FB: Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

[venture]

Hey Johnnie,  my thoughts on the UMAC south division will be Rockford, Westminster then Blackburn for my top three.  Those are my personal thoughts not based on knowledge. GO REGENTS!   

[AO]

Based upon Westminster's strong returning group and a perfect record in the south division last year including a 20-7 defeat of Rockford, Westminster has got to be the favorite in the south.

[Pat Coleman]

Westminster has just two returning starters on offense and nine overall. How strong can that group be?

Rockford has this game at home as well. I don't know if you have to make Westminster the favorite. There's room for debate.

[venture]

I said those are my thoughts, unfortunately my thoughts are seldom correct  GO REGENTS

[AO]

I am constantly impressed by you Pat, you're right again, 16 starters were lost to graduation.  I had thought that Robbie Coleman had another year, but I guess I thought wrong.  By the time Westminster does play Rockford the new starters should be confident in their roles.  In either case I'd take a team from the North Division to be the heavy favorite in the dome day game for the outright conference championship.

[johnnie_esq]

So what about the North Division?  Tell me about Martin Luther- can they repeat against NWC?

[vinnysboy]

As a former UMAC player, I feel that any competition outside the UMAC is great for that conference. Nortwestern should always be the favorite for the conference nobody can challenge them since Mount Senario died.

[ganno65]

Minn-Morris would be my favorite in the north but Nothwestern will be a close second... Martin Luther's reign has come to an end due to the fact that much of their talent has graduated... Don't get me wrong they will hustle to the ball on defense and will be a tough matchup for Morris and Northwestern.

[sfury]

This is a blatantly shameless plug, but...

My book, "Keeping the faith: In the trenches with college football's worst team," comes out Thursday (Sept. 1). It's the story of the Trinity Bible College club, focusing on their 2004 season, along with some stuff from 2003 (the 105-0 game). Obviously, it focuses on Trinity, but there is a fair amount of information on the other UMAC teams (particularly Rockford and Principia).

The book should be available in most bookstores, and it's also available on Amazon. There's more information and a review from Publishers Weekly up on www.shawnfury.com

Also, you can read the introduction at the web site.

I'm a St. John's grad so I've been a big fan of small-college football for years. I think the book will appeal to fans of any level, but particularly D3.

[johnnie_esq]

So tell me more about Morris-- I know little about them.  How will they beat NWC?  Or on the other hand, how will NWC stop them?

[vinnysboy]

Hey that book actually sounds interesting a buddy of mine had a career high recieving game agaisnt TBB back in 97. On his 1st catch he tore his MCL and partially tore his ACL and went on to set the school record for single game yardage and catches. The following week he Finished his knee off down at Concordia Mequon. That guy was a freak of nature.

[johnnie_esq]

Nobody will be taking UMAC picks this weekend?  Here's the schedule:
Principia College             Southwest Assemblies of God              
Northwestern College    Lakeland College     
Trinity Bible College         Haskell         
Westminster College    Coe College     
Rockford College    Eureka College
Blackburn College    Illinois College         
Martin Luther College    Luther College         
Univ. of Minnesota-Morris    Mayville State

And my outsider picks:
Principia, NWC, Haskell, Coe, Rockford, Blackburn, Luther, and Mayville.

[Pat Coleman]

I would take SWAG, Lakeland, Haskell, Coe, Rockford, IC, Luther, Morris.

[ganno65]

Principia College v. Southwest Assemblies of God -   Principia
         
Northwestern College v. Lakeland College - Lakeland
   
Trinity Bible College - Haskell - Haskell
       
Westminster College v. Coe College - Coe  
   
Rockford College v. Eureka College - Rockford

Blackburn College v. Illinois College - BLACKBURN (new era at Blackburn College)
         
Martin Luther College v. Luther College - Luther
       
Univ. of Minnesota-Morris v. Mayville State - UM-Morris

[AO]

maybe my pumping up of Northwestern conviced johnnie_esq that we were pretty good.  Enough that he would pick us over lakeland, a team that beat us 47-7 at home last year.  We did get them angry enough with our single touchdown last year that one of the lakeland coaches punched a hole through our press box wall, however.  With the game in sheboygan, it's going to be a difficult task this afternoon.