Week 7 Power Rankings

There are always injuries in football, but UMAC Central would like to keep the injured players that forced an early ending to the Northwestern/Crown football game in our thoughts and wish them a speedy recovery. That being said, injuries are a part of the game and we wouldn’t want to dilute our Power Rankings too much.

1.  Northwestern just keeps on rolling along. All year we have talked about the offense and how explosive it is, but the defense has been equally as impressive. We knew that DE Josh Swore was in line to have good year, but DE Nathan Van Zee is a pleasant surprise. Top to bottom, this defense is very solid and took advantage of a young Crown football team. Three games remain on the schedule: Martin Luther, Eureka, and Greenville. The Eagles will be favored in every game, but Martin Luther’s offense is coming around and we know that defense is excellent. It’s not a cakewalk, but Northwestern has plenty of talent to make it happen.

2.  St. Scholastica. If you were trying to pinpoint one thing different and explain the difference from last year’s team to this years team, look no further than the QB position. Obviously, its tough to replace a host of all-conference players, but it doesn’t get any more difficult than the QB position. The Saints got spoiled by Alex Thiry’s ability to make big plays, be extremely efficient, and take care of the football. Its not that QB Tyler Harper isn’t good, but he’s inconsistent, turns the ball over too much, and hasn’t shown the ability to make plays when it matters (3^rd down, last drive against Northwestern, etc.)  Harper is a young QB so look for a big time improvement next year, but if you wanted to try and explain this year…look no further than the guy taking the snaps.

3.  Greenville is like West Virginia. They have no defense, but can outscore anyone on any given day. When the offense has an off day you get a game like they did against St. Scholastica. It’s all in the hands of QB Brendan Chambers and RB Manny Gamble, but if they have any hopes of beating Northwestern, they better start working of the defensive side of the ball. Martin Luther had been averaging less than a touchdown a game for a total of 43 points in conference play. Yep, folks that’s the entire conference year. From September 8^th to October 12^th the Martin Luther Knights had score a total of 43 points. The Panthers defense let them score 39.

4.  Minnesota Morris is probably clamoring about how we have done them injustice all season long. So here is my confession for the year. Against all odds, mainly the fact that the coaching staff is indecisive enough to play 2 QB’s coupled with the existence of  two starting offensive linemen so large they can’t get into a legitimate stance, and barring a setback against Crown; Minnesota Morris has solidified itself as the fourth best team in the conference. This does not mean in any way, shape, or form that I give them any chance of beating St. Scholastica.

5.  Eureka has to be very dissapointed. The thought process was that they wouldn’t be able to run the table because of Northwestern or Greenville, not Morris. The Red Devils don’t have a good enough running game, and QB Sam Durley just can’t pull out video game numbers on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, the team puts too much pressure on Durley to put up points and it hurts them big time.

6.  Westminster played surprisingly well against St. Scholastica. Or should I say, they somehow managed to keep it close while only having the ball 18 minutes. The weather was their friend on Saturday. This team gets to close the season out with two games against MacMurray. Can anyone tell me how they get to play the Highlanders twice? It’s almost a travesty to play them once much less twice. For all MacMurray fans screaming bloody murder, I’ll get to you later.

7.  Martin Luther earns this spot by almost doubling their offensive output. If they can put points up on the board, I’m telling you that defense is tough.

8.  Crown. I’m usually not into saying I told you so. So how about nice try.

9.  MacMurray. So far this season, not much has been posted down here in the nine spot except cruel jokes that randomly pop into my head (as in the one I snuck in with the Westminster ranking…sneaky huh?). I know, I know, there are definitely wittier minds than mine. Here is my unbiased assesment of your football team. It’s not that you don’t have any players that aren’t good, it’s the fact that your entire program is in shambles. Let’s start with the field and facilities. I have no idea what the name is, but I have a suggestion: “The Dump.” More importantly other kids are stronger, faster, and are being taught better schemes and techniques. It all comes down to the program investing in weight training, conditioning, film study, and to coaches that understand how to implement a new mindset to your program. Until then, your record for the season will continue to reflect the state of your football program.