Week Four Preview

The temperature has finally dropped here in Minnesota, and we may be in for a chilly, rainy weekend; just the type of weather football was meant to be played in. Martin Luther starts their conference schedule this week, and several teams will look to go over .500 for the first time in the 2018 UMAC season. Let's take a look at the week four matchups.

Westminster at St. Scholastica - The Blue Jays road trip to Minnesota this weekend to take on the Saints in St. Scholastica's first home matchup of the year. Westminster earned a resounding victory over Iowa Wesleyan last week, but that hardly pushes them into the UMAC elite. St. Scholastica made the case last week that they will take back the UMAC reigns by beating up Crown last week. I think Zach Edwards and the Saint's offense will be ready to go in this one, and will roll over the Blue Jays, 42-14.

Iowa Wesleyan at Minnesota Morris - In a matchup of some bottom-dwelling UMAC teams, we may be in for a scrapper. Morris finally has a home game, and plays a potentially beatable opponent in the Tigers. While I believe this is going to be a competitive game and I think the Cougars will get on the board for the first time in 2018, I don't think they'll have enough in the tank to outlast Iowa Wesleyan. The Tigers will win this one, 27-12.

Martin Luther at Greenville - We finally get a chance to see if the Knights are legitimate UMAC contenders this year. While they have a long road trip, they should be able to handle the Panthers, who couldn't stop a poor Northwestern offense at home last week. I don't think this one will be too close. Martin Luther will chalk one up in the win column, 35-14.

Northwestern at Crown - On paper, this looks like an intriguing matchup. Two bad offenses square off, and while the Eagle's defense is clearly better than the Storm's, maybe Crown can get something going and make it a game on their homecoming weekend. I'm optimistic, but that doesn't mean I'm not realistic; I still think Northwestern will win this one, 24-14.

Once again, can't wait for some football this weekend! To all players, coaches, and fans, I issue this challenge: prove me wrong. I'd love to see some upsets and screw up my picks a little bit. Good luck to everyone!