GRR: Northern Iowa
Paul Emerick is one of the greatest American outside backs.
Generally playing at outside center, the former University of Northern Iowa All American and later Chicago Lions was a favorite with fans because he never, ever backed down, was brutally honest about his performance good or bad, and was just plain fun to watch.
No one doubts that Wisconsin Whitewater is still the favorite to win the Great Midwest Conference, but other teams are bubbling up to a high level.
Loyola of Chicago has beaten UIC and DePaul and looked pretty good doing it. Their only loss was 27-22 to Illinois State, which sits 3-0.
UW-Platteville is only 1-2, but beat UW-Milwaukee 22-19 on a dramatic last-minute score.
The Women's DI Playoffs kick off this weekend with six teams playing to get into the national quarterfinals.
In a rare clash across conference boundaries in Men's DII College rugby, Winona State handed Northern Iowa a 64-12 defeat Saturday.
Wisconsin-Whitewater continues to dominate in the WIIL, posting big scores including a rout of a very tough Wisconsin-Milwaukee last week.
The Warhawks also hammered Marquette, and, this weekend, shut out UW-Platteville 100-0.