This week’s slate of NAIA football games is easily the biggest and best lineup we’ve seen all season. There are multiple Top 25 matchups, plus a handful of other contests that — on any other weekend — would headline the schedule.
How good is this week’s slate? When I ranked the Top 8 games, the classic Morningside–Northwestern rivalry didn’t even make the cut. Sure, the Red Raiders have stumbled a bit early on, but they’re still a quality team facing one of their biggest rivals. That tells you just how stacked this week’s matchups are. Read on for my breakdown of the featured games.
Statistically Speaking
We’re now deep enough into the season to start examining the NAIA statistical leaders across the major categories:
Passing Leaders
- Xavier Malone (Pikeville) leads the NAIA with 379.2 yards per game, followed by Michael Palandri (Montana Western) at 339.5.
- Zach Chevalier (Morningside) tops the nation with 24 passing touchdowns.
Rushing Leaders
- Carlos Collazo (Concordia, Neb.) leads with 147.8 yards per game, trailed closely by Javon Minor (Graceland) at 146.2 and Davontaye Saunders (Lindsey Wilson) at 137.
- Destynd Loring (William Penn) and K’Vonte Baker (Friends) share the lead in rushing touchdowns with 13 apiece.
Receiving Leaders
- Eli Nourse (Montana Western) leads all receivers with 135.7 yards per game, followed by Mathew Holthusen at 132 and Drew Sellon (Morningside) at 126.8.
Defensive Leaders
Carson Fehlhafer (Concordia) leads in sacks with 7.5, followed by Tyler Walker (Montana Western) and Teagan Flynn (Ottawa, Kan.), each with 7.
Reece Zutavern leads the NAIA in tackles, averaging 13.3 per game, with Carroll College’s Braeden Orlandi close behind at 11.5.
Featured NAIA Football Games
#24 St. Francis (Ind.) at #11 Marian University: The Franciscan Bowl is once again in Indianapolis! By some sort of scheduling fluke, the Cougars and Knights will be playing again on Marian’s home field. That gives an obvious advantage to the Knights whose home confines are one of the best advantages in all of the NAIA.
Ultimately, this game will be won by the defense. We know both teams have offenses that can put up points at will. Marian’s defense has been more stout than the Cougars this year and that is evident in the results. Both teams only have one loss, but USF has played in a lot of close games where they have given up a lot of points. If Marian’s D does what they have proved they can do, they will handle the Cougars. If USF’s offense can get loose, we will have a shootout.
Marian 35 USF 28
#8 St. Thomas (Fla.) at #2 Keiser University: In the offseason, I felt like STU was ready to take the next step and take the leadership position in the Sun Conference. After watching what Keiser has done to start the season, I realize that is going to be a much tougher task than originally thought. St. Thomas has looked good this season, but does have weaknesses that Keiser could exploit.
Keiser is still one of the most physical teams in the NAIA and their ability to control the line of scrimmage will cause problems for the Bobcats running game. STU is still capable of making big plays by stretching the field, but a mistake free Keiser is going to be tough to beat. Look for STU to make a push for the win, but Keiser will prove why they aren’t moving off the top rung on the ladder.
Keiser 27 St. Thomas 20
#20 McPherson at #5 Friends University: The timing of this game couldn’t be any better. The KCAC is coming off a bye week and both teams will be as rested and ready as anyone could be halfway through the season. Friends is known for having a potent rushing attack that is tough to prepare for but the Bulldogs will have two full weeks to get ready.
McPherson’s defense on paper looks to be the best one Friends will have faced all season. But what’s often overlooked is how physical and fast the Falcon defense performs. MAC is going to need their offense to be on point Saturday because we know the Falcons are going to be able to execute big plays. This game could be one of the best we’ve seen all season if both teams perform up to expectations.
Friends 31 McPherson 28
#7 Lindsey Wilson at #9 Campbellsville: If you follow my preseason predictions, I felt prior to the season this matchup would be for the Top 2 spots in the Mid-South Conference. What I did not predict would be how quickly Lindsey Wilson would rise to the top to compete for the conference title. LWU has been dominant this season and is battle tested against Top 25 NAIA competition.
The Fightin’ Tigers have been equally as good putting up some of the most impressive offensive stats in NAIA football this season. Their area of weakness however, might the on the defensive side of the ball. Against better competition they’ve allowed 28, 34 and 34 points. If they give up that many points to LWU, they’ll lose this game.
LWU 35 Campbellsville 27
#15 Montana Western at #20 College of Idaho: Montana Western is coming off a disappointing home loss to Carroll College and will have to rebound quickly of they want to keep a Frontier Conference division title in site. At times, the Bulldogs have looked like one of the best in the NAIA this season. But the momentary lapses on offense and defense have made them vulnerable against top competition.
COI has slowly built their team this season into a seasoned, game tested group. Their three-point loss at Montana Tech showed this team is capable of competing with the best in the NAIA but we still need to see more if we are to determine this is a team worthy of postseason qualification. They’ve beaten the teams on the schedule they should have, now they need to prove they can beat a team in the Top 25. I say, Dawgs rebound on the road.
Montana Western 35 College of Idaho 31
Primetime NAIA Football Performances
Brodey Johnson was the NAIA’s Offensive Player of the Week. He was 37-for-60 and 424 yards, leading the Warriors on a 31-point comeback to beat No. 17 Concordia (Neb.), 60-52 in double overtime. He threw seven touchdown passes after halftime – three in the third, two more in the fourth, and one in each overtime – erasing what was a 38-7 deficit with 11:20 left in the third quarter.
Davontaye Saunders of Lindsey Wilson was at it again. This week the runningback had 207 yards rushing and 59 receiving yards to total 5 touchdowns in the Blue Raiders 62-13 win over the University of the Cumberlands.
Duece Marshall of Faulkner University did about everything a quarterback could do to get a hard fought victory as his team fell short of Georgetown College, 37-35. Marshall had 221 yards passing and 166 yards rushing while totaling four touchdowns in the loss.
Darrien Lewis was pivotal in Bethel’s 28-24 win over Cumberlands (Tenn.), earning NAIA Defensive Player of the Week with 16 tackles (6 solo, 10 assisted, 1 TFL), and a third-quarter interception with Bethel down 14-7 at the time. He also played a role in a fourth-quarter goal-line stop that ultimately sealed the game for the Wildcats, stopping a run inside the five with 4:44 to go in the game.
Justin Yeazell of Saint Xavier University scored a defensive touchdown on a 75 yard fumble recovery in the first quarter to set the tone for his day against Siena Heights. SXU defeated SHU 26-20. Yeazell finished the day with six tackles and two QB hurries to lead the defense.
Marian University running back Keagan La Belle carried the ball 29 times for 236 yards in the Knights victory over Taylor University. La Belle got into the endzone twice in the 42-35 win.
Keiser University quarterback Shea Spencer played at an elite level in the Seahawks 49-28 win over Florida Memorial. Spencer was 19-30 for 290 yards and four touchdowns while adding 16 yards on the ground.
Carroll College’s Kaden Huot continues his climb to the top of the Frontier Conference quarterback list. In the Saints 42-34 win over Montana Western, Huot was 22-36 for 349 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a score on the ground and 50 yards rushing.
Freddy Joya was this week’s NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week. He broke a Texas Wesleyan record for single-game points by a kicker, knocking through 4-of-4 field-goal attempts with a long of 34. He also supported seven Texas Wesleyan touchdowns by going 7-for-7 on point-after attempts, totaling 19 points for the Rams, who beat Louisiana Christian 61-28.
Dashawn Webster, a freshman for Kentucky Christian, tied the Appalachian Athletic Conference record for most tackles in a game with 18 in KCU’s 38-35 loss to Reinhardt. He also forced a fumble and returned a fumble for a 68 yard touchdown. In the same game, Reinhardt kicker Alex Hanson kicked a game winning field goal with seven seconds remaining to give the Eagles the win. He was 5-5 on PATs and had a 64 yard punt on the day.
Olivet Nazarene tight end Blake Lamb had four receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers 63-14 win over Defiance College. The win improves ONU to 5-1 on the season.
NAIA Football Performance Index
The latest NAIA football performance index has been released and if gives me a chance to show you a way too early to predict, but I’m gonna predict it anyway, look at the NAIA Postseason. Based on predictions and what I think is going to happen the rest of the season, here’s what I see playing out.
Automatic Berths to Conference Champions:
AAC: Reinhardt
Frontier East: Montana Tech
Frontier West: Carroll College
GPAC: Morningside
Heart North: Grand View
Heart South: Benedictine
KCAC Bissel: Friends
KCAC Kessinger: Evangel
MSC: Lindsey Wilson
MSFA ME: Indiana Wesleyan
MSFA MW: Marian
Sooner: OUAZ
Sun: Keiser.
Taking a look at the top remaining teams by the NAIA Performance Index, the seven at-large berths to the NAIA Championship Series would be:
At-Large #1: Campbellsville
At-Large #2: Bethel (TN)
At-Large #3: William Penn
At-Large #4: McPherson
At-Large #5: Dordt
At-Large #6: St. Francis (Ind.)
At-Large #7: Texas Wesleyan
Keep in mind, this is using the NAIA Performance Index as the ONLY tool for the postseason. The NAIA selection committee will also utilize Overall Record/Winning Percentage, ARC Rating, Massey Rating, and Record vs. Teams ranked in ARCs as other primary criteria along with the Performance Index to select the teams for the postseason. The above list does not look at any of those factors yet.
Like I said, this is a way too early prediction for the postseason. But it will get the people going and fired up to tell me I’m wrong. I find that kinda fun, so have at it!
Ramblings of Dannelly
We’ve officially hit the grind of the NAIA football season. Teams are battling through injuries, mid-terms, and everything else that comes with the long stretch of fall football. It’s easy to forget that every Saturday, we’re watching NAIA student-athletes who juggle much more than the game itself. Most of these guys are heading straight from practice to jobs, work-study shifts, or late-night labs. What they sacrifice each week just for the chance to play college football shouldn’t be overlooked. Keep grinding, fellas — this experience is shaping you into the leaders you’ll become.
On Sunday night’s show, Pat Donley broke down the Montana Western vs. Carroll College game to perfection. His football insight takes the show to another level, especially compared to my usual “man, those guys are good” analysis. Pat’s passion for NAIA football is unmatched, and I’m genuinely thankful he’s part of this with me. If anyone out there wants to drop a few million in my Venmo so this could be our full-time gig, I wouldn’t complain.
This Sunday’s show should be another great one thanks to the loaded slate of Top 25 matchups on deck. I can’t wait to break them all down. Get out there this weekend and enjoy some NAIA football!