs Drew Barth and Nick Holman combined to go 14 for 28, 109 passing yards, a passing TD, and 2 interceptions. The 28 attempts were the second most Eureka had thrown in a game this year, as Reasnover gobbled up 44% of Eureka's total offensive touches and accounted for 46% of their total yardage over the course of the season. The 8 points scored by Eureka was the most points scored by a UMAC member in the DIII playoffs since St. Scholastica in a 70-13 loss to Bethel in 2013. It wasn't pretty, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it could have been. Hey, they didn't get held to a single yard of offense or give up 97 points, so...yeah.

With Eureka's departure, questions loom including a possible replacement team and who would fit in the conference, along with what the UMAC will do in the meantime. There have been colleges that have been thrown out there, including Carleton, who just finished an 0-10 season competing in the burly MIAC; Hamline, who was also in the MIAC and finished 2-8; and St. Olaf, who just got spanked 97-0 by St. Thomas in the last week of the season. The question remains if these teams would have any interest in joining the UMAC, but it may be logical for them to leave the perenially powerful MIAC to be a bit more competitive in the UMAC. I don't see that happening for a few years at least. The UMAC has been pretty fortunate to have 10 teams, as 18 of the 28 legit DIII conferences have less than 10 teams and only 2 conferences have more than 10 teams. The UMAC will retain their automatic qualifier with over six teams, so that's the important part, and it's why they will probably not seek out a replacement too hastily.

Another UMAC season is done, and there probably won't be a ton to write about in the offseason. I'll write up a little blurb on way-too-early predictions for next year, but probably won't be doing much after that. Check back with me next summer when the 2018 UMAC coaches poll comes out, and I will have some 2018 season previews ready to go for you! Thanks for reading throughout the year!

Eureka-St. Thomas Preview

Congratulations to Eureka on a successful season in their last year in the UMAC! As UMAC champions, your reward is...you get to play one of the top teams in the nation: St. Thomas!

I'm going to be brutally honest in this preview, so be prepared. First of all, I will say this: the Eureka Red Devils season ends on Saturday. You guys did great, awesome job, go get your rings sized, yada yada yada. Let's be real and tell it how it is though; Eureka doesn't stand a chance against the MIAC powerhouse. Yes, you had a great season; in the UMAC, perennially ranked one of the worst divisions in NCAA DIII football. This is not a David versus Goliath situation; this is a David's smallest, dinkiest sheep versus Goliath situation. Let's break it down a little bit.

First of all, here's a history lesson for you: the UMAC conference champion, since gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA DIII playoffs in 2011, is 0-6. Four of these losses have been to MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) opponents, while the other two were WIAC (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) opponents. These two conferences are basically the closest in mileage to most UMAC members (save for those lucky Illinois folks), which really does not bode well for the UMAC. The MIAC and WIAC are well known in DIII football for boasting many ranked teams year after year, and often have representatives playing into the semifinals and finals. Because the UMAC is such a weak conference (statistically - this is a UMAC blog, after all), they are often "seeded" in the bottom 2-3 spots in the DIII playoffs. I write seeded in quotations, because according to D3football.com, the NCAA DIII playoff selection committee does not openly admit to actually seeding teams; but they do. So anyways, because the MIAC and WIAC teams are often "seeded" pretty high in the playoffs and the UMAC teams are "seeded" pretty low, it seems reasonable that they meet up. Plus, the NCAA has a rule that if teams need to travel further than 500 miles that the NCAA will pay for travel, so you can bet your heiney that the NCAA will avoid long-distance matchups as much as possible. This makes it a roughly 75-90% chance that the UMAC champ will end up facing a MIAC or WIAC foe just about every year. As much as I would love to see any UMAC team do well in the playoffs, I'm afraid it's just not in the cards.

The next thing we look at are common opponents. St. Thomas didn't play anybody in the UMAC this year (thank goodness), but they did face a few MIAC foes who did. Everybody remembers the dreaded 98-0 drubbing that St. Scholastica took from St. John's, who is also in the DIII playoffs; St. Thomas beat St. John's 20-17. Remember Augsburg, who beat Northwestern 42-7 in week one? St. Thomas kicked their butts, 57-25. Northwestern beat Eureka, and St. Scholastica gave them a run for their money. Hamline beat Crown 51-0 in week one, and Gustavus Adolphus beat Westminster 38-0 in week one; St. Thomas beat Hamline 84-0 and beat Gustavus 58-7 (while only allowing 1 yard of total offense). While Eureka handled Crown and Westminster with ease, the St. Thomas scores are still alarming. All right, all right, the common opponent thing is depressing, we get it; let's move on.

Now, onto the actual matchup. You could make the case that Eureka had the 14th ranked defense in the nation, which I will agree, is impressive and they should be commended for it. Only giving up 257.1 yards per game is a feat that not many can boast of. Now let's take a look at the St. Thomas defense: oh my. They only allow 147.1 yards per game, good for #1 in the nation. For those of you that struggle with math, that's 110 yards per game less than Eureka's defense. St. Thomas is literally destroying offenses, as shown by the 4 shutouts they've pitched this year. But, we have LeAnthony Reasnover. He's gotta count for something, right? The MIAC's equivalent to Reasnover is Concordia-Moorhead's Chad Johnson, who ran for 1,262 yards and 17 TDs this year. Not an exact match, I grant you, but Johnson was held to only 55 yards against St. Thomas' defense. In fact, the most yards St. Thomas' defense has allowed to a single rusher was only 68 yards, by JT DenHartog of UW-Eau Claire in the first game of the season. Hmmm...doesn't look like a great matchup on paper, when you consider that Reasnover consisted of 46% of Eureka's total offense this year. Well...maybe Eureka's defense can keep up with St. Thomas' offense, you say? Let's take a look here...oh nope, that's not gonna work either, the Tommies have the #10 ranked overall offense in the nation as well, gaining 493.2 yards per game. They've topped 600 yards three times this year, and have topped 500 in their last four. Well, I'd say Eureka will have their hands full on both sides of the ball. That's the understatement of the year right there.

All of this isn't even considering the disparities between Eureka's opponents and St. Thomas' opponents. St. Thomas faced 2 top-25 ranked opponents (who are actually in their conference) and defeated them both, and the team that they lost to (UW-Stout) was ranked in the top-25 for 4 weeks after they defeated St. Thomas. UMAC opponents outside of the UMAC: historically laughable. Since the inception of the UMAC, the members have been 133-229 against non-conference opponents, which is only a 0.367 winning percentage. This just goes to show that at the least, the area opponents (including the MIAC members) have been tougher than UMAC teams, and at the most, that the UMAC is just an overall weak DIII conference. I'm not a UMAC hater; I spend way too much time researching this junk for that. I'm just a guy who looks at the facts and accepts them.

To add to all this negativity, I will just give you a little taste of who St. Thomas is. They are the mean older brother of the MIAC, who constantly rags on everyone and nobody likes (except for St. Thomas fans). I mean, if there are no other MIAC teams to root for, I will begrudgingly root for St. Thomas, but get this: St. Thomas just got off a 97-0 win against a conference opponent in the St. Olaf Oles. They had clinched a share of the MIAC title and the MIAC automatic bid the week before, so they weren't playing for a playoff spot. They knew they were going to destroy the Oles, and didn't need to lay it on thick to earn the victory. Despite these facts, St. Thomas was relentless, converting on 5 4th downs and attempting 3 2-point conversions. They got the ball on St. Olaf's 18-yard line with 3 minutes to play, and instead of kneeling it to run out the clock, they tried 5 rushing attempts and scored on the last one with 7 seconds to play to make it 97-0. Now, I don't know what St. Olaf did to make St. Thomas so ticked, but I don't think there is any excuse for that display of poor sportsmanship. The only reasons I could think of were they might have wanted to get seniors more playing time, they might have wanted to match St. John's blowout, or maybe they wanted to show the MIAC that they were in charge; I don't know, and I don't think any of them are good excuses to do that kind of thing. The point is, St. Thomas will show no mercy to Eureka, especially since this is the playoffs. I'm expecting a blowout, it will not be a dignified end to Eureka's season. St. Thomas wins it, 70-0.

Yikes. I don't envy the bus ride home for the Red Devils. But hey, they can still hang their hats on a conference championship and their first ever trip to the DIII playoffs. Next year they will be competing in a slightly more competitive conference, but their program looks like it's on the up-and-up and if they keep doing things the way they have in recent years, they should do fine. Congrats to the 2017 UMAC champs the Eureka Red Devils, we will miss your competitiveness! Stay tuned for a season review of all the UMAC teams and a way-too-early preview of the 2018 season!

Week Ten Review

Ladies and gentlemen...your 2017 UMAC champions: the Eureka College Red Devils! They locked up the title with a commanding win over Martin Luther, while St. Scholastica saw the title slip through their fingers by losing to MacMurray in Duluth. The 2017 UMAC regular season is wrapped up, and Eureka will have to wait until November 12th to find out who they will play in the first round of the NCAA DIII playoffs. Let's take a look at what happened in the last week of the year.

Minnesota Morris 21, Greenville 49 - No real surprises here. Greenville's potent offense was able to work over Minnesota Morris' defense, and Morris' offense was once again ineffective in a rout for the home team. Morris QB Justin Masloski started the game off with a bang on a 55-yard TD run, and LB Drew Shipley added a 29-yard pick-six to pad UMM's lead, but it all went downhill from there. Greenville Sr. RB Johnny Pruiett had a career day rushing, racking up 217 yards on 38 carries and 2 TDs, and QB George Harris threw for 256 yards and 5 TDs, 4 of them to WR Gregoire Franchomme who also piled up 144 yards receiving with only 4 receptions. Greenville ends the year by improving to 4-6, while Minnesota Morris dropped to 1-9 to finish their season.

MacMurray 34, St. Scholastica 26 - MacMurray got back on the horse after two straight losses to foil St. Scholastica's hopes of taking back the conference title. This looked like an exciting one to be at, with six lead changes/ties and plenty of heart-stopping action. MacMurray's defense was able to hold Scholastica's offense at bay, and special teams ran rampant for both teams, as the game included a safety on a punt attempt, 2 blocked PATs, a blocked punt returned for a TD, a kick return for a TD, and 2 straight-up missed PATs. It was a back-and-forth contest until MacMurray DB Laquarius Davis returned a Jeff Lemay fumble 71 yards for a TD with 4:34 to play. On the ensuing kickoff, MacMurray recovered a fumble by kick returner Will Halloran and on the next two CSS drives, QB Zach Edwards threw interceptions, the last one to Davis to seal the victory for MacMurray. Sr. RB Chazz Middlebrook was able to end his career on a high note, rushing for 111 yards and a TD, and ending his time at MacMurray with 3,536 yards and 38 TDs. MacMurray ended their season by beating St. Scholastica for the first time in program history and improves to 8-2, while St. Scholastica misses the NCAA DIII playoffs for the second year in a row and ends their season at 7-3.

Crown 7, Northwestern 24 - Crown struck first in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Chris Simpson, and held the lead until the third quarter, when Northwestern scored on their first drive of the second half. Crown then took the ball and drove to the Northwestern 2-yard line, when Northwestern LB Noah MacDonald picked off Crown QB Luke Lithander in the end zone and killed Crown's momentum for basically the rest of the game. It was all Northwestern from that point on, with RB Payton Bowdry rushing for 118 yards and RB Nate VanBeusekom rushing for 2 TDs. Northwestern kicker Ben Lyons nailed a school record 54-yard field goal, and Northwestern capped off the year by pushing their record to 6-4, their 7th straight winning season, all in the NCAA DIII playoff UMAC era. Crown remains winless for their second time in as many years and remains without a winning record in that same timeframe.

Eureka 63, Martin Luther 26 - Martin Luther made it interesting for the first half of the game, trading jabs with the eventual conference champ as reported by D3football.com, who had a rep in attendance to capture the atmosphere. Martin Luther was pesky and kept answering Eureka's drives, and fast too - the score at the end of 1 was 22-12 Eureka, and with 3:15 left in the second quarter was only 29-26 Eureka. Coach Kurt Barth must have had a heckuva rousing halftime speech, as Eureka shut down Martin Luther the rest of the way en route to the rout and their first (and last) UMAC conference title and first NCAA DIII playoff berth. LeAnthony Reasnover was pulled from the game after his seventh TD with 4:10 left in the 3rd quarter. The NCAA DIII record for rushing TDs in a game is 8; he was one away. Ya know what though? Classy move by Eureka. Reasnover is a junior, he'll have plenty of chances to get that eight next year. It might be against some stiffer competition though, as Eureka will be moving to the NACC. Eureka finishes as UMAC champs with a 8-2 record, while Martin Luther drops to 5-5 to finish the season.

Iowa Wesleyan 21, Westminster 27 - Westminster ground out another win to remain undefeated at home, and seniors Trent White, Latif Adams, and Chase Abbington all had solid days to take down Iowa Wesleyan and end their season and their careers on a positive note. White threw for 216 yards and 2 TDs, Adams ran for 2 TDs, and Abbington racked up 196 total yards and caught 2 TDs. DE Ben Holt had a monster game for Westminster on defense, tallying 3 sacks and 5 tackles. For Iowa Wesleyan, senior WR Rodolfo Amezcua also went out with a bang, catching 7 passes for 101 yards and a TD. Westminster bolsters their record and finishes at 6-4, while Iowa Wesleyan falls to 2-8 to finish out the 2017 campaign.

A pretty exciting few weeks in the UMAC ends in a poetic finish for Eureka, who will ride off into the sunset as UMAC champions in their last year in the conference. St. Scholastica will miss the DIII playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time since the UMAC received an automatic bid in 2011. While it's fun to see the change happening, it will be interesting to see how the UMAC changes with the absence of an up-and-coming program in Eureka. The rumor is that the UMAC will continue as a 9-team conference and will fill their remaining game slot with another non-conference game, which will come to a relief to some programs; long bus rides are never ideal.

I finished my season at 35-10, just as I predicted. Congrats to MacMurray on getting back on track and spoiling my pick and St. Scholastica's chance at part of a UMAC championship, and congrats to Eureka, the 2017 UMAC champs! Good luck in your game probably against a ranked opponent! Let's all remember how that turned out for St. Scholastica in week one. I mean - positive thoughts. The seniors get another game, you get to be champs and tell everyone on Twitter you're going to go get your rings sized, and your program is now proven to be successful! Keep checking for updates, the official "Selection Sunday" for the DIII playoffs is November 12th and I will also be writing a 2017 season recap. Thanks for reading to my droning blog posts and rambling stats on Twitter, I'm planning on being back for 2018.

Week Ten Picks

My, my, my. Here we are in the last week of the season, and it comes down to two teams battling for the title. In a shocking turn of events, Westminster took down MacMurray last week and knocked them from UMAC title contention. However, they still have a part to play, as they take on St. Scholastica this week, who is in the thick of the battle. Eureka just need to close out the year with a win to clinch the championship and a bid to the NCAA DIII playoffs. Let's take a look at what will happen in the last week of the 2017 season.

Minnesota Morris at Greenville - Minnesota Morris has had a rough year, and I don't think it'll get much better this week. While Morris' defense hasn't been completely awful, the Greenville offense has been on a tear the past few weeks, and I think they'll keep it going in the last game of the year at home. Greenville ends the year with a win and on a positive note, but a losing record at 4-6, and Minnesota Morris turns in their equipment after falling to 1-9 on the year. Greenville wins, 28-6.

MacMurray at St. Scholastica - St. Scholastica was usurped by Eureka last week, and need to win this week in order to even have a chance at the UMAC title. MacMurray had a great stretch for their first 7 games, but have hit a rough patch. They've only run for 102 yards in the past two losses, and they're gonna need to buck that number up a ton in order to win this one. Hopefully they can have Chazz at full strength to end the year, but I'm going with Scholastica at home in this one. St. Scholastica wins, 28-14.

Crown at Northwestern - This could be a good, close game. Northwestern's defense has been solid all year, but their offense has been the worst (not literally - Morris' was/is the worst). Most of Northwestern's games have been close, and Crown's offense has been moving lately. Northwestern will have enough left in the tank to end the year with a winning record at 6-4, and will keep Crown winless at 0-10. Northwestern wins, 17-7.

Eureka at Martin Luther - While Martin Luther certainly doesn't seem like much of a match for Eureka, they need to be careful in this one. Crazy things happen in "the pit" in New Ulm. Martin Luther has a formidable rushing attack, which in theory should be shut down by Eureka's UMAC-leading and 16th nationally ranked defense, but the Knights aren't a bad sleeper pick. I won't be picking them, but I warned you - it's conceivable there could be an upset here. Eureka needs to stay on their toes and not underestimate the mediocre Martin Luther team. Stranger things have happened in New Ulm. But, if Reasnover and the Eureka offensive line comes to play like they have lately, they should win this one. I think Eureka comes prepared and closes out the year with a UMAC title at 8-2, while Martin Luther drops to 5-5 in a still-successful season considering the 2016 campaign. Eureka wins this one, 35-14.

Iowa Wesleyan at Westminster - With last weeks win, Westminster put themselves in a position to potentially sneak ahead of MacMurray in the UMAC standings with a win over Iowa Wesleyan and a MacMurray loss. The Blue Jays have been outstanding at home, and I think they keep that up in a matchup with a sub-par Tigers team. Westminster improves to 6-4 overall, 6-3 in the conference and takes third to MacMurray's fourth, while Iowa Wesleyan drops to 2-8 to end the season. Westminster wins, 42-21.

I'm 31-9 on my picks this year, and if I sweep the final week of the season I'll stay out of double-digit losses. I'd say that's a successful year picking UMAC football. While we still have a week of football to play, it's certainly interesting to speculate about next year, with all the changes going on and Eureka possibly riding off into the sunset with a UMAC championship belt around their waist. Next week I'll still review the games, and probably come up with some kind of season recap to boot, so stay tuned. I'll be at the Crown/Northwestern game tweeting updates, along with retweeting results of other UMAC contests. It's been a fun year, but it's time for it to come to a close so we can focus on more important college football and the NFL, and I can sit on my couch and watch instead of trying so hard to write these dang things. Mark my words though; I'll be back.