/notables/2024/12/quick-hits-playoffs-week14

Quick Hits: Our predictions for the third round

Mary Hardin-Baylor athletics photo
 

With an expanded playoffs, we still have 16 teams remaining now as we enter December. Will home teams continue to dominate? Will Mary Hardin-Baylor's barnstorming tour through these playoffs continue? Can Springfield or Hope prevent a rematch of last year's Stagg Bowl next weekend? Our Quick Hits playoff panel is back to give you scores for all eight games, and give you an idea about whether or not a game will be close, high or low scoring, and who we expect to advance to the national quarterfinals. 

Our playoff panel will be our regular crew of Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Frank Rossi, Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas. We're excited to have UW-Eau Claire football alum Mike Shoultz joining the panel for the playoffs as well. We also welcome Around The Nation originator and longtime Division III guru Keith McMillan back to the panel. 

— Greg Thomas

St. John's bracket

Susquehanna at St. John's

 
Greg's take: 34 37
Patrick's take: 31 42
Frank's take: 20 37
Logan's take: 28 42
Riley's take: 24 38
Mike's take: 27 38
Keith's take: 27 43

Consensus:  Expect a lot of points and another home game for St. John's next weekend. 

 

Bethel at Wartburg

 
Greg's take: 19 21
Patrick's take: 24 28
Frank's take: 27 17
Logan's take: 24 27
Riley's take: 27 23
Mike's take: 20 32
Keith's take: 16 23

Consensus:  The panel picks Wartburg in a split decision in a game that we think will be close. 

 


Cortland bracket

Springfield at Cortland

 
Greg's take: 30 42
Patrick's take: 28 42
Frank's take: 21 30
Logan's take: 27 40
Riley's take: 31 27
Mike's take: 14 28
Keith's take: 24 38

Consensus: Not quite unanimous, but our crew picks Cortland to advance, generally by more than one score. 

 

Hope at North Central

 
Greg's take: 17 49
Patrick's take: 20 41
Frank's take: 17 34
Logan's take: 24 49
Riley's take: 23 42
Mike's take: 23 42
Keith's take: 14 35

Consensus: All seven panelists agree that North Central will cruise into the quarterfinals.


Hardin-Simmons bracket

Mary Hardin-Baylor at Linfield

 
Greg's take: 14 24
Patrick's take: 17 28
Frank's take: 28 20
Logan's take: 21 24
Riley's take: 20 17
Mike's take: 24 27
Keith's take: 21 44

Consensus:  The panel is split in just about every way. Linfield has the most picks to advance, but the margins vary widely. 

 

Johns Hopkins at DePauw

 
Greg's take: 16 31
Patrick's take: 14 28
Frank's take: 27 20
Logan's take: 17 27
Riley's take: 20 24
Mike's take: 20 26
Keith's take: 28  29 (OT)

Consensus:  Not quite a sweep for DePauw, but six panelists see the Tigers' season carry on to next weekend. 

 


Salisbury bracket

Randolph-Macon at Salisbury

 
Greg's take: 37 35
Patrick's take: 28 33
Frank's take: 21 24
Logan's take: 38 35
Riley's take: 34 38
Mike's take: 28 32
Keith's take: 38 28

Consensus:  Salisbury is the slight favorite with four picks to win, but the panel sees a high-scoring and close contest in this one. 

 

Carnegie Mellon at Mount Union

 
Greg's take: 14 28
Patrick's take: 14 31
Frank's take: 20 37
Logan's take: 17 34
Riley's take: 27 35
Mike's take: 17 30
Keith's take: 20 27

Consensus:  It's a sweep for Mount Union, almost all by more than one touchdown. 

Got picks? Put them in the comments! Include your scores!

Sep. 3: All times Eastern
5:00 PM
Merchant Marine at Montclair State
6:00 PM
Millikin at Olivet
StatView Live stats
6:00 PM
Wilkes at King's
7:00 PM
Bluffton at Ohio Wesleyan
7:00 PM
Wilmington at Wooster
7:00 PM
Westminster (Pa.) at Marietta
7:00 PM
Buffalo State at Brockport
7:00 PM
Gettysburg at Juniata
7:00 PM
Southern Virginia at UW-River Falls
7:30 PM
Chicago at Trine
8:00 PM
Belhaven at Millsaps
8:00 PM
Rockford at Beloit
Sep. 4: All times Eastern
6:00 PM
Randolph-Macon at Dickinson
6:00 PM
Mary Hardin-Baylor at Rowan
6:00 PM
Gallaudet at Albright
6:00 PM
Shenandoah at Methodist
6:30 PM
Alvernia at Keystone
7:00 PM
St. Lawrence at Norwich
7:00 PM
Lebanon Valley at Franklin and Marshall
7:00 PM
Case Western Reserve at Rochester
7:00 PM
Alfred at Hobart
7:00 PM
Bridgewater at Stevenson
7:00 PM
MIT at Nichols
7:00 PM
Hartwick at Misericordia
7:00 PM
Western New England at Springfield
7:00 PM
Delaware Valley at Ursinus
7:00 PM
Salve Regina at Mass-Dartmouth
7:30 PM
Catholic at McDaniel
Live stats
8:00 PM
Lakeland at Carthage
10:00 PM
Howard Payne at Pacific
Sep. 5: All times Eastern
TBA
Maine Maritime at Massachusetts Maritime
Live stats
TBA
Allegheny at Anderson
12:00 PM
New England College at Plymouth State
12:00 PM
Fitchburg State at Dean
Live stats
12:00 PM
University of New England at Coast Guard
12:00 PM
Muhlenberg at Moravian
Live stats
12:00 PM
Curry at Bridgewater State
12:00 PM
Maryville (Tenn.) at Heidelberg
12:00 PM
Eastern at Endicott
Video Live stats
12:00 PM
Hampden-Sydney at Wabash
Video Live stats
12:00 PM
Washington and Jefferson at Utica
12:00 PM
Ithaca at Johns Hopkins
12:00 PM
Illinois Wesleyan at Albion
12:00 PM
Cortland at Grove City
12:00 PM
WPI at RPI
12:00 PM
Calvin at Otterbein
1:00 PM
Lycoming at TCNJ
1:00 PM
Capital at Waynesburg
1:00 PM
Hilbert at St. Vincent
1:00 PM
Wittenberg at Washington and Lee
1:00 PM
Ohio Northern at Adrian
1:00 PM
Hope at Denison
1:00 PM
Western Connecticut at William Paterson
1:00 PM
Susquehanna at Union
1:00 PM
Morrisville State at Kean
1:00 PM
Kenyon at Kalamazoo
1:00 PM
Westminster (Mo.) at Manchester
1:00 PM
Framingham State at Husson
1:00 PM
Worcester State at SUNY-Maritime
Live stats
1:00 PM
Westfield State at Vermont State Castleton
1:00 PM
Chapman at Hardin-Simmons
1:00 PM
Alma at UW-Eau Claire
1:00 PM
Bethel at North Central (Ill.)
2:00 PM
Centre at Hanover
2:00 PM
Roanoke at Virginia-Lynchburg
2:00 PM
FDU-Florham at St. John Fisher
2:00 PM
John Carroll at Carnegie Mellon
Live stats
2:00 PM
Hiram at Oberlin
2:00 PM
Linfield at UW-Oshkosh
2:00 PM
Augsburg at UW-Stevens Point
2:00 PM
Carleton at UW-Whitewater
2:00 PM
Mount Mercy at Grinnell
2:00 PM
Concordia-Moorhead at Nebraska Wesleyan
Video Live stats
2:00 PM
Lawrence at Luther
2:00 PM
Mount Union at Wheaton (Ill.)
2:00 PM
Carroll at St. Norbert
2:00 PM
Macalester at Martin Luther
2:00 PM
Cornell at Coe
2:00 PM
Knox at Eureka
2:00 PM
Greenville at Lake Forest
2:00 PM
UW-La Crosse at St. John's
2:00 PM
Illinois College at Elmhurst
2:00 PM
Aurora at UW-Platteville
2:00 PM
Benedictine at Buena Vista
2:00 PM
Concordia-Chicago at Minnesota-Morris
2:00 PM
Hamline at Crown
2:00 PM
Central at Gustavus Adolphus
2:00 PM
Bethany at Sewanee
2:00 PM
Concordia (Wis.) at Ripon
2:00 PM
Wisconsin Lutheran at St. Scholastica
3:00 PM
Widener at Geneva
3:00 PM
Willamette at Pomona-Pitzer
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4:00 PM
Thiel at Alfred State
4:00 PM
Northwestern (Minn.) at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
4:00 PM
Cal Lutheran at Pacific Lutheran
4:00 PM
Lewis and Clark at Puget Sound
5:00 PM
East Texas Baptist at Lyon
6:00 PM
N.C. Wesleyan at Averett
6:00 PM
North Park at Franklin
6:00 PM
Guilford at Greensboro
6:00 PM
St. Olaf at Loras
7:00 PM
DePauw at Rose-Hulman
7:00 PM
Muskingum at Mount St. Joseph
7:00 PM
Apprentice at Christopher Newport
7:00 PM
Berry at Huntingdon
7:00 PM
Austin at Schreiner
7:00 PM
Simpson at Augustana
7:00 PM
McMurry at Southwestern
7:00 PM
UW-Stout at Dubuque
7:30 PM
Point at LaGrange
8:00 PM
Texas Lutheran at Trinity (Texas)
8:00 PM
Washington U. at Rhodes
8:00 PM
Wartburg at Monmouth
8:00 PM
Azusa Pacific at La Verne
8:00 PM
Simpson (Calif.) at Whittier
10:05 PM
Redlands at George Fox
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