Week 6 as we are in or entering the 2nd half of the season is where the Teachers come out of the teachers lounge and the gradebook starts to give lower and higher scores. Just Win Baby and get top grades, and if you can’t pull them out not alot of moral victories will be given high grades
October the 10th 2026 at the FCS, D2, D3, and NAIA level in Iowa our SGI teams put up some impressive victories.
SGI Star Student(s) of the Week
This week there were so many star students to choose from Upper Iowa to Simpson but two teams really stood out. The first was Mount Mercy A+ winning 28-20 over Clarke. When you win YOUR VERY FIRST Football game as a program ever (Mount Mercy never had a football team until 2026). That earns you co-team of the week.
Co-Star Students of the week arethe FCS UNI Panthers A+. As a close to full scholarship football team the coverage we devote to the Panthers is more muted (as they have more outlets covering them in the MVC). I did attend Media Days this year in Sioux Falls for MVC Football and the coverage is declining for sure, so this year we are covering the Panthers more in-depth. And the Purple Fellas from UNI have beaten two top 10 FCS Scholarship football teams back-to-back. Coach Stepsis has them rolling in Cedar Falls.
Upper Iowa A beat GLVC leading Truman State. Upper Iowa and Truman State and the Peacocks were 0-7 against Truman since they joined the GLVC. The Cardiac Cocks once again gave their fans the white knuckle treatment with a thrilling 21-19 win.
Dordt A: Joel Penners Defenders 38-3 over Doane. Just workmanlike efficiency from the Defenders as their defense is starting to tighten up and their offense is well…still powerful.
Northwestern College A: One of the best NAIA programs and a GPAC Superpower with fellow Iowans Dordt and Morningside was dominant win against Briar Cliff 52-0. We have wanted to see more consistency from the Red Blood Orange fellas from Orange City in games they should be heavy favorites. Yesterday they said hey teacher leave those kids alone and showed ruthless consistency.
Morningside A: Steve Ryan has a powerhouse program. Multiple Natty’s, Top 5 every year. The Mustangs rolled into Forest City thru the trees and dominated Waldorf 72-19.
Wartburg A: The Knights are on a 36 or 37 A-R-C Conference winning streak (4 to 5 years without a conference loss) it’s so long we are like not going to bother on finding their last loss, because what’s the point. Yesterday against Beuna Vista they dominated….I mean Dominated. 752 yards of O.
Simpson A: The Storm rolled onto the bluffs of Dubuque and kicked up rocks in the face of the DuHawks in the Rock bowl with an impressive 38-21 win over Loras. Simpson offensively is a fun team to watch and can put up points.
U of Dubuque A: Coming off an impressive conference opening win in Pella over the Dutch. The Spartans said hey lets go 2-0 in the conference and doubled up Nebraska Wesleyan 44-22. Coach Mauiri’s team has a big contest next week against 2-0 Simpson. That is gong to be a great game to watch.
Coe College A: This was a game we were at as alot of guys are former KoHawk footballers. We were back for the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Coe College Football team. The Winningest team in Coe History (135 years or so of playing football)
The KoHawks did not disappoint the alums with a 31-13 victory over Central College and man did Quincy Drummer have a game 26 carries for 226 yds.
Luther C-: Like we said as the season goes on just competing above expectations in going to get lower grades from the professors. The Norse lost to Midwest Conference superpower Monmouth 30-13 so they competed above expectations, but Coach Troche is not after moral victories as the Norse fall to 4-2 on the year. Plenty of season left for the Norse to keep climbing.
Grinnell C-: (See Luther Above). Coach Barnes team competed hard against a team that were heavy underdogs, but fell short on scoreboard 13-3 to Illinois College. The Pioneers have fight and grit and are fun to watch, and plenty of season left to keep their good season going.
A bunch of D+’s
Football is a take no prisoners contest and Briar Cliff, Central, Loras, Cornell, Waldorf, Clarke, Buena Vista all had tough days. Waldorf and Clarke are program rebuilds with late coaching hires so it will take time, so fan expectations need to be realistic. Central has just been beset by skill player injury at the end of last year and that bad luck of injuries has continued. Buena Vista and Briar Cliff are program builds in tough conferences.
Drake with a D+ and a very tough day losing a PFL game to Valparaiso. 6 turnovers and the Bulldogs just shot themselves in the foot all day in Indiana. That one was a big surprise and time is running out on a 4th straight PFL Championship run. They may have to run the table to now have a shot after their first PFL loss.
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Sports Guys Iowa is Sports Coverage for IA Small Colleges (FCS, D2, D3, NAIA) and HS
