Martin Luther-Wheaton Preview

If any of you have followed me the past few years, you know what's coming. Martin Luther fans; beware. You may want to skip this one. This is the annual parade of how the UMAC is inferior to its first round Division III playoff opponent. This is no disrespect to the Martin Luther Knights, who have a ton to be proud of. You built a now-dynasty from scratch, going from 0-10 in 2016 to now winning your second consecutive conference championship in 2019. You shattered records along the way, becoming the #2 ranked rushing offense in all of Division III football. You have so much to look forward to, but let me be clear; those future aspirations do not include a Division III playoff victory. Generally, I've broken it down quite a bit; if you want a taste but not the whole bite, you can check out my 2017 Eureka-St. Thomas Preview or my 2018 Martin Luther-St. John's Preview and remain blissfully ignorant by skipping this one. Well, you'll be scarred for your UMAC life after you read those, but at least you won't have to face the current reality of what's looming over Martin Luther College this week. Lets start it off with a simple, uninspiring review of these teams' 2019 seasons, shall we?

The Martin Luther College Knights come into this contest with a 9-1 record, with their only loss coming to non-conference opponent Gustavus Adolphus College in week one. They went undefeated in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play (obviously), earning their second consecutive and overall bid to the Division III playoffs, rolled to #2 in DIII in rushing with 335.8 yards per game, and even got a little national recognition, receiving some votes for ranking in NCAA's regional rankings. The Knights have not one, but two 1000-yard rushers, and have held their opponents to 234.4 yards per game, good for #8 in DIII in Total Defense. Not too shabby, eh? Well, lets take a look at their competition on Saturday.

The Wheaton College Thunder hail from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in which they went undefeated and also won their only non-conference matchup, making them a perfect 10-0 in 2019. They are currently ranked #3 in D3football.com's Top 25, and were the "top seed" in their region for the Division III playoffs. Some playoff history: Wheaton is making its 11th overall appearance in the Division III Playoffs and first since 2016. Their 11 NCAA Playoff selections are tied for the second-most in CCIW history. The Thunder have compiled a 15-10 all-time record in the postseason, including a perfect 10-0 record in the first round. This year, the they have been outstanding defensively, leading DIII in Total Defense by only allowing 174.9 yards per game. They defeated a ranked opponent in conference foe North Central, and also defeated fellow Division III automatic playoff bid Monmouth. According to D3football.com, they have the #32 strength of schedule, a measurement that helps determine how difficult teams' schedules were in direct comparison with other teams'. So...they're pretty good.

What does this mean for our lovable Knights? Well...it's not good news. Remember that strength of schedule thing? Martin Luther's strength of schedule ranking in Division III football is #215. What that means is that there is a massive disparity between these two teams in terms of the competition they face. And guess what? That isn't Martin Luther's fault. So they are the best team in one of the worst conferences in Division III football...so what? Well, what that means is that even though they do very well against these weak opponents, it doesn't go so well when they play a stronger opponent.

The common opponent thread is a tough one to strum this year. Martin Luther didn't play anyone from the CCIW this year, and vise versa, Wheaton didn't have any UMAC opponents (thank God). In fact, no UMAC teams played any CCIW teams. These conferences don't often intersect; the last time that did happen was a series between Milikin and Greenville University from 2010 to 2016, in which Milikin defeated Greenville 6 out of 7 matchups. What I can tell you is that the CCIW generally is a stronger conference, and the conference champion (mostly Wheaton and North Central) often snatches a victory or two in the Division III playoffs. The UMAC has had no such luck, and really hasn't even come close. The closest margin of defeat for a UMAC team in the Division III playoffs was 28 points, when St. John's defeated St. Scholastica 35-7 in 2014. And let's not forget last year's drubbing of the Knights by St. John's. I won't even mention the score, as I'm sure it'll bring up some PTSD in some of you.

In conclusion, the Martin Luther College Knights wonderful, magical season will come to a close this weekend. This is not a call out, I don't hate Martin Luther, and I don't hate the UMAC; I just think of it as the circle of life. Do lions ever get eaten by antelope? No, and that probably won't ever change. Does that mean that I fault the antelope for never eating lions? No, I don't expect them to. I'm just proud when the antelope can escape and run free and not get torn to shreds. (And yes, I realize this GIF is not an antelope. Besides the point.) So Knights; spread your wings and fly. Enjoy the moments you have left, especially you seniors and those who have finished your college playing careers. Don't think about getting torn to pieces; think about running free for the short time you have left. Okay, my analogy has worn out its welcome, so I'll end with this: do I think that Martin Luther has a chance? Oh yes, there's always a chance. I'll put the percentage at 0.5% chance at stealing a victory from Wheaton. I'll put the final score at 63-6. I seriously do wish you guys all the luck in the world, and know that the whole UMAC is lucky to have you as our representatives in the Division III playoffs. Thanks for a great and fun year, and this is the biggest, most important challenge I'll give out all year: PROVE. ME. WRONG. KNIGHTS!!

I'll do what I can to keep up with the game this weekend, although it may be a challenge as I'm working the weekend. Wheaton will host Martin Luther at their home stadium with a kickoff time of noon. Follow the Wheaton Thunder athletic page for Twitter updates, and I'll be writing up a season review following the inevitable first-round exit from the Division III playoffs. You can find the full Division III Playoff bracket here. Once again, congratulations Martin Luther College Knights on another UMAC championship, and good luck in the playoffs this weekend!!

You're gonna need it.

Weeks Nine-Eleven Review

WOW, what a season! 2019 has been fun, guys and gals. Congratulations to the Martin Luther Knights on repeating their 2018 championship campaign, and congrats to all seniors and everyone who has completed their playing careers as college athletes! I haven't been good about getting these reviews or my previews up, so sorry about that. Due to me being busy/lazy and not getting around to these, I'll do a quick hits version of my reviews, where I won't go over every game in detail, but I'll highlight the important or interesting things. Lets rewind the clock and take a look at what happened in weeks nine, ten, and eleven...

Week Nine

The big headline this week was the Greenville-MacMurray game, in which the Panthers were able to defeat the Highlanders in a season-altering victory. At that point, MacMurray was still eyeing down a share of the UMAC title if a few different things went their way, but Greenville shut down those hopes as much as they could with a decisive victory, in which they relied on Panther RB Paul Garrett and his 164 yards and 2 TDs rushing. Martin Luther rolled to yet another victory over Minnesota Morris, while Westminster played solidly against Crown to pull out the win. The last game I'll mention is the drubbing that Iowa Wesleyan received from St. Scholastica. Yikes. Saints QB Zach Edwards earned UMAC Offensive Player of the Week by throwing for 421 yards and 4 TDs, with three of his receivers tallying 100+ yards. The Saints surely had the potential firepower in Edwards' last season. 

Week Ten

Week ten saw Westminster finish out their season, as they didn't play in week eleven, and it didn't end like they had hoped, as Northwestern found a way to drum up the victory. Iowa Wesleyan surprisingly held Greenville to 21 points, although they were shut out offensively and only were able to scrape together 44 yards of total offense, and fell to the Panthers. St. Scholastica was able to take down Minnesota Morris with ease, as Edwards threw for 391 yards and 5 TDs, and Cougar linebacker-turned-quarterback Drew Shipley performed well (314 yards, 2 TDs) but ultimately was unable to keep up with the Saints. CSS WR Mitchell Adrian snagged 15 receptions for 103 yards and 2 TDs, setting a new CSS program record for receptions in a game and earning UMAC Offensive Player of the Week. Martin Luther was able to keep their streak alive by defeating MacMurray, who was grasping at straws to keep their hope of a share of the UMAC title alive. The two-headed RB monster of Austin DeNoyer (173 yards, 1 TD) and Joshuah Kren (147 yards, 2 TD) once again delivered to crush the dreams of the Highlanders. With the victory, the Knights locked up the automatic bid to get destroyed in the DIII playoffs, but were still at risk of sharing the UMAC title if they were to lose to Crown in week eleven. 

Week Eleven

Some big games to end the season, as Greenville outlasted Minnesota Morris despite a furious fourth quarter comeback by the Cougars, that ended with a failed 2-point attempt that would have put them ahead of the Panthers were they successful. Greenville RB Paul Garrett capped off a great 2019 campaign by rushing for 173 yards and 3 TDs, making 1190 yards and 13 TDs on the year, good for 2nd in the UMAC only to reigning UMAC Offensive Player of the Year, Austin DeNoyer. Speaking of the devil, DeNoyer and his buddy Joshuah Kren each rumbled for over 200 yards in their blowout victory over Crown; DeNoyer with 217 yards and 3 TDs, Kren with 214 yards and 2 TDs and also a receiving TD, which earned him UMAC Offensive Player of the Week. DeNoyer finished as the UMAC rushing champion with 1298 yards, while Kren also topped the 1000 yard mark with 1010 on the year and added 474 receiving yards to boot. Pretty impressive to have two 1000-yard rushers on a team. It speaks to the dominance of Martin Luther's running game, as they finish the regular season ranked #2 in the nation with 335.8 rushing yards per game. Northwestern whooped up on Iowa Wesleyan, with Eagle RB Payton Bowdry rushing for 101 yards and 3 TDs, falling just 8 yards short of 1000 on the season. In the final game of the UMAC regular season, the MacMurray Highlanders shocked the St. Scholastica Saints with a punch-in-the-gut win to cap off the season with a tied conference record. Those of you who are UMAC experts; shouldn't MacMurray be ahead of St. Scholastica in the conference standings due to this head-to-head win? Or is overall record the first tie-breaker? If so, that's pretty lame, especially when they wouldn't consider overall record when it comes to the automatic playoff bid. But I digress. The Highlanders finished the year off on a high note, which they were desperate for after some lofty expectations at the beginning of the year. 

And so, the Martin Luther Knights once again ride off into the sunset with another championship belt tucked under their arm. If you haven't heard yet, the Knights will face the Wheaton College Thunder, who are currently ranked #3 in DIII football. Woof. On one hand, it's like "Hey! We won't face a MIAC or WIAC team this year!" (for the first time ever, by the way) but on the other hand...yikes. You can get a quick preview written by a Wheaton stooge here, in which they mistakenly referred to the Knights as the "Hawks" but have since rectified it. That's how much they know and care about the UMAC. The UMAC champion is unfortunately destined to face a much beefier opponent in the playoffs annually, and 2019 is no exception. I'll go into a bit more detail in my Martin Luther-Wheaton Preview, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime; all you Martin Luther Knight fans, coaches and players, congratulations and enjoy another successful year and championship! You'll need those happy memories during the game on Saturday. 

Week Eight Review

I know it was a while ago now, but think back about Week eight saw a close game, and a few not so close ones. We saw a 58-yard field goal that is the longest field goal made in DIII football this year, which was pretty mind blowing. I know the going back in time thing is old now, but hey, it's gotta be done. Let's rewind and take a look at the results of week eight. 

Westminster 17, Minnesota Morris 14 - This was a tight one, and ended with just a field goal difference. The last field goal kicked by Blue Jay now-superstar kicker Tim Branneky wasn't the big one, but it turned out the be the game-winner, as Morris scored before the game was over but was unable to close the gap. The big news of the game and even the week was that "Branleggy" nailed a 58-yard field goal, the longest field goal made in DIII football since 2013. I'm sure that's a UMAC record as well, as we aren't well known for our field goal-kicking aficionado, but the UMAC doesn't seem to have a record book on their website, and I'm not about to search every teams individual records. The boot earned Branleggy UMAC ST Player of the Week and D3football.com Team of the Week honors, as it should have, while also being crowned UMAC Play of the Week. We often have great UMAC punters, but it's rare to come upon a great kicker in this conference, so it's pretty cool to see. The also crazy thing is that he's not their main guy (correct me if I'm wrong, Westminster folks). Maybe a soccer guy specializing in certain kicks? Anyways great for him and great for the Blue Jays. Westminster was missing their main squeeze QB Wyatt Ellis, and Bryce Moorman filled in efficiently, throwing for 176 yards and a TD to WR Travion Mosby, who accounted for 107 of those yards on 4 receptions. For the Cougars, utility QB Drew Shipley continues to keep Morris in contention, putting up 178 yards and 2 TDs. The Cougars were unable to close the gap though, and fell once again, while the Blue Jays are trying to stay alive to bust into the top half of the conference. 

Greenville 32, Crown 6 - This one wasn't as close of a game as I expected. The Storm had home field advantage and have been solid defensively this year, so I thought it might be a bit closer. Instead, the Panthers dominated, building a 32-0 lead before Crown was able to muster a score halfway through the fourth quarter. Panther RB Paul Garrett led the charge, rushing for 193 yards on 29 attempts and scoring 2 TDs, earning himself UMAC Offensive Player of the Week. For the Storm, RB Avory Caruthers rushed for 95 yards on 16 attempts and WR Cole Mistrietta caught 11 passes for 129 yards, but 5 different Greenville defenders picked off QB Jared Gilmore, and Crown struggled to get into the end zone. The bright spot defensively for the Storm was LB Junior Doe, who earned UMAC Defensive Player of the Week by finishing with 15 tackles with 1 TFL, forcing a fumble, and recovering a fumble. The Storm actually outgained the Panthers 354-332, but it didn't translate onto the scoreboard, and Greenville had a happy trip home. 

Northwestern 20, Martin Luther 41 - The Knights beat up on the Eagles in the Pit. The Martin Luther offensive attack was spearheaded by QB Ethan Aguilar (12/18-232-3), RB Austin DeNoyer (26 rushes for 147 yards and a TD, 2 receptions for 31 yards) and RB Joshuah Kren (12 rushes for 59 yards and a rushing TD, 3 receptions for 93 yards and a receiving TD). Defensively for the Knights, DL Nate Holz piled up 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, and an interception, while DB Aiden Holien picked off UNW QB Ryan Flanigan twice, while also gathering 3 tackles. Eagle WR Evan Pruitt caught 4 passes for 89 yards and a TD, but other than that, Northwestern wasn't able to scratch together much offensively. The Eagles continue their downward spiral into the depths of the UMAC, while Martin Luther stays on their current track.

MacMurray 21, Iowa Wesleyan 12 - In opposition to the Greenville-Crown outcome, this game was much closer than I anticipated. The Highlanders scored all of their points in the first half, going up 21-0 before the Tigers were able to get on the board, but then stalled and weren't able to get much going in the second half. Luckily, their defense stifled Iowa Wesleyan and they were able to hold on to take home the win. Highlander QB Bobby Tedesco continued to impress, throwing for 238 yards and 2 TDs, with both of them going to WR Demetrius Curry, who gathered 88 yards on 5 catches, and currently leads the UMAC in both receiving yards (943) and TDs (13). Mac WR Ian Leib also accumulated 7 catches for 124 yards. WR Shomari Wilson led the Tiger offensive attack, catching 4 passes for 97 yards and a score. Iowa Wesleyan continues to search for their first win of the year, and MacMurray holds on to their dim hope of a conference championship.

Another successful flashback to the past. Keep an eye out for the Week Ten Preview coming out soon!

Week Seven Review

I didn't get around to posting my Week Seven Review a while ago, so we'll do it now! Better late than never, right? Week Eight Review is on its way, believe me. I just got done with this one and figured I'd get it up for all you diehard UMAC fans just itching to get your hands on it. Remember, this review is from two weeks ago, which nearly everyone has forgotten about except the actual players. So let's take a trip down memory lane and see what happened in week seven. Hold on to your butts, people; we're going back in time. Dr. Strange: do your thang.

Martin Luther 24, Westminster 14 - I'll give it to the Blue Jays; they kept it close in this one. On the scoreboard, anyways. The Knights rushing game still dominated though, racking up 384 yards on the ground. The two-headed RB monster of Joshuah Kren and Austin DeNoyer showed its face, with Kren rushing for 205 yards and 2 TDs while DeNoyer piled up 191 yards. Martin Luther K/P Micah Otto nabbed UMAC Special Teams Player of the Week by nailing all 3 PATs he attempted along with a 33-yard field goal and 3 punts inside the 20. The Wyatt Ellis-Travion Mosby connection was good for 2 TDs for Westminster, and they put up a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough to knock off the eventual conference champions. The Knights keep rolling, and it remains to be seen if they will be stopped by another UMAC opponent in 2019. 

St. Scholastica 34, Greenville 40 - This was for sure the game of the week, maybe even in the running for game of the year. The Panthers started out strong, building a 27-6 lead by the third quarter before the Saints got their butts in gear and came back to tie the game at 27 just thirteen and a half minutes later. The fourth quarter was a back and forth battle, but a St. Scholastica drive stalled at the Greenville 11-yard line with just 0:52 left in the game, and the Panthers held on tight to proudly take home the dub. Saints QB Zach Edwards earned UMAC Offensive Player of the Week by going full on comeback mode, throwing for 509 yards and 3 TDs along with a rushing TD, with WR Mitchell Adrian catching 11 passes for 202 yards and 2 TDs and WR Reese Jansen catching 5 passes for 108 yards and a TD. For the Panthers, QB George Harris impressed, throwing for 179 yards and 4 TDs, but a two-headed rushing monster arose in RBs Paul Garrett (23-173-2) and Christian Moss (17-128) to spur the Greenville offense to the victory. St. Scholastica had 4 defenders pile up 11+ tackles, including LB Eric Soderberg, who led the game with 18 tackles, and also recovered a fumble. Greenville DL Anthony Esquivel captured UMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors by compiling 12 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and 3 QB hurries en route to leading the Panthers to their first victory over the Saints since 2010. 

Crown 27, MacMurray 45 - The wide margin in this one was a little bit of a shock to me. The Storm have been doing a great job defensively, and although they were going up against a top UMAC offense, I thought they'd be able to keep it closer. Although the game didn't really get out of hand until the fourth quarter, Crown gave up 639 total yards to the Highlander offense, led by QB Bobby Tedesco, who threw for 430 yards and 6 TDs and rushed for 84 yards and a score. MacMurray WR Demetrius Curry showed why he earned 2nd team All-UMAC in 2018 by catching 5 passes for 211 yards and 4 TDs, while WR Ian Leib also caught 4 passes for 123 yards and a score. On the other side of the ball, Storm QB Jared Gilmore also had an impressive day, throwing for 342 yards and 3 TDs. Two Crown WRs also topped the 100-yard mark, with David McIntosh catching 8 passes for 132 yards and a TD and Cole Mistrietta catching 9 passes for 106 yards. Defensively, Crown kept their interception streak going with a pick by Corey Huard (who also tallied 7 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, and 1 PBU), making it 6 games in a row with a defensive interception; they currently rank #4 in DIII football with 15 interceptions. Unfortunately for the Storm, it wasn't enough to keep up with the Highlanders. 

Northwestern 23, Minnesota Morris 13 - While I'll refrain from saying this game was boring, as I was not in attendance, the box score strikes me as dull. Eagle RB Payton Bowdry led the team offensively, rushing for 135 yards and 2 TDs. The Cougars were able to out-gain the Eagles in total yards, 414 to 389, due to the strong performance of utility QB Drew Shipley, who threw for 341 yards and a TD while also rushing for a TD. They came within a field goal in the fourth quarter, with Morris WRs Mark Chapman and Branden Carlson both surpassing the 100-yard mark in receiving, with 6 catches for 175 yards and 9 catches for 108 yards respectively, but it wasn't enough to lift the Cougars over the Eagles. Northwestern LB George Obitz led the defense with 12 tackles and an interception. I don't even know what else to say about this game, I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this. Feel free to enlighten me on any other facts about this game that make it sound better than the box score does. 

Week seven is loooong gone now, and my Week Eight Review is around the corner, but I hope this post staved your thirst for UMAC football-related content. Tune in next time for me to be super late with all of my other reviews too!

Week Nine Preview

Once again, I've been too busy and honestly too lazy to write up my reviews for the past few weeks, so sorry, not sorry about that. Writing isn't hard, especially when you're not getting paid enough (or at all) to make deadlines, but sometimes I just don't feel like it. I'll get around to 'em eventually. But I wouldn't wanna miss out on picking who will win what UMAC games this weekend! Especially when I've got competition (cough Football's Finest cough). The reviews are coming, but I didn't want those to get in the way of writing up my previews, especially with only three weeks remaining on the schedule! Let's see what's up in UMAC football this coming weekend.

Iowa Wesleyan at St. Scholastica - The Tigers have looked rough this year, and may end 2019 without a win. Yes, for all you keeping track at home, that means I don't think they'll win this game. While the Saints have been disappointed in their own performance this year, they surely will have enough firepower to put down Iowa Wesleyan with ease. St. Scholastica tromps the Tigers, 42-13.

Crown at Westminster - This one is a low-key game of the week candidate. Both the Blue Jays and the Storm have been desperately trying to crack the upper tier of the UMAC this year, but really haven't been successful. Westminster did manage to take down the MacMurray Highlanders a few weeks ago, but have fallen short against others, as Crown has. The Storm are looking for that breakthrough win, and this could get them on the right track. Honestly I think the road trip is really the factor here; it's a long one, and if the roles were reversed I might pick Crown, but I'm going to take Westminster in a close one. The Blue Jays squeak by on the skin of their teeth the second week in a row, 17-14.

Minnesota Morris at Martin Luther - I don't have much to say about this one, and I doubt anyone will fight me on that. Morris is bad, Martin Luther is good, this game takes place in "The Pit". The Knights will rack up 400+ rushing yards and destroy the Cougars. Martin Luther takes it to Morris, 56-18.

Greenville at MacMurray - This is the actual game of the week for real. Two upper level UMAC teams fighting at the podium for 2nd place while Martin Luther stands tall at #1. MacMurray is at a serious disadvantage due to their loss to Westminster a few weeks ago, and due to the fact they have yet to face the Panthers along with Martin Luther and St. Scholastica, but they could make up some ground by taking down Greenville tomorrow. MacMurray's offense has been running on all cylinders this year, but I think they'll find some stiff competition in the Panthers. I think Greenville will be able to outlast the Highlanders in a high-scoring shootout. The Panthers breath a sigh of relief as they head home, defeating MacMurray 45-42.

I haven't really been keeping tabs for the past few weeks, but after doing a quick scan, it looks like I'm 35-7 over the course of the 2019 season. I'll have to do some digging and see how my Twitter counterpart compares. Regardless, we've got some good matchups tomorrow, and I'm pumped to see how they turn out! I probably won't be following along with the games on Twitter tomorrow, so check out Football's Finest page for week nine UMAC football scores and updates. Good luck to all UMAC players, coaches, and fans, and as always, PROVE ME WRONG!

Week Eight Preview

Okay, so I know I'm doing these out of order, but I didn't have time this week, and I wanted to get my picks in to marinate in your minds a little bit before game day tomorrow. So look for the Week Seven Preview sometime this weekend. In the meantime; the season is coming down to the nitty-gritty, and more and more teams are seeing their chances at a UMAC title dwindle, save for the Martin Luther Knights. Unless something drastic happens and the wheels fall off of the MLC train, they will once again have the honor of getting demolished in the DIII playoffs by some elite football dynasty. Lets dial it back to the current however, and take a look at tomorrow's games.

Greenville at Crown - These two teams have been the surprises of UMAC football this year, with the Panthers coming out strong from a poor 3-7 season in 2018 to already surpassing last seasons win total over their first six games, and the Storm snapping a 24-game losing streak and now impressively sitting on a near .500 record as of yet. Greenville has yet to play MacMurray, but really they are in good position in the conference. Crown's defense (allowed 299.1 ypg, #2 in conference) has carried them this far, and they hope to stifle the #3 Panther offense (363.8 ypg) to get back to even. I really like the Storm spunk that they've had this season, and they're not the ones driving 10+ hours this weekend, but I think Greenville will come out on top through a close battle. The Panthers squeak by the Storm, 28-24.

Westminster at Minnesota Morris - The Blue Jays fought hard against Martin Luther last week, but ended up succumbing in honorable fashion. This week they'll be on the road, but face a much milder opponent in the Cougars. Morris is last in the UMAC in total defense (allowing 459 ypg) and nearly last in total offense (231.2 ypg), and while Westminster isn't breaking records by any means, they should be able to handle the Cougars. I think the Blue Jays will hand Morris another loss on the season. Westminster handles Minnesota Morris, 35-24.

Northwestern at Martin Luther - The Eagles haven't lived up to their usual defensive expectation this year, allowing 404.4 ypg and ranking next to last in the conference. They have been able to muster enough offense to chalk up a few wins, but they won't be adding another one this week. The Knights didn't dominate in their usual fashion last week, but the Eagles will be falling into "The Pit" in New Ulm tomorrow and facing a much tougher defense (#1 in conference, allowed 239.2 ypg) than the Morris Cougars. That doesn't bode well for Northwestern. The Knights will continue their quest to run all over their UMAC opponents en route to a conference championship. Nice little tidbit for you; the Knights currently rank #5 in rushing offense (302.7 ypg) in all of DIII football. Martin Luther will put Northwestern in their place and win big, 49-10.

MacMurray at Iowa Wesleyan - The Tigers have been a sad state of affairs this 2019 season. Unfortunately, they may have already squandered their only chance at a win this season, as they face the Highlanders this week, then St. Scholastica, Greenville, and Northwestern to cap off the season. MacMurray put on an impressive show against a decent defense in Crown last week, putting up 45 points and 639 yards of offense, and they don't show signs of stopping against a weaker team. The Tigers have struggled to get anything going offensively this year, ranking last in the UMAC by a wide margin (164.3 ypg), and will probably continue that trend. I see the Highlanders winning big in this one. MacMurray takes it to Iowa Wesleyan, 56-14.

I wouldn't say there's a matchup this week that I'm absolutely dying to see, but it's always fun to see the season start wrapping up and begin to come to a close. I'll repeat again that it's hard to see anyone catching the Martin Luther Knights at this point, and they should be the ones awarded with a blowout playoff game. Regardless, I'm excited to see how this week turns out! Don't expect too much from me as far as current updates tomorrow, but I'll do what I can on Twitter. Good luck to all players, coaches, and fans tomorrow, and as always...prove me wrong!

Week Seven Preview

Another exciting week of UMAC football is set to begin tomorrow! And I've typed up a preview three weeks in a row! You lucky people. We've got another week of juicy matchups just waiting to be broken down, so lets dive right in!

Martin Luther at Westminster - I don't hold much hope that anyone can take down the Knights at this point. They're on a roll, and won't stop until the DIII playoffs. They rank #8 in rushing offense nationally with 286.4 yards per game, so despite the Blue Jays being quite stout against the run so far this year (only allowing 78.3 yards per game), I don't expect them to keep Martin Luther at bay. The Knights will run all over Westminster, 49-14.

St. Scholastica at Greenville - This is my game of the week. Greenville has flexed their muscles at points this year, and St. Scholastia has struggled at points that I didn't expect. The Panthers have been solid on both sides of the ball, ranking #3 in both offense and defense in the UMAC. The Saints are surprisingly mediocre this year offensively and defensively, although they have played a few of their tougher opponents in the first half of the year. I still think they have the firepower to win this one, but it won't be easy. They may need to pull another miraculous comeback out of nowhere. I think this one could go either way, and I think it'll be a shootout. I'll take the Saints in a barn-burner, 45-42.

Crown at MacMurray - The Storm have been a pleasant surprise this year, boasting the leading UMAC defense and leading Division III in interceptions with 14. The downside is, their schedule doesn't get much easier, with the Highlanders this week and Martin Luther and Greenville later this year. They'll be able to stay competitive in this one, but I don't think their offense will be able to keep up. I think MacMurry will defeat Crown, 28-21.

Northwestern at Minnesota Morris - The Cougars have run into some offensive struggles this year, and inversely also have the worst defense in the UMAC. Northwestern has struggled as well, but still have managed to stay somewhat competitive in most of their games. I think the Eagles will be able to handle Morris in this one without too much trouble. Northwestern takes down the Cougars, 24-13.


I'll try to stay updated on all the UMAC football action on Twitter tomorrow. If you follow Football's Finest, check out their picks here as well. Tell me what you think about this week's games on Twitter or Facebook! Don't get mad; get motivated, and prove me wrong! Good luck to all players, coaches, and UMAC fans this weekend!

Week Six Review

What is going on? Am I out of touch? Football's Finest went 4-0 in their picks this week, and I went 3-1. Do they have some crystal ball that I should steal from them? Congrats to the Westminster Blue Jays on proving me wrong and taking down the MacMurray Highlanders! Let's take a closer look at what went down last week.

Iowa Wesleyan 6, Martin Luther 51 - Oofda. I don't think there was way to avoid this outcome. The best team in the UMAC versus arguably the worst. The Knights held the Tigers to 93 total yards of offense, while racking up 493 of their own, led by Joshuah Kren's 147 receiving yards on 3 catches and 2 TDs. Knight RB Elliot Butler ran for 86 yards and 2 TDs, and QB Ethan Aguilar threw for 207 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for 81 yards and a score as well. DB David Campos led the Tigers defense with 14 tackles and 2 blocked passes, while DL Jacob Schmidt tallied 2 sacks for Martin Luther. The Knights continue to roll, and may not be stopped by another UMAC opponent this year.

Minnesota Morris 18, Crown 28 - The Storm defense came up big once again, holding the Cougar offense to -10 rushing yards and 124 total yards. Several players came up big, including LB Junior Doe (7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 QBH) and DB Cody Ricketts (3 tackles, 2 interceptions). Storm QB Jared Gilmore brought the heat on the offensive side, throwing for 186 yards and 4 TDs. Three of those TDs went to WR Cole Mistrietta, who caught 6 balls for 72 yards. Storm kicker Corey Huard took home another UMAC Player of the Week award by nailing all four of his PATs. Here's something I don't really get though: Morris LB Drew Shipley racked up 11 tackles, but he also threw for 98 yards and a TD offensively. Enlighten me Cougar people; is Morris just that short on QB bodies, or what? Either way, you don't see guys playing both ways in college, so that's a pretty cool little tidbit. Also, Cougar DT Adam Farag had a great game with 14 tackles, 4 TFL, 2.5 sacks, and a pass deflection that earned him a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week. Crown continues their solid play, and take it on the road to MacMurray next week.

MacMurray 30, Westminster 33 - When the Highlanders scored two minutes into the first quarter, I thought, "Oh boy, here we go". But the Blue Jays fought and clawed their way to a victory by coming back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter. Westminster QB Wyatt Ellis took the team on his shoulders, throwing for 157 yards and a TD while also rushing for 114 yards and 3 TDs, and for his effort was awarded an upset and a UMAC Player of the Week award. Blue Jay DL Justin Scales paved the way defensively with 5 tackles and 2.5 sacks. MacMurray QB Bobby Tedesco put forth his best effort, throwing for 300 yards and 3 TDs, with WR Demetrius Curry catching 9 passes for 114 yards and a score, but it wasn't enough, as the Highlanders fell in the final minutes to Westminster.

St. Scholastica 26, Northwestern 16 - The Saints scored first and never looked back in this one, even if it wasn't their typical air attack kind of game. Northwestern bent but didn't break, but unfortunately, they just kept bending, and they weren't able to come back from it. The Eagle defense held Saint QB Zach Edwards to 178 yards and zero TDs, although he did catch a 41-yard TD pass from WR Reese Jansen on a trick play. St. Scholastica RB Dominic Klaas led the offense with 104 rushing yards and a TD, while also catching 3 passes for 59 yards. Defensively, Saint CB Jake Kukowski played a heck of a game, tallying 8 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 pass breakups, while also setting up two CSS scores with interceptions. For his efforts, he earned a place on the D3football.com Team of the Week and also took home a UMAC Player of the Week award. RB Payton Bowdry muscled the load for the Eagles offensively, rushing for 94 yards and a score, while LB Bradly Kulinski shined bright on the defensive side, earning 5 tackles, a sack, and running a fumble recovery back 95 yards for a score. Ultimately, the Eagles couldn't get much offense going, and weren't able to keep up with the Saints.

I missed the Westminster victory this past week, but mark my words...it won't happen again. I'm coming for you, Football's Finest. 4-0 in Week Seven or bust. Stay tuned for my Week Seven Preview to come out later this week, and congrats to the Westminster Blue Jays on their comeback upset!

Week Six Preview

About to ramp up another week of UMAC football, and what now?! I have some competition?! If you're not on Twitter, you may not have noticed, but we have another UMAC admirer in our midst. Check out Football's Finest on Twitter, an account dedicated to UMAC football! Fair warning, they're a little edgy over there. But if you're thick-skinned, it's some good ol' fun between UMAC fans. They already made their picks, so I better get stepping! Here's what I think will go down in week six of the UMAC season...

Iowa Wesleyan at Martin Luther - Woof. I don't think I really need to go into detail on this one. The Knights have a juggernaut of an offense that dominated St. Scholastica last week, and the Tigers just really aren't equipped to stop them. Martin Luther hasn't even needed to pass this year; they've only attempted 55 passes, 72 less than the next lowest team (Greenville with 127), and they've handled their conference opponents with ease. And from what I remember, Tigers don't do so well in pits. I think Martin Luther will manhandle Iowa Wesleyan, 56-13.

Minnesota Morris at Crown - This is actually my choice for game of the week. Both of these teams have beat Iowa Wesleyan this year. The Storm did it in shutout fashion last week, and still boast the best statistic defense in the UMAC, allowing only 21.8 ppg and 266.2 ypg. The Cougars, on the other hand, present the worst defense (38.4 ppg, 478.4 ypg allowed) and the next-to-last offense (16.8 ppg, 216.6 ypg). I think Crown will be able to keep their momentum going against Morris. The Storm rain on the Cougar's parade, 35-21.

MacMurray at Westminster - It happens every year. I think Westminster is going to break into the top tier of the UMAC after a strong performance, and then they just let me down. Last weeks 36-0 drubbing from the Greenville Panthers really put this team in perspective for me, and they'll face an even mightier foe in the Highlanders. MacMurray boasts the leading UMAC offense with 32 ppg and 456.3 ypg, and while Westminster has flashed moments of greatness, they really haven't shown that they aren't any better than average. I don't think the Blue Jays will be able to overcome the rolling Highlander offensive attack. MacMurray takes down Westminster, 42-24.

St. Scholastica at Northwestern - Before the season started, I may have surmised that this could be a game of the week, and maybe even an important game for the season. Instead, the Eagles have underachieved so far this year, only pulling out a win against Crown, and the Saints may be out for revenge this week after the shellacking they took via the Martin Luther Knights a week ago. Northwestern's traditionally tough defense has been slacking, ranking only #7 in both points allowed (32.2 ppg) and yards allowed (410.6 ypg). While St. Scholastica's offense surprisingly has taken some hits this year, they are still more than capable to hold their own against this mediocre Eagle defense. I think the Saints will fend off the Eagles, 31-17.

I know what you're thinking. "Man, I can't believe this guy got his picks out two weeks in a row." Well, you better believe it. I'll be trying to keep up with the games on Twitter tomorrow, so follow along for updates. Good luck to all players, coaches, and fans tomorrow, and as always...prove me wrong!

Week Five Review

Another weekend of UMAC football has come and gone, and one team still remains above the rest: the Martin Luther Knights. While the Knights now hold a firm grasp on the UMAC, it doesn't mean that there weren't any other games with large conference-picture impact. Lets take a look at the Week Five results, eh?

Westminster 0, Greenville 36 - I thought the home field advantage would give the Panthers an edge, but it turns out they didn't need it. They kicked the tar out of the Blue Jays, holding them to 98 yards of total offense. The charge was led by UMAC Defensive player of the week Anthony Esquivel, who recorded 5 tackles including 3.5 TFL and one sack. Meanwhile, the Greenville offense rolled, with QB George Harris (10/21-199-2), RB Paul Garrett (19-117-2), and WR Kyler Henson (7-149-1) leading the charge. For Westminster, Travion Mosby pulled double duty, pulling in 3 receptions for 35 yards on offense and tallying 5 tackles and 2 interceptions defensively. The Panthers feel like they pick up where they left off in week three, while the Blue Jays retreat back to Missouri wondering what went wrong with their game plan.

Iowa Wesleyan 0, Crown 35 - I was sure that the Storm would be able to pull this win out, but they did it in style, blanking the Tigers and limiting them to 186 total yards of offense. After the shutout, Crown remains the conference leader defensively in yards allowed (266.2 ypg) and now scoring as well (21.8 ppg). The Storm had four separate players grab interceptions, with DB Sebastian Alvarado returning one 47 yards to set up a score. Offensively, Crown QB Jared Gilmore had a day, throwing for 200 yards and a score and rushing for one as well. Storm WR Cole Mistrietta was a benefactor of that production, catching 8 balls for 124 yards and a TD, and kicker Corey Huard picked up UMAC player of the week by nailing all 5 of his PATs on the day. Crown picks up their second victory of the 2019 campaign, while Iowa Wesleyan continues to search for their first win. They might continue searching for a while longer, as they will run in to the conference leading Martin Luther Knights next week.

Northwestern 20, MacMurray 41 - The Highlanders took it to the Eagles, led by MacMurray QB Bobby Tedesco, who earned UMAC Offensive Player of the Week by throwing for 260 yards and 4 TDs, while also rushing for 79 yards. Four different Highlander WRs caught TD passes, led by Tanner Sussenba who had 5 receptions for 86 yards and the score. Defensively, MacMurray LB Ahmad Washington piled up 12 tackles, 0.5 for loss. Northwestern RB Payton Bowdry ran the show for the Eagles, rushing for 73 yards and 2 TDs. Eagle LB George Obitz tallied 13 tackles to lead the defense, but MacMurray was able to easily handle Northwestern in this one. After this, I'm having a hard time placing Northwestern, while MacMurray should be right behind MLC and St. Scholastica in the standings. The MacMurray/St. Scholastica matchup in the last week of the season may actually hold some conference standing weight.

Martin Luther 27, St. Scholastica 6 - While I called the correct winner in this one, I am truly impressed by the manner in which the Knights manhandled the Saints. The Martin Luther defense dominated, only allowing 84 yards of total offense to Saint QB Zach Edwards and the normally potent St. Scholastica offensive attack. That also included -20 rushing yards allowed. Yikes. On the other side of the ball, the Knights racked up 402 rushing yards and the whole OL was named to D3football.com's Team of the Week. RBs Austin DeNoyer and Joshuah Kren ran the game (literally), with 228 yards/2 TDs and 128 yards/1 TD respectively. 75 total rushing attempts for the Knights meant lots of tackles for the Saints, as 5 CSS defensive players finished the game with over 10 tackles, with LB Eric Soderberg leading the game with an astonishing 22 tackles. The Martin Luther defense finished the game with 8 sacks, led by DL Jacob Schmidt, who racked up 7 tackles, 3 for loss, and 2.5 sacks. The Knights showed the conference their true power, and I don't really think anyone can hold a candle to them honestly. They still have to get through MacMurray to claim their second UMAC championship, but after this win, I just don't see the Highlanders taking down the high-flying Knights.

I was a perfect 4-0 in my picks this week, which either shows you that I'm really great at this, or that the UMAC is pretty predictable. I'll go with the former. Overall in 2019, I'm 25-5, which I don't think is too shabby. It remains to be seen if anyone will be able to challenge the Martin Luther College Knights, and I'm under the impression that they will be riding into the sunset with another UMAC championship belt around their waists. Congrats to all the week five winners! Keep an eye out for my Week Six Preview and my picks on Twitter.

Week Five Preview

Heyyy, I'm finally getting around to write up a preview instead of just picking on Twitter! That's pretty cool. I'll still post them on Twitter, because well, it gets the people going. I've had my share of people replying with whimsical GIFs, quote tweeting with clown emojis, and people taking shots at my character, but you know what? You're still here, reading this post. I got you. And while I have you, I might as well tell you how things are gonna shake out in the UMAC this weekend. Lend an ear, and hold on to your butts; it's gonna be a wild ride. Well, maybe not so much, but read on anyways.

Westminster at Greenville - Both the Blue Jays and the Panthers took tough losses last weekend. Westminster led St. Scholastica down to the final minute and lost in heartbreaking fashion, and Greenville went into New Ulm hoping to take down the Martin Luther Knights, only to come away with their tails between their legs. Both teams will be looking to bounce back, but only one can win (obviously). Both teams have looked solid at points this year, with Greenville beating up on Northwestern in week three and Westminster playing tough against the Saints last week and handling Iowa Wesleyan easily in week three. This could be a high-scoring affair, with both offenses operating pretty efficiently so far this year. I think this will be a close one that could be a toss up, but I'm giving the edge to the Panthers at home. Greenville will take down Westminster, 42-35.

Iowa Wesleyan at Crown - The Tigers continue to look for their first win of 2019, while Crown snapped their losing streak in week two and have surprisingly looked pretty good this year so far. Even with playing arguably the most dangerous offense in the UMAC with St. Scholastica in week three, the Storm boast the leading defense in the conference, only allowing 286.3 total yards per game, including only allowing 159.8 passing yards per game. That doesn't bode well for Iowa Wesleyan, who has the least efficient offense in the UMAC, piling up only 176.8 yards per game. They had a heartbreaking game last week in which they were leading 21-7 before Morris came back to win, so they may be bitter and looking to beat on someone. The Tigers have to travel and will be taking on Crown on homecoming weekend, and I believe those factors along with the Storm's new awakening mean that they will be able to handle Iowa Wesleyan. I don't think it will be a blowout, but they will take home the dub. Crown will tame the Tigers, 28-17.

Northwestern at MacMurray - Here's a game that could be interesting. MacMurray is still fighting to be mentioned in the same breath as the top-tier UMAC teams, and there hasn't been any reason to disbelieve them at this point, but I get the feeling that their squad may be a bit down from last year. Northwestern took a shocking shellacking from Greenville in week three, but bounced back to defeat Crown last week in a game that may have been closer than the box score appeared (I'm looking at you, Anonymous). The Eagles have a long road trip, and honestly that may be a factor in a game that I'm really questioning the outcome. MacMurray has the top offense in the UMAC thus far (470.3 ypg), and Northwestern's defense hasn't been living up to it's name, currently sitting near the bottom of the UMAC (allowing 409.8 ypg), so that might be the matchup we'll have to focus on. I've got a gut feeling MacMurray will be able to win this one relatively easily. The Highlanders will domesticate the Eagles, 31-21.

Martin Luther at St. Scholastica - Here's the UMAC game of the week if there ever was one. Heck, this might be the UMAC game of the season. I'm pumped to follow the outcome of this game. In my eyes, the Knights are the Saints are #1 and #2 in the UMAC, and it's hard to tell which is which at this point. St. Scholastica has a potent offense led by star QB Zach Edwards with loads of options, but they have just squeezed by the skin of their teeth in weeks three and four, first to Crown and last week to Westminster. Can they keep it up against the defending conference champs, who silently put Greenville in their place last week? The benefit for the Saints is that this game will not take place in "The Pit", which may have been their downfall last year, when the Knights upset them in a pivotal game that really set Martin Luther on the path to their first UMAC conference championship. The Knights come into this game as the leading rushing offense in the UMAC, averaging 247.7 yards per game, while the Saints are #2 in passing offense, averaging 305 yards per game. This could be a high scoring game, with two powerful offensive units going against two middle-of-the-road (statistically) defenses. St. Scholastica was nearly upset at home in week three agaist Crown, so I don't think their home field advantage will boost them above a much better opponent in Martin Luther. If the Knights come to play, I think they will be able to take it to the Saints; it will really be a question of if St. Scholastica can pull off another dramatic finish to have a chance at winning this one. I don't see it happening. The Knights will defeat the Saints, 45-35.

Another exhilarating week of UMAC football begins tomorrow, and I'm here for it. I'll be following the games as close as I can on Twitter, so check out the link and follow along for game updates. Check out the stat leaders on the UMAC website here, along with the main football site here. Good luck to all players, coaches, and fans, and as always...prove me wrong.

Week Four Review

Another surprising week of UMAC football in the books, and man...I really took a hit this week. 2-2 in my picks that I made on Twitter due to my inability to get previews out on time. Now it wasn't that I had been rushed; I thought about these matchups a decent amount. But the two that I picked incorrectly were ones that I really could see going either way. Lets see what happened in the world of UMAC football this past week.

St. Scholastica 28, Westminster 27 - I thought this one would be close, but boy, did I misjudge how it would happen. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 27-7 lead about halfway through the third quarter, and I honestly thought I was going to see the Saints fall. Lo and behold, St. Scholastica drummed up another dramatic come from behind victory, with WR Eddie Lee catching the game-winning TD and Eric Sodeberg, the Defensive and Special Teams UMAC player of the week, nailed the clutch PAT to seal the deal for the Saints. Sodeberg stole the show, leading the defense with 13 tackles, including 4.5 TFL and one sack, an interception, and handling punting duties, including a 63-yard boomer, and stepping in to attempt his first PAT of the season to win the game. St. Scholastica QB Zach Edwards had a pretty good day, throwing for 396 yards, 4 TDs, and 3 interceptions on a whopping 59 attempts for 36 completions. He spread the ball around well, with Lee (11-130-1), Mitchell Adrian (11-94-1), and Reese Jansen (7-93-2) all getting in on the mix. The Blue Jay defense performed well, holding the Saints to 32 yards on the ground, but couldn't stop the air attack despite 2 interceptions by De'Monn Martin and one by Ben Heimann. On offense, Westminster QB Wyatt Ellis threw for 243 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 picks while running for 58 yards and a score. Travion Mosby kept on his tear with all three TD receptions, and now leads the UMAC with 7 TDs through four games, and RB DeQuintin Smith carried 16 times for 93 yards. The Blue Jays are certainly devastated that they let this one slip through their fingers, but they can hold their heads high that they can compete with the top tier of the UMAC.

Greenville 14, Martin Luther 43 - Woah now, Bessie. I didn't think the Panthers would be able to overcome adversity in "The Pit", but I didn't see this blowout coming after the drubbing that Greenville handed to Northwestern last week. The Knights ran this one from start to finish both literally and figuratively, staying in control throughout by rushing for 382 yards, with the two-headed monster of Austin DeNoyer (17-93-2) and Joshuah Kren (9-135-2). The latter of these gentlemen earned the UMAC Offensive player of the week award, as he also tacked on an 80-yard catch-and-run for a TD. The lone bright spot for the Panthers in this one was RB Paul Garrett, who rushed for 151 yards on 22 attempts. The high that Greenville was on was brought to a shocking halt, as Martin Luther shows that they may still be the team to beat in the UMAC. Only time will tell.

Minnesota Morris 28, Iowa Wesleyan 21 - A thriller in which the Tigers were up 21-7 at one point, the Cougars gritted their teeth and came back to steal this one for their first win. The real hero in this one was the Morris TEAM, who combined for 11 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries! (There's some statistician humor for you. Someone in the Iowa Wesleyan booth had a hard time keeping track of the Morris defense.) Honestly though, it was a defensive game, as both teams were held under 300 yards of total offense. The QBs were the only true offensive standouts, as Cougar QB Daniel Francis (23/46-209-3) and Tiger QB Leo Alvarez (22/33-228-2) duked it out for top dog. Morris LB Drew Shipley (7 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR) put the nail in the Tiger's coffin as he scooped up a fumble recovery and ran it back 21 yards for the final and winning score. Iowa Wesleyan continues to search for their first win, and Morris pries the monkey off of their back. Honestly this one was pretty much a toss up to me, I just figured the Tigers would have the edge at home.

Crown 6, Northwestern 23 - Okay yeah, I was definitely wrong on this one. On paper, it looked like Crown really had an advantage, as Northwestern's offense had been faltering, and Crown's defense had been playing pretty well, so I honestly thought that the Storm might be able to pull it off. Instead, the Eagles and RB Payton Bowdry took it to 'em by means of 185 rushing yards and a score. The Storm tried to counter with UMAC-leading rusher RB Avory Caruthers, who had a solid game racking up 153 yards and a TD on 15 attempts, but weren't able to keep up. Crown DB Corey Huard had a nice performance with 17 tackles, but it wasn't enough to stop Bowdry and Eagle QB Damon Clapper (15/26-214-2). Northwestern's Marcus Scarbrou led the Eagle defense with 7 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, and 1 FR. The Storm just couldn't quite keep their momentum from their near-comeback last week, which I was kind of banking on. The Eagles take their win and hope to keep recovering from the Greenville massacre in week three.

A few close games made for an exciting week of UMAC football, and the early conference picture continues to develop for 2019. With my worst week of 2019 yet, it makes me 21-5 in my picks on the year. We have a few solid matchups next week, so stay tuned for either my Week Five preview, or my picks on Twitter.

Week Three Review

The first week of conference play is in the books, and we had a few shocking revelations. Greenville shocked the UMAC world with a drubbing of Northwestern, and Crown gave St. Scholastica a run for their money in Duluth. I pretty much called the other games, but I digress. Lets jump right into our week three recap.

Greenville 42, Northwestern 14 - Here's the big shocker to me. Now maybe all you Greenville guys had the downlow on how you were going to take down the Eagles so easily, but all of us internet peasants like myself don't really have anything to base a claim like that on, so it had to revert to my limited knowledge of the state of last years teams. Welp, that didn't work out for me. Now, I've got a better idea of where we're at in the UMAC, and it will just get better as the year goes on. The Panther trio of QB George Harris (16/19-271-1), RB Paul Garrett (19-101-2), and WR Eric Krahn (7-142-2) led the potent offensive Greenville attack, while DB Adereio Jones anchored the defense with 5 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 interceptions, one returned for a 28-yard score. It's even more impressive that Greenville made the long trip to St. Paul to get the job done. For their efforts, Krahn and Jones were awarded UMAC Players of the Week, and the Panthers went home satisfied and smiling victoriously. Mental note made; Greenville is ready to play. The Eagles struggled offensively, on the other hand, being led by WR Caleb Sieben, who caught 7 balls for 107 yards and 2 TDs, while LB George Obitz led the defense with 13 tackles. Looking forward to see if Northwestern is on the downturn or just had a bad game, or if Greenville really is that good. Either way - nice job Panthers on proving me wrong!

Westminster 35, Iowa Wesleyan 7 - The Tigers struck first with a 3-yard TD run by RB Jacquez Hall, but the Blue Jays dominated the rest of the way, holding Iowa Wesleyan to -1 yard rushing and 73 total yards. Yikes. Not the greatest home showing in the world. Westminster RB DeQuintin Smith led the way with 137 yards on 31 attempts and a TD, while WR Travion Mosby caught 11 balls for 101 yards and a TD. Blue Jay QB Wyatt Ellis inherits the reins and did well, passing for 123 yards and a TD while also rushing for 68 yards and 2 TDs. On the defensive side, DL Kobe Kaminski tallied 2 sacks, along with 4 tackles and 3 TFL. On the Tiger defensive side, DB Jaheem Hampton chalked up 5 pass breakups to go along with 3 tackles, and honestly, that was pretty much the biggest highlight for them. Just based on this game, Iowa Wesleyan might be looking like the frontrunner to be the UMAC punching bag. This W also happened to be Westminster Head Coach John Welty's 100th win as the Blue Jay's el capitan. Congrats coach, and congrats Westminster!

MacMurray 38, Minnesota Morris 14 - The Highlanders made the long trek to the Big Cat, and came up with some favorable results. MacMurray just straight up overpowered the Cougars, with 623 yards of total offense. Highlander QBs Bobby Tedesco and Jace Bland combined for 432 passing yards and 2 TDs, while Bland and RB Ethan Downs both scored 2 rushing TDs apiece. WR Demetrius Curry continued his dominance from 2018, with 6 catches for 146 yards. On Morris' side, QB Daniel Francis slung the rock for 222 yards and a TD while throwing a pick, and WR Nathan Sheridan tallied 10 receptions of 103 yards and a TD. Defensively for the Cougars, LBs Marcos Luna and Drew Shipley both totaled 11 tackles, and Shipley had a solid day punting the ball as well, earning UMAC Special Teams player of the week by booting 6 punts for an average of 37.7 yards per punt, with 2 punts inside the 20 and a long punt of 58 yards. MacMurray heads home with another dub under their belts, and they hope to keep building their resume as a top UMAC team. As of right now, Minnesota Morris and Iowa Wesleyan may be vying for the top of the UMAC cellar.

Crown 32, St. Scholastica 35 - The Storm rolled into town as decent underdogs, and really gave the Saints a tough test, coming back from a 28-11 deficit at halftime to give themselves a chance at a victory in the last minute of the game. St. Scholastica squeaked out the win with a game-icing sack by DL Cal Germain, but not before sweating out a second half in which they were outscored 21-7. Crown held the high-flying Saints offense led by QB Zach Edwards to 255 total yards, while they themselves racked up 378 yards, including 178 rushing yards by RB Avory Cauthers, who also tacked on a rushing TD. Storm QB Jared Gilmore threw for 216 yards and 3 TDs, with WR Janaire Smith catching all 3 TDs on 5 catches and 52 yards. The Crown defense led by Quis Icon (9 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack) held Edwards to 231 yards with 4 TDs and picked him off once, and only allowed 24 rushing yards to the entire Saints offense. WRs Eddie Lee and Mitchell Adrian both caught 2 TDs apiece. Defensively for St. Scholastica, Germain recorded 7 tackles, 2 for loss, and 2 sacks including the game-saving fourth down stop. The Saints breathed a sigh of relief as the clock ran out, knowing they didn't perform as well as they could have, but they escape with the victory and stay undefeated. The Storm, on the other hand, nearly took down a top UMAC contender and can hold their heads high, knowing they competed valiantly. After this great effort by Crown, I see them at least as a mid-tier UMAC team, with potential for an even higher ceiling if they can keep that same competitive spirit through the rest of the season. Kudos on a great comeback Crown, looking forward to shaking up the standings a bit!

Overall, not a terrible first week of conference play. I went 3-1 in my picks, the only mistake being the Greenville massacre of Northwestern. I'm looking forward to see how these teams follow up week three, and I'll be writing up a Week Four preview sometime this week! Congrats to the winners in week three, and congrats to the Panthers on proving me waaaaayy wrong. If you're on Facebook, make sure to check out that page and vise versa on Twitter. Let me know your thoughts on Week Three via social media or on here, and stay tuned for my Week Four Preview!

Week Three Preview

The UMAC conference season is here!


The weird non-conference weeks are done, and now we get down to the real nitty-gritty of UMAC football. We've already had some excitement this year, with St. Scholastica off to a strong start and Crown finally getting that 24-game losing streak off of their back, there are a few news worthy notables. But now that stuff is over and we're moving on to bigger and better things; pride, history, and rivalries. Okay, maybe I just wrote that because it sounds cool; I don't know if there are a ton of rivalries in the UMAC besides Crown/Northwestern. Either way, tensions are much higher in these conference games, and it'll be fun to see how they play out!


Okay, here are the matchups for week three:


Westminster at Iowa Wesleyan - Both of these teams come into this matchup 0-2, and will be hungry for their first win. Only one will emerge victorious, obviously, and based on my extra keen knowledge of non-UMAC teams (that was sarcasm if you couldn't tell), that one will be Westminster. The Blue Jays put up some points against Nebraska Wesleyan in week one, really the only notable game between the two teams so far. The Westminster passing attack has been serviceable, with QB Wyatt Ellis throwing for 386 yards and 5 TDs in the first two weeks, with WR Travion Mosby accounting for 176 of those yards receiving and 3 of the TDs. I think Westminster will prove a bit too much, but I can't confidently say that it will be a sound defeat. The Tigers may be able to claw their way into this one. I'll take the Blue Jays in close-ish battle, 35-24.

Greenville at Northwestern - The Panthers surprised me with a win over visiting Kalamazoo last week, and maybe it means they're ready to play. They didn't show it much in week one, but maybe that set the fire under their butts. Northwestern played a few tough teams and really didn't come up with anything to show for it. I'm thinking this will be a close one, but the Eagles will take their home field advantage and history of solid defense and ride to victory in a tight matchup. This is also the UMAC Game of the Week. Big stakes here. Northwestern squeaks by Greenville, 17-14.

MacMurray at Minnesota Morris - The Highlanders have played some decent teams, and put some points up on the board. The Cougars, on the other hand, haven't been able to scrounge together much offense; or defense, for that matter. This game will be in the Big Cat, but I think MacMurray still has a strong remaining team and will come out on top easily in this one. The Highlanders tame the Cougars, 35-17.

Crown at St. Scholastica - The Storm finally had their big win last week against Beloit, and maybe that will spur them on to more success this year. Unfortunately, they're coming against a rolling Saints offense led by QB Zach Edwards, who leads the UMAC in passing by far with 593 yards and 9 TDs. He's setting a record pace already, and it'll be tough for Crown to slow him down. Even though Crown has the best passing defense on paper, only allowing 194 yards and 0 TDs through two games, I think it'll be tough for them to keep up in this one. The Saints will keep their momentum going to push back the Storm. St. Scholastica triumphs at home, 38-14.

Martin Luther is on their bye this week, and I can only imagine D3football.com Team of the Week winner Mike Radue is kicking his feet up with a fruity drink and curly straw (or pint of German beer, those Lutherans ya know), probably hanging out with his buds Zach Bloomquist and Austin DeNoyer in separate bathtubs overlooking New Ulm. Or maybe they're enjoying a poolside tan by the Pit after it's filled with rainwater. Either way, they're resting after a hard-earned victory over Rockford last week, and will start preparing for their week four opponent, Greenville.

Well, that's all for week three, folks! Looking forward to some UMAC action. Check out the UMAC schedule here and the statistic leaders here. You can follow me as I attempt to keep up with the games on Twitter, and for kicks and giggles, you can check out the Facebook page as well. Let me know your thoughts about week three, either here or on social media! Good luck to all players and coaches, and as always...prove me wrong.

Week One and Two Reviews

Woah. We had a lot happen over the weekend, and if you were following my Twitter account, you were in for a wild ride. I made my picks for week two as a tweeted thread as I didn't have time to write up a preview, and boy did that ruffle some feathers. I actually still did okay in week two, going 7-2, but I had quite a few people misinterpreting those tweets as actual score reporting, quote tweeting them with clown emojis, so on and so forth. My guess would be that those people have no idea that I actually do it every week, I just don't tweet them out. Well, maybe I'll have to do that from here on out. Sometimes you just gotta get the people going, ya know?

I was a perfect 9-0 in my week one picks, but even though it seems impressive, it's really not. These non-conference weeks are pretty predictable, and we didn't have many surprises in week one. St. Scholastica won in a shootout, and pretty much everyone else got rolled over. The only thing that I was a little off in was Martin Luther, as I had predicted a close game against Gustavus Adolphus. It was not close. St. Scholastica swept the player of the week awards, as QB Zach Edwards drove the Saints to victory through 4 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs; DL Cal Germain led the team defensively with 11 tackles and 2 sacks; and P Eric Soderberg, who punted 6 times for an average of 44.3 yards per punt, and apparently got an edge in the special teams voting because he also tallied 13 tackles defensively.

In week two, we had a few "upsets" (according to me) as Crown snapped their 24-game losing streak against Beloit, and Greenville came out on top against visiting Kalamazoo. Now I have already given enough props on Twitter, but I will again be the first to say congrats to both of these teams on their victories. One of my catchphrases on this blog is "prove me wrong", and both of these teams did just that. Crown - seriously, nice job. Nobody likes when a team just can't seem to catch a break, and you guys finally were able to make it happen. I hope you keep it rolling and catch a few more wins this year! Greenville - Okay I get that you're salty about my prediction, but come on...what "facts" was I supposed to base my prediction off of that what I already know? It's not like I'm scouting out every UMAC team with a notebook and a pair of binoculars and a cruddy video camera or my phone. I'm literally getting what info I can off of the internet to make a general prediction. I'm seriously happy for you guys, and I hope that you can keep it going as well! And wow, nice play that will have won UMAC play of the week by the time you guys are reading this! Hope that clip gets some national attention!

As for the rest of week two: no really big surprises. Everyone pretty much got beat up except for Martin Luther, who had a nice home win against Rockford, and St. Scholastica, who beat Presentation. Martin Luther TE Mike Radue had an okay day and was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week, which was a little weird but pretty cool, as he had 2 catches for 91 yards and a TD. St. Scholastica WR Mitchell Adrian earned UMAC offensive player of the week (see all weekly awards here), with 10 receptions for 68 yards and a TD along with 80 rushing yards and a TD. Crown DB Sebastian Alvarado (Apparently Don Bass, formerly known as C-Bass) earned defensive player of the week awards, with a 46-yard interception return for a TD in the Storm's big win. Martin Luther K/P Micah Otto received special teams player of the week with four PATs, 3 punts inside the 20, punting 7 times for an average of 32.8 yards per punt. The UMAC fared a little better this week, winning 4 games in week two as opposed to just one in week one. Congrats to all the big victories this week; now begins the conference schedule.

So overall, being 9-0 in week one and 7-2 in week two, I am 16-2 in 2019. Looking forward to being proved wrong over and over again this year! I'll be working on a week three preview in the next few days here, so stay tuned for that. Great job to Crown and Greenville on proving me wrong; keep it up if you want me to keep picking you!

Week One Preview

It's here, folks.

There is a week of college football in the books, and the NFL kicked off last night. Now all that's left to begin is the UMAC season!

So right off the bat, let me tell you that these first two weeks of the UMAC schedule are non-conference games. So I'm not going to be breaking down each matchup in depth, because honestly, they don't really matter. These games are great for feeling out where they will be at when the conference season starts, and great for bragging rights -- if teams are able to chalk up a victory, at least. So, without further adieu, here goes my preview and picks for week one of UMAC football!

Mayville State at St. Scholastica - The Saints lost a close one to the Comets in Mayville last year, 33-29. It was a little bit of a surprise, but tough to call, as prior to that not many UMAC teams had been playing NAIA teams. I think CSS is going to be better than they were last year, so I'll take them in a shootout, 42-38.

Crown at St. Olaf - Even though St. Olaf is one of the more mediocre teams in the MIAC, they were more than equipped to handle the Storm last year, by the tune of 49-14. I can't imagine that Crown will have improved much from last year, so I'm sensing a drubbing coming on. The Oles weather the Storm, 42-14.

Martin Luther at Gustavus - Here's an interesting matchup. The Gusties were a solid MIAC team last year, going 6-4 and ending 4th in the conference, and the Knights played a decent game against them last year. The thing is, Martin Luther just got better as the year went on. I think they've got a shot here, but it is a bit of a downside that they aren't playing in "The Pit" in New Ulm. I'll predict that the home field advantage tips the scale in the Gusties favor, but it'll be a close one, 28-24.

Westminster at Nebraska Wesleyan - The Blue Jays didn't play Nebraska Wesleyan last year, so I've got nothing. Nebraska Wesleyan was a bad team in a good conference last year, so my guess is they'll be able to take down Westminster in their home stadium. I'll blindly guess that the "Prairie Wolves" will earn the dub, 35-21.

Northwestern at Central - The Eagles got beat up by Central last year, 49-3...in St. Paul. I can't imagine this will go any better for them. Central runs up the score, 56-7.

Wartburg at Greenville - Why do UMAC teams schedule these games? Ugh. They were tamed easily last year 73-14. The fact that it's in Greenville doesn't change the end result. The Panthers will get smashed as they did last year, 63-14.

Rockford at MacMurray - Here's another interesting matchup. The Highlanders were defeated soundly last year, 35-12, but the Martin Luther Knights turned around the next week and defeated Rockford. They're in the ballpark, and it really could show us if the same solid MacMurray team from the past few years will come to play this year, or if we'll start to see the beginning of a falling off. I'm under the impression that MacMurray won't be able to contain the Regents; the Highlanders fall, 28-17.

Wisconsin-River Falls at Minnesota Morris - The Falcons blanked the Cougars last year, 41-0. Morris had one of the worst first half of a season ever last year, not even scoring until week four, but they did manage to scrape out a few conference wins. I don't think there will be enough improvement on the Cougars side to warrant a victory here though. River Falls wins, 35-10.

Iowa Wesleyan at Cornell - The Tigers played Cornell tough last year, but fell 27-21 in their opening game. On the other hand, in prior years Cornell has completely dominated Iowa Wesleyan. They are a "wait and see" team for me, so I'm not going to pick much different than last years result. I'll give Cornell the edge, and say they'll win, 35-24.

So there you have it. First week picks are in, and the mantra for 2019 remains the same: prove me wrong. If you're a player, coach, parent, or fan of any of these teams, and you don't agree with me: prove me wrong. And let me know on Twitter or Facebook (shameless plug). I would love to hear from you, and I really honestly do want everyone in the UMAC to do well. This isn't a UMAC bashing blog, I promise. Good luck to all involved in the games this weekend!

2019 UMAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll

It's that time of year again.

*inhales deeply*

Ahhh. The smell of freshly cut grass and sweaty equipment. That's right folks, it's football season again. And while we've all been waiting for the beginning of the NFL regular season and potentially some D1 football action, there is another season on the cusp of new life - the DIII football regular season. And more specifically, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football season; what everyone that actually reads this blog has been waiting all year for.

As you may or may not have seen, the 2019 Coaches Poll has been out for a few weeks now. And there are quite a few interesting twists on this list. Let's dive straight in to the list:

1. Martin Luther -- 61 points (6 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern – 54 points (2 First Place Votes)
3. MacMurray – 49 points 
4. St. Scholastica – 47 points (1 First Place Votes)
5. Westminster – 35 points
6. Greenville – 29 points
7. Minnesota Morris – 22 points
8. Iowa Wesleyan – 17 points
9. Crown – 10 points

Okay, here are my initial thoughts:

As expected, Martin Luther takes first place in the poll after a dominant season where they went undefeated in the conference and nearly beat a decent MIAC team.The Knights return UMAC Offensive MVP Austin DeNoyer, who will surely hope to repeat a campaign in which he ran for over 1,000 yards and 16 TDs. I'd say Martin Luther has the edge on the conference until proven otherwise this season. 

Northwestern hopes to break back into the top 3 in the UMAC again this season, after slinking to a disappointing 4th in the conference in 2018. They are getting All-American safety Nick Swore back after losing almost all of 2018 to injury, and return some experienced starters on offense as well.

MacMurray interestingly enough did not receive any first place votes, but remained in the top 3 in the poll, revealing that they are still pretty well respected by the UMAC coaches. After earning 2nd place in the conference in 2018, they hope to repeat or better their performance from last year, but face a tall task in taking down defending champ Martin Luther, not to mention any of the other threatening teams this year.

St. Scholastica finishes 4th in the poll, which I can only imagine is an insult to them. Perennially ranked 1 or 2 in the coaches poll, I had to do some digging. I found that the last time the Saints were picked outside of the top two was 2010, in which they were picked to finish 6th after a 4-6 finish in their 2nd season in existence. Woof. They did however receive a first place vote, which is more than we can say for 3rd place picked MacMurray. Zach Edwards will be back slinging the rock, which gives St. Scholastica much more than a little competitive edge. They will have to adjust to their third coach in three years, as coach Mike Heffernan takes the reigns in 2019. 

Westminster has been on the cusp of busting in to the top half of the conference for a long time, and it seems they are destined to stay there. They took a big hit in seniors graduating last year, so it'll be tough for them to break the pattern this year.

Greenville seemed to be on the uptick a few years ago, but hit a little bump along the way, going 3-7 last year. They don't seem to return many starters, so we'll see if they are able to scratch their way out of the UMAC basement. 

Minnesota Morris was one of my picks for potentially finishing last in 2018, but they were able to scrape out a few victories to end 3-7. They will hope to continue the growth in coach Marty Hoffmann's second season on the back of QB Justin Masloski and LB Drew Shipley. 

Iowa Wesleyan played several close games last year, but were only able to pull out a victory against Crown. They return RB duo Stafford Lewis and Akenyon Bagley, who they hope can grind out some yards and TDs for them to win a few more games this year.

Crown is a sad story. 0-20 over the last two seasons, they hope to break their 23-game losing streak at some point. Hopefully sooner than later. Unfortunately, the Storm don't return too many players that make me think that will change. Please prove me wrong Crown. 

Here are my picks for the 2019 season:

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

Let me know your picks or thoughts on Twitter or Facebook!

Another season, another dollar. Or something like that. In six days time (see schedule here), the UMAC season will begin with the team's non-conference opponents! Stay tuned for a Week One Preview if I can get around to it!