2001 Around the Nation columns

December 13, 2001 Trying to get past the clock I wanted to write about how great this Stagg Bowl is going to be. An intriguing matchup, a Virginia team in the game, a sold-out Salem Stadium and a prime-time ESPN2 slot… what could be better for Division III football?

December 6, 2001 It's about defense, really You know the cliché "offense wins games, defense wins championships?" A quick glance at Saturday’s Bridgewater-Rowan matchup might prompt the thought: "The first team to find its defense should win a championship."

November 29, 2001 West's heavyweights find a way to meet again Pacific Lutheran head coach Frosty Westering recalls speaking with St. John’s head coach John Gagliardi by phone after both teams lost their first two games this season.

November 15, 2001 Playoff picks, surprises and disappointments Since I know fans love picks and predictions, I enlisted two of my D3football.com counterparts to join me in giving our takes on the four regions and the surprises, disappointments and champions in each.

November 9, 2001 First-year team, first-year league It's pretty impressive that a win in a bowl game that wasn't played three years ago could earn a team that didn't exist a year ago a conference championship that didn't exist a year ago and a playoff berth that wasn't available eight months ago.

November 2, 2001 HCAC's new faces squaring off Anderson’s trip to Defiance marks one of those big-time November games with a probable conference championship and trip to the NCAA playoffs on the line.

October 25, 2001 Bethel, St. John's creating a buzz Even in one of St. John's best seasons ever, they still didn't beat MIAC rival Bethel.

October 16, 2001 Two dozen teams for seven slots Last week in this space we took a midseason glance at the 18 automatic qualifier conferences from which the NCAA selection committee draws 21 of its 28 playoff participants. Today, with an assist from Pat Coleman, we’ll look briefly at 24 schools who have a shot at securing those other seven postseason bids in what’s known as Pool B.

October 10, 2001 A midseason look at the races If Division III football got national TV coverage, I’m sure there would be an announcer out there willing to call the WIAC the Wacky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. (It’s Wisconsin, by the way). Or maybe one would say WI-AC is short for Wild Athletic Conference.

October 5, 2001 Cornell winning on thin thread After 72 years of football in the Midwest Conference, Cornell moved to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the 1997 season for, among other reasons, a greater challenge. They got what they asked for.

September 26, 2001 ONU gets next shot at Mount One might think that watching Mount Union rally for a 33-30 victory at John Carroll would make coaches and players at the other eight Ohio Athletic Conference schools cringe. Surely, they must be rooting against the Purple Raiders, who have won 60 consecutive OAC games.

September 19, 2001 Rowan professing faith in new offensive system It used to be one of the few things you could count on in Division III football, that Rowan would hand the ball off to some of the nation's best tailbacks, who would then run the Profs deep into the NCAA playoffs.

September 13, 2001 Decisions to play won't satisfy everyone For a short time today, I wondered if I could write anything that hasn’t been said or written in the past few days. That has never happened before.

September 6, 2001 Going from doormat to contender At this time last year, Bridgewater was putting itself on the map with a 19-7 win against perennial Centennial Conference champion Western Maryland. On Saturday, the Eagles made sure they stayed firmly entrenched "on the map."