The Other Division of Football
NAIA Football at its. . .finest?
I’ve officially became the owner of the Victory Sports Network.
That means all of my new NAIA football content will be posted on that site. Everything you see here will eventually move over to there. It’s going to be awesome. You can link directly to the football section and all the football articles here: https://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/content/naia-football-news.html
Join me at the Victory Sports Network for all your NAIA football coverage!!
This week the NAIA has two games where we will see teams in the Top 25 facing off. No. 19 Georgetown and No. 6 Bethel lock it up while No. 16 St. Thomas and No. 9 Keiser will battle for the Sun Conference. I’ll get into my full previews a little later.
The last couple of weeks in the NAIA honestly have been a little. . .meh. Don’t get me wrong, there’s been great games and some huge performances. But it’s lacked the chaos that I prefer to see. Top 10 teams getting upset, winless teams beating undefeated teams. I want pure chaos. It’s more fun that way.
There are 12 teams that are currently undefeated in NAIA Football. The most surprising given their schedule would be No. 13 Concordia (Mich). The Cardinals took on D2 Wayne State (Mich.) and pulled off a last second win. Now, WSU is 1-4 but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that CUAA beating them is a big win. This was a road game and CUAA found a way to win. They’ll be tested in two weeks when they get Marian to come to Ann Arbor in MSFA play.
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There were not any upsets in the NAIA Football Top 25 on Saturday. SXU and USF went into OT and was as good of a game as expected. Bethel (Tenn.) and Cumberlands battled early before the Wildcats eventually pulled away. No. 11 Montana Tech pulled off a road victory against Southern Oregon in the closest thing we saw to an upset over the weekend. Tech trailed 14-10 in the 3rd before pulling out the win.
The biggest win of the weekend was Concordia-Ann Arbor defeating NCAA D2 Wayne State (Mich.), 24-23. CUAA scored with 24 seconds left to secure the win. Here’s a full rundown of the NAIA Football Top 25 from the weekend.
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IRVING, Texas (Sept. 27, 2023) – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today a record number of 201 semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award. The new highwater mark eclipses the 199 nominees in 2000. The impressive list of candidates boasts an impressive 3.65 average GPA, with more than half of the semifinalists having already earned their bachelor’s degrees.
Celebrating its 34th year, the Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
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The NAIA Championship Series has expanded to 20 teams this year. That means we will see a few more teams make it into the postseason while several new teams can make a case for how they were snubbed. Every conference champion, regardless of ranking, will make it to the NAIA postseason. This has long been an argument for some conferences that seem to beat each other up throughout the regular season and end up just outside the ranking needed to make it to postseason play.
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Well, I was shocked last week. No. 2 Grand View defeated Missouri Valley 70-7. Reread that please. Both teams were 3-0 coming into this game and MoVal had me thinking, “hey. . .maybe?” Needless to say Grand View wowed a lot of people this weekend with this statement victory on the road.
GV QB Jackson Waring was a perfect 12-12 for 251 yards and three TD passes to lead the Vikings. RBs Beau Flander and Dalten Van Pelt each ran for 70+ yards in the victory. Perhaps more impressive was the Grand View defense who limited MoVal to 178 total yards while forcing four INTs. I’ve said it from the start of the year, Grand View has something to prove this year and each week it seems like this team takes another step forward. Next week Grand View hosts Central Methodist. . .good luck Eagles.
Speaking of turnovers, they derailed No. 12 Georgetown this week against Reinhardt. The Tigers had four INTs and a fumble in their road loss to Reinhardt. Also hidden in the stats were 282 total yards for the Tigers. With 3:59 left in the 3rd, Braylon Jones of RU had 80 yd fumble recovery to turn the tide in this game.
[Read more…]KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwestern (Iowa), the reigning National Champions, once again have a firm grasp on all 18 first-place votes in the newest NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Rating presented by FirstDown PlayBook. The next five teams remain unchanged as Grand View (Iowa), Morningside (Iowa), Indiana Wesleyan, Marian (Ind.) and Bethel (Tenn.) are second through sixth, respectively.
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No. 2 Grand View Makes a Statement:
In a highly anticipated clash, No. 2 Grand View took on Missouri Valley, both teams entering the game with unblemished 3-0 records. The matchup had fans wondering if Missouri Valley could pull off an upset, but Grand View left no room for doubt. They delivered a jaw-dropping performance on the road, routing Missouri Valley 70-7. Grand View’s QB Jackson Waring was a perfect 12-12 for 251 yards, adding three TD passes to lead the way. Running backs Beau Flander and Dalten Van Pelt each contributed with over 70 rushing yards. What truly stood out was Grand View’s defense, limiting Missouri Valley to a mere 178 total yards while forcing four interceptions. Grand View continues to prove their mettle each week, with an eye on their next challenge against Central Methodist.
No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) Soars:
No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) dominated their game against Mount Mary, securing a resounding 42-0 victory. Jalyn Gramstad, a strong contender for NAIA Player of the Year, had an exceptional performance. He threw for 397 yards, rushed for an additional 22, and recorded a total of five touchdowns (four through the air and one on the ground).
The best game in the NAIA last week will spawn the best game in the NAIA this week. We’re moving into the season of the cream rising to the top and the top teams separating themselves from the pack.
Last weekend I had my eyes on RV Missouri Valley at No. 25 Graceland. This game had all the makings of an early season test for both squads. MoVal prevailed 49-42 by going on an 8 play, 90 yard drive in the final minutes of the game to secure the victory with 15 seconds left. MoVal jumped out to a 14-0 lead and stayed ahead of the Yellow Jackets until the 3:34 mark of the 4th quarter when Graceland knotted things at 42. Even though the Vikings gave up 42 points, they limited Graceland’s offense to 281 yards of total offense. MoVal RB Jeremiah Bryant carried the ball 23 times for 126 yards and four touchdowns for the Vikes while the Yellow Jackets were unable to move the ball on the ground, finishing with -11 yards rushing. MoVal WR Khaleel Dampier had 8 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns to add to the Vikings offense. The games don’t get any smaller for the Vikings this week as they take on one of the best in the NAIA, No. 2 Grand View. Both squads are undefeated with something to prove.
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I’m a coward. That’s the best way to describe it. If anyone looked at my predictions or every bet I’ve ever put on college football they could probably say one of two things and be accurate.
He’s a coward.
He’s an idiot.
Last week I predicted that Benedictine at Graceland would be one of the biggest games of the week in the NAIA. I also went so far as to say “this game has upset written all over it.” But what did I do? Not pick the upset and look like a coward.
Graceland is not playing like cowards. They knocked off previous NAIA Top 10 Benedictine 37-35 in Lamoni, Iowa Saturday night. The Yellowjackets are now 3-0 behind one of the most high powered offenses in the NAIA. GU trailed 35-28 with 7:45 remaining before punching in another touchdown and kicking a game winning FG with 13 seconds left in the game. What’s interesting is GU kicker Alex Tuyo had a chance to tie the game at 35 when the XP failed and Benedictine retained the lead. On the ensuring drive, Benedictine couldn’t move the ball and was forced to punt. Graceland took over at their own 14 with 2:10 left to play and went 59 yards to set up the game winning kick.
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