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.