It should come as no surprise that a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA football) team won the 2015 D2 football championship. It was an odd-numbered year, after all…
Three of Northwest Missouri’s national titles have come within the last seven years (2009, 2013 and 2015) while Pittsburg State brought the crown back to Southeast Kansas in 2011.
Not to say the Bearcats won’t hoist this year’s national championship trophy in Kansas City come mid-December. Although the gap appears to be narrowing atop the MIAA standings.
Central Missouri would love a chance to knock the champs off their pedestal, and could have a big stage to do so when the Mules and Bearcats face off on Oct. 1 at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
So, for that matter, would Emporia State, whose season ended in a loss to the Bearcats in the Super Regional 3 Championship game. Or Fort Hays State, looking add to their win total for a seventh straight season. Or Central Oklahoma, a team which struggled early in the season but battled back and earned a postseason bowl bid.
One thing appears certain: unless someone can knock off Northwest Missouri, they’re still the top dogs in the MIAA.
And with that, we present our MIAA football preview, looking at the preseason BennettRank (complete D2 football rankings here), returning all-conference performers and a team-by-team preview.
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| BR | TEAM | OVERALL RECORD | MIAA RECORD | COACHES POLL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwest Missouri | 15-0 | 11-0 | 1st |
| 34 | Emporia State | 11-3 | 9-2 | T-3rd |
| 40 | Central Missouri | 8-3 | 8-3 | 2nd |
| 42 | Fort Hays State | 8-4 | 8-3 | 6th |
| 56 | Central Oklahoma | 7-5 | 6-5 | 5th |
| 81 | Missouri Western | 6-5 | 6-5 | 7th |
| 87 | Pittsburg State | 6-5 | 6-5 | 3rd |
| 104 | Washburn | 5-6 | 5-6 | 8th |
| 138 | Lindenwood | 3-8 | 3-8 | 12th |
| 141 | Northeastern State | 3-8 | 3-8 | 9th |
| 151 | Missouri Southern | 1-10 | 1-10 | 10th |
| 154 | Nebraska-Kearney | 0-11 | 0-11 | 12th |
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RETURNING 2015 ALL-MIAA PERFORMERS
First Team Offense
RB: Clay McKenzie, Jr., Central Oklahoma
RB: Shaquille Cooper, Jr., Fort Hays State
WR: Jaylen Zachery, Jr., Central Missouri
WR: Mitchell Foote, Sr., Emporia State
TE/FB: Jordan Grove, Jr., Northwest Missouri
OL: Travis Anderson, Sr., Missouri Western
K: Simon Mathiesen, Sr., Northwest Missouri
PR/PR: Shawn Bane, Jr., Soph., Northwest Missouri
First Team Defense
DL: Collin Bevins, Sr., Northwest Missouri
LB: Connor Harris, Sr., Lindenwood
LB: Jacob Vollstedt, Sr., Northwest Missouri
DB: Kevin Berg, Sr., Northwest Missouri
Second Team Offense
QB: Garrett Fugate, Sr., Central Missouri
WR: Shawn Bane, Jr., Soph., Northwest Missouri
OL: Derrick Puni, Jr., Central Missouri
OL: Brandon Waggoner, Sr., Central Oklahoma
OL: Michael Miller, Sr., Washburn
K: Billy Greco, Soph., Central Missouri
KR/PR: J.T. Luper, Sr., Central Oklahoma
Second Team Defense
DL: Cass Weitl, Sr., Northwest Missouri
DL: Heath Wilson, Sr., Pittsburg State
DL: Akhmad Abdul-Razzaq, Sr., Washburn
LB: Tyke Kozeal, Sr., Nebraska-Kearney
LB: Spencer Brown, Sr., Pittsburg State
LB: Cody Heiman, Sr., Washburn
DB: Deron Washington, Sr., Pittsburg State
DB: Zach Franklin, Sr., Washburn
Third Team Offense
QB: T.J. Eckert, Sr., Central Oklahoma
WR: J.T. Luper, Sr., Central Oklahoma
OL: Jarrett Stastny, Sr., Emporia State
OL: Jordan Baldwin, Sr., Northeastern State
OL: Chase Sherman, Sr., Northwest Missouri
OL: Bo Farrow, Jr., Pittsburg State
K: Seth Hiddink, Sr., Central Oklahoma
Third Team Defense
DL: Triphinue Taylor, Jr., Central Missouri
DL: Deontay Wilson, Sr., Central Oklahoma
DL: Eddie Vinson, Sr., Emporia State
DL: Nathan Shepherd, Jr., Fort Hays State
LB: Austin Miller, Jr., Central Missouri
LB: Kole Schankie, Sr., Emporia State
LB: Darrian Bass, Sr., Missouri Western
DB: Monteze Latimore, Jr., Central Missouri
DB: A.J. West, Jr., Emporia State
DB: Doyin Jibowu, Soph., Fort Hays State
DB: Edward Richey, Jr., Northwest Missouri
P: Matthew Vincent, Sr., Missouri Western
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Use your arrow keys or the arrow buttons above and below to navigate our team-by-team previews.
