2021 Mount Union bracket
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Mount Union Purple Raiders
| Seed: | No. 1, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 1, Week 11 2019 |
| Location: | Alliance, Ohio |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2119 |
| Stadium: | Mount Union Stadium (5450) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | OAC |
| Head coach: | Geoff Dartt (Mount Union '08) |
| Career record: | 14-0 (1.000) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-2-5 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 104-18 (1985-86, 1990, 1992-2019) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017 |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 489 | 91 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, OAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The offensive line is containing the opposing pass rush. When given ample time, the Mount Union offense has been nearly impossible to stop, led by quarterback Braxton Plunk. Against John Carroll, the OAC's second-best program this season, Plunk threw for 392 yards and four scores, en route to a 28-14 victory. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | We?ll let you know. It is hard to find any flaws in any facet of Mount Union's attack. After all, they lead the OAC in just about every offensive and defensive category and dominated the competition throughout the 10-game season. If there is one area that may be less than near-perfect, it is the kicking game. Sophomore kicker Nick Deack is just 3-of-6 on field goal attempts this season, with a long of 35 yards. |
| This season's turning point: | Ohio Northern nearly shocked the Purple Raiders on Oct. 30, as Mount Union earned a narrow 42-35 win at home. The 26 first downs allowed and 486 yards of total offense for ONU ignited the Mount Union defense moving forward, as it allowed just seven points in each of its next two games. The Purple Raiders outscored its opponents 110-14 in those regular season-ending wins over Muskingum and Marietta. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .535 (45) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 188.9/350.2 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 61.9/211.6 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 7.7/3.7 |
| Leading passer: | Braxton Plunk, 319.5 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Noah Neaudrie, 83.0 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Wayne Ruby, 100.8 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Mason McMillen, 72 (30 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Matt Lilja, 5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Malik Britt, 4 |
| How far can they go? | All the way to a road semifinal in which Mount Union probably wouldn't be favored, but maybe could be. |
Delaware Valley Aggies
| Seed: | Likely No. 2, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 9, Week 11, 2021 |
| Location: | Doylestown, Pennsylvania |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 1645 |
| Stadium: | James Work Stadium (4500) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | MAC |
| Head coach: | Duke Greco (Delaware Valley '03) |
| Career record: | 69-11 (.863) |
| Base offense: | Multiple |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 11-9 (2004-05, 2009-11, 2014, 2017-19) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 381 | 57 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, MAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The defense is scoring on its own or creating short fields for the Aggies' offense. Since Week 3, Delaware Valley's defense has scored five touchdowns and given up three. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The Aggies commit penalties which short-circuit their drives or extend drives of their opponent. Del Val has averaged 118 yards of penalties per game, the most among 239 Division III football teams. |
| This season's turning point: | Del Val was trailing Lycoming 7-0 in Week 4 when the Aggies intercepted five consecutive passes, four by all-conference quarterback Elijah Shemory. The Aggies scored once on an interception and once on a fumble and turned the game into a 32-7 win over the eventual conference runner-up. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .562 (17) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 214.5/169.0 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 27.9/71.6 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.5/2.0 |
| Leading passer: | DaQuan Bohannan, 143.9 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Donte Simmons, 100.8 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Tahmir Barksdale, 36.4 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Anthony Tedesco, 72 (29 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Yusuf Aladinov, Michael Nobile, 8.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Jamir Prevard, 6 |
| How far can they go? | As far as they can get without scoring a whole lot of points. |
Muhlenberg Mules
| Seed: | Likely No. 3, Salisbury bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 15, Week 11 2021 |
| Location: | Allentown, Pennsylvania |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2267 |
| Stadium: | Scotty Wood Stadium (3000) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | CC |
| Head coach: | Nate Milne (Hobart '03) |
| Career record: | 33-4 (.892) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 3-4 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 7-9 (2002-04, 2007-08, 2014, 2018-19) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 398 | 133 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, Centennial champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The defense is playing in the opposition's backfield. The Mules have an impressive 83.5 tackles for loss and 31.5 sacks on the season. Senior quarterback Michael Hnatkowksy is seeing the field well and distributing the ball. He has hit nine receivers on his 38 passing touchdowns, which is the third highest in the nation, this season. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | They are struggling to run the football and are forced to become a one-dimensional offense. The defense can't get off the field on third down. |
| This season's turning point: | Beating Johns Hopkins, 21-6, in Week 7 to put themselves back into the Centennial title picture, after a big 42-35 hiccup and upset loss to Ursinus in Week 3. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .479 (166) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 110.0/307.1 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 79.4/173.3 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.0/4.1 |
| Leading passer: | Michael Hnatkowsky, 297.4 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Rory DeLuca, 40.2 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Michael Feaster, 100.8 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Spencer Kirin, 75 (47 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Pat Palmer, 5.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | John Washington, Steve Sanders, 3 |
| How far can they go? | The defense can get them to Alliance. |
Salisbury Sea Gulls
| Seed: | Likely No. 4 seed, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 12, Week 11 2021 |
| Location: | Salisbury, Md. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 7334 |
| Stadium: | Sea Gull Stadium (2500) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | NJAC |
| Head coach: | Sherman Wood (Salisbury State '84) |
| Career record: | 166-72 (.697) |
| Base offense: | Spread option |
| Base defense: | 3-4 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 10-11 (1983, 1985-86, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010-12, 2015, 2019) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 358 | 123 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, NJAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The offense is gaining more than 5 yards per rush and over 20 yards per pass play. The defense holds the opposition to around 80 rushing yards and 14 points. The Sea Gulls have only allowed more than 14 points on defense twice this season: 31 to UW-Whitewater and 23 to TCNJ. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The Sea Gulls are allowing over 200 passing yards on defense and the offensive line are giving up sacks and tackles for loss. |
| This season's turning point: | When senior starting quarterback Jack Lanham went down due to injury and backup junior quarterback Billy Gant had to start against Kean in Week 8. Gant didn't miss a beat, and has led the Sea Gulls to four straight conference wins and the NJAC title. Now with the playoffs here, and Lanham seemingly healthy (he didn't start but did play a decent amount against William Paterson in Salisbury's regular season finale), it remains to be seen if Lanham will take back the starting role or if the Sea Gulls will have a dual quarterback system for the playoffs. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .510 (95) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 327.1/98.4 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 80.2/172.2 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.9/4.3 |
| Leading passer: | Jack Lanham, 63.1 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Joey Bildstein, 78.7 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Hunter Cleaver, 48.4 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Sam Pagella, 56 (31 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Casey Counts, 3 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Sean Carroll, 3 |
| How far can they go? | Can certainly get past Johns Hopkins but not past Mount Union. |
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
| Seed: | Likely No. 5, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 17, Week 11 2021 |
| Location: | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 6006 |
| Stadium: | Homewood Field (8500) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | CC |
| Head coach: | Greg Chimera (Johns Hopkins '09) |
| Career record: | 17-4 (.809) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-2-5 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 9-10 (2005, 2009, 2011-18) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 478 | 117 |
| How they got here: | Pool C |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | Junior quarterback Ryan Stevens is completing more than 65% of his passes, finding receivers such as senior wideout Harrison Wellman who has more than 1,000 receiving yards and 13 TDs on the season. The defense is getting off the field on third down. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The offense is struggling to get into the red zone or has to rely on field goals (the Blue Jays have only converted 7-for-14 attempts). The special teams are not helping the defense by giving up good field position (or a touchdown, like we saw in the Muhlenberg game). |
| This season's turning point: | Beating Susquehanna, 38-17, in Week 9 and getting some help from the Region 2 RAC to bolster their resume into being a (likely fifth and final) Pool C bid. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .494 (133) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 153.9/345.6 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 70.9/266.0 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.6/4.0 |
| Leading passer: | Ryan Stevens, 313.6 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Danny Wolf, 76.4 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Harrison Wellmann, 105.3 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Finn Zechman, 43 (34 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Luke Schuermann, 11 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Finn Zechman, Macauley Kilbane, 4 |
| How far can they go? | No further than Alliance. |
Framingham State Rams
| Seed: | Likely No. 6 seed, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | Never ranked |
| Location: | Framingham, Massachusetts |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 3872 |
| Stadium: | Bowditch Field (1500) |
| Playing surface: | Grass |
| Conference: | MASCAC |
| Head coach: | Tom Kelley |
| Career record: | 115-61-1 (.653) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 0-5 (2012-13, 2015, 2018-2019) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 306 | 165 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, MASCAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | Sophomore slotback Devaun Ford is able to gain yards to keep defenses honest and senior defensive end Joshua Onujiogu is wreaking havoc in the backfield. Ford averages nearly 140 yards a game as runner, receiver and return man. Onujiogu has 12.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss on the season. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | Somebody other than Goffredo is in at quarterback. The defense is getting beat over the top or by having to defend short fields due to offensive turnovers, but the latter hasn't really happened since Weeks 1 and 2. |
| This season's turning point: | Deciding to go with Nicolas Goffredo at quarterback. After a 0-2 start retired, then rehired head coach Tom Kelley made the decision to go with Goffredo. The junior and the Rams have been undefeated ever since, winning eight straight games, including another MASCAC title, since he took over under center. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .458 (195) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 193.2/211.8 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 62.7/144.4 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.5/3.4 |
| Leading passer: | Nicolas Goffredo, 221.5 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Devaun Ford, 80.5 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Elijah Nichols, 68.6 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Joshua Onujiogu, 62 (39 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Joshua Onujiogu, 12.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Tishay Johnson Jr, 2 |
| How far can they go? | MASCAC teams have surprised in the past in terms of being competitive in opening-round games, but not sure this is one of those years. |
Washington and Lee Generals
| Seed: | Likely No. 7 seed, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 16, Week 11 2015 |
| Location: | Lexington, Va. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 1749 |
| Stadium: | Wilson Field (4000) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | ODAC |
| Head coach: | Garrett LeRose (Washington & Lee '07) |
| Career record: | 19-10 (.655) |
| Base offense: | Triple option |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 0-5 (2006, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 319 | 168 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, ODAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | Whoever is at quarterback is finding the right pitch man at the right time and all of the options are working for the Generals. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The opposing quarterback has all sorts of time to throw, and the offense goes three-and-out often enough that the defense doesn't get a moment to rest and recover. |
| This season's turning point: | Stephen Murrin stepped into the lineup at quarterback in the a pivotal moment in the fourth quarter and led the Generals the rest of the way down the field, handling the last seven plays of a 19-play drive that culminated in a touchdown and two-point conversion, lifting the Generals past Randolph-Macon 25-24 on the last play of the game. He then went on to generally not miss a beat the rest of the season. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .500 (118) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 323.0/56.5 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 80.8/194.4 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.0/4.6 |
| Leading passer: | Jack Pollard, 52.0 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Stephen Murrin, 81.67 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Luke Alison, 17.7 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Alex Andros, 59 (35 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Robert Pointdexter, 5.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Dean Johnson, 3 |
| How far can they go? | No. |
Anna Maria Amcats
| Seed: | Likely No. 8, Mount Union bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | Never ranked |
| Location: | Paxton, Mass. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 866 |
| Stadium: | Caparso Field (1000) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | ECFC |
| Head coach: | Dan Mulrooney (Boston College '11) |
| Career record: | 11-27 (.289) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | First trip |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 302 | 214 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, ECFC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | Senior quarterback Alex Cohen has time and isn't forcing passes. He threw seven interceptions and only four touchdowns in the AMCATs' two losses. In their wins he has 19 touchdowns compared to six picks. He's rushed for six touchdowns on the season as well. The defense is having success stopping the run and are forcing turnovers. The AMCATs are have forced just seven interceptions and recovered just six fumbles, tallying 19 sacks and scoring on two defensive touchdowns, this season. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The defense is giving up more than 200 passing yards and the offense can't run the ball, becoming unbalanced. Maybe it was out of necessity, but credit head coach Dan Mulrooney for converting senior tight end Vincent Marrone into a running back. In his first ever game as a runner, Marrone had 18 carries for 184 yards and three rushing touchdowns in the ECFC title-clinching, 31-7 win over SUNY-Maritime last weekend. |
| This season's turning point: | The AMCATs could have mailed it in after they gave up a 66-yard interception return for a touchdown to go down, 21-13, against Gallaudet in a must-win conference game just before halftime in Week 10. Mulrooney must have given his team a great speech during the break, because Anna Maria came out of the locker room and scored 24 unanswered points in the second half on way to a 37-21 win. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .377 (227) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 94.9/334.4 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 127.2/199.1 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 7.0/5.0 |
| Leading passer: | Alex Cohen, 325.1 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Kristian Sapp, 25.0 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Deandre Wallace, 91.1 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Amstrong Antoine, 64 (44 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Jude Sampson, 8.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Lamar Wilkes, 3 |
| How far can they go? | This year, to Del Val and back. But the program could improve over time. |