The Week that Was: Week 3

Week 3 of UMAC action should not have had any upsets, and it didn’t. But for a week when not a single underdog won, it sure felt like there were a lot of surprises. Eureka looked like they owned Greenville for most of the day, but somehow the Panthers managed to find a way to win, once again. Scholastica had to battle with Crown to come out with a ten point win. Northwestern and Martin Luther were locked into a defensive battle. Wait, what? MLC was in a DEFENSIVE battle? Westminster was knotted up with MacMurray at 14 with 4 minutes left in the game before they finally scored a touchdown with two minutes left that would put them up for good. And Morris was losing to Iowa Wesleyan for a while before the Tigers defense started falling on the ground instead of trying to make tackles again. So, what did we learn from the week that was? Well, let me tell you:

Apparently Eureka really is that good. We were slow to admit it, and, let’s be fair here – there was good reason for that. The most overhyped team in the UMAC the last two seasons was the Eureka Red Devils. We got to hear every week about how good their quarterback was and how they were going to be a threat to win the conference, but they never backed it up on the field. Then they lose their quarterback, who was the best player on their lousy team, so they should be awful, right? Apparently not. The Red Devils are back with a vengeance and a defense that can inspire fear in any UMAC team. Blake Robles is doing a great job at quarterback and their has suddenly expanded their playbook to include more than four plays. Their win over Knox didn’t do much for me, beating Northwestern gave them some credibility, but outplaying Greenville really proved that they is for real. I look forward to watching how this team stacks up against the conference the rest of the season. 

Before we leave the subject of Eureka, we should revisit the importance of the kicking game. Eureka missed an extra point in the very first quarter. No big deal, there was so much time left in the game. But guess how many points they lost by. Of course, you can never point to just one play as the reason for winning or losing. But let me remind you of the final game of last season between Greenville and Northwestern where the Panthers won on Northwestern’s missed extra point in overtime. That is now twice the Panthers have come out on the right end of a missed PAT to win a big game over an evenly matched opponent. Perhaps pure coincidence. All I know is, if I were a UMAC coach, I would be giving my PAT squad a whole lot more practice time than the ten minutes I have a feeling they get per week. It would sure be a bummer to lose a game because of it. Ask Eureka or Northwestern.

This Caleb McLaren kid for Minnesota Morris is pretty good. 293 yards and 5 TDS through the air to go with 49 yards on the ground en route to a 41-24 win over Iowa Wesleyan. IWC’s defense isn’t exactly world-beaters but those numbers are still impressive. The Cougars have replaced the void in their hearts left by the departure of their two four-year starting quarterbacks with this sophomore from Alaska. Maybe the coaching staff has finally heeded our advice and decided to go with just one guy at QB. It can never be proven, but we would like to think that UMAC Central has helped improve the UMM Football program with our wise words. Once again, you are welcome Cougar Nation. Not sure how a guy with 5 TDS didn’t make the UMAC Player of the Week Awards. Those at UMAC headquarters seem pretty enamored with guys who made all four of their PAT attempts. Good thing you have us to give you the award you really want, Caleb, UMAC Central’s Outstanding Athlete of the Week Award.

St. Scholastica had to battle with Crown to come out with a victory on the road. Not sure exactly what this means. The Saints have notoriously played to their competition’s level in years past. Do not worry too much about this, fans of St. Scholastica, I have a feeling your team will rise to the occasion when they face tougher competition. This week should be a good matchup for the Saints as the Blue Jays of Westminster come to Duluth for homecoming. You will have to stay tuned to see what Tommy and Jay predict in that game. Scholastica has had a chance to ease into their conference schedule this season, but they will finish with a bang facing off against Eureka, Morris, and Greenville in their final three games. Should be a fun finish. In other news, St. Scholastica’s athletic website is infuriating. Get that gaudy ticker with scores and links to your social media pages and a homecoming ad off the bottom. It takes up a third of my screen. Someone please take care of this for me. Someone get Josh Miron on that.

No silly social media posts this week since we got all of our predictions correct and no one sent us hate tweets. Just two noteworthy things to finish up with. 1) 30 people liked our status about Caleb McLaren winning our Athlete of the Week Award. That is remarkable. I could post on my personal Facebook that I just rescued a baby from a burning building and I would get 6 likes. What am I doing wrong? 2) I have been seeing a lot of social media comments regarding “The Fox” video. If you haven’t already seen it, there is something wrong with you, and it is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE. I believe it is time UMAC Central release their official stance on this video: It is AWESOME and should be enjoyed as such.

That is all I have for now. I could write for hours, but I have grown weary. Signing off for this week, yours truly, UMAC Central.