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!