The Top 5 NAIA Football Matchups of Week 2

Hello, Justin Berendzen from Draft Diamonds (@jrberendzen on Twitter) with my top 5 NAIA Football matchups of week 2.

Grand View University at Baker University

Grand View and Baker are both top 15 teams and I think both teams could win this Grand View played ok but not up to there usual standards against Benedictine. Baker offensively has junior running back Cole Fisher who had 153 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns against William Penn. Junior defensive lineman Tristin Waugh had 2 sacks against Benedictine for the Vikings. Grand View offensively has junior running back Ali Scott who had 81 rushing yards week 1 against Benedictine. The Wildcats defense has senior linebacker Marcus Johnson who had 2 sacks in their last game against William Penn.

Morningside University at Dordt University

Got the Defenders and Mustangs in this one. Dordt’s offense has sophomore running back Nick Wellen who had 133 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns against Briar Cliff in week 1. The Mustangs defense has junior linebacker Issac Pingel who had 2 sacks against Northwestern College. Morningside offensively has junior wide receiver Zach Norton who had 112 receiving yards and 1 touchdown in Morningside’s week 1 win against Northwestern College. Defensively for Dordt they have sophomore linebacker Ian MacDonald who had 6 tackles and 1 interception against Briar Cliff.

Dickinson State University at University of Montana-Western

The Bulldogs meet the Blue Hawks in another ranked matchup in the NAIA week 2 schedule. Redshirt senior running back Reese Neville has 96 rushing yards and 1 touchdown in the season so far for Montana Western. Defensively for the Blue Hawks they have senior defensive lineman Krew Mathern who had 5.5 TFLs and 3 sacks against Black Hills State University. Dickinson State’s offense has senior wide receiver Conor McCarvel who had 155 receiving yards in week 1. Defensively for the Bulldogs they have junior linebacker Kameron Rauser who has had 8 tackles and 3.5 TFLs in the 2022 season to this point.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University at Ottawa University-Arizona

OUAZ going up against SAGU at home. The Spirit offensively have Grad wide receiver Donovahn Jones who had 93 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in their first game. The SAGU defense has senior defensive back Issac Gowdy who had 1 interception against Louisiana Christian. Keaton Dudik leads the Lions offense who held 1,586 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns for the SAGU offense in 2021. Defensively for OUAZ they have senior defensive lineman David Sow who had 2.5 TFLs and 1 sack in week 1.

St.Thomas University(FL) at Saint Xavier University

The Cougars host the Bobcats. The Saint Xavier offense has Amari Venerable who had 872 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021. Defensively for the Bobcats they have senior defensive back Sidney Porter who had 10 tackles and 2 TFLs against Butler. The St.Thomas offense has junior wide receiver C’Quan Jnopierre who had 197 receiving yards and 1 touchdown against Butler. Defensively for Saint Xavier they have senior linebacker Peyton Nigro who had 1 sack against U Indy.