This is it. This is everything.

The big night. Playing for keeps. For all the marbles. What we've all been waiting for. Throw in any other cheesy cliché you want that basically illustrates "this game is kind of, sort of important."

No, not Green Bay-Minnesota on Monday Night Football. As a University of Wisconsin alum, I refuse to discuss any traitorous quarterbacks in this space.

I'm looking at Davenport Central at Bettendorf. Both teams are 6-0 in Mississippi Athletic Conference play. Thanks to QCVarsity.com's handy-dandy standings page (which has fully updated overall records!), you don't have to be a math whiz to see that, hey, that's as good as it gets.

But come Wednesday morning, one of those "0"s is going to become a "1", and the MAC will have but one queen.

However, before I go "crowning" the winner of that match, there are still two weeks of play after Tuesday. Should the Lady D's win, they still have to contend with much-improved Clinton (4-2) and pesky North (1-5). If it's host Bettendorf, the Bulldogs have a slightly easier road with 2-4 Burlington and 1-4 Assumption - though it is quite literally a road, since neither match is at Bettendorf. Plus, the Grayhounds and Knights have shown much more prowess in non-conference play, so you never know if or when that could translate to the MAC.

No matter what, however, the winner of Tuesday's duel does assure itself a piece of the conference crown. Considering how these two squads and Pleasant Valley split it three ways last year - and considering their comments in August - you can bet that Tuesday's victor won't be in a sharing mood in 2009.

Central has proven a lot of people wrong this year - I still remember some players and coaches wondering aloud at the MAC scrimmage in late August if the Blue Devils would slink out of the title race - and should be psyched for this match. Under first-year coach Amber Hall, Central climbed out of an 0-2 hole against PV; fitting considering Central's habit of starting slowly but looking like world-beaters at the end. The Blue Devils have not done anything to disprove my notion at the start of the year that they're like that guy from the Dos Equis commercial; they have truly been the most interesting team in the world.

Meanwhile, Bettendorf has been, well, boring. Since looking quite impressive in a season-opening sweep at Muscatine and then holding off the Spartans in their gym in five games, the Bulldogs have systematically trounced their league opponents. I crunched some numbers in Bettendorf's four other MAC wins, and found that…

- Bettendorf is 12-0 in games

- It hasn't been pushed past 25-23 in any of those games

- Opponents have been limited to 20 or less points in 10 out of 12

- Opponents are averaging 16.75 points a game

- And perhaps most impressively, opponents' points per game average goes down from the first game (17.5) to the second (17) to the third (15.75). That tells you that Bettendorf gets stronger as it goes.

So what does this all mean? You can never count out the Blue Devils, even if they look down at the outset. Just ask Pleasant Valley. But this season, Bettendorf looks too strong and too focused to allow a letdown at this point. The prediction here is Bettendorf in four.

(That's right, we're making predictions now. See below for the rest of my picks. And please, before you fire off the angry e-mails, remember that I've spent hours and hours and hours in the lab, and still can't find any plausible way to pick all ten MAC teams and all six Big Six teams to win. It just can't be done!)

Tuesday's matches (all matches begin approximately 7:30 p.m.)

Mississippi Athletic Conference

Davenport Central (14-9, 6-0 MAC) at Bettendorf (18-6, 6-0)

See above for breakdown.

Clinton (13-9, 4-2) at Pleasant Valley (13-12, 3-2)

Could the Spartans really finish fifth in this conference? With matches looming against Clinton and Muscatine, it sure is possible. But here's guessing Stacey Ruff rallies the troops for a must-win affair (as far as confidence goes). PV in five.

Muscatine (19-3, 4-2) at Davenport West (2-16, 0-6)

The Muskies have now won 15 straight matches. They've struggled against the other two Davenport schools, but West just doesn't seem to have it this year. Muscatine in three.

Davenport Assumption (6-13, 1-4) at North Scott (4-16, 1-5)

You look at the Lancers' roster, and you hear people talk about coach Jen Kremer's credentials, and you can't help but think: North Scott is way better than 4-16. Time for some wins to gain momentum for 2010. North Scott in four.

Burlington (12-12, 2-4) at Davenport North (4-16, 1-5)

A sneaky good matchup here. Wil Wiemann has the Grayhounds going in the right direction, especially with solid tournament results. The Wildcats are kind of like the Lancers in that their talent makes you scratch your head over that 4-16 mark. Let's go North in five.

Western Big Six Conference

Galesburg (2-3 Big Six) at Quincy (21-2, 4-0)

Quincy is gearing up for the giant matchup at Moline a week from Thursday. Galesburg just handed United Township its first win. Quincy in two.

Three things you should know before tonight

1) Regional pairings are out. There's a chance I'll discuss this in greater detail in the coming weeks, but it looks like the MAC got hosed. If any MAC team is to make the 4A state tournament in Cedar Rapids, it will have to knock off a top-five team (or beat somebody who did the deed). PV has No. 2 Iowa City West to deal with; Central, Bettendorf and Clinton will have to get by No. 3 Dubuque Hempstead (as well as each other); and Muscatine will probably tangle with No. 5 Iowa City High. Yikes.

Illinois seeds will be released Oct. 8, and then pairings on Oct. 9.

2) Going out the area real quick, Camanche and Durant-Bennett should both be commended. Camanche (No. 8 in Class 2A) swept No. 7 Durant-Bennett twice at the Northeast Invitational Saturday, extending its unbeaten streak in games to 51. Durant-Bennett, on the other hand, will take on Wilton at home Tuesday, and is borrowing Illinois' popular program 'Volley for the Cure'. Pink uniforms and balls will be on display, and proceeds from pink t-shirt sales will go toward breast cancer research.

3) Down goes Moline! Down goes Moline!

Oh, but only in a couple of games. No matches. The Maroons, who had lost just two games (Incarnate Word Academy and Rock Island) in their first 18 victories, dropped games in tight matches to Freeport and Dunlap, but still rebounded to win their host tournament. Dunlap in particular took Moline to the brink in the final match: 24-26, 26-24, 15-13.

Moline is now 23-0, and looks primed for a shot at its nemesis Quincy. We'll be taking a closer look at how the Maroons have stayed unbeaten in next Tuesday's Quad-City Times.

(What did I tell you people about me and shameless plugs?)

Three players I'll be watching at the Davenport Central-Bettendorf match

Kelsey VandenBerg, Sr., OH, 5-11. She was a complete non-factor in last week's huge win over Pleasant Valley - sitting out every point after mid-Game 2 - but Hall explained to me she had been fatigued after some college trips over the weekend. Fair enough. But the Blue Devils will need every bullet they've got to knock down the Bulldogs, and VandenBerg, as a captain, is key.

Megan Hayes, Jr., MB, 6-1. Central gets a ton of its points off the block from Anna Rusch and Jillian Wulf. Hayes as a defender can't do too much to stop that; but if she can alter her opponents' attack options as much as Rusch and Wulf, that goes a long way to neutralizing the Blue Devils.

Ann Miller, Jr., OH, 5-11. I've seen Muscatine's Haylie Franklin twice, and she's looked an awful lot like the MAC's Player of the Year. But neither of those matches held as much incentive as this one. Your move, Miller.

Three players you should watch (since yours truly can't be at every match)

Emily Podschweit, So., OH, 5-7. In a way, this isn't just a nod to Podschweit, but her entire PV squad. Ruff was, well, less than pleased with how the Spartans finished the Central match. Podschweit may just be a sophomore, but she's a leader on that team and it's clear she feels the same way. Clinton is a tremendous opening test to see how PV prepares for regionals.

Hannah Lindaman, Fr., S, 5-4. The Lancers' biggest concern has been a revolving door at setter, trying to find out the right combination. Lindaman has four years left to keep developing, so it'll be interesting to see how she has come along during this rookie year spent on varsity.

Khanishah Williams, Jr., OH. When I mentioned to Wil Wiemann over the phone that Williams seemed to be showing up a lot more in our box scores, he replied, 'yeah, we've been waiting for that'. I could sense a slight grin on the other end. I wonder if this is a MAC star in the making.

Remember, you can check out complete standings and the MAC leaderboard on the scoreboard page of Tuesday's Quad-City Times.

Enjoy your match … that's all I've got for the Prematch Prep Talk. Now go out there and go 1-0 tonight.