By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
Do we really need to talk about playoff implications the first game of the season?
Can't we just all get along. have fun and get our feet under us in Week One? I mean, playoffs? Really?
When your teams are the top competitors in leagues like the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, winning an early game against a power conference like the Ohio Athletic Conference, can go a long way in seeding and playoff matching, regardless when those games occur. Losses, though, could mean a road game instead of a home game or lower seeding.
Football is a great game because truly anything can happen on any given Saturday. A blocked punt, an untimely turnover, a much-needed touchdown called back on a penalty can turn the tide on any game to create or prevent upsets and the unexpected. Thus, almost nothing (except for Mount Union and UW-Whitewater) is a lock.
With that being said, most expect North Central of the CCIW to have a great season. Most of us so-called experts expect them to make the playoffs. Barring injuries, what could truly upset that apple cart? Early losses.
North Central is ranked No. 4 with a talented group of players back after going 11-1 a season ago. The Cardinals, knowing they have conference rival and No. 6-ranked Wheaton in their rearview mirror, would like to build as much momentum as possible. A road victory over Ohio Northern would go a long way to secure North Central's high ranking.
But Ohio Northern, which was hit with the injury bug last season, won't be a pushover by far. With plenty of players returning on defense and a quarterback who played great until he was injured last year, this will be one of the nation's key games to watch. The Polar Bears finished in the middle of the pack in the OAC last year and are expected to finish in the same place this year.
If North Central losses, the Cardinals will find it hard to shut up the skeptics for the rest of the season, even if they beat Wheaton and run the table the rest of the year. There is an old saying "you can't beat them if you don't play them," so kudos goes to the Cardinals for getting Ohio Northern on the schedule. Now, all they have to do is beat the Polar Bears to jump that first big hurdle to November.
The same goes for Franklin, ranked No. 19 after an 11-2 season. There are a few more questions surrounding the Grizzlies because of the department of record-setting quarterback Chad Rupp led Franklin to an impressive playoff run.
Franklin beat Baldwin-Wallace last season 42-35 at Franklin and then went on to whip the OAC's No. 2 team Otterbein in the first round of the playoffs last season, so Franklin will have the Yellow Jackets full attention.
Baldwin-Wallace is picked to finish third in the OAC this year behind Mount Union and Otterbein and could be a playoff contender at the end of the regular season. A road victory for Franklin could go a long way to send a message to its conference foe that it doesn't plan to let go of the Heartland Collegiate title without a fight and give the conference a permanent spot in the national rankings.
A Franklin loss would mean not seeing another HCAC team in the national rankings for the remainder of the season.
Other games in the Midwest to watch: Monmouth opens the season No. 12 after an 11-1 season. That's the highest ranking in some time for a Midwest Conference member. Monmouth opens the season against Loras, which won't be a pushover as well. Loras finished 6-4 last year and lost to Monmouth 24-17 a year ago.
A matchup that may be a little more intriguing is Monmouth's conference foe and previous MWC kingpin St. Norbert playing at home against No. 17 Wartburg, of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Green Knights would like to get back to the top of the Midwest Conference heap and a home upset of Wartburg could signal they are prepared take on Monmouth when the two teams meet Oct. 11 at St. Norbert.
The Midwest's only other ranked team, No. 6 Wheaton (11-3 a year ago) is taking the first week off and will open at Bethel Sept. 12. Aurora, the defending and inaugural champions of the Northern Athletic Conference last season at 9-2, opens at home Saturday against Lake Forest.
