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!