NAIA Football for the Semifinal Games December 9, 2023
(jasondannelly) Published
Monday, December 04, 2023 – 11:09 AM
Wendol Philord of Keiser (SID Photo)
Semifinal Preview from VSN.
As I stated last week, there’s always an upset in the NAIA Quarterfinals that throws things into a bit of a tizzy. I was 100 percent right. . .if you don’t look at the fact I picked the wrong team to get upset. Sorry about that Georgetown, try not to hold it against me for too long.
No. 2 Grand View ran into the buzzsaw that is No. 11 College of Idaho. The Yotes have been highly rated all year and have shown they are capable of beating about anyone on their schedule. The rub has been “what about their defense” and last weekend they proved it too can show up and play. In the first half, Grand View had three possessions held up by the Yotes defense and were forced to take three points instead of a touchdown. The result was a 9-0 game at halftime vs. what could have been a 21-0 game. The Yotes’ offense turned it up in the second half and the rest was quarterfinal history resulting in College of Idaho’s first trip to the semifinals.
Then came the scuttlebutt.
Many people were thinking the NAIA would send No. 11 College of Idaho to No. 1 Northwestern due to the rankings of the teams. For those of you unfamiliar, the NAIA postseason is a “Championship Series” and not a playoff. From round to round, the matchups change and there is no guaranteed way of knowing who you will play until the new schedule comes out on Saturday evening. The NAIA uses criteria like seeding, regional matchups, and travel costs to factor into the who will play who.
Sometimes people don’t agree with the matchups but I’m well past that. They are what they are. You must beat everyone in the postseason if you are going to win a national championship. The number one complaint I hear every year and the NAIA just needs to bracket the postseason and play a true tournament style. This is impossible given the cost of travel and limitations in many aspects of NAIA football unless someone is wanting to donate millions of dollars to make it happen. However, If the final four teams were bracketed coming into this weekend, the matchups would be no different. No. 1 NWC/SXU would’ve played the winner of No. 4 GC/IWU. No. 2 GVU/COI would’ve played the winner of No. 3 Keiser/Bethel. This is exactly the result we got. So if you are one to complain the postseason isn’t bracketed, you can’t in your right mind also complain about this week’s result.
Saint Xavier gave Northwestern everything they wanted for the first 30 minutes of the game last weekend. Then the Red Raiders just slowly started chipping away before moving onto victory. Jayln Gramstad played a great second half and in it’s my opinion it is the best Northwestern’s offense has looked in several weeks.
They will need their “O” to be clicking on all cylinders this week when they play Georgetown College. The Tigers have played solid all season long and have been one of those teams where every week they get a little better with each game. A common trend the Tigers have in big games is creating turnovers that turn into touchdowns.
Last week Davon Starks had two interception returns for touchdowns and the Tigers had a fumble recovery with 1:18 left in the first half that resulted in another score to make it 21-0. Against Baker, Kyren Simpson picked of a pass that resulted in GC’s offense at the start of the 2nd quarter. When the Tigers defeated Lindsey Wilson 10-0, John Carter Mye picked off a pass in the endzone and returned it 49 yards to prevent LWC from getting on the board and Kyren Simpson did it again at the end of the game to again prevent a score. Bethel (Tenn.) saw Jayson Hayes return two interceptions for touchdowns that led to a 52-24 win over the eventual playoff qualifier.
For those of you who skipped the previous paragraph, it basically said, “don’t turn the ball over against Georgetown or else they will find another way to score.”
Keiser looked like a team planning on making a run, literally, to the National Championship. The Seahawks scored five of their touchdowns on the ground with three of those going to Andrew Burnette and two for Jaden Meizinger. Burnette ran for 134 yards and Meizinger had 126 yards. KU was physical up front on both sides of the ball which caused problems all day for Bethel. Wendol Philord added a special teams touchdown as well as a 65 yard fumble recovery for a score. The Seahawks looked like the real deal, but they will have their hands full in what should be an epic NAIA Semifinal game with College of Idaho.
Chip’s Picks for this Week
Georgetown College (Ky.) at Northwestern College (Iowa): Georgetown’s defense has been the difference maker for them in big games along with their ability to get the ball into the hands of runningback Darius Neal. Neal is a big time playmaker for the Tigers and a dangerous asset to their offense. Northwestern has played solid defense all year and when their offense clicks, they’ve been unstoppable. QB Jayln Gramstad has been the conduit for the Red Raiders offense and when he goes, the rest of their playmakers also go. Michael Storey and Konner McQuillan will continue to head that list. If Georgetown can force turnovers and get in the endzone, they’ll be right there neck and neck with the defending champions. It’s hard to believe these two programs have been in the NAIA their entire existence and never faced off. That get’s the NAIA historian in me excited.
Northwestern 28 Georgetown 21
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College of Idaho at Keiser University (Fla.): The COI offense has caused everyone problems this season. Their worst performance was a 31-16 loss on the road to Southern Oregon the last week of the season. A peak into that game shows they still put up 382 yards with their undoing being three interceptions, one resulting in a defensive score. COI got back on track in the postseason and has looked like the highly efficient offensive juggernaut they were all season. Keiser has played the same physical style of football all season and they won’t shy away from that Saturday. If their defense can put pressure on Peters it’ll go a long way towards putting KU back in the title game. Keiser’s only NAIA loss in the last two seasons was in the 2022 National Championship Game. I don’t see that changing this week.
Keiser 35 College of Idaho 28
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