SOUTHERN OREGON RULES THE WORLD – Another Saturday, another NAIA college football team takes down a higher division opponent! This week the SOUTHERN OREGON RAIDERS joined the other NAIA teams in bringing down an NCAA Division 2 team in a gripping 31-28 win over the SIMON FRASER CLAN (as in Scottish clan). Simon Fraser is one of the Canadian institutions that compete in American intercollegiate sports divisions. The Raiders trailed 21-3 at one point before turning the tables on the Clan. Every week this season at least one NAIA team has toppled a D2 or higher team.
NUMBER TWO TAKES A FALL – NCAA Division 2’s 2nd ranked ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS lost on the road to the number 13 MIDWESTERN STATE MUSTANGS in a mind-blowing 70- 28 manhandling. If anyone outside the MSU locker room says they saw this coming, they’re lying, trust me. A nice trivia note is that Abilene Christian is where the fathers of Colt/ Case McCoy and Jordan/ Jaxon Shipley played their college football … and yes, they too were roommates, little dreaming of the tradition they were starting.
NUMBER ONE SURVIVES A SCARE – Meanwhile D2’s top-ranked DELTA STATE STATESMEN had to struggle to hold on at home against the 10th ranked VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS in a tight 36-33 affair. The number 1 team in D3 had a fight on their hands yesterday, also, as the defending champs, the WHITEWATER WARHAWKS, survived a road tussle with the 20th ranked OSHKOSH TITANS by a score of 20-17. Continuing this theme the NJCAA’s top ranked BLINN COLLEGE BUCCANEERS, where Cam Newton played his college ball before transferring to Auburn, also had a tough road fight against the KILGORE RANGERS, but improved to 8-0 with a 52-45 win.
TOP 25 UPSETS – NAIA – The number 8 AZUSA PACIFIC COUGARS fell at the LINDENWOOD LIONS in a 38-31 Instant Classic … The 17th ranked CUMBERLAND BULLDOGS needed a last- minute field goal to do it, but they upset the number 14 BETHEL (TN) WILDCATS in an unforgettable 36-34 gridiron duel … And the unranked CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS stunned the number 25 team, the SHORTER HAWKS, by a score of 35-10. Both teams now have identical 4-3 records.
TOP 25 UPSETS – NCAA DIVISION 3 – Continue reading