S140 Measuring the Competition (Week 9)
 With only 4 regular season games left, the playoff picture is becoming more predictable. North Alabama leads the charge ranked #1 by WIS and sitting at 9-0.Â
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New power in the RMAC?Â
New Mexico Highlands, coached by tbook, is now in his 3rd year of a complete rebuild and sitting at 9-0 with a chance to take the RMAC over. After finishing 8-5 in year 1, then 10-3 last season, they have become the favorite moving forward. Tonight will be a battle for the right to play W. New Mexico in a title game. Fort Lewis enters the contest at 8-1 and under the leadership of 4th year head coach laworog. After finishing the last two seasons with 11 wins, Fort Lewis will give NM Highlands their best challenge of the season. Even if they finish undefeated, it is likely that a stiffer challenge will be waiting for them with W. New Mexico who matches up favorably.
Power Meter OFFENSE >>>
Explosive teams can make it difficult for their opponents to keep up. Tonight, we take a look at the top 7 ranked teams in the coaching poll and how they stack up in different position groups.Â
Quarterbacks can win championships, let's take a look.
1. Humboldt State         69.1 2. Texas A&M-Commerce  65.3 3. Northern Michigan      65.2 4. North Alabama         63.2 5. Long Island             61.9 6. Cheyney                60.9 7. Bloomsburg            58.7
Humboldt State has one of the best quarterback's you will see in Division 2 with Christopher Vasquez. Vasquez has 69 strength, 73 game instinct and 69 technique. He is unbelievably good and his high elusiveness (67) and the best offensive line will make him difficult to apply pressure on. To date, he has only been sacked 8 times and scrambled 7 times. In the game versus Cheyney and North Dakota State, he threw for 70+% completion ratio with a 10.4 and 12.7 average per throw. Â
Running the ball can be just as effective in the big games as passing. Let's take a look at the top two backs on the same teams.
1. Texas A&M-Commerce  74.8 2. Northern Michigan      73.7 3. Humboldt State         70.9 4. Long Island             70.2 5. Cheyney                69.1 6. Bloomsburg            67.8
7. North Alabama          64.2
TAMC doesn't have the best running back in the league, but they feature 3 excellent RB's who are 74+ core in ratings and all have speed, power and elusiveness.  Howard Jackson has been the most impressive with 700+ yards on just over 100 carries and 13 touchdowns. He also averages 14+ yards per reception on 69 catches. The spread the ball out during the season but I would expect to see an uptick on his usage during the playoffs.
Wide Receivers
1. Northern Michigan      71.9 2. Texas A&M-Commerce  70.0 3. North Alabama         69.4 4. Humboldt State        66.8
5. Long Island            69.1
6. Cheyney               67.3 7. Bloomsburg            67.0
Northern Michigan is the team that matches up the best in my opinion versus any of the top ten teams. They have the best single running back, close to 2nd best quarterback and offensive line and they do have the best WR duo. Peter Espinosa and William Crews will be an explosive combo for any team that didn't invest in their secondary. Both of these players gain half of their total yards on YAC which is a killer in big games. With the steady pressure from their RB, teams will have to focus on him leaving plenty of space for these two.
We will skip over the tight ends since some teams don't utilize them and their performances are fairly similar. Â
Last measure stick is on the offensive line and there is a bigger gap on the top lines versus the lower end.Â
1. Humboldt State        75.9 2. Northern Michigan     74.9
3. North Alabama         72.1 4. Texas A&M-Commerce  72.0 5. Cheyney               71.4 6. Long Island            70.3 7. Bloomsburg            69.9
Humboldt State and Northern Michigan are in excellent shape this season. Both teams should be able to produce 40+ points per game and attack where they want to. I like NMU a bit more on the offensive side and feel like if they are tuned by the playoffs, they could be THE best offense period. Â
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Texas A&M-Commerce currently sits at WIS #22, which means if their schedule doesn't improve, they may enter at a really low seed.  Usually, teams like this will move up inside the top 12 by the time the conference championship is over (if they win out). They play #14 Angelo State tonight in their annual rivalry game. Their current win streak grows to 47-0.
Winona State remains undefeated and heading for a major showdown in the Conference Championship with undefeated West Liberty State. Â
Who is Lane University?? Wow, where did they come from this season? Look in the SIAC and you will find Coach heyunous, who entered his 3rd season in a complete rebuild and is currently 8-1 and ranked #7 with WIS. They were able to over-come Morehouse 44-13 and have a showdown at the end of the year with Saint Joseph's (9-0). Their only loss was to Southern Connecticut 24-14.
Sleeper Team >>>
The question remains, can Virginia State recover?  Early in the season, VSU suffered a 41-20 loss to North Alabama and the team's rankings tumbled. Taking a look a their schedule, they played a close 31-17 game versus Edinboro and snuck out of Shepherdstown with a 48-45 with after giving up 14 in the final 3 minutes of the game.Â
Taking a closer look at this team, they have an elite QB in Morgan who rates as a 65 core with balanced stats. They do have a powerful RB duo who are both around 74 core ratings and enough power to dominate a game. Their receiver core is not elite, but not lacking and they should be able to do damage. The line is healthy, their DL is very nice and their secondary is fine with a standout LB in Thomas Hampton 68 core rating.Â
So why are the wins not more convincing? That's what third year head coach lsteenberg is riddled with and will need to find the answer before their playoff run for redemption. If he is able to, I see VSU as the dark horse of the tournament.Â
Statistic Standouts >>>
Points Per Game 1. Northern Michigan 77.2 2. North Alabama 74.2 3. Texas A&M-Commerce 73.3
Pass Yards Per Game
1. Texas A&M-Commerce 530 2. North Alabama 529.3 3. Shepherd 524.6
Rush Yards Per Game
1. West Chester 434.8 2. Central Arkansas 291.3 3. Cheyney 265.3
Points Allowed Per Game 1. West Chester 3.1 2. Texas A&M-Commerce 4.6 3. Saint Joseph's  6.4
Defensive Sacks
1. Lane 46 2. North Alabama 44 3. Fairmont State 41
Defensive Interceptions 1. Fort Lewis 29 2. Northern Michigan 25 3. Ferris State 24
Defensive Forced Fumbles 1. Saint Joseph's 18 2. Virginia Union 17 3. Cheyney 16