NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM SEPTEMBER 1ST’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES: NAIA, D2, D3 AND NJCAA

Last night started the second week of college football action (no matter what ESPN wants to pretend) and here is my latest take on some outcomes of note.

The Malone Pioneers Rule The World – The NAIA’s Malone Pioneers took down NCAA Division 2’s Tiffin Dragons 40-34 in Double Overtime, earning my usual headline when a team defeats a team from a higher division. To put this in context for newbies to lower division football this is like when a 1AA (FCS if you’re gutless) team upsets a 1A (FBS if you’re gutless) team … Honorable mention goes to D2’s 2nd ranked team, the Delta State Statesmen, who came within one point of toppling the 1AA Northwestern State Demons in a 24-23 nailbiter. 

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – D2 was the only division in which ranked teams were upset last night. The 11th ranked California (PA) Vulcans fell at home to the 13th ranked St Cloud State Huskies in a 26-3 spanking … The unranked Pueblo Thunderwolves upset the 16th- ranked WTAM Buffaloes in a 26-24 Instant Classic and D2’s number 21 team, the Missouri Western Griffons were upset on their own field by the unranked Pittsburg (KS) State Gorillas  by a surprising score of 34-7.

See How Sioux Falls – The University of Sioux Falls Cougars are now D2 after having moved up from the NAIA and last night had their 32 game home winning streak broken by D2 veterans the Washburn Ichabods. The 33-17 outcome was actually a surprise considering the Cougars recently defeated Division ONE’s North Dakota Fighting Sioux in a beatdown.  

“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Department – In my ongoing chronicle of the intense rivalry between NAIA football teams and NCAA Division 3 teams we had one inter-divisional game yesterday. The Taylor Trojans made D3’s Anderson Ravens their prison brides in a 28-6 rout. On Sunday I’ll comment on the results of Saturday’s NAIA vs D3 matchups.

Another Week, Another Rout By The Gila Monsters – The Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters once again devoured a gridiron opponent – this week it was the Green River Raptors by a score of 48-10.I think “The Gila Monsters vs  the Raptors” would make a butt-kicking title for a movie.