THE RFC MYC: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC)-(NCAA Division III)

2016 Final Standings-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC)

Overview: Maybe the most ironic thing about the 2016 season for the University of Redlands Bulldogs (8-2 overall) was this: both of their losses came against Texas teams, losing to Trinity (Tex.) in the season opener, followed by eight straight wins-including a 7-0 mark in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action-en route to a conference championship, before falling to eventual national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Now to the "big burning questions" going into the 2017 season: Will the Redlands Bulldogs remain the "top dogs" in the SCIAC? Or could upstarts such as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7-2 overall, 5-2 in the SCIAC in 2016) and Pomona-Pitzer (6-3, 5-2) overpower U of R, and ascend to the throne? Or can Cal Lutheran (4-5, 4-3) bounce back and return to the top of the SCIAC summit after a disappointing 2016 season? Those questions and more will be throughout the season this fall.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

Cal Lutheran

Chapman

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

La Verne 

Occidental

Pomona-Pitzer

Redlands

Whittier

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RFC Top Games: First Full (Labor Day) Weekend Of Action

Last Week: 4-1 (.800)
This Year: 4-1 (.800)

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.

Featured games in BOLD type.

Thursday, August 31

Florida International at UCF

Louisiana-Monroe at Memphis

Saturday, September 2

FBS Group Of Five

Troy at Boise State

(The Broncos take on Trojans in an early-season battle of two 10-3 teams that went "bowling" in 2016!!!)

UMass at Coastal Carolina

(The Chanticleers clash with the Minutemen in their first-ever FBS game!!!)

Miami (Ohio) at Marshall 

FCS

Thursday, August 31

Duquesne at South Dakota State

(Jackrabbits to play host to the Dukes in a battle between the Missouri Valley and Northeast 10 Conferences!!!)

Kennesaw State at Samford

Maine at New Hampshire

Friday, September 1

Richmond at Sam Houston State

(Spiders take on the Bearkats in a battle of Top 10 teams that was moved to Waco, Tex. due to Hurricane Harvey!!!)

Saturday, September 2

Dayton at Robert Morris (Pa.)

Furman at Wofford

Butler at Illinois State 

Sunday, September 3

South Carolina State at Southern

(MEAC/SWAC Challenge)

NCAA Division II

Thursday, August 31

Ashland at Indiana (Pa.)

(The Crimson Hawks clash with the Eagles in the first-ever meeting between both teams!!!)

Sioux Falls at Minnesota-Duluth 

(Bulldogs play host to the Cougars in a battle of D-II playoff teams from 2016!!!)

Texas A&M-Commerce at North Alabama

(UNA takes on TAMUC in a "Battle of the Lions"!!!)

Grand Valley State at Indianapolis

Winston-Salem State at UNC Pembroke

Pittsburg State at Central Missouri

Colorado Mines at Colorado State-Pueblo 

Henderson State at Harding

Emporia State at Northwest Missouri State

NCAA Division III

Thursday, August 31

Wesley at Delaware Valley

Friday, September 1

Johns Hopkins at Washington and Lee

Stevenson at Frostburg State

Saturday, September 2

Wisconsin-Oshkosh at John Carroll

(Blue Streaks play host to the Titans in a rematch of a regular season, as well as a playoff game from last season!!!) 

St. Scholastica at St. John's

Brockport at Hobart

Franklin at Thomas More

Berry at Maryville

Whitworth at Central

NAIA

Thursday, August 31

Marian at St. Xavier

(Cougars play host to the Knights in a huge season-opening showdown!!!)

Saturday, September 2

Baker (1-0) at Grand View (1-0)

(Vikings hit the road to take on the Wildcats in a key early-season Heart of America Athletic Conference clash!!!)

Morningside (1-0) at Tabor 

(Blue Jays play host to the Mustangs in a KCAC/GPAC Challenge contest!!!)

Georgetown (Ky.) at Faulkner (1-0)

William Penn (0-1) at Missouri Valley (0-1)

Doane at Sterling

Concordia (Neb.) at Kansas Wesleyan (0-1)

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THE RFC MYC: Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC)-(NCAA Division II)

2016 Final Standings-Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC)-(Courtesy of wikipedia.org)

2017 Preseason Press Release (GNAC): Courtesy of gnacsports.com

Overview: Going into the 2017 season, the team to beat in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) isn't from the Pacific Northwest, or even Northern California, for that matter. The favorite in the GNAC comes from Southern California in the form of the Azusa Pacific University Cougars (9-3 overall in 2016), whose Cougars won the conference championship unbeaten at 8-0 last year. APU's season ended in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, falling on the road to Sioux Falls, 34-21.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

Azusa Pacific

Central Washington

Humboldt State

Simon Fraser

Western Oregon

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THE RFC MYC: Northwest Conference (NWC)-(NCAA Division III)

2016 Final Standings-Northwest Conference (NWC)

2017 Preseason Press Release (NWC): Courtesy of nwcsports.com 

Overview: To probably no one's surprise, the Linfield College Wildcats (9-2 overall in 2016) were once again picked as the favorite to win yet another Northwest Conference (NWC) championship this season. The Wildcats will not only look to make a much deeper postseason run after falling to eventual national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, they'll also try to extend one of the longest current streak in college football at any level, as they hope to clinch their 62nd straight winning season. It's a streak that dates back to the days of the Dwight Eisenhower presidential administration.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

George Fox

Lewis & Clark

Linfield

Pacific

Pacific Lutheran

Puget Sound

Willamette

Whitworth

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THE RFC MYC: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)-(NCAA Division II)

2016 Final Standings-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)

2016 Preseason Press Release (RMAC): Courtesy of rmacsports.org 

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

Adams State

Black Hills State

Chadron State

Colorado Mesa

Colorado Mines

Colorado State-Pueblo

Dixie State

Fort Lewis

New Mexico Highlands

South Dakota Mines

Western State

Overview: Three teams-Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, and Colorado State-Pueblo-all finished the 2016 season with a three-way split of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) championship at 8-2 in league action. Colorado Mines (10-3 overall in 2016) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, losing to Ferris State, while Colorado Mesa (9-3 overall) saw their season come to an end in the first round, falling to Texas A&M-Commerce. As for CSU-Pueblo (8-3 overall), the Thunderwolves are now almost three years removed from winning the national championship (2014), finding themselves on the outside looking in when postseason play rolled around last fall. Expect yet another competitive race in the RMAC again this fall.

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RFC Top Games: THE 2017 DEBUT

Editor's Note: This is the first installment of "RFC Top Games", on Real Football Central. Each week during the 2017 season, we'll take a brief look at the top games in FBS (Group Of Five), FCS, and small college football (NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA), with predictions!

If you're wondering what the "Group Of Five" is, it consists of the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt Conferences.  Oh, and there no games involving any teams in the Power 5 Conferences. 
 
So, without further ado, let's get started!

KEY: Projected winners marked in RED.

Featured games in BOLD type.

Saturday, August 26

FBS Group Of Five

South Florida at San Jose State

FCS

Texas Southern at Florida A&M

Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville State

(FCS Kickoff Classic at Montgomery, Ala.)

Colgate at Cal Poly

Sunday, August 27

Richmond at Sam Houston State

NAIA

Saturday, August 26

William Penn at Baker

(Defending NAIA runner-up Wildcats play host to the Statesmen in the season opener for both teams!!!) 

Missouri Valley at Benedictine



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THE RFC MYC: Frontier Conference (NAIA)

2016 Final Standings-Frontier Conference (courtesy of wikipedia.org)

Overview: The Frontier Conference proved why it was one of the toughest NAIA conferences in the nation in 2016, as two of its teams, Eastern Oregon (10-3 overall) and Montana Tech (10-2 overall), both won at least 10 games while advancing to the playoffs last season. The Mountaineers advanced to the semifinals, losing to eventual national runner-up Baker, while the Orediggers fell to Reinhardt in the second round. Don't be surprised if both EOU and Montana Tech are in the Frontier Conference title conversation again in 2017.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

Carroll (Mont.)

College of Idaho

Eastern Oregon

Montana State-Northern

Montana Tech

Montana Western

Rocky Mountain

Southern Oregon

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THE RFC MYC: Lone Star Conference (LSC)-(NCAA Division II)

2016 Final Standings-Lone Star Conference (LSC)

2016 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll (Courtesy of lonestarconference.org)

Overview: The Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions (10-2 overall) finished 8-1 in Lone Star Conference (LSC) action to win the 2016 league title, losing to Grand Valley State in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. While TAMUC is once again favored to win the LSC crown again in 2017, don't count out Midwestern State (8-3) or a resurgent Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-3) program. In fact, the Javelinas finished the 2016 season with seven straight wins after starting 2-3, ending with a dramatic 24-17 win over Southern Arkansas in the Live United Bowl.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

Angelo State

Eastern New Mexico

Midwestern State

Tarleton State

Texas A&M-Commerce

Texas A&M-Kingsville

UT-Permian Basin

West Texas A&M

Western New Mexico

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THE RFC MYC: Central States Football League (CSFL)-(NAIA)

2016 Final Standings-Central States Football League (CSFL)

Overview: Arizona Christian (7-3 overall in 2016) rolled past Langston 34-10 on October 1 en route to win back-to-back conference championships for the first time in their program's brief history, finishing unbeaten at 6-0 in Central States Football League (CSFL) action last season. Don't be surprised if the Firestorm enters this season as the favorite to make it three straight CSFL crowns.

Meanwhile, the CSFL's membership grows by two teams this fall, with the addition of Oklahoma Panhandle State Universiy and Texas Wesleyan University, with the latter program playing its inaugural season of football. That will make it nine teams for 2017.

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unlisted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2017 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post.

Arizona Christian

Bacone

Langston

Lyon

Oklahoma Panhandle State

Southwestern Assemblies of God

Texas College

Texas Wesleyan

Wayland Baptist

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