It is that time of the week again. The NSIC Power Rankings are a little more clear cut than the past few weeks...
1. #1 UM-Duluth 9-0 (8-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Northern State 27-7
LG - W vs. #25 St. Cloud State 40-17
UG - @ UM-Crookston (1-8)
Note - I think most people are coming to terms that no one is going to knock off the UM-Duluth Bulldogs this year. I said that I thought St. Cloud would keep it a close game for a while but the Bulldogs would pull away and win by 17-21 points. I was close...UMD won by 23 and it was a 13-10 game at halftime. Statistically, the two teams were pretty close...UMD had 21 first downs to 19 for St. Cloud and UMD only had 23 more yards of total offense. However, the big difference in this game was turnovers. The Huskies had five turnovers in this game while the Bulldogs, who were coming off a four turnover performance against NSU, had none. A lot of times, I talk about a UMD offensive player that had an outstanding performance but how about LB Kiel Fechtelkotter? 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble? You can't ask for a much better defensive performance than that. I wonder if the Bulldogs will treat next week's game like a bye week for the starters because one of the best teams in D2 college football is about to play one of the worst teams in D2 college football when UMD travels to Crookston on Saturday.
2. #7 Augustana 9-0 (8-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ MSU-Moorhead 47-17
LG - W vs. MSU-Mankato 17-13
UG - @ Wayne State (5-4)
Note - Well, it wasn't pretty but Augie stole a potential road victory from the Mavericks...or would it be safe to say MSU-Mankato gave the game away? In either case, Augustana came up with the big play with 26 seconds left. With starting quarterback Josh Hanson knocked out of the game earlier, backup QB Ryan Schuetz completed a 36-yard pass to none other than wideout Tyler Schulte for the game-winning TD. It was interesting what happened just three plays before this one. The Mavericks had Augie stopped on 3rd and 15 at the Augie 49-yard line. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Augustana a first down and new life. I guess this is what happens when you're undefeated...everyone is going to give you their best shot and sometimes one or two plays will be the difference between an undefeated season and a bitter home loss. Right now, the health of Josh Hanson might be a concern because we only have three more weeks until the D2 playoffs begin. A potential loss at Wayne could be devastating but at the same time, I don't see how Wayne can win with the way they are playing.
3. #25 St. Cloud State 7-2 (7-1 NSIC) (-)
PG - W vs. UM-Crookston 49-6
LG - L @ #1 UM-Duluth 40-17
UG - vs. Bemidji State (6-3)
Note - The Huskies had an opportunity to make a big statement on the road against UM-Duluth. The fact that they built themselves a 10-0 hole midway through the first quarter and still managed to make it a 13-10 game at halftime was impressive. However, two Huskies turnovers setup easy UMD scores in the second half led to a 27-7 pounding of the Huskies in the second half. In order to compete with UMD, the Huskies had to take care of the football and five turnovers certainly doomed them in that aspect. QB Phillip Klaphake had a game to forget as he was intercepted twice, fumbled three times, losing two of those fumbles. Overall, the Huskies managed to play a fairly even game with the Bulldogs but whenever you lose the turnover margin 5-0...it will almost never play into your favor. If there is any good news for St. Cloud, this was a game that they were probably supposed to lose. They go home to take on a tough Bemidji State Beavers squad...if they can get by that game and finish the season 9-2, they have a decent shot at the playoffs.
4. Winona State 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Concordia-St. Paul 31-28
LG - W @ SW Minnesota State 45-19
UG - vs. Mary (2-7)
Note - After watching Winona State play the last two weeks, I've noticed that they've done two things that has helped their play considerably the last two weeks. Obviously one was the quarterback change from Evan Aber to Bryan Bradshaw but the other is giving more touches to Rayon Simmons. It obviously paid off against SW Minnesota State as he received NSIC Offensive Player of the Week with his performance. He carried the ball 22 times for 196 yards and 5 TDs, as well as caught three passes for 54 yards. Overall, a 250-yard day and 5 TDs would be an unbelievable performance, especially considering he was taken out early in the 4th quarter. Again, Bradshaw was solid, going 15-of-23 for 209 yards and only one interception. With the way this Winona State team is playing, it seems as though they have a lot of confidence going into their final two games of the season. If there is a concern the last two weeks, it is their lack of ability to stop the run. They'll need to do a better job of it this Saturday when Jamal Lomax and the University of Mary come to Maxwell Field.
5. Concordia-St. Paul 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (-)
PG - L vs. Winona State 31-28
LG - W @ UM-Crookston 41-7
UG - vs. Upper Iowa (2-7)
Note - As expected, the Golden Bears rebounded off a tough home loss to Winona State with a blowout road victory at UM-Crookston. This game was never really close as Concordia-St. Paul had a 20-0 halftime lead and a 41-0 lead after the 3rd quarter. Starting quarterback Spencer Ohm didn't play a snap into the 4th quarter, as he played a nearly flawless three quarters completing 12-of-17 passes for 217 yards and 3 TDs. It wasn't like the running game wasn't working either. Sam Campbell rushed 14 times for 113 yards and a TD. I'm sure we might have expected a bigger blowout than this but I've noticed that St. Cloud and Concordia hardly played their starters into the 4th quarter against UM-Crookston. It is probably a wise move because the Golden Bears are competing for a potential Mineral Water Bowl spot and they'll need to be healthy down the stretch if they want a shot at it. They host Upper Iowa next week, a team coming off a confidence boosting win at home against Wayne State. If they play like they did against Wayne, the Golden Bears could have a challenge...or they could have a cake walk. It really depends which Peacocks team shows up this week.
6. Bemidji State 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (+2)
PG - W vs. Mary 23-22
LG - W vs. Northern State 41-13
UG - @ #25 St. Cloud State (7-2)
Note - After two consecutive weeks of squeaking out wins against inferior opponents, the Beavers finally righted the ship and manhandled Northern State. The Beavers punched them in the mouth early, building a 27-0 lead and if not for a late score by the Wolves, it wouldn't have been 27-6 going into halftime. The Beavers were excellent on the ground, rushing for 350 yards with RB Dustin Kroeplin rushing 23 times for 200 yards and 2 TDs as well as Steven Battle rushing seven times for 91 yards. This is the Bemidji State team we expected to see the past three weeks and just hadn't seen it up until this point. Even though this was a big win for the Beavers, their game this Saturday would certainly give them their biggest win of the season if they pull off the upset. They travel to St. Cloud for the battle for second place in the NSIC North Division. Even though the Huskies are coming off a demoralizing loss, I'm sure they will give the Beavers all that they can handle.
7. MSU-Mankato 5-4 (4-4 NSIC) (-1)
PG - W @ Wayne State 13-3
LG - L @ #7 Augustana 17-13
UG - vs. SW Minnesota State (4-5)
Note - I'm sure the Mavericks thought they had this game in hand. They had Augustana at 3rd and 15 and it looked as though the Vikings magical run at being undefeated would come to an end. However, leave it to more stupid mistakes to doom the Mavericks yet again this season. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Vikings a 1st down and they delivered the game-winning touchdown three plays later with 26 seconds left to win. It had to be a heartbreaking loss for MSU because there were so many factors going into this game. They could've spoiled Augie's perfect season. They could've put themselves in the driver's seat for a potential Mineral Water Bowl. However, all became lost after two demoralizing plays on Augustana's final possession. As much as Augustana's quarterback situation was a mess, MSU QB Steve Pachan had a nightmarish game, completing 10-of-25 passes for 143 yards with a TD and three interceptions. The performance would've had me begging for Will Brogan back but injuries kept him out of this game. Overall, the Mavericks will still have an opportunity to finish above .500 this season when they host SW Minnesota State on Saturday.
8. Wayne State 5-4 (4-4 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L vs. MSU-Mankato 13-3
LG - L @ Upper Iowa 21-20
UG - vs. #7 Augustana (9-0)
Note - What more can I say about the Wayne State Wildcats other than they are on the biggest slide since downhill skiing became a sport. Three straight losses, two at home and one on the road to what was a one-win football team. How they lost this game was something to laugh at because with two minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, it was a 14-14 ball game. With 1:47 to go, UIU QB Ben Curran completed a 24-yard pass to Jessie Hubbard for a TD that gave the Peacocks a 21-14 lead. However, the Peacocks had blown last week's game late and it seemed it would be much of the same this week. On the ensuing kickoff, WSC returner Kevin Paulsen had an 86 yard return that was brought back to the Peacocks three yard line. One play later, Nick Pulcher plunged into the endzone on a three-yard carry to make it a 21-20 game. Wildcats kicker Nick Bell shanked the extra point and the Peacocks would hold on to a 21-20 win after a scoreless 4th quarter. Overall, this is what seems to be happening to Wayne State lately. They can't get plays to go their way and being decimated by injuries certainly doesn't help. The Wildcats don't have an easy finish either. They host Augustana this week and then travel to Winona State next week. It will be hard to believe if Wayne State finishes with a losing record but with the way things are going, it wouldn't be surprising.
9. SW Minnesota State 4-5 (3-5 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Upper Iowa 40-34
LG - L vs. Winona State 44-19
UG - @ MSU-Mankato (5-4)
Note - After coming off an intense road victory in Fayette the week before, the Mustangs had some confidence and perhaps a belief that they could upset the Warriors in Marshall again this year after doing it two years ago. However, the Warriors quickly showed them that they are not Upper Iowa. The Warriors built a 31-7 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Mustangs could not stop the WSU rushing attack at all. The Warriors rushed for 362 yards and had 571 yards of total offense. It was a bad game offensively and defensively for the Mustangs, but if there was a bright spot, it was running back Warren Matthews. Matthews carried the ball 14 times for 114 yards and a TD. Part of the reason why he didn't carry the ball that much was due in part to getting behind early and resorting to the pass to try and get back in the game. Ryan Ratekin was far from sharp, completing 14-of-28 passes for 127 yards and a TD. However, he faced a ferocious Warriors pass rush and his receivers had a hard time getting open against the Winona State secondary. The Mustangs travel to Mankato this Saturday to take on a very tough MSU-Mankato team...not to mention they are playing a hot team at the wrong time.
10. Mary 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L @ Bemidji State 23-22
LG - W vs. MSU-Moorhead 43-17
UG - @ Winona State (6-3)
Note - It looks like I should have went with my gut and picked Mary at #10 last week because their game with MSU-Moorhead was far from what I'd call "a game". They built a 28-0 lead going into halftime and the Dragons were never even able to make it remotely close. Lomax was a work horse, carrying the ball 30 times for 169 yards and two TDs. He also caught three passes for 33 yards, giving him 202 total yards on the day. Mary has played a lot of close games this season and could be 4-5 or even possibly 5-4...its just that they've had some bad breaks go their way. They might need that sort of confidence if they want to go into Winona and compete. If they can play with the same mentality that they had against Bemidji State, they might be able to pull it off but then again, Bemidji State has been one of the bigger Jeckyl & Hyde teams all season. Winona State is no push over and when they are playing a game they are favored in, they typically win pretty handily. All I will say is Mary has a tall order ahead of them.
11. MSU-Moorhead 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L @ #7 Augustana 47-17
LG - L @ Mary 43-17
UG - @ Northern State (1-8)
Note - With these past few games and upcoming games, not only are we finding out who the "best of the best" in the NSIC are, but we are slowly starting to figure out who is the "worst of the the worst." I did think that there is the possibility that MSU-Moorhead is one of those teams but after playing a competitive game with Bemidji State and stunning Augustana for a quarter and a half, I thought that they might not be all that bad of a team...boy was I wrong. They were downright awful against Mary. I'm still trying to figure out why they threw 60 pass attempts in that game. I know Mary's secondary is suspect, but not THAT suspect. Of course, when you carry the ball 26 times for 40 yards, I can somewhat understand why you'd want to give up on the run. It is pretty amazing that MSU-Moorhead ran 86 plays in the game and only scored 17 points. While Mary only ran 69 plays and scored 43 points, 33 of those plays went through Lomax and he couldn't be stopped. Overall, I'd have to say MSU-Moorhead is a pretty poor team and if they lose next week's game at Northern State, I could possibly drop them to #13 in the NSIC rankings.
12. Upper Iowa 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L vs. SW Minnesota State 40-34
LG - W vs. Wayne State 21-20
UG - @ Concordia-St. Paul (6-3)
Note - I guess I should congratulate Upper Iowa on getting out of the proverbial cellar in the NSIC since UM-Crookston is a given. The last two weeks, the Peacocks have played much better football and were able to get their second conference victory against a decent team in Wayne State. It's hard to take some credit away from the Peacocks, but they did beat a Wildcats team that has been down on its luck and playing its worst football of the season. Still, it was good for the Peacocks to finally get that win so they can hang their hat on something. Wins won't be much easier to come by the rest of the way as they travel to St. Paul this Saturday and finish off the year at Augustana. Right now, 2-9 is looking pretty probable but if the Peacocks can bring the same intensity that they brought to last Saturday's game, they might give themselves a shot...but I'm doubting it.
13. Northern State 1-8 (1-7 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L vs. #1 UM-Duluth 27-7
LG - L @ Bemidji State 41-13
UG - vs. MSU-Moorhead (2-7)
Note - Just when I think Northern State really isn't that bad, they somehow appall me by getting trounced by Bemidji State in a game where they gave up 350 yards rushing. I just don't know what to think of this Northern State team. With the way Bemidji State played in the weeks coming up to this game, I thought Northern had a decent shot to pull the upset. I don't know if Bemidji executed their game plan that well or if Northern just didn't show up to this one. Perhaps the difference between their game against UMD and their game against BSU was turnovers. They forced five Bulldogs turnovers the week before, whereas Bemidji didn't commit a single turnover. As a result, they buried the Wolves. We'll have an interesting game on our hands next week when MSU-Moorhead travels to Northern State. To me, this is probably the battle for last place in the NSIC (not named UM-Crookston).
14. UM-Crookston 1-8 (0-8 NSIC) (-)
PG - L @ #25 St. Cloud State 49-6
LG - L vs. Concordia-St. Paul 41-7
UG - vs. #1 UM-Duluth (9-0)
Note - Well, this might not be the most appropriate quote but, "Same old $#!t, different day," pretty much sums up the Golden Eagles in a nutshell. Concordia-St. Paul pulled its starters before the end of the 3rd quarter and they were up 41-0 at that point. That's one thing I'll comment about the upper tier NSIC teams...at least they aren't running up the score on UM-Crookston...that shows some class. After this game, I couldn't help but laugh at QB Josh Perea's seasonal stat line. 76-of-154 (49.4%) 3 TDs 12 INTs and a 77.2 QB Rating. Then again, it's not like backup Tim Ennis is lighting things up. He's 28-of-55 (50.9%) 2 TDs 7 INTs for a 86.33 QB Rating. I guess if there is one thing we can say about UM-Crookston, it wasn't designed to be a treasure trove for NSIC quarterbacks if neither of their QBs can perform in their system. They play in a game in which they should really forfeit when they host UM-Duluth. Really, does anyone want to see this massacre?
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