Johns Hopkins is no stranger to Friday night games, but this one is on the road at Muhlenberg. Whose playoff chances will get a fork stuck in them this weekend? Johns Hopkins athletics photo

Week 7 is here and it just will not wait for Saturday. The Quick Hits panel takes you through a huge game under the lights tonight, another headlining game in Wisconsin, and tell you which Pool C bubbles are going to start popping. 

Our regular crew is Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Adam Turer, Frank Rossi, plus a guest. This week Quick Hits welcomes back Wartburg alumnus and Division III football statistical analysis enthusiast, Logan Hansen. You can find Logan's statistical musings on Twitter at @LogHanRatings. 

— Greg Thomas

Which game is the Game of the Week?

	Greg's take: No. 3 UW-Whitewater at No. 18 UW-Oshkosh. The stage for this one is a little less dramatic than their 2019 regular season finale, but if the Warhawks are going to run away with the WIAC, this game should be an idicator. The Titans are playing to keep their postseason hopes alive and should present a significant challenge in their first game at Titan Stadium since that 2019 regular season finale.
	Pat's take: No. 9 Delaware Valley at FDU-Florham. This is a classic unstoppable force/immovable object matchup and I will be interested to see how the FDU-Florham offense does against the Del Val defense.
	Adam's take: No. 14 Johns Hopkins at No. 21 Muhlenberg. The Centennial Conference heavyweights battle under the lights, with the home team's playoff hopes on the line.
	Ryan's take: No. 14 Johns Hopkins at No. 21 Muhlenberg. People got a little wishy-washy on the Mules after a Week 3 loss to Ursinus, but they've been plowing back in convincing fashion on the scoreboard. Whichever team wins here will clearly be in the Centennial driver's seat.
	Frank's take: No. 3 UW-Whitewater at No. 18 UW-Oshkosh. There are too many Pool C-potential teams in the mix right now for a two-loss team to have any hopes of getting into the playoffs. As such, this game is a survival or elimination game for Oshkosh unless extreme carnage occurs elsewhere down the line.
	Logan's take: No. 3 UW-Whitewater at No. 18 UW-Oshkosh. Always a slugfest when these two play. Will the Titans be able to find the offense to keep up with the Warhawks and muddy up the WIAC Pool A chase (and potentially give the WIAC three playoff teams again)?

Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?

	Greg's take: No. 22 John Carroll. Ohio Northern quarterback Brody Hahn leads Division III in total offense. If the Polar Bears can turn this into a track meet, they can get out of University Heights with a key road win.
	Pat's take: No. 8 Hardin-Simmons. And then that Howard Payne game against Hardin-Simmons later will be a chance for redemption for the Cowboys.
	Adam's take: No. 22 John Carroll. The Blue Streaks defense will be tested by a Polar Bears offense averaging 43.4 points per game.
	Ryan's take: No. 24 Birmingham-Southern. I waffle on the Panthers because the D-III teams they've beaten are a combined 5-14, with most of the wins coming from one team. I'm wondering if they've earned their ranking just yet.
	Frank's take: No. 7 Linfield. JUST KIDDING! I just don’t see any upsets in this batch, as Week 7 is our last major lull before the stretch run of the fall 2021 season.
	Logan's take: If we're excluding matchups between Top 25 teams, my model says No. 22 John Carroll at home vs ONU (24%), otherwise I'm staying in the WIAC w/ No. 3 UW-Whitewater (32%).

Who will have more passing yards: Ryan Stevens or Michael Hnatkowsky?

	Greg's take: I'll take Michael Hnatkowsky to have the game high in passing yards, but I do like Stevens and the Blue Jays to get the road win tonight.
	Pat's take: Ryan Stevens has cooled off ever so slightly in the total yards department since his hot start, but I still like his chances here.
	Adam's take: Stevens. The Blue Jays have the 12th-ranked pass efficiency defense, and will do just enough to slow Hnatkowsky.
	Ryan's take: Stevens, overall, though Hnatkowsky's passing will account for a larger percentage of his team's total offense.
	Frank's take: Ryan Stevens. The California native will shine under the lights at Muhlenberg, although the running game of Muhlenberg could help balance the offensive output Friday night.
	Logan's take: JHU isn't afraid to chuck it 35-40 times, even in games they're winning convincingly, and the rush defense is Muhlenberg's biggest strength. In a close game, I expect Stevens (and JHU) to win this battle.

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

	Greg's take: Shenandoah at Ferrum. While most of the attention in the ODAC has been on Washington and Lee and Randolph-Macon, the Hornets and Panthers are both hanging around with just one loss on the season. This game serves as an ODAC elimination game- the winner stays in the hunt for at least a share of the ODAC title, while the loser goes into spoiler mode for the final month of the season.
	Pat's take: Sul Ross State at Belhaven. And still wishing we had ever had a chance to get Keith McMillan on the bus to write a story about the longest bus trip in Division III football. Sul Ross State to Belhaven is 900 miles, or about a 13-hour bus drive.
	Adam's take: Utica at Brockport. The winner will separate itself as Cortland's number one challenger in the Empire 8. Only Utica controls its own destiny after the Golden Eagles fell to the Red Dragons last week.
	Ryan's take: Hope at Olivet. The MIAA has five teams with four wins or more and a lot of uncertainty over how things will shake out.
	Frank's take: MIT at Merchant Marine. A 6-0 start would be the best start since the 7-0 start in 1968 for Merchant Marine Academy. However, Brian Bubna’s MIT squad may be stronger than their 2-2 record would suggest, as losses by five to Salve Regina and 10 to Catholic seem reasonable in the rear-view mirror.
	Logan's take: I probably end up watching as much SCIAC football as any other conference, since they're always playing late, and the Cal Lutheran at Chapman matchup this weekend should be a good one.

Who will be the most surprising undefeated team left after Saturday?

	Greg's take: Gallaudet. The Bison were late to get started this fall, but Timel Benton has the Gallaudet offense humming right along. The only thing slowing Gallaudet down this weekend will be I-95 traffic.
	Pat's take: Entering this weekend's games, the most surprising undefeated team to me is either Wilkes or Cal Lutheran. After this weekend's games, it will be Merchant Marine.
	Adam's take: Howard Payne. The Yellow Jackets won a total of three games over the course of four seasons from 2015 through 2018. The turnaround is remarkable.
	Ryan's take: Wilkes. They were 0-10 just a couple of seasons ago.
	Frank's take: Merchant Marine. For all the years of reminding people of how undersized the team is and how it can lack depth because of the service academy requirements, we’re seeing the Mariners play consistent, strong football that should get them a win in a close one vs. MIT.
	Logan's take: My model gives Howard Payne a 7-in-8 chance of winning this weekend. Given their recent history and the difficulty of their schedule so far, they're the easy choice for me. Should stay undefeated until the Cowboys come to town in 2 weeks.

Among 1-loss Pool C hopefuls, which bubbles will pop this weekend?

	Greg's take: From previous Hits, Muhlenberg qualifies here. I also think Centre will pick up a second loss at the hands (or feet) of Birmingham-Southern's Chris Shufford and I think Whitewater will effectively knock out UW-Oshkosh in Region 6 action.
	Pat's take: Hardin-Simmons.
	Adam's take: Muhlenberg, UW-Oshkosh, John Carroll, and Centre will all find themselves in the rare position of playing spoiler over the second half of the season rather than contending for a playoff spot.
	Ryan's take: There's some perspective to consider here, because some teams we may not consider valid Pool Cs due to strength of schedule (Ohio Wesleyan and Concordia Wis., for example), I'm sure the players themselves are "hopeful." But, on the grander scale, Muhlenberg, UW-Oshkosh and Hobart are among those falling off the radar.
	Frank's take: Muhlenberg (JHU is a freight train right now). Oshkosh (UWW just has a major edge here). Ohio Northern (too many close games make JCU a clear favorite). Centre (BSC & Trinity are the class of the SAA right now). Hobart (RPI comes in playing consistent football while Hobart may still have a hangover from the Ithaca game).
	Logan's take: Most 1-loss teams haven't played their conference favorite yet, so I'm ignoring some more of the obvious choices and saying Centre (only loss to Trinity, my SAA favorite) will lose against BSC's powerful rushing attack.

Got picks? Put them in the comments!