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!