Thomas Jenkins returns at receiver for Muhlenberg, only awaiting word of who will throw to him. Photo by Thomas Nettleton, d3photography.com

Every year this time of year, our crew gets itching to make some predictions, and our crew is here to tell you who the playoff picks will be, who the best players will be and who will win some of the most hotly contested conferences in Division III.

The panel: Pat Coleman, Greg Thomas and Ryan Tipps of D3football.com, analytics guru extraordinaire and Wartburg graduate Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas, founder of True to the Cru, a publication covering Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Let's dive right in:

Which will be the last team chosen in Pool C, and what will its record be?

Pat	Greg	Ryan	Logan	Riley
Hardin-Simmons, 9-1	UW-Oshkosh, 8-1	Johns Hopkins, 9-1	Muhlenberg, 8-2	Birmingham-Southern, 9-1

Which team will be the most surprising playoff entry?

Pat	Greg	Ryan	Logan	Riley
Dean	Belhaven	Coe	Alfred State	Mount St. Joseph

Which team that didn't make the 2021 playoffs will go furthest in 2022?

Pat	Greg	Ryan	Logan	Riley
Ithaca	Wartburg	Baldwin Wallace	Hardin-Simmons	Ithaca

Will it be an all-purple Stagg Bowl?

Who will reach the national semifinals?

Pat	Greg	Ryan	Logan	Riley
Mary Hardin-Baylor Mount Union St. John's North Central	Mary Hardin-Baylor UW-Whitewater Mount Union Johns Hopkins	Mary Hardin-Baylor Mount Union North Central St. John's	Mary Hardin-Baylor Mount Union North Central St. John's	Mary Hardin-Baylor Mount Union North Central St. John's

Who will win the national title?

Pat	Greg	Ryan	Logan	Riley
Mary Hardin-Baylor	UW-Whitewater	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Mount Union	Mary Hardin-Baylor

Next question: Teams rising and falling