FB: Centennial Conference

[FourthAndShort]

The semifinals did not disappoint. What a wild game to watch.

This was an absolute shootout and felt like a game that could have gone either way well into the fourth quarter.

Hopkins looked like Hopkins... balanced and largely in control on offense for long stretches. The usual suspects showed up, and the execution was there against an elite opponent on the biggest stage.

UWRF has one hell of a quarterback in Blaha. He took a tough hit early but quickly shook it off, settling in and making several big time throws in brutal conditions while playing with poise throughout.

River Falls looks more than capable of giving North Central a serious challenge. And based on what we saw, Hopkins belonged squarely in that same conversation.

In the end, it was a strong showing for both teams.

UWRF erased any doubt that the WIAC is the best conference in the country, and that its era of being overshadowed by others (La Crosse, Whitewater) is over.

Hopkins continues to profile as a national program with the depth and infrastructure to reload and compete for a Stagg Bowl appearance.

[emma17]

Johns Hopkins is one impressive team, all the way around.
Congratulations on a great season and best to all the seniors.

[CMU24]

5 Days out! Any thoughts as to the conf this year? Both CMU and JHU have tough week 1 opponents at home. Those 2 games will be very telling as to how the 2026 season shapes up. F&M returning a lot of talent also.

[BallGuy145]

If I had to guess this year. The Hopkins v. CMU matchup will determine the Conference Championship. CMU had them pretty early last year but struggled to finish games.

[FourthAndShort]

It's always a little difficult to judge things at the beginning of the season, particularly when there are 4-5 teams in the CC that can have an up year and make a run at the playoffs. Obviously, some of those programs reload more consistently than others, and Hopkins, CMU and Muhlenberg have been the most consistent of the bunch over the past 10 years.

The good news, as we saw last year, is that if the CC performs well in OOC play, it can get two or even three teams into the playoffs.

And there are some really good OOC games. CMU has John Carroll and Berry. Muhlenberg has Endicott. F&M has Westminster. Hopkins has Ithaca, Randolph-Macon and Susquehanna. Ursinus has Del Val.

That is a long way of saying I'll hedge until a couple standout OOC games happen.

[HSCTiger74]

Susquehanna is not in the CC.

  And that's probably why he included them with Ithaca and Randolph-Macon as OOC games for Hopkins.

[The Third Division]

Dickinson finally beats Johns Hopkins. The Red Devis are 3-1 (undefeated against d3) and JHU are 1-3.

Barring a strange series of events in the Centennial, back-to-back semifinalist johns hopkins will not be making the playoffs this year.

[Patrick Coleman]

I'd hate to be a troll, but ...

Then don't troll. What you posted isn't respectful at all.

[FourthAndShort]

A little past halfway, the Centennial feels pretty deep through the top five, but nobody has really separated themselves. There are several teams I could see winning the league, although I'm not sure any has established itself as an elite national contender yet. That should make for a fun finish, even if we end up beating each other up along the way.

These are power rankings, with results carrying the most weight, but also some consideration for the schedule and how teams are playing. There isn't much daylight between a few of these spots.

1. Ursinus (6–0, 3–0)
The Bears have earned this. Pound the rock, keep the chains moving and make the other team play at their pace. Against Hopkins, they put together a 19-play touchdown drive that took more than ten minutes and went 12-for-16 on third down. That's a miserable afternoon for a defense trying to get off the field. They've also been good at answering when games get tight. I still want to see them against the rest of the contenders, but they know what they do well and keep doing it. F&M will be a good test of just how far that approach can take them.

2. Carnegie Mellon (4–2, 3–0)
John Carroll and Berry were a tough nonconference slate, and losses of 17–7 and 16–10 deserve that context. Since conference play started, CMU has outscored opponents 114–20. They're getting stops, creating turnovers and making things happen on special teams. The catch is that those wins came against the bottom three teams on this list. They've handled that stretch convincingly; now we need to see how it carries over against the contenders. The defense gives them a chance in any matchup. Whether the offense can consistently do enough without extra possessions or short fields is what will decide how high they finish.

3. F&M (5–1, 2–1)
That defense looks elite by Centennial standards. Allowing 11.7 points per game is impressive, and holding Dickinson to seven, with no rushing touchdowns, was a strong response to the Muhlenberg loss. F&M can run the ball, defend and win without needing a big offensive afternoon. I know putting them above Muhlenberg invites an argument. Five wins and one three-point loss give them a slight edge for me over the full season, especially after the Dickinson result, but that fourth-quarter collapse in Allentown absolutely counts against them. There's very little separating these next two spots. Ursinus coming to Lancaster should tell us a lot about both teams.

4. Muhlenberg (4–2, 2–1)
I'm giving the Mules a narrow edge over Dickinson, and they could be significantly higher on this list soon. Beating F&M after trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter is a meaningful result. Endicott exposed them, but Endicott is also a top-ten team nationally. If we're giving CMU credit for a difficult nonconference schedule, Muhlenberg deserves that consideration too. The seven-point outing against Ursinus is the bigger concern for me within the league. Still, there's enough offense here to make things interesting, and the McDaniel game was complete domination—441–15 in total yards. The question is whether they can put together that kind of complete performance against the other contenders.

5. Dickinson (4–2, 2–1)
Big, tough and happy to make it a physical game. When Dickinson gets that running game going, they're a handful. They're still averaging about 221 rushing yards per game, and the Randolph-Macon win and comeback against Hopkins shouldn't get forgotten because of one loss in Lancaster. The Davidson loss also needs the obvious FCS context. What F&M showed is that Dickinson becomes much more manageable when you keep the ground game from finishing drives. They moved the ball but left too many opportunities out there. Fifth feels a little harsh, but someone has to land here. I still think they can beat anyone in this league when they're getting their way up front.

6. Hopkins (1–5, 0–3)
Honestly, this is still the hardest one to make sense of. For more than two decades, Hopkins has been the model for coaching, talent and reloading. How a program that has done that so reliably ended up here this year is difficult to explain, even accounting for injuries. The schedule has been brutal: Ithaca, Randolph-Macon and Susquehanna outside the league, followed by Dickinson, CMU and Ursinus, all three on the road. That deserves acknowledgment, but it still doesn't fully explain 1–5. They've been competitive for stretches, then watched games get away—up 21–7 on Dickinson at halftime, tied with Ursinus in the third quarter. Everyone keeps expecting them to turn the corner, and it just hasn't happened.

7. Gettysburg (2–4, 0–3)
There have been some encouraging stretches, and the Washington and Lee game feels like one they'll wish they had back. They can move the ball through the air, but the running game and run defense make it hard to sustain anything against the better teams. Averaging about 75 rushing yards while allowing 226 puts a lot of pressure on everything else. I have them below Hopkins for now, although that's hardly a comfortable pick given how Hopkins has played. Their upcoming meeting is a good chance for Gettysburg to show there's more here than the conference results suggest.

8. McDaniel (1–5, 0–3)
The Catholic win was a promising start, but it's been tough sledding since. There just hasn't been enough offense to stay in games, and turnovers and special-teams mistakes have made that harder. Fifteen total yards against Muhlenberg, with the only touchdown coming on an interception return, tells the story of that afternoon. Before worrying about climbing the standings, they need to find a way to string together possessions and stop giving opponents easy opportunities. Right now, there's a gap between McDaniel and the rest.