2018 UMAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll 1. MacMurray – 57 points ( 4 First Place Votes)
2. St. Scholastica – 55 points ( 2 First Place Votes)
3. Northwestern – 52 points ( 2 First Place Votes)
T-4. Greenville – 41 points (1 First Place Votes)
T-4. Westminster – 41 points
6. Martin Luther – 28 points
7. Iowa Wesleyan– 22 points
8. Minnesota Morris – 16 points
9. Crown – 12 points
2. St. Scholastica – 55 points ( 2 First Place Votes)
3. Northwestern – 52 points ( 2 First Place Votes)
T-4. Greenville – 41 points (1 First Place Votes)
T-4. Westminster – 41 points
6. Martin Luther – 28 points
7. Iowa Wesleyan– 22 points
8. Minnesota Morris – 16 points
9. Crown – 12 points
Now, there are some interesting things about this poll. Number one is that MacMurray was voted by the coaches to the first spot. While not completely surprising, it is worth noting that MacMurray is now receiving the respect that they deserve as an upper tier UMAC team. They proved it by taking down St. Scholastica last year, and -- surprise, surprise -- will again duke it out the last week of the year on November 10th. It is pretty cool that two years in a row, the UMAC champ could be decided on the last week of the year. Number two is that Greenville was voted by the coaches tied for fourth, and even received a first place vote. Now I'm not the expert and I'm too lazy to find out for myself, but I'm curious as to how this voting takes place. You would think that the voting coaches shouldn't be able to vote for themselves, but if they are, that is interesting; I mean, who else would vote for Greenville to be in first place? The question is begging to be asked; who was that coach that voted for them? I'm not saying that Greenville is trash; they had a pretty legit offense last year led by returning QB George Harris, and they could make some waves this year, but they have some work to do before upending St. Scholastica and MacMurray as the frontrunners. Number three is the point spread between MacMurray, St. Scholastica, and Northwestern. The fact that these three teams received first team votes isn't surprising, but the narrow margin between them is interesting. Like I said, I'm obviously not an expert on the polling system that the UMAC uses with these coaches, but MacMurray received 4 first place votes to St. Scholastica and Northwestern's 2 first place votes and is still only 2 points ahead of St. Scholastica and 5 points ahead of Northwestern. This just speaks to the diversity of votes by the coaches. Finally, number four is that my projections of a three-tier UMAC seem to be holding true, with St. Scholastica, MacMurray, and Northwestern being thought of as perennial contenders; Greenville, Westminster, and Martin Luther jousting to break into that upper tier; and Iowa Wesleyan, Minnesota-Morris, and Crown remaining the bottom-feeders of the conference. Like I mentioned before; nothing really shocking about this poll, just some mildly interesting tidbits.
Here is my Way-Too-Early 2018 Preview standings:
- St. Scholastica
- MacMurray
- Northwestern
- Martin Luther
- Greenville
- Westminster
- Minnesota-Morris
- Crown
- Iowa Wesleyan
St. Scholastica is going to remain a perennial powerhouse in the UMAC if only because of their numbers. Most UMAC schools start the year off with anywhere from 50-80 athletes, and most years I would say Scholastica has more than 80 which gives them a few more guys to pick from. When you start with 50 guys, you don't have much of a say in your starting lineup. The departure of previous head coach Kurt Ramler might have a bit of a ripple effect, but my guess is the program is stable enough that inter-rim head coach George Penree will be able to lead the Saints to compete for the UMAC title, especially since All-UMAC QB Zach Edwards will return to head the conference-leading passing attack. The Saints are one of the only UMAC teams that do not have a game this week; they'll be starting their season next weekend on September 8th against Mayville State.
MacMurray proved to everyone last year that they deserve to be up at the top by beating St. Scholastica on the last week of the year to keep them out of the championship running. While they will be missing dynamic RB Chazz Middlebrook this year, they should have enough pieces to remain near the top of the pack. They start off the year tomorrow by facing Rockford University, who they were able to tackle opening week last year. I think it'll be a good start to the year for MacMurray, but it'll be a close one: MacMurray wins 21-14.
Northwestern is in an interesting time; they've had plenty of success in the past decade of UMAC football, yet they graduated a crapton of seniors last year; many of them starters. The offense was near the UMAC basement last year, so they have a bunch of concerns going into 2018. 2nd year head coach Matt Moore has his work cut out for him, but because of the past success of the program, I can't see them sliding too far. The Eagles start out the year facing Central College, who is a decent Iowa team. I can't see Northwestern sliding by them: Central wins, 35-14.
Martin Luther surprised everyone last year by going 5-5 just a year after a winless 2016 season. Can they keep up the magic? They didn't lose many to graduation, but Martin Luther seems to have positional changes quite often, so who knows if we'll see the same returners. If we do, they had a surprisingly okay offense and may be able to keep up with most UMAC teams this year. They start out the year with a tough matchup against Gustavus Adolphus College. The Knights have a tough road in week one: Gustavus wins, 42-7.
Greenville had a great offensive year, but struggled to close out games and surely ended the year wanting more. Apparently somebody believes that they have the stuff to be conference champs, but they need to shore up that defense before that can be possible. They start the year off against DIII powerhouse Wartburg. This won't be a pretty one: Wartburg will cruise, 56-14.
Westminster is a wild card to me almost every year. They had a successful year last year, and they will look to returning QB Trent White to continue that success into 2018. If they can develop some year-to-year consistency, I can see that program heading in the right direction. New facilities and field won't hurt, either. Westminster also does not play this week; they begin their 2018 campaign on September 8th against Millsaps College.
Minnesota-Morris was a struggle to watch last year. Their offense was among the worst in the UMAC, and if not for their semi-okay defense, it would have been even worse. They are a young team and return LB Drew Shipley to lead their defense, but they still have a lot to prove. They start out the year against Wisconsin-River Falls, who is a middle of the road team in a markedly better conference. I think it'll be tough for the Cougars to pull this one out: River Falls wins 28-6.
Crown had a rooooough year last year. Their offense was able to put up some numbers, but the defense couldn't stop anybody and as a result they were unable to scratch out a win. A new defensive coordinater may shake things up a bit this year, but they still have a looooong way to go if they want to be competitive this year. If they can keep up the offensive progression, they may be able to end the losing streak this year. Crown's first game was tonight against St. Olaf, which they lost 49-14.
Last but not least, Iowa Wesleyan is another team that is young and has much to improve before they can be competitive. They showed flashes last year with QB DeMarco Collins, but were unable to get much going. He will need to lead the offensive attack and the defense will need to improve before they can climb themselves out of the UMAC basement. The Tigers start the year off against Cornell College, who spanked 'em in the season opener in 2017. It will be a sad day: Cornell wins 56-14.
Okay, I admit this is a pretty lame season preview. So here's what I'll do for you: I'll write up individual in-depth team previews when I can throughout the year, starting ASAP. Stay tuned for these team previews, as well as the week one review next week! Good luck to all coaches and players in 2018, and remember; what I write on this lame blog doesn't define you. Go out there and prove me wrong!