2008 Around the Nation columns

2008-12-20 Around the Nation's look back at 2008 We didn’t have any 15-lateral miracle endings or 59-year-old linebackers this time around.

2008-11-20 Playoff picks, surprises, disappointments The time for griping is finished. The time to salivate over the matchups provided has begun.

2008-11-13 What makes greatness in D-III? Do you know that point in a game when you stare at the clock, run through the last scenario in your mind where your team can score the points it needs to win, then realize it's impossible and is just not going to happen?

2008-11-06 It's no miracle Millsaps is here If a tale about how enduring difficult times can make triumph feel so much sweeter seems a little stale, Around the Nation understands. There's been a lot of that going around this week.

2008-10-29 There's just something about football With difficult times in the real world becoming the norm, and the politics of fear and division taking up space on the airwaves, isn't it nice to have football as an oasis?

2008-10-22 Queueing up the AQs Has there ever been a better time for the automatic qualifier system?

2008-10-15 Hitting the road, seeing the sights Packing list for this past weekend's trip: Notebook and voice recorder? Check. Laptop with wireless connection capabilities? Check. The rest of the Division III world? Check.

2008-10-09 A week so good, it could have a name Around the Nation introduces what, if we had to run TV promos all weekend, would dub with ominous music and call "The Turning Point."

2008-10-02 Trine's from-the-ground-up strategy pays off The foundation for Trine's attention-grabbing upset of then-No. 14 Franklin had been laid long before Saturday's kickoff.

2008-09-24 Waiting over, CNU ready to climb What does a team do when it has no first or second game?

2008-09-17 Brutal openers all part of ONU's plan Coach Dean Paul and his Ohio Northern staff really aren't gluttons for punishment.

2008-09-11 Heart and the relentless pursuit of triumph For all the talk across Division III about playing "for the love of the game," it's not often on display to the degree it was here Saturday, while it rained sideways because of the remnants of Hurricane Hanna and each airborne pass threatened to send a team back to the emotional abyss of losing that its players have tried so hard not to grow accustomed to.

2008-09-04 Welcome to '08: Here's your schedule You've got a September to plan, and Around the Nation doesn't want to be responsible for your getting caught on a ladder cleaning the gutter when you'd rather be in the bleachers screaming for your team to go for it on fourth-and-1.