For the third time in four weeks, the MIAA football schedule includes a battle of teams ranked in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Top 25, as 20th-ranked Central Missouri (3-0, 1-0 MIAA) hosts No. 25 Washburn (2-1, 0-1 MIAA) Saturday night (Sept. 20) at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

It is one of three games in Division II involving two ranked schools.

The Mules had to hold off a late rally by the Truman Bulldogs to claim a 31-28 road win in their conference opener last week. UCM junior QB Eric Czerniewski has possessed a hot hand in the early going, tossing a league-high eight touchdown passes in three games — two coming last week at Kirksville.

The Ichabods will have to improve on the performance from their league lid-lifter — WU made just one trip into the red zone and was forced to punt nine times during a 17-7 upset loss at Fort Hays State. Washburn enters the game with the third-best pass efficiency defense in the MIAA (96.5 Rating).

Fifth-ranked Nebraska-Omaha (2-0, 1-0 MIAA) plays its first MIAA road game as the Mavericks head south to visit Missouri Southern (2-1, 0-1 MIAA).

UNO has entered the league as advertised — boasting a potent offense which currently paces the MIAA in scoring offense (45.0 ppg) and rushing offense (232.0 ypg). Senior QB Zach Miller leads the conference in both pass efficiency (192.9 rating) and total offense (279.0 ypg).

The Lions had the Pittsburg State Gorillas tied twice, but couldn’t get the lead in the monsoon conditions at Pittsburg during their conference opener. MSSU did out-gain PSU, 331-283.

The seventh-ranked Gorillas (3-0, 1-0 MIAA) play their third road game in four weeks as they head to Missouri Western (1-2, 0-1 MIAA).

The Gorillas have yet to crack 200 rushing yards in a game this season. Pitt State is just 13-20-1 since 1986 when limited to less than 200 ground yards. Pitt State still has the MIAA’s top rusher in senior TB Caleb Farabi (118.7 ypg).

Meanwhile, the Griffons’ defense has allowed 428.7 passing yards per game to start the season as Western faces its third nationally-ranked foe in as many weeks after dropping games to Minnesota-Duluth and Northwest Missouri State in consecutive weeks.

Western has won the last two meetings against the Gorillas.

The ninth-ranked Bearcats (2-1, 1-0 MIAA) will head to Truman (1-1, 0-1 MIAA) to renew the battle for the Old Hickory Stick at Stokes Stadium.

It is the longest-contested trophy game involving two current NCAA Division II members — the schools began playing for the 30-inch piece of hickory back in 1930. The Bulldogs will be trying to snap a seven-game skid in the series against Northwest to reclaim the trophy.

Though his rally against UCM fell short, senior QB Matt Ticich threw for 379 yards and a pair of TDs against the Mules. He’s averaging a league-high 262.5 passing yards per game.

Northwest leads the MIAA with 478.0 yards of total offense, and the Bearcats have needed every bit of it, as the defense has allowed 375.3 yards per game in the early going of 2008.

The Fort Hays State Tigers (2-1, 1-0 MIAA) are seeking their second 3-1 start in as many season when they travel to Emporia State (2-1, 0-1 MIAA). The last time an FHSU squad had consecutive seasons with three wins in the first four games was 1985 (3-0-1) & 1986 (3-1).

The Hornets running game, averaging 162.7 yards entering the week, will get a test against the top rushing defense in the MIAA — the Tigers have allowed just 44.7 yards per game.

Overall, opponents average just 228.3 yards of offense against FHSU.