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Welcome back to Quick Hits! If you're new to Division III football or D3football.com, this is our weekly predictions page. We bring together a panel of a half-dozen Division III football writers and observers and give you the best take on what the best games are, which teams are on upset alert, and a variety of other categories. Six panelists with six questions will get you ready for the upcoming weekend in Division III football! 

Our regular crew is Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Adam Turer, Frank Rossi, plus a guest. This week that guest is longtime contributor to D3football.com and Senior Editor at D3hoops.com, Gordon Mann.

— Greg Thomas

Which game is the Game of the Week?

	Greg's take: No. 21 Aurora at No 4. North Central. The defending champs take the field for the first time since hoisting the Walnut & Bronze in Texas in December 2019. Tomorrow, we'll get a good measure of how the Cardinals have reloaded during their hiatus as they host a very good Spartan squad.
	Pat's take: No. 3 UW-Whitewater at No. 8 Salisbury. More of those cross-regional matchups, please!
	Adam's take: No. 21 Aurora at No. 4 North Central.  After the fight the Spartans put up against St. John's in Week 1, the reigning champs will have to battle to go 1-0 in 2021.
	Ryan's take: No. 3 UW-Whitewater at No. 8 Salisbury. Like many others, I have the Gulls high on my ballot, and it's not often we see a test like this early in the season.
	Frank's take: No. 21 Aurora at No. 4 North Central. We know Aurora has the ability to pull off the upset with their Week 1 performance under their belts. However, the Cardinals are defending Stagg Bowl champs for a reason.
	Gordon's take: No. 3 UW-Whitewater at No. 8 Salisbury. Salisbury is the highest ranked team on the East Coast which suggests the Sea Gulls are considered to have the best chance of any team in this area to compete for a national championship. How good is that chance? We’ll know after Saturday.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?

	Greg's take: No. 15 Wartburg. If the Gusties can turn this thing into anything close to the track meet they ran last week, anything can happen.
	Pat's take: No. 19 Randolph-Macon. Without Keith, though, this Guru Bowl is short a guru.
	Adam's take: No. 17 Bethel.  The Royals will have their hands full defending UW-Platteville quarterback Colin Schuetz.
	Ryan's take: No. 17 Bethel. UW-Platteville, unlike Bethel, had a tough test in Week 1, and the narrow loss should have them eager to put an even stronger foot forward on this outing.
	Frank's take: No. 20 Brockport (vs. Ithaca). Still a lot of questions for the Brockport offense, giving the Bombers a potential major advantage with their respected defense.
	Gordon's take: Brockport beat one MASCAC team by 31 points in Week 1, and Ithaca beat another by 32. But Brockport’s longest scoring drive was 29 yards and the Golden Eagles were 3 of 14 on third down. Brockport has 148 points in the Top 25 poll and Ithaca has 28. I don’t think the gap is that large.

Which team will bounce back from a blowout loss in Week 1 to win?

	Greg's take: Alfred. Mount St. Joseph opened this season with the Albion Britons, now will host the Alfred Saxons and that is the kind of themed scheduling that simply must be mentioned. Alfred was on the bad end of a 35-3 result last week against Hobart, but if they can cut down on the turnovers (four last week) and keep Josh Taylor from going off, the Saxons should head back home with their first win of 2021.
	Pat's take: St. Olaf. This is the Bounce Back From a Blowout Bowl, with a win against Luther.
	Adam's take: Texas Lutheran. The Bulldogs defense has to improve on its 8 yards per play allowed in Week 1.
	Ryan's take: Brevard. A bit of a USAC dark horse this season, the Tornados face off against Apprentice before Division III opponents actually start showing up on the 18th.
	Frank's take: Albright at Western Connecticut. The Salisbury game has them ready for this game.
	Gordon's take: Monmouth got rolled by No. 15 Wartburg 44-3 last week. That’s not going to happen this week against rebuilding Grinnell.

Which game are you following that no one else on the panel is following?

	Greg's take: Birmingham-Southern at Huntingdon. The Hawks impressed me in their 28-24 loss against UW-Oshkosh last week and they'll face one of Division III's top talents in B-SC's All-American running back Robert Shufford. They're going under the lights in Alabama tomorrow night, and one of these teams is leaving with a quality win.
	Pat's take: Hope at Coe. And wishing for an MIT-Coe game, only shorter scoreboard combo.
	Adam's take: Centre at Maryville (Tenn.). A non-conference loss here is likely a Pool C dagger for these Region 3 teams.
	Ryan's take: Hampden-Sydney at Widener. I've pegged H-SC as a bit of a comeback kid this season -- Week 1 didn't bear that out, but interested to see what this weeks holds.
	Frank's take: WPI at Endicott. I’ll be attending this game Friday night, as it’s a big statement game between a top NEWMAC team and a top CCC team.
	Gordon's take: Stevenson at RPI. I’m interested in how RPI follows up last week’s thrilling win over Montclair State. Plus Stevenson is picked second behind DelVal in the MAC preseason poll, and the Mustangs visit the Aggies next week. To complete the triangle, DelVal plays Montclair State this week.

Which team will be the most surprising 2-0 team?

	Greg's take: Allegheny. The last 2-0 Gator start came all the way back in 2010. A win this week at Dension may set the Gators up for a surprisingly strong final trip through the NCAC.
	Pat's take: Widener. The Pride haven't been 2-0 since 2014 but they should get past Hampden-Sydney.
	Adam's take: Nebraska Wesleyan. A 2-0 start sets up the Prairie Wolves for the best season in program history.
	Ryan's take: Rockford. Only once in the past decade and a half have the Regents started a season 2-0.
	Frank's take: RPI. Here’s a team that had no ability to practice as a group due to school protocols, even in the spring. Their opening schedule (Montclair State & Stevenson) wasn’t at all easy, and they might start 2-0 despite it all.
	Gordon's take: Whoever wins the Augsburg/Nebraska Wesleyan game. The Auggies have maxed out at 2 wins three of the last four full seasons. The Prairie Wolves have topped out at three wins the last three full seasons. I’ll take Nebraska Wesleyan in a close one.

Predict the score for Wartburg at Gustavus Adolphus.

	Greg's take: 62-54. Defense, schmefense.
	Pat's take: Wartburg 41, Gustavus Adolphus 27.
	Adam's take: 60-44. I miss defense.
	Ryan's take: 38-30. Neither team will reach what they did in Week 1.
	Frank's take: Wartburg 45, Gustavus Adolphus 40
	Gordon's take: Wartburg 42, Gustavus Adophus 35. Take the over.

Got picks? Put them in the comments!