D3football Daily Dose

Every preseason we rank the conferences for Kickoff, and while the rankings are based mostly on last season and a little on projections, as games get played things tend to change.

It’s clear the MAC is moving back up the conference pecking order. Delaware Valley has forced its way into the lead story twice in three weeks, something which we would rarely do in September. But who is falling based on the first four weeks?

Delaware Valley posed an interesting conundrum, too, in a week without many upsets, in forcing its way into the Top 25. So Keith and I discuss that, some other teams that could get in, games that are getting onto the radar and falling below them, and more in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Happy Monday morning, everyone. Listen in while you’re doing your TPS reports and try not to think about the economy.

 

 Around the Nation Podcast [31:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It seems strange to say that already, but two teams who went deep in the playoffs last year need wins today.

Unranked Bethel has two loses and needs a win at Concordia-Moorhead to avoid falling out of the MIAC race early. That’s just one of several intriguing games, including St. John’s trying to bounce back against Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf and Augsburg dueling to keep their undefeated stature.

No. 11 St. John Fisher starts conference play in the Empire 8 hosting No. 16 Ithaca. The Bombers might need this game more psychologically given how the Cards have beaten them recently, but the Cards need this one to control their own playoff destiny. If they lose here, do you like their chances to run the table, including beating No. 6 Salisbury? Me neither.

Check out the scoreboard and the post pattern pages for the MIAC and Empire 8, particularly the latter. I guarantee they will keep you updated and entertained.

Before Pat and Keith were ever colleagues at D3football.com, they were on opposite sides of Catholic/Randolph-Macon clashes, at about the time when the two teams began to have thrilling enough games to begin calling it a rivalry. That must have the boys a little giddy this week, so for our weekly Triple Take look at highlights from Saturday’s lineup, we brought in the steady hand of Around the mid-Atlantic columnist Ryan Tipps. Because someone’s got to give some serious analysis while the jokesters yuk it up.

Game of the Week
Ryan’s take: No. 6 Salisbury at Delaware Valley. The last time the Aggies played at home, they felled one of D-III’s predicted titans of 2008. That team, Wesley, also happens to be the biggest conference rival of Salisbury. When it comes to using a common opponent to predict the strength of teams, it doesn’t get any more straight-forward than this. At stake for Delaware Valley is proof that it could be the biggest threat to the rest of the MAC teams. For Salisbury, at stake is one of seven crucial regional games that will go a long way toward a fragile Pool B bid.
Keith’s take: No. 16 Ithaca at No. 11 St. John Fisher. We try not to double up picking the same game, but I think this is pretty obviously the G.O.T.W. for Week 4. I mentioned it a bit in Around the Nation, but otherwise Pat can do the heavy lifting …
Pat’s take: No. 16 Ithaca at No. 11 St. John Fisher. Ithaca does seem a little bit more put together at this point but with Dan Juvan playing on a bad right ankle and wearing a protective boot this week, plus St. John Fisher having the home field, I think that levels things out a bit. Plus, repeat after me, there’s no love lost when these two teams met. That’s from our Sportscaster Clichés 101 textbook. Bet you thought I was going to say something about throwing out record books. Hah! Not that predictable.

Surprisingly close game
Ryan’s take: Gettysburg at Muhlenberg. The Bullets’ 0-3 record is highly deceiving. Muhlenberg is ranked fifth in the country, but Gettysburg has been playing good teams with surprising intensity. Gettysburg traded last year’s running shoes for this year’s throwing arm, but whether that can penetrate the Mules’ stout defense is the biggest question mark.
Keith’s take: WPI at RPI. I never get this category right, but it’s about highlighting a good game, not me being right. Worcester Polytech has given up just 17 points in the two wins since their five-overtime opener against Mass-Dartmouth. RPI is heading into Game 3 of a nine-game slate and has one fewer game under its belt. If both defenses are playing as well as they have been (WPI allows 250 yards per game, RPI 272), it should be a good one.
Pat’s take: No. 14 Franklin at Trine. The MIAA has gone a long time between signature wins – in fact, I can’t name one at the moment. But Trine has looked good so far and Franklin has drifted up fairly high in the rankings, especially for an HCAC team.

Most likely Top 25 team to get upset
Ryan’s take: No. 17 Cortland State. Armed with a budding star in freshman quarterback Thomas D’Ambrisi, Kean is in prime position to play the spoiler in the NJAC. The Cougars’ first upset starts here.
Keith’s take: No. 6 Salisbury. I don’t have high hopes for anyone playing a top 25 team this week, but Delaware Valley will come in confident and well-rested after knocking off then-No. 3 Wesley two weeks ago. With the extra week to practice stopping the option and attacking the 3-3-5, the Aggies could pull it off.
Pat’s take: No. 19 Millsaps. Does Rhodes have the defense to slow down the Majors’ offense? Perhaps not, but with Millsaps outscoring opponents 39-9 this year and Rhodes’ defense having allowed just 14 points this season, repeat after me, something’s gotta give. That’s our second sportscaster cliché for the day. Thanks for playing!

They’ll be on your radar
Ryan’s take: Christopher Newport. A delayed opener, an uneasy team and a top 10 opponent. Last week the Captains were two steps behind in a three-step race. This week, against Wilkes, will be a better and more balanced showcase for CNU with conference play on the horizon.
Keith’s take: Catholic. At 3-0 and quietly poised to contend in the wide-open ODAC, the Cardinals must defeat Randolph-Macon, which has become quite a rival. The teams haven’t had a game decided by more than 10 points since 2003. R-MC has struggled, leaving an opening for CUA to be the team to push defending champion Hampden-Sydney.
Pat’s take: Wooster. Although, the Scots should be already, even before the trip to Denison. They’re 2-0 and have outscored opponents 47-8.

Which of last week’s West Region upset victims bounces back the strongest?
Ryan’s take: St. John’s. The Johnnies won’t nail a lopsided victory, but they will gain confidence – and maybe a better understanding of their quarterback situation – against the currently undefeated Gusties.
Keith’s take: St. John’s. Sorry to be a copycat, but the Johnnies don’t lose often, and rarely twice in a row. Gustavus might give St. John’s a run, but I’d be surprised if it were a tight game in the final minutes.
Pat’s take: Central. Albion has won three of its past 13 games, prime for a Central get-well card.

Which long losing streak ends this week?
Ryan’s take: North Park. Dating back to last season, the Vikings have limped through 10 straight losses entering their game against Benedictine. North Park’s most apparent weakness is defending the run. But the team’s solid pass defense should match up well against the Eagles, who have gained almost twice as many yards throwing the ball this season that they have running it.
Keith’s take: Cornell. I’m reaching, but eventually the Rams have to catch a break, right? After 22 IIAC losses in a row, maybe No. 22 Wartburg comes in riding high after the Central win and gets caught napping. By a score of 22-21. This is the topsy-turvy IIAC, after all, it’s not impossible.
Pat’s take: Buffalo State. There just aren’t many long losing streaks left, as Keith pointed out in Around the Nation. I’m going to cast my lot with the Bengals, who have lost eight in a row in heading to Western Connecticut. The Bengals did roll up 278 yards on the ground in a 42-32 loss to TCNJ this past week.

Who wins the Guru Bowl? That would be Pat’s alma mater (Catholic U.) at Keith’s alma mater (Randolph-Macon).
Ryan’s take: Randolph-Macon. It’s certainly hard to ignore a Catholic team that is undefeated and at the opposite end of the conference ladder as R-MC. Both teams are more balanced offensively than they have been in past years, but it’s the Yellow Jackets that have a more threatening defensive secondary and should be able to rein in Catholic quarterback Keith Ricca’s well-defined receiving corps.
Keith’s take: Catholic. Darn. I already said I’d be watching Catholic. Of course I’m pulling for Randolph-Macon. I mean, not professionally, just personally. Well, maybe I could make a case for professionally, since R-MC bouncing back after a rough start would make them a compelling team to follow. I’ve been following this rivalry for a lot of years now, and it tends to alternate years. So my “pick” is based on that. Plus, it makes me appear really fair and balanced!
Pat’s take: Catholic. I have to take this, right? Make sure to tell the guys to remember John Butler knocking down a pass at the end of the game to win in 1994, or Bob Frole pulling down a two-point conversion to tie the 1995 game 50-50.

Because of concerns regarding the increasing cost of travel, the NCAA Division III championships committee pushed back a recommendation to increase the playoff roster size from 52 to 56 players.

“The rationale for adding another baseball player to the roster, and four more players to the football roster, is valid,” Redlands athletic director Jeff Martinez, the chairman of the committee, said in a story in the NCAA News. “The games have changed — in baseball, the need is relief pitching; and football is a vertical game with more receivers, more personnel packages.

“But, you have to weigh, is it more important to put more people on every sideline, or to be able to afford an additional charter flight or two when air-travel conditions make doing so unavoidable? We cannot control the air situation, and we have every indication that it’s going to get more challenging before it gets less challenging.”

It will have to wait until the next budget cycle, in 2010-11.

Seems like we have a new generation of West Coast fans who don’t understand the geography of Division III. I’ve gotten a couple of e-mails like this in the past 48 hours.

seems like your “Top 25″ seems to be “East” and midwest heavy. Their is
football west of the Rockies!

Indeed, there is.

There are nine Division III football teams in California.
There are three Division III football teams in Oregon.
There are three Division III football teams in Washington.

That’s it: 15 out of 239, 6.2%. Add in Colorado College if you like to get to 16.

I’d note that 8% of our Top 25 teams are West of the Rockies.

For a more visual representation of Division III football, see below. You’ll have to zoom out to see the entire country, as our space here is limited.

View Larger Map

There are plenty of teams we can point to in the early going this season who are playing poorly. Three of them got upset on Saturday. So while we talk about what happened in the West Region this weekend, there are also some teams who are looking good, even better than expected, through this past week’s games.

Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman take a look at those storylines and more in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Click the play button below to listen. The player requires Flash.

 

 Around the Nation Podcast [24:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m in Central Iowa at Central (Iowa) to watch Central take on Wartburg, where it’s a tad bit warmer and a heck of a lot drier than the last time I was here.

That was the national quarterfinal game between Central and Bethel, a game that was delayed by more than an hour and on a day in which our crew nearly didn’t get out of Iowa, after a massive accident closed I-35 just north of the Minnesota/Iowa border.

Much better today, sunny, low 80s, a little wind. Great crowd. Good conditions for football.

We also got a tip from elsewhere, that Shane McSweeney was getting the start at quarterback for Wesley instead of Jason Schatz. Plenty of games to keep track of today.

Here’s a little guide to those picking out obscure college football games each week. It’s easier to name games that have a little something more going for them.

Here, for example, are some interesting games being played this week. And joining us for our Triple Take look at the weekend this time around is a man who will be seeing one of them, Dan Padavona of CortlandFootball.com.

Game of the Week
Dan’s take: Whitworth at No. 23 Redlands. And honestly I don’t think it will be too close. Redlands was impossible to run on against Dubuque, and the offense was incredibly balanced in churning out over 450 yards. Look for Colton Hansen to pick apart Whitworth.
Keith’s take: No. 25 Ohio Northern at No. 1 Mount Union. The Purple Raiders have a habit of making seemingly tough matchups look not difficult at all, and even if that happens again, this is the Game of the Week because of the clarity it would bring to the national picture and OAC race. We think Mount Union is the nation’s best team, but it hardly resembles last year’s juggernaut except in the offensive backfield, so let’s see how they respond.
Pat’s take: Whitworth at No. 23 Redlands. Whitworth lost at home last season and ended up not going to the playoffs at 8-1 in-region while 5-2 UW-Eau Claire was selected. Does Whitworth remember who one of the two 2007 West Region co-chairs is?

Surprisingly close game
Dan’s take: No. 6 Muhlenberg at Union. This is a good matchup and I don’t think anyone should be surprised if it comes down to the fourth quarter. I was tempted to go with Union due to the long trip into northeastern N.Y. But I think Muhlenberg ekes out a win.
Keith’s take: Coe at Cornell. The Rams haven’t won an IIAC game since 2005, but hosting the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi against the Kohawks, who are also off to a slow start, is a recipe for interesting game.
Pat’s take: No. 18 Case Western Reserve at Oberlin. Case is struggling with injuries, while Oberlin played Washington and Jefferson well in Week 1 and had a bye week to focus on the Spartans, including a short scouting trip.

What obscure game would you have picked for Mike & Mike?
Dan’s take: Rochester at St John Fisher. St. John Fisher may end up being not quite as overpowering as we had all expected, but this is a fun matchup every season. Besides the schools being in the same city, the football programs have an interesting history. The battle belonged to Rochester until the early portion of the new century, and has swung 180 degrees to Fisher since. Apparently so has the recruiting war.
Keith’s take: Cal Lutheran at Pacific Lutheran. It’s always a good time when a couple of Lutherans get together.
Pat’s take: No. 12 North Central at Benedictine, The Battle of Maple Ave. The stadiums are just 2.7 miles apart in suburban Chicago, though at the moment, the programs are much further apart than that. This could also be surprisingly close, but only geographically. (Keith, in your Lutheran battle, who’s bringing the hot dish?)

Which team playing its opener this week has the better chance: St. Scholastica (at Wisconsin Lutheran) or Christopher Newport (at No. 8 Salisbury)?
Dan’s take: Definitely Christopher Newport. I don’t expect the Captains to win on the road, but I feel they are underrated and will give Salisbury a game.
Keith’s take: Christopher Newport. In the past two weeks, we’ve seen LaGrange win the first game in program history in its 21st game and St. Vincent in its 12th. Therefore, with all due respect, I’d be surprised if St. Scholastica, playing its first game ever, wins this season, much less this week.
Pat’s take: St. Scholastica. Not sure either team spotlighted wins its game but I have to think they have the better chance, against Wisconsin Lutheran which has scored 14 points in two games. But if they don’t win this week they do have Trinity Bible later.

Most likely top 25 team to get upset
Dan’s take: No. 20 Cortland State. The NJAC is very balanced this season. I see Rowan winning this game, but Cortland winning the league with 1 loss. Cortland has not won in Glassboro in this era, so until they do so, I think you have to go with the Profs. Cortland is also missing arguably its most explosive player on offense in Zacc Guaragno, and has been suspect in the secondary. I just think this matchup favors Rowan, but will be happy if Cortland proves me wrong.
Keith’s take: No. 23 Redlands. A loss to Whitworth, basically No. 26, might hardly be an upset. Throw in the consequences losing to the Bulldogs had for the Pirates last year, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them play inspired, even though Redlands is coming off a 46-9 win in its opener.
Pat’s take: No. 5 Capital. If this happens, we’ll know the Heidelberg resurgence is for real. The Student Princes dropped 62 points on Westminster (Pa.) in Week 1.

Which surprise 2-0 team is least likely to go 3-0?
Dan’s take: Becker WPI has already beaten Mass-Dartmouth, who is significantly better than any team Becker has played.
Keith’s take: Louisiana College. Even if Hardin-Simmons, which has looked much better on defense this season than last, has a relapse, the Tigers haven’t shown the offense in their two wins (24 points total) to make us believe they can score with Justin Feaster, Mychal Carillo and company.
Pat’s take: Aurora. Illinois Wesleyan is a significantly better team than Lake Forest was, Aurora’s surprise victim in Week 1.

They’ll be on your radar
Dan’s take: Kean They won in a rout over a hapless Merchant Marine team. I fully expect them to beat West Conn in Union, N.J. What I am looking for is a convincing victory. If they win by 14-plus points, the entire conference had better take notice.
Keith’s take: UW-La Crosse. Hate to keep harping on the same team, but since they were completely overmatched against North Dakota, I’m still wondering how they’ll respond to blowing a lead against Hardin-Simmons. A trip to Azusa Pacific might provide an answer.
Pat’s take: Johns Hopkins. A win this week would put the Blue Jays at 3-0 and make it seem like the mid-’00s are here again.

There were surprise games and surprise teams in Week 2, from Delaware Valley to the Mississippi and points west. Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman attempt to cover them all in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Click the play button below to listen. The player requires Flash.

 

 Around the Nation Podcast [24:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m in Eau Claire,Wis., where there’s no wireless (or at least not consistent enough to get on) and we are all standing around waiting for the national anthem. Or for UWW to come out of the locker room, not sure.

One of many big games today, especially in the afternoon, but before we get to your updates kudos to UMHB, which struck a blow for D-III pride by beating Southern Nazarene last night, a ranked NAIA team. It was UMHB’s first game and SNC’s third.

On with the games!