Week Three Review

The first week of UMAC play is in the books, and guess who has two thumbs and went 4-0 in his picks? You guessed it, this guy. While the win-loss results of week three weren't too surprising, we did have a few interesting tidbits this week. Let's go over the results, shall we?

Minnesota Morris 0, MacMurray 41 - Another game, another shutout on the Cougars. Through three games, Morris has averaged 169 total offensive yards per game and allowed 537.7 yards per game, and scored 0 points. Woof. Cougar QB Justin Masloski seems to be the only thing keeping the Morris offense afloat, with 118 passing yards and 64 rushing yards including a 61-yarder in the 4th quarter that didn't end up leading to any points as the Cougars turned the ball over on downs. Highlander force (and UMAC player of the week) Javon Muhammad was in Masloski's face all day, wreaking havoc to the tune of 13 tackles, 5.5 TFL, a sack, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Offensively for MacMurray, QB Nathan Randall led the Highlanders with 325 yards and 3 TDs passing while spreading the ball out to 10 different receivers. Quite a resounding statement by the Highlanders, that they are not to be toyed with; however, the blowout could be both due to MacMurray's power, or Morris' futility. I guess we will see as the season plays out.

Northwestern 24, Greenville 7 - The Eagles have struggled in 2018 to scrape together a decent offensive look, but this weekend they were able to muster a little bit on their long Illinois road trip to Greenville. While it still wasn't pretty, QB Taylor Lindahl threw for 191 yards en route to the victory along with two interceptions (to make it eight on the year for him). But a win is a win, and Northwestern didn't have a miserable trip home as they were able to hold the usually explosive Panther offense to 152 total yards. I was a bit surprised to see that Greenville wasn't able to put up more yards and points on the board, so a tip of my hat to the Northwestern defense. A bit of an uneventful game, but the Eagles are thankful to come away with a dub.

Iowa Wesleyan 10, Westminster 35 - The Blue Jays christened their new field with a commanding victory over the visiting Tigers. Actually, if you look at the box score, this game was a bit closer than the score suggests; what really distanced Westminster was the six turnovers that they forced, including two interceptions and four fumbles recovered. Blue Jay QB Trent White proved his dual threat ability, passing for 86 yards and a score and also rushing for 106 yards and 3 TDs. RB Kalyn Davis got in on the fun as well, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Westminster's Anthony Washington accounted for three of the teams six turnovers, intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble, and Dakota Jakoubek had a big day with 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. I'm sure it feels good to open up conference play in a brand new stadium with a win, and the Blue Jays will take that and their momentum into next week's game in Duluth.

St. Scholastica 46, Crown 20 - I finally was able to make it to my first college football action this year, and it was a scorcher. Several MIAC football games were rescheduled to later times due to the extreme heat advisory and I (and probably moreso the players) wish this one would have been as well, as the temperature reached a muggy 95 (or so) degrees. The game was played out without too many stoppages for player injuries though, so thankfully everyone survived. The Saints proved that their passing attack is not to be meddled with, as UMAC player of the week QB Zach Edwards lit up the field with 371 yards and 4 TDs passing, and four St. Scholastica players ended the game with over 70 yards receiving. Oddly enough, star receiver Aaron Olson was not one of those receivers, but he did catch a touchdown pass. Storm WR David MacIntosh caught 2 TD passes as well, but Crown was unable to get much going and couldn't keep the Saint offense off the field. One highlight for the Storm was an amusing play, though; punter Isaiah Zepeda (who also won UMAC player of the week) boomed a magnificent punt that went over PR Will Halloran's head and was downed at the CSS 4-yard line, good for a 77-yard punt. The kicker was that the referees determined that Halloran touched the punt, therefore it was ruled a fumble recovered by Crown, which led to a Storm TD. It was something you don't see every day, but it wasn't able to lift Crown over St. Scholastica.

The first week of conference play is over, and next week Martin Luther will open their conference season with a road trip to Greenville, Illinois. I'm interested to see if the Knights can continue their success into conference play after a bye week. Side note: I'm 9-1 in my picks so far this year, since I missed out on picking for week two. Stay tuned for the Week Four Preview up later this week!