Week 9 Predictions: Jay's Picks

Jay's Picks (4 of 5 Week 8, 31 of 45 on the season)
In my mind, there is not much question about who will win each game this week, save for our game of the week. Outside of the Martin Luther at Crown game, every game is an uneven matchup and it will be a very uninteresting week to watch UMAC football, unless you are a parent and you get excited just to see little Johnny makes the field on special teams. Nonetheless (which I just found out is one word), I will still be putting full effort into making my picks, just for your enjoyment. You can thank me later.

Northwestern @ MacMurray- The worst part for Northwestern is that they have to drive 10 hours for a practice. The best part, they is they get to count this practice as a win, just for showing up. Northwestern's offense is going to be too much for the Highlanders defense who gives up 38.5 points 414.2 yards per game. The Highlanders may score a few times in the second half, but it will be too little, too late. As long as the visitor's sideline doesn't slide off into the valley next to Fressen Field, there should be little to no contest in this game. Northwestern 40 MacMurray 20

Eureka @ Iowa Wesleyan- The Tigers drew some interest last week with their early second half lead over Greenville, but that was quickly dashed away as the Panthers ran away with that game, totalling over 650 yards of offense. Eureka's offense isn't as potent as the Panthers, but it is still good and should be able to score a fair amount of points. Iowa Wesleyan has shown some potential but I don't think their offense will matchup well against Eureka's physical defense that has only allowed three teams (Greenville, Westmisnter, and St. Scholastica) to score more than 20 points. This game won't be a blowout, but the winning team won't break a sweat on their way to victory. Eureka 31 Iowa Wesleyan 14

Minnesota-Morris @ St. Scholastica- This game could be interesting for a little while as last year the Cougars nearly defeated the Saints and kept them from "earning" a bid to the NCAA playoffs. However, with this game being at St. Scholastica's "home" field and the Cougars playing more like kittens, the Saints will keep their undefeated streak going. Jake Jensen has been dominating behind the Saints o-line the last couple weeks and I do not think the Cougars defense will be able to end his run. The best thing the Cougars can do is look at improving Brendon Foss' NFL draft stock by throwing him every pass from all three QBs. St. Scholastica 42 Minnesota-Morris 24

Westminster @ Greenville- One of these two teams has averaged the most yards lost to penalties per game. That's right, Greenville is the most penalized team in the UMAC, averaging 86.6 yards lost to penalties each game. Westminster, is second with 76.5 yards per game. Now what does this have to do with who will win the game? Probably nothing, but I needed something to talk about besides how good Greenville's offense is going to perform like I do every week. Greenville 49 Westminster 24

Game of the Week

Martin Luther @ Crown- Due to the lack of a game that matters for playoffs standings this week, the Knights and Storm receive the honor of playing in the Game of the Week. Crown is an up and coming team with a lot of potential. The Storm are currently riding their first 3 game win streak since 2010. Martin Luther is coming off a big win over Minnesota-Morris. I think Crown is a much more well-rounded football team and their depth will be the winning factor. Crown 35 Martin Luther 23