We received a ton of interaction from the NAIA Football Selection Show on Sunday Night and I felt like we didn’t get all the questions answered. So here’s my best effort to answer those questions I missed.
Most of the chat was just comments about TEAM A getting screwed, TEAM B getting screwed and INSERT CONFERENCE being weaker than the conference the poster of the comment was from. But there were some legit comments we didn’t get to:
Grant Van Zee: Who do you guys think the top 3 players in the NAIA are?
Jackson Waring QB at Grand View, Shea Spencer QB at Keiser. Third can be debated. K’Vonte Baker QB at Friends is in the mix, Taye Saunders RB at Lindsey Wilson has been a stud this year. There are more and I think we will see names emerge in the postseason.
big mama 3000: Who is the best orange team in the NAIA
Baker University in my opinion has the best mix of orange and black. I’d put Georgetown a close second.
Dustin Butler: Does Campbellsville make it past round 2?
It will depend on their draw and if they can win on the road. They will likely travel somewhere to play based on their seed. They can score and put up a lot of points but ultimately their defense will be what will make or break them in the postseason.
Severeno Woods: Upset alert week one?
Saint Francis (Ind.) and Evangel (Mo.) is the game where I see the road team potentially getting a win. My pick will be USF, but Evangel plays a physical style of ball and can force turnovers. USF worst games this season were when they turned the ball over. If that happens, EU has a shot.
Tyrell Holloway: Do you think the college of Idaho could make a deep playoff run after only losing to tech by 3
Yes, but it will depend on the draw. It’s possible they could play Carroll College again after their bye this week and it’s never easy beating the same team twice. They’ve gotten better with each week and if they continue to play good ball I think they could make it to the semifinals. Not sure if they are a title team quite yet.
James Hintz: To be “hip and cool” how about “glazing over ” the Heart with 2 Top 5 teams and 3 in the Top 13
Grand View is Grand View. We know what they are and how good they are. Benedictine gave them a tough matchup early in the season and I think the Ravens are positioned for postseason success. They are a team that wants to take the next step and get to the title game. William Penn had a great season but needs to stay focused on the task at hand. TWU is better than their 7-4 record lets on and will give the Statesmen all they want.
Idahofein: What held Dakota state back from making it?
Being rated No. 7 in the ARC essentially eliminated the Trojans from consideration even before it began. They needed to be rated ahead of Montana Western in the ARC to have a shot and even that would have proved to be tough. Unfortunately a loss to DWU (even with extenuating circumstances) was too much for the committee to get past. One bad loss can ruin it for teams, just ask OUAZ who was 8-1 and on the outside looking in. I think DSU is a quality team and should have gotten a deeper look. But that loss and no wins against Top 25 teams didn’t help the resume. You can only beat the teams on your schedule and unfortunately it wasn’t good enough for the Trojans to make it this year.
Grant Van Zee: What do you think about the co champs of the GPAC?
Quality teams that have a chance to win a game or two. I’m not sure how deep of a run either can make this year, I think that depends on their opponents and where they have to travel to. Unfortunately for the GPAC, I think the ceiling is the semifinals this year. Both teams have talent, but so do all the teams rated ahead of them.
Chris Godby: Just curious why some teams played 11 games while most played 10? Conference championships?
Everyone in the NAIA can play up to 11 regular season games. You don’t have to, but you can. Most teams that play Week 0 (August 30th this year) ended up with 11 games. This still allows for a bye week in the season. The majority of other teams will choose to get an extra week in camp or might be mandated by their school they can’t play an earlier game. Bye week’s are needed so it’s not typical for someone to just play 11 straight weeks, although it does happen.
Joseph Burkhead: How do y’all think Indiana Wesleyan will do? They put up some numbers.
I think they’ll continue to score a lot of points. They have a great offense with a lot of weapons. Their style of play definitely puts up the points. The issue becomes stopping great offenses. Their losses to Keiser and Marian were simply because they couldn’t stop their opponents when they needed to. That’ll be troublesome in the postseason as you can’t outscore everyone all the time.
Wellness with Jovonnie: Hhow did McPherson have a better record than those picked? someone help me understand please.
This was a tough one for me as well. I had McPherson selected to make the postseason in my projections and based on how the selections went, I would say they were the first team left out. Ultimately, the loss to Kansas Wesleyan did them in. Despite playing Friends tough for a half and winning the rest of their games I don’t think the committee could get past a loss to an unranked opponent. If KWU would have beaten Southwestern, I think they would have had a better shot because their loss would have looked better. I feel for the Bulldogs and their players because I expected them to get selected. The final at-large was St. Thomas. Their three losses were to No. 2 Keiser, No. 7 Lindsey Wilson and No. 15 Southeastern. They beat Georgetown who ended up rated and not in the postseason.
Jabe Kieso: How does 4 losses get you a playoff spot?
Conference Championship. Every year I get to explain that the NAIA awards each conference with an automatic. That was part of the expansion to 20 teams in the postseason. Previously, it was only 16 teams and conferences were getting shut out of the postseason. If we used the old format Evangel, Texas Wesleyan, and Reinhardt would not have made it. Additionally, the field would have only been 16 teams.
Using the old method the NAIA postseason field would have been:
| 1 | Grand View (Iowa) [15] | 10-0 | Heart North |
| 2 | Keiser (Fla.) [1] | 10-0 | Sun |
| 3 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 10-1 | Heart South |
| 4 | Montana Tech | 11-0 | Frontier East |
| 5 | Friends (Kan.) | 11-0 | KCAC Bissell |
| 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 10-1 | MSFA MW |
| 7 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 9-1 | Mid South |
| 8 | Morningside (Iowa) | 9-2 | GPAC |
| 9 | College of Idaho | 9-1 | Frontier West |
| 10 | Indiana Wesleyan | 9-2 | MSFA ME |
| 11 | Dordt (Iowa) | 9-1 | At-Large #1 |
| 12 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 8-2 | At-Large #2 |
| 13 | Carroll (Mont.) | 8-2 | At-Large #3 |
| 14 | William Penn (Iowa) | 10-1 | At-Large #4 |
| 15 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 8-2 | At-Large #5 |
| 16 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 7-3 | At-Large #6 |
Nik Green: How does Georgetown not get in after taking down CU
The entire season matters, it’s a resume. Road loss to St. Thomas hurt, home loss by 24 to Lindsey Wilson stung and a road loss to Bethel did them in. Their win over CU was a good win. But that and their win over Cumberland TN were their only wins against teams with a winning record.
Robert Chevalier: Will the automatic qualifiers get a home game in two weeks?
Top 8 seeds will host. So if you are seeded 1-8, you will likely host so long as your team made the bid requirements.
BarstoolFriends: Thoughts on K’Vonte Baker?
One of the most dynamic players in the NAIA who is central to his teams success. Probably one of the best highlight videos I’ve seen in the NAIA.
JohnCockToss: How do the matchups for round two work?
I could explain in detail, but your answers are at this link.
Northside04: Who do you think will win the NAIA Title
Ultimately it is Grand View’s title to lose. I think they will turn Jackson Waring lose again and be on a new level. I like what Keiser has done this year and could see them back in the title game with a chance to win it. The “sexy” title game I want to see is Friends vs Montana Tech. Those are two great teams with great storylines that I think would put together an entertaining game. Not that GVU and Keiser wouldn’t, but I’m all for new storylines and new teams in the title game.
big mama 3000: I’d put my right nut on CU losing in the first round
My guy, you just lost a nut. They have a first round bye and don’t play a game until the second round.
