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!

2018 Season Review

Wow it's been a while, sorry about that everyone. The 2018 UMAC football season is long over and coaches and players are already looking forward to the 2019 season. Congratulations to the Martin Luther College Knights on a great season and a UMAC championship! Just an inspiring story that gives hope to all flailing college football programs across the country, including a few in our own conference. Let's take a look at our 2018 teams, and see what they have to look forward to in 2019. And just for fun, let's throw a GIF in each review that best describes their season.

Crown (0-10) - Aw, man. Two consecutive 0-10 seasons make for a tough season to review. Crown did some things well this year, but overall, they had a rough time staying competitive, only losing three of their games by 15 points or less. The Storm were near the bottom of the conference in both offense (246.8 ypg) and defense (411.4 yards allowed per game), and were outscored by their opponents 392-165 in 2018. While they actually were 3rd in passing in the conference with 193.4 ypg, they were dead last by a mile in rushing (53.4 ypg) and were behind the #8 rushing team (St. Scholastica) by almost 40 yards PER GAME. Yikes. The fact that they were behind for nearly the whole season probably affects this statistic, but man...you gotta get something going on the ground, even if it's only to supplement your passing game (e.g. St. Scholastica). The Storm landed 3 on the UMAC All-Conference teams, with PR Sebastian Alvarado gaining the only 1st-team selection. Crown only graduates 7 seniors, but many of them are starters or earned a significant amount of playing time. Hopefully the coaching staff can recruit their butts off this offseason and start to climb out of this pit that they've been in. Nobody likes a losing streak, not even opposing teams.

Iowa Wesleyan (1-9) - The Tigers end their season in disappointment after only beating a winless team in Crown in 2018, but they did play some close ones, including being defeated in a come-from-behind victory to the conference champion Martin Luther Knights. They also played tough against Cornell, MacMurray, and Minnesota-Morris, but were unable to come away with the victories. Iowa Wesleyan actually played some defense this year, ending the season at #3 in yards allowed with 358.4 per game, but their offense struggled, only putting up 311 yards per game (#6 in UMAC) and 16.2 points per game (#7 in UMAC). The bright side is that they have some young leaders on the offense, with sophomore Demarcus Collins finishing his first full year as the starting QB and freshman RB Stafford Lewis emerging as a force, finishing #4 in the UMAC in rushing (544 yards) and earning 1st-Team All-UMAC honors. The defense also has some bright young players, with junior DL Onius Heard and sophomore DB Craig Wrenn earning 2nd-Team All-UMAC honors. And guess what, the special teams also have some solid young players, with sophomore P Dylan McDonald earning 1st-Team All-UMAC honors. That's quite a few young gents that could make an impact in the future. The Tigers also graduate 7 seniors, including 4 WRs, so they do have some ground to make up in the offseason, but the future is looking positive for Iowa Wesleyan, assuming they still have a team in the future.

Minnesota Morris (3-7) - At the beginning of the season, I was taking bets as to how long the Cougars could go without scoring a point. They were shut out in the first three games of the season, but did reel off two straight wins after that against the aforementioned teams, and were able to scratch out a win against Greenville in the last game of the season. The Cougars again sported an atrocious offense this year, coming in last in the UMAC in scoring (13.9 ppg) and second to last in total yards (262.3 ypg). Their defense also wasn't too much to brag about, as they were dead last in yards allowed (456.2 yapg) and #7 in scoring (31.6 points allowed per game). While their record shows they are better than some teams in the UMAC, the stats show they have a looooong way to go. Morris only graduates four seniors, but one of them is the Cougars' only first-team All-UMAC selection, DL Nate Gehlen, and another is experienced OL Adam Keifer. While their floor isn't quite as low as other UMAC teams, they really aren't losing many this year so they should have quite a few starters back in the same positions for 2019, including second-team All-UMAC LB Marcos Luna and P (and also LB) Drew Shipley, and the offensive leader QB Justin Masloski. The Cougs don't have much to hang on to, but that last win over Greenville can maybe give them a glimmer of hope that they can eventually claw their way out of the bottom tier of the UMAC.

Greenville (3-7) - The Panthers were hoping to break into the upper tier of the UMAC this season, but instead slid a bit and ended up losing to Minnesota-Morris in the last game of the season to be included in the lower tier. In fact, the lower UMAC tier really was expanded this year to include over half the conference. Greenville was again able to put up some offensive numbers this season, but again were lacking on the defensive side; the Panthers were #4 in the UMAC in yards (350.4 ypg) and scoring (19.6 ppg), but #7 in yards allowed (397 yapg) and #8 in points allowed (35.1 papg). Greenville wasn't able to land anyone on the All-UMAC first team, but did manage to put 5 on the second team, including senior TE Gregoire Franchomme, who may not have played up to his expectations from last year, but did end with a pretty solid career. The Panthers graduate 13 seniors this year, including Franchomme, but will return many starters with plenty of experience. The loss of their stud TE may put a damper on the offense, so they will have to find some way to pick up the slack to compete next year.

Westminster (3-6) - Rounding out the bottom tier of the UMAC is the Blue Jays of Westminster, who started the 2018 conference season on a strong note, by opening their brand spanking new stadium, soundly defeating Iowa Wesleyan, then narrowly losing to the St. Scholastica Saints. After that they sputtered slightly, only pulling out victories against Crown and Minnesota Morris, although they were able to keep it competitive throughout the year; 4 of Westminster's 5 conference losses were decided by 5 points or less. As far as numbers go, the Blue Jays were middle of the pack when it came to both offense and defense, but their offense was skewed toward the run quite a bit, ranking #3 in the UMAC in rushing offense (183.4 ypg) at the expense of their passing offense, which was dead last in the conference with 132.9 ypg. Super senior QB Trent White and senior RB Kalyn Davis led that rushing attack, finishing the season with 608 yards rushing (#3 in UMAC) and 645 yards rushing (#2 in UMAC) respectively. Westminster graduates a very experienced class of 12 seniors, including White and Davis (both 2nd team All-UMAC), LB Jackson Ringhausen and DB Anthony Washington (both 1st team All-UMAC), WR Matt Quarles (2nd team All-UMAC), and several other starters. It'll be a tough road ahead for the Blue Jays, who will have to start some new faces in 2019.

Northwestern (5-5) - While it turned out to be a disappointing season by Northwestern standards,  they didn't dip below .500 for the 8th consecutive season, and they won the UMAC sportsmanship award (hurray). Northwestern followed their same recent pattern of poor offensive play but solid defense again this year, finishing a underacheiving #7 in the UMAC in scoring (16.2 ppg) and total yards (275.4 ypg), while standing out as the number one defense in the UMAC (17.2 points allowed per game, 303.9 yards allowed per game). The Eagles had a UMAC leading 14 honorees make All-UMAC teams, with 8 making the first team and 6 making the second team. Among the honorees were UMAC Special Teams Player of the Year senior K Josiah Donat, who converted 63.6% with 7 FGs made and a long FG of 46 yards, and senior OL Colton Paskewitz, who both will surely be missed in 2019, along with starting QB Taylor Lindahl and former D3football.com All-American DB Nick Swore. While the Eagles only graduate 5 seniors, their senior class packed a punch, and will leave some large shoes to fill. Still, the future looks pretty bright for this Northwestern team, with so many impact players returning in 2019.

St. Scholastica (6-4) - It wasn't a failure of a season by any means for the Saints, but it was a bit of a let down, as they had their worst season since 2009. They were still in the conference championship running throughout the season, but got steamrolled by the eventual champions Martin Luther which took a little bit of wind out of their sails. Statistically speaking, they did just fine, breaking all sorts of school passing records behind the arm of first team All-UMAC junior QB Zach Edwards and leading the UMAC in passing (324.8 ypg) and coming in #2 in total offense (29.1 ppg, 414.8 ypg). The defense was adequate, coming in #4 and #6 respectively in points allowed (24.7 per game) and yards allowed (390 per game). Their well-respected senior class of 12 will be missed dearly next year, as it includes the likes of Saints receiving legend Aaron Olson (Career: 130 receptions for 2,374 yards and 40 TDs, all program records) and first team All-UMAC selections OL Blake Hartmann, OL Kyle Porter, DB/P/K Donovan Blatz, and LB Jonathan Senger. Yikes. With this impressive class, next year might actually be a challenge for new head coach Mike Heffernan. I expect the Saints to bounce back, but it seems their program might be in a bit of a crisis with the annual coaching changes. I'd still take a "crisis" like St. Scholastica's over the performances of many UMAC teams though, so there's that.

MacMurray (7-2) - MacMurray's recent success carried over into 2018, as they competed once again for the UMAC title, but were defeated soundly by the conference champion Martin Luther Knights to begrudgingly accept second place in the UMAC. The Highlanders were led by 2-time UMAC Defensive Player of the Year senior DL Javon Muhammad, who dominated in 2018, leading the nation in sacks per game (1.83) and tackles for loss per game (3.6), which granted are weird stats (what the heck NCAA), but dang impressive. The guy had double the amount of sacks as the next UMAC sack leader, with 16.5 on the year, and was nominated for the Cliff Harris award, which honors the top defensive player in DII/DIII/NAIA football. MacMurray's keys to success this year included an efficient offense and an effective defense, as they came in third in the UMAC in total offense (22.3 ppg, 368.6 ypg), second in the UMAC in yards allowed (323.8 per game), and third in the UMAC in points allowed (19.6 per game). The Highlanders also take a hit this offseason, as 14 seniors will graduate including Muhammad and first team All-UMAC selections OL Anthony Fowler (UMAC Offensive Lineman of the Year) and DB Chris Blanchard, and second team selections QB Nathan Randall and WR Devonta Preston. This program seems to be headed in the right direction, so I'm pretty confident that they will be able to stay afloat in the UMAC despite their offseason losses.


Martin Luther (9-2) - Yes, the playoff loss was embarrassing, but that shouldn't detract from what the Knights did this year. Who of us (meaning the UMAC) could have competed with St. John's? Could any UMAC team have done better? We'll never know, but the fact remains that Martin Luther had an impressive season. They went from 0-10 in 2016 to going 9-2 and winning a conference title in just two years, setting up a blueprint for any struggling small-school team to follow. They rolled this year by establishing a dominating run game, led by UMAC Offensive Player of the Year sophomore RB Austin DeNoyer, who was the only UMAC player to gain 1,000 yards rushing this season, ending the year with 1,086 yards and 14 TDs, both leading the UMAC. Martin Luther ended the year #1 in the conference in scoring (33.7 ppg) and total offense (429.5 ypg). Sophomore QB Zach Bloomquist also contributed as a dual threat, rushing for 323 yards and 11 TDs while passing for 1,704 yards and 16 TDs. Both earned first-team All-UMAC honors, along with WR Josh Arndt, TE Mike Radue, OL Carlington Cunningham and Josh Frailing, DL Keith Brassow and Dan Gensmer, LB Tristan Pankow, and DB Ben Arndt. The crazy thing is, out of those 10 first-team All-UMAC selections, only two of them (Josh Arndt and Josh Frailing) are seniors. Coach of the Year Mark Stein has created a winning team, and they are young, with only 4 seniors graduating this offseason. The Knights will hope to culture a winning tradition by taking this success into 2019.

Once again, congratulations to the Martin Luther College Knights on an amazing turnaround and a UMAC title! It was a fun year of ups and downs and changes in the UMAC, and it'll be fun to see what's in store for 2019! I can't promise that I'll be back next year, but if the situation arises, I'll guide you to the next best UMAC blog. Thanks for reading throughout the year, and Merry Christmas!