Frontier Notebook: Frontier standings already all shook up

The first really big weekend in the Frontier Conference sure was a doozy. And it's one we likely won't forget about this season because what happened in the Frontier last Saturday is going to have lasting effects on the rest of the conference, the rest of the way.

Nowhere was a game bigger than in Ashland, Oregon, last Saturday, and for the second time in three years, the Southern Oregon Raiders knocked off Carroll College in a wild affair. In the NAIA Game of the Week, No. 22 SOU pulled ahead at the end of the third quarter when Austin Dodge completed a TD pass to Victor Dean. From there, SOU's defense shut out Carroll in the fourth quarter, and won 38-35. It was a tremendous victory for the Raiders, while it could be a crushing defeat for No. 2 Carroll.

The game was the Saints' season-debut, and with only a 10-game schedule this season, Carroll now has little margin for error if the Saints want to repeat as Frontier champions, or even make the NAIA playoffs. In past seasons, two and three-loss teams from the Frontier have been left out of the NAIA playoffs, and Carroll's difficult schedule includes two games against Rocky Mountain College, one more against SOU, a trip to MSU-Northern and two battles against Montana Tech and UM-Western.

The loss overshadowed a stellar debut by Carroll junior Mac Roache at quarterback. Roache is replacing two-year starter Dakota Stonehouse, and he threw for 280 yards and three scores in the loss.

As expected Dodge and the SOU offense was spectacular, even against a staunch Carroll defense. But holding the Saints without a score for the final from the six-minute mark of the third quarter to the end of the game, speaks volumes about the Raider defense.

And if SOU continues to play defense like it did against the Saints, there's no question the Raiders are going to be hard to stop this season.

Meanwhile, it looks more and more like Rocky is going to be hard to stop as well, and UM-Western found that out the hard way last Saturday in Dillon. The Bulldogs and Bears waged an incredible battle that went two overtimes. Rocky's winning points in the second OT came on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Bryce Baker to running back Cedric Foster, with Ryan Steska tacking on the point-after kick. Western had one last chance to either tie or beat the Bears, but Rocky came up with a sack against Bulldog quarterback Tyler Hulse on the game's final play.

The win kept Rocky's impressive start to the season intact, and the No. 9 Bears are now a real threat in the Frontier for the second straight year.

But it also showed just how far the Bulldogs have come. Western is 1-2 on the season, but the Bulldogs have been impressive every week thus far, including putting up a solid fight at FCS Eastern Washington two weeks ago. In what was one of the best Frontier Conference games of the young season, both the Bears and Bulldogs proved why the Frontier might just be the deepest league in all of NAIA football in 2014.

They're coming

Speaking of RMC, that's Northern's next opponent. For the second straight Saturday, the Lights will be at home when they host the Bears at Blue Pony Stadium. And lately, the Bears have had Northern's number.

From the start of the 2010 season to November 2012, the lights had won six of their last seven meetings with RMC. But the tables started to turn on a cold, snowy November night in 2012 at Billings' Daylis Stadium when the Bears beat the Lights 32-22. It was the start of a three-game winning streak for Rocky against Northern. The Bears beat MSU-N twice last season, 23-13 in September in Billings, and 49-28 in the 2013 season finale back in November in Havre.

But Northern will be well-prepared when the Bears come to Blue Pony Stadium this time around. The Lights have only lost twice to Rocky in Havre since 2008, and they relish the chance to knock off a nationally ranked opponent. Rocky was ranked No. 17 in the NAIA when the Lights trounced them 42-19 at Blue Pony Stadium in September 2012.

The big key to Saturday's game will be the defenses. Rocky's defense has struggled against the run so far this season, allowing nearly 150 yards per game. And now the Bears have to try and stop Zach McKinley, Northern's sophomore tailback who already has close to 300 yards on the ground this season.

On the flip side, the Lights will have to be especially good on pass defense. RMC's Bryce Baker is electric, and the Bears have a deep and talented group of receivers who give opposing secondaries nightmares. So while assignments and coverages will have to be especially sharp this weekend, MSU-N also needs another huge game from its rising defensive line. Sophomore Tyler Craig already has 3.5 sacks in 2013, while Tyler Phillips and Jordan Brusio have also been a load for offensive lines to handle. Add in the play of Patrick Barnett and Will DeVos and the MSU-N defensive line has been nothing short of stellar so far. And that group will need to be even better on Saturday when Baker hits the field at Blue Pony Stadium.

In essence, Northern's ability to get pressure on Baker and slow down the Bears' passing attack, while also exploiting the Bears' run defense will be the biggest two keys in the game.

The perfect start

Playing their first college football game in 37 years, the College of Idaho Yotes certainly made a lasting impression. Last Saturday, at Pacific University, the Yotes stunned the home crowd with a 35-34 road victory.

It was a historic moment for C of I, and a rare one. It's hard to find many teams who come out and win their first game just 24 months after a dormant football program was revived. But that's exactly what the Yotes did. C of I racked up over 400 yards of offense, and TeeJay Gordan scored on back-to-back runs, the last of which turned out to be the game-winner late in the third quarter. From there, Pacific scored early in the fourth, but C of I blocked two field goal attempts in the closing frame, and held off Pacific on a final drive for the historic win.

The victory gets the Yotes off to a 1-0 start, and now comes their first big moment in the Frontier. Not only is this Saturday C of I's first home game in nearly four decades, but Saturday's tilt against UM-Western at Simplot Stadium in Caldwell, Idaho is the Yotes' first-ever Frontier Conference affair.

Ground attack

It's early, but the top running backs in the Frontier Conference are starting to establish their dominance.

Northern's Zach McKinley leads the league in rushing, averaging 146 yards per game two games into the season. McKinley barreled over Dickinson State for 209 yards last Saturday, and that was just one of several big performances.

In Ashland, Oregon, SOU's Melvin Mason and Carroll's Dustin Rinker went well over 100 yards. Mason ran for 202 yards and three scores against a normally-stout Carroll run defense. On the other side, Rinker rushed for 142 yards and a score against the Raiders.

And in what was the most impressive victory of the week, C of I's TeeJay Gordon lifted the Yotes to victory by rushing for 137 yards and three touchdowns against Pacific University. Montana Tech's Nolan Saracini also has a 100-yard game to his credit, while MSU-N backup tailback Mario Gobbato put up 81 yards of his own on DSU last Saturday, and SOU backup Keegan Lawrence added an additional 70 yards on nine carries against Carroll.

So if last Saturday was any indication, as four different backs went over 100 yards, the ground attacks in the Frontier Conference are going to be fun for fans to watch all season long.