D3football Daily Dose

So Keith McMillan and I were on the record as not being surprised at the eight teams which won in Saturday’s second round.

The margins of victory? Definitely a difference. Does it matter that Bethel/UW-Eau Claire was so close? Which conferences made big leaps forward in Week 12 and 13? Who leaves the second round of the playoffs disappointed and who leaves them with an optimistic outlook?

We’ve got two rematches and two new matchups. Now that we’re down to eight teams, who will benefit the most from the reshuffled bracket? And where will we find ourselves on Saturday?

More in the ATN podcast.

 

 Around the Nation Podcast [19:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Leftover turkey…check.

Saturday afternoon sweats….check.

Eight great games to decide the regional finalists…check.

Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan went over the (Susquehanna) river and Frank Rossi and Mark Robinson went through the (Upstate NY) woods to bring you Muhlenberg-Wesley and St. John Fisher-Curry respectively on the NCAA Sports broadcasts.

The first game will be a match-up between the underrated, but very good Muhlenberg defense and a Wesley offense with great speed on the outside. The second game will be a test whether Curry has anything left after last week’s blowout of Hartwick and whether SJF can be caught watching the scoreboard a little in anticipation of a rematch with you-know-who. And Mark Robinson immediately becomes the all-time leading rusher in D3sports broadcasting history with his debut today.

Interesting games all over the place, though. Let’s hear about them.

Second round of games, with just eight being played on Saturday, four at noon and four at 1 p.m.

Before we begin our predictions of the Week 13 games, let’s take a look back at Week 12.

Winners straight up: Keith McMillan 13-3, Pat Coleman 12-4, Gordon Mann 11-5. Of note, of course, all three missed on Curry beating Hartwick and Muhlenberg beating Salisbury. Keith redeemed his pick against UW-Eau Claire by calling N.C. Wesleyan over Washington and Jefferson.

Closest score on each game: Mount Union/Ithaca (42-18 actual score) goes to Pat (predicted 42-10), TCNJ/RPI (17-13) goes to Keith (13-10), Hartwick/Curry (21-42) goes to Gordon, if anyone (43-42), St. John Fisher/Hobart (24-7) goes to Gordon (31-28), Central/Olivet (38-17) goes to Pat (41-14), St. John’s/Redlands (41-13) goes to Pat (27-17), UW-Eau Claire/St. Norbert (24-21) goes to Pat (24-20), Bethel/Concordia Wis. (28-0) goes to Gordon (35-7), N.C. Wesleyan/W&J (35-34 OT) goes to Keith (38-35), Mary Hardin-Baylor/Trinity (52-23) goes to Keith (42-24), Muhlenberg/Salisbury (31-21) goes to Pat, if anyone (27-31), Wesley/Hampden-Sydney (45-17) goes to Keith (35-13), UW-Whitewater/Capital (34-14) goes to Keith (24-12), North Central/Franklin (44-42) goes to Pat (35-34), Wabash/Mt. St. Joseph (31-21) goes to Pat (30-21) and Case/Widener (21-20) goes to Keith (22-14).

Gordon Mann has been unable to join me and Keith because of his holiday travel schedule, and as it turns out, we have no dissenting view on any of this weekend’s games.

This week’s predictions
New Jersey at Mount Union
Pat: Mount Union 38, TCNJ 7
Keith: Mount Union 28, TCNJ 6

Curry at St. John Fisher
Pat: St. John Fisher 31, Curry 10
Keith: St. John Fisher 31, Curry 17

St. John’s at Central
Pat: Central 27, St. John’s 24 (OT)
Keith: Central 24, St. John’s 22

UW-Eau Claire at Bethel
Pat: Bethel 35, UW-Eau Claire 27
Keith: Bethel 27, UW-Eau Claire 17

N.C. Wesleyan at Mary Hardin-Baylor
Pat: Mary Hardin-Baylor 48, N.C. Wesleyan 21
Keith: Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, N.C. Wesleyan 35

Muhlenberg at Wesley
Pat: Wesley 28, Muhlenberg 20
Keith: Wesley 20, Muhlenberg 14

North Central at UW-Whitewater
Pat: UW-Whitewater 38, North Central 17
Keith: UW-Whitewater 31, North Central 14

Wabash at Case Western Reserve
Pat: Wabash 30, Case 19
Keith: Wabash 26, Case 19

Big question will be if quarterback Mitch Schaeuble plays for UW-Eau Claire after he ended last week’s game at St. Norbert with blurred vision. St. John’s, playing Central, kings of the comeback win, is most likely to make us regret both picking against them, followed by Muhlenberg.

I just wanted to wish everyone checking in a happy Thanksgiving from D3sports.com.

Keith McMillan and I will both be braving the wilds of I-95 in the infamous Northeast Corridor this weekend as he visits family in New Jersey and I head to the Philadelphia suburbs. Wish us luck.

Hope you and yours are having a happy and safe holiday, especially those of you serving overseas. Keep safe.

We’re not sure what was more exciting, the games themselves in the first round or the rush of 16 games all underway at once. It seemed like you couldn’t hit refresh without getting some interesting new tidbit, whether it was Curry pulling away early or TCNJ winning late, Salisbury tying Muhlenberg in the fourth quarter or N.C. Wesleyan taking W&J to overtime.

Plus, Keith and Pat, remember, both saw N.C. Wesleyan the first week of the season. Hear their hindsight on what each saw and how it colored their predictions from last week. And go through the rest of last week’s games and the ones coming up.

It’s our Around the Nation podcast, which continues through the Stagg Bowl.

 

 Around the Nation Podcast [24:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

That’s where Keith McMillan and I are this weekend — we’re here and you’re there … somewhere. Good week to be playing — if you’re in the tournament, you still have a chance.

Cold and a tad windy here for the Muhlenberg/Salisbury game. Great day for running the football and defense, which is what these teams are already known for.

We’ve previewed this weekend to death, so we’ll just throw it open for you guys. I’d have said y’all, but we’re north of the Mason-Dixon.

D3football.com editor and publisher Pat Coleman and I first took stabs at playoff scores on a meandering ride from our Northern Virginia home base to Thiel (Northwestern Pa.) for a 2005 first-round game against Johns Hopkins. Though we might have been just trying to kill time then, what we found when we compared our guesses, er, predictions turned out to be interesting enough to share. We gave it another try the next week and away we went, doing it again in 2006.

We brought the tradition back for a third year, bringing another wise mind, Gordon Mann, on board for the ride and making it our weekly Triple-take. The goal isn’t to prove which of the three of us is smartest or coolest — that’s obvious, right?. It’s to give fans from Curry to Redlands and everywhere in between an idea of what is expected to happen.

We’re well aware that this is the playoffs, when top teams face off in high-pressure situations, ensuring things don’t always go according to plan. It’s when respect is earned and minds are changed.

So cut us a break if we don’t pick your team by a satisfying score. There are reasons to like everyone that’s left, but our job is to be honest. You might find that even we can’t agree on which way these games will go.

We did not consult with each other at all — the three of us did our score predictions separately.

We’d like to hear what you think too, under two conditions: 1. We keep the bashing of each other to a bare minimum, and 2. You flesh out your thoughts a little bit.

Sound good? Then here goes, beginning in the East:

Ithaca at Mount Union
Coleman: Mount Union 42, Ithaca 10
Mann: Mount Union 42, Ithaca 7
McMillan: Mount Union 52, Ithaca 7

New Jersey at RPI
Coleman: TCNJ 14, RPI 6
Mann: RPI 21, TCNJ 17
McMillan: TCNJ 13, RPI 10

Hartwick at Curry
Coleman: Hartwick 32, Curry 28
Mann: Hartwick 43, Curry 42
McMillan: Hartwick 33, Curry 27, OT

Hobart at St. John Fisher
Coleman: St. John Fisher 38, Hobart 28
Mann: St. John Fisher 31, Hobart 28, OT
McMillan: St. John Fisher 35, Hobart 34

Olivet at Central
Coleman:Central 41, Olivet 14
Mann: Central 35, Olivet 21
McMillan: Central 40, Olivet 7

Redlands at St. John’s
Coleman: St. John’s 27, Redlands 17
Mann: St. John’s 28, Redlands 21
McMillan: St. John’s 21, Redlands 20

UW-Eau Claire at St. Norbert
Coleman: Eau Claire 24, St. Norbert 21
Mann: Eau Claire 21, St. Norbert 10
McMillan: St. Norbert 28, Eau Claire 21

Concordia (Wis.) at Bethel
Coleman: Bethel 41, Concordia 6
Mann: Bethel 35, Concordia 7
McMillan: Bethel 30, Concordia 13

North Carolina Wesleyan at Washington and Jefferson
Coleman: Washington and Jefferson 50, N.C. Wesleyan 16
Mann: Washington and Jefferson 31, N.C. Wesleyan 21
McMillan: N.C. Wesleyan 38, Washington and Jefferson 35

Trinity (Texas) at Mary Hardin-Baylor
Coleman: Mary Hardin-Baylor 41, Trinity 14
Mann: Mary Hardin-Baylor 35, Trinity 14
McMillan: Mary Hardin-Baylor 42, Trinity 24

Salisbury at Muhlenberg
Coleman: Salisbury 31, Muhlenberg 27
Mann: Salisbury 20, Muhlenberg 14
McMillan: Salisbury 20, Muhlenberg 14

Hampden-Sydney at Wesley
Coleman: Wesley 35, Hampden-Sydney 28
Mann: Wesley 28, Hampden-Sydney 21
McMillan: Wesley 35, Hampden-Sydney 13

Capital at UW-Whitewater
Coleman: Whitewater 20, Capital 13
Mann: Whitewater 21, Capital 7
McMillan: Whitewater 24, Capital 12

North Central at Franklin
Coleman: North Central 35, Franklin 34
Mann: North Central 31, Franklin 21
McMillan: North Central 33, Franklin 30, 2 OT

Mt. St. Joseph at Wabash
Coleman: Wabash 30, Mt. St. Joseph 21
Mann: Wabash 21, Mt. St. Joseph 10
McMillan: Wabash 34, Mt. St. Joseph 21

Widener at Case Western Reserve
Coleman: Widener 20, Case Western 17
Mann: Widener 17, Case Western 14, OT
McMillan: Case Western 22, Widener 14

Unanimous favorites: Mount Union, Hartwick, St. John Fisher, Central, St. John’s, Bethel, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Salisbury, Wesley, UW-Whitewater, North Central, Wabash

By split decision: TCNJ, UW-Eau Claire, Washington and Jefferson, Widener

I want to reprise something I first wrote a couple of years ago after some particularly rough weekends in the sportsmanship department:

“Ladies and gentlemen, the NCAA promotes good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators. We request your cooperation by supporting the participants and officials in a positive manner. Profanity, racial, or sexist comments, or other intimidating actions directed at officials, student-athletes, coaches or team representatives will not be tolerated and are grounds for removal from the site of competition. Also, the consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages at the site of competition is prohibited.”

I’ve heard this so many times in the past decade or so it rolls off the tongue (or fingers) in a flash. But it often seems like there are some fans who need a reminder. This remains on the minds of decision makers as we come to the postseason.

Consider this, fans, especially you students out there. These are big games, no doubt, and it’s great to get excited about them, but these players do not deserve your abuse. A Division III football player gets no special treatment above and beyond what you get. They’re not on scholarship, don’t get special dining halls or treatment in the classroom (in fact, you can count on some professors being harder on football players than on the rest of the class).

I would be in favor of immediately kicking anyone out of the stadium who is in violation of the sportsmanship agreement. So what if you paid $5, $8, whatever to be there? Act like a grownup, since that’s what you allegedly are.

If you need to get all liquored up in order to enjoy a football game, stay home. The football should be reason enough. If you’re of legal age, there’s plenty of time to drink after the game — that’s one of the benefits of a noon kickoff.

On a related note, I was heartened to visit a Middle Atlantic Conference facility for the first time in 2007 and see the conference’s code of conduct posted prominently. Good work, MAC, welcome aboard. Be loud, proud and positive.

Well, we survived another Selection Sunday, though the day has barely ended as I write this portion of the site. Four hours of sleep, up at 7:15, off to ESPNU, analyze the bracket, check graphics and pronunciations, go over highlights, write a script, go through a dress rehearsal and do the show. Then tape a segment for ESPNews (did anyone ever see that?) and another for online.

Thankfully, the podcast was pretty simple, too, only requiring one edit to piece two parts together.

It’s our look at the bracket, the key points in each game, etc. How many points can Capital give up and still win? Do Keith McMillan and I both like the way this was put together? Why Eau Claire instead of Whitworth?

It wasn’t quite a record day trafficwise but with the brackets being revealed so early in the morning, we didn’t expect it. But it was a great day in Division III football, both Saturday and Sunday. Hear the highlights in our ATN podcast.

 

 Around the Nation Podcast [22:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

While Pat and Gordon were pretty darn close in their predictions, nailing 31 of 32 teams and missing on Whitworth (UW-Eau Claire made it instead), it’s clear we’d grown accustomed to the committee being fairly predictable.

Perhaps it’s because there was only one West Coast team in the field, but whatever the reason, they were anything but this time around. The bracket has been revealed, and some curveballs have been thrown.

Ithaca at Mount Union, Redlands at St. John’s and Widener at Case Western Reserve were among the matchups we did not see coming. You can throw Olivet at Central in there too. With the proximity of so many of the teams, the committee’s matchups did not hold to the regions. For years they have not had to, but often they simply shake out that way. In Saturday’s first round, we’ll have an East Region team at a North, a North at a West in two different brackets and two South Region teams who could have been moved to the East playing each other. And then Redlands flying halfway across the country … but still Texas vs. Texas.

Without further ado, the floor is open for your reactions.