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| Mikey Maloney is a freshman in name only at quarterback for Mount Union. Mount Union athletics photo by Kellen Dejulia |
It’s December, it’s the Round of 16, and this is where Division III football gets truly special. We’ve got SAA rivals running it back, former OAC rivals reunited in the postseason, and the WIAC rolling into the weekend with three teams still in the hunt. Will they all make it through? Two? One? Our panel is back to weigh in on all eight of Saturday's games with winners and scores.
Our playoff panel rolls in with the regular crew—Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Logan Hansen, Riley Zayas, Carlo Guadagnino, and Kobe Manzo—plus the return of UW-Eau Claire alum Mike Shoultz from the Voices in the Stands podcast and Around The Nation founder and longtime D-III sage Keith McMillan.
— Greg Thomas
Mount Union bracket
John Carroll at Mount Union
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| Greg's take: | 24 | 27 |
| Patrick's take: | 27 | 35 |
| Keith's take: | 21 | 31 |
| Logan's take: | 27 | 35 |
| Riley's take: | 24 | 31 |
| Carlo's take | 14 | 38 |
| Kobe's take: | 24 | 28 |
| Mike's take: | 28 | 31 |
Consensus: Our panel unanimously likes the Purple Raiders to advance, but generally in a one score game.
Trinity (Texas) at Berry
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| Greg's take: | 27 | 25 |
| Patrick's take: | 21 | 19 |
| Keith's take: | 13 | 27 |
| Logan's take: | 20 | 21 |
| Riley's take: | 21 | 20 |
| Carlo's take | 14 | 21 |
| Kobe's take: | 21 | 28 |
| Mike's take: | 24 | 27 |
Consensus: In a split decision, the panel likes Berry to win this SAA rematch with a closer result that the regular season meeting.
North Central bracket
UW-La Crosse at North Central
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| Greg's take: | 11 | 40 |
| Patrick's take: | 14 | 38 |
| Keith's take: | 20 | 34 |
| Logan's take: | 13 | 31 |
| Riley's take: | 23 | 41 |
| Carlo's take | 7 | 35 |
| Kobe's take: | 24 | 35 |
| Mike's take: | 10 | 45 |
Consensus: Full agreement on a big Cardinal win.
UW-Platteville at Bethel
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| Greg's take: | 31 | 30 |
| Patrick's take: | 24 | 31 |
| Keith's take: | 14 | 21 |
| Logan's take: | 23 | 31 |
| Riley's take: | 24 | 27 |
| Carlo's take | 35 | 42 |
| Kobe's take: | 10 | 24 |
| Mike's take: | 27 | 33 |
Consensus: Not quite a consensus, but the Royals are favored by the panel in what we expect will be another close game.
Wartburg bracket
Wheaton at DePauw
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| Greg's take: | 30 | 28 |
| Patrick's take: | 28 | 24 |
| Keith's take: | 23 | 17 |
| Logan's take: | 34 | 35 |
| Riley's take: | 30 | 33 |
| Carlo's take | 35 | 28 |
| Kobe's take: | 31 | 24 |
| Mike's take: | 34 | 31 |
Consensus: Three-fourths of the panel see Wheaton scoring a second consecutive close road victory.
St. John's at UW-River Falls
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| Greg's take: | 28 | 45 |
| Patrick's take: | 35 | 56 |
| Keith's take: | 20 | 40 |
| Logan's take: | 27 | 42 |
| Riley's take: | 38 | 45 |
| Carlo's take | 35 | 49 |
| Kobe's take: | 21 | 42 |
| Mike's take: | 27 | 41 |
Consensus: The consensus is plenty of points and a Falcon win.
Christopher Newport bracket
Susquehanna at Eastern
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| Greg's take: | 38 | 24 |
| Patrick's take: | 38 | 35 |
| Keith's take: | 35 | 21 |
| Logan's take: | 38 | 17 |
| Riley's take: | 30 | 21 |
| Carlo's take | 35 | 14 |
| Kobe's take: | 31 | 17 |
| Mike's take: | 27 | 17 |
Consensus: A rare unanimous pick for a road team, Susquehanna is the pick to advance by multiple scores.
Salisbury at Johns Hopkins
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| Greg's take: | 16 | 27 |
| Patrick's take: | 28 | 35 |
| Keith's take: | 28 | 33 |
| Logan's take: | 31 | 42 |
| Riley's take: | 31 | 35 |
| Carlo's take | 14 | 35 |
| Kobe's take: | 21 | 28 |
| Mike's take: | 28 | 42 |
Consensus: While we think Salisbury's option offense will fare better than Springfield did, we all see the Blue Jays moving on to the last eight.
Got picks? Put them in the comments! Include your scores!