2004 Around the Midwest columns

November 23, 2004 Region advances three A thrilling weekend of first-round postseason play saw six Midwest teams in action and featured two come-from-behind victories, one blowout, one near upset, and three region teams advance to the second round.

November 18, 2004 Regional playoff preview The final two pieces of the Midwest Region conference championship and playoff qualifier puzzle fell into place Saturday with the outcomes of key games in the WIAC and the CCIW.

November 9, 2004 St. Norbert, Aurora join the party With key wins against league opponents Saturday, St. Norbert of the Midwest Conference and Aurora of the Illini-Badger Football Conference joined HCAC champion Mount St. Joseph as Midwest Region playoff qualifiers.

November 2, 2004 Upsets leave mixed messages It was not a good week to be a nationally ranked team in the Midwest Region. Save Augustana, four teams rated in the Top 25 in last week's D3football.com poll went down in defeat to an unranked conference rival.

October 27, 2004 Thomas More no less exciting Some of the Midwest Region's most exciting football is being played by a team located in the territory's lone Kentucky outpost, Thomas More.

October 20, 2004 Seriously, we mean anything Anything can happen. It’s a phrase voiced and heard often in the sporting world — one drawn on to motivate an underdog facing long odds or to explain away an improbable upset. But when using that expression in describing the Midwest Region this season, truer words have never been uttered.

October 13, 2004 WIAC sees a little of everything Last weekend's action in the WIAC had it all -- a near shocker, a classic nail-biter, an upset, and a blowout. The fallout saw just one team remain undefeated in conference play, another's chances of a WIAC title or postseason berth shattered, and a surprise team bounced from the national rankings.

October 5, 2004 Platteville, La Crosse rock Wisconsin In a weekend with no shortage of key games, no two teams in the Midwest region stepped up and made louder statements than UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse.

September 28, 2004 Last year's champs have fight left Put away the shovels. Stop engraving the headstones. Call off the wakes. Two defending conference championship teams -- Hanover and Concordia (Wis.) -- that have been seemingly DOA from the outset of the season, came back to life Saturday and gained key wins.

September 21, 2004 Tell the rumors good knight If there were any whispers being bandied about Division III circles that St. Norbert's grip on the top spot in the Midwest Conference might possibly be loosening, the Green Knights quashed any notion of that.

September 14, 2004 One game was indefensible It’s fairly unusual for a team to score 60 or more points in a game, but when both teams manage to accomplish that feat, it deserves recognition.

September 7, 2004 Oh my, Eau Claire UW-Eau Claire provided Division III with its first stunning upset just one week into the 2004 season, as the Blugolds knocked off defending national champion St. John's on the Johnnies' home field.

August 30, 2004 2004 regional preview For me, the 2004 Division III football season cannot begin soon enough. The last eight months without college football, as it usually is, has been interminable. But late summer is here with fall soon to follow and that means one thing. It's time to strap on the helmet and lace up the shoulder pads.