If the Monarchs are to win the Middle Atlantic Conference, a win Saturday against Delaware Valley would be a big boost to that effort. King's athletics photo by D. Scherbenco

It's Week 4 and the regular season is crossing the one-third mark -- this season is flying by faster than Jailen Hobbs on a screen pass. Week 4 is when the lens starts to focus on key conference matchups. Some of the smaller leagues are still closing out their non-conference seasons. Our sextet of small college football experts are back to set the table for another big weekend across Divisioin III.

Our regular crew is Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Frank Rossi, Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas.

— Greg Thomas

Which game is the Game of the Week?

	Greg's take: No. 14 Carnegie Mellon at Grove City.  There are big games in the MIAC and SCIAC this week, but both of those may end up being played again in Week 11.  But in the PAC, every game is part of the season-long round robin and the winner of between these two undefeated teams will notch some critical head-to-head capital. A win by the homesteading Wolverines would be their most significant win since the R.J. Bowers days.
	Pat's take: King's at No. 25 Delaware Valley. The Aggies haven't lost a conference game since 2016, but King's has as good a shot as anyone in recent years. If the Monarchs are as on the rise as their players would have us believe on social media, then this shouldn't even be a contest, right? It will be a contest.
	Ryan's take: No. 19 Bethel at No. 8 St. John's. Regularly the most anticipated MIAC matchup every year, the fact that both are in the Top 20 makes this an easy pick.
	Frank's take: No. 19 Bethel at No. 8 St. John’s. Both teams need to bounce back from losses against top teams two weeks ago (Bethel vs. Wartburg; SJU vs. Whitewater). A win helps preserve an inside track to the playoffs. A loss makes a team sweat out the rest of the MIAC season.
	Logan's take: No. 19 Bethel at No. 8 St. John's. St. John's has had two weeks to prep for this game and triage what went wrong with their run O & D against UWW. Bethel is playing outstanding defense right now, and found some rhythm on offense, but will Joey Kidder be able to rack up YAC against SJU the way he did against UWEC? Bethel will probably need to push the ball further downfield if they want to come up with a win. This game is nearly meaningless in regards to the MIAC's automatic bid, but still easily the biggest matchup of the week.
	Riley's take: King's at No. 25 Delaware Valley. We've heard plenty about the potential "changing of the guard" in the MAC, and this game, in my opinion, has a good chance of deciding the conference champion at the end of the season. King's is a perfect 3-0 entering this one, with two of those victories coming on the road. Del Val is 2-1, with a lone loss to Cortland, and playing in its home opener. The magnitude of this contest can't be overstated. Del Val is the longtime dominant force in this league, but King's is very much on the rise.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?

	Greg's take: No. 17 John Carroll. Heidelberg is off to a hot start with comfortable road wins at Hiram and Ohio Northern to start their season. The Student Princes have plenty of senior star power with quarterback Drew Sims, running back Montavious Yearby, and cornerback Jo Norris. It’s Hall of Fame day at Heidelberg, so the atmosphere may be right for a signature win.
	Pat's take: Perhaps I should have held my last pick for this category, but No. 25 Delaware Valley.
	Ryan's take: No. 14 Carnegie Mellon. Oh, let's just chalk this up to another bit of "insanity." Though Grove City is a not-so-insane 3-0 right now.
	Frank's take: No. 14 Carnegie Mellon (at Grove City). Under the lights in hostile territory, the Tartans have a big job ahead of them Saturday to keep their undefeated run alive. The crowd will be large (fireworks are planned for after the game), so the Wolverines are ready to challenge a Carnegie Mellon team that is in need of a challenge this season, win or lose..
	Logan's take: I have three Top 25 teams as around a 1 touchdown favorite this weekend - No. 14 Carnegie Mellon (at Grove City), No. 20 Alma (at Wittenberg), and No. 25 Delaware Valley (hosting King's). My gut is telling me to pick "nobody," but my brain is telling me one of these three will lose. King's is playing well, but their three opponents so far are a combined 0-9, and Alma's playing really good ball lately, so I'm picking Carnegie Mellon to falter at Grove City.
	Riley's take: I definitely could go with King's over Delaware Valley, but I also think No. 14 Carnegie Mellon may end up on the upset watch. CMU might be the favorite in the PAC, but Grove City probably feels it belongs in the conversation as well. With a 3-0 start of their own, the Wolverines edged Case Western Reserve, 27-24, on the road last weekend, and faces CMU at home on Saturday night. CMU's defense has given up just 10 points all season, and that is obviously the hurdle standing in the way to a potential Grove City upset. But I have confidence in the GCC rushing attack and its ability to keep a steady stream of positive yardage going for the Wolverines.

Of the current top 5 passing offense teams, which will have the most passing offense in Week 4?

	Greg's take: Macalester stunned the Oles last year behind a a 411 yard passing day from Michael Nadeau. Nadeau is back, he’s leading the division in passing yards per game, and the Scots are my pick to have the biggest passing day.
	Pat's take: Rockford. I expect that Rockford and Lakeland will play a quite competitive game, and that means Rockford will need to keep throwing the ball.
	Ryan's take: Hendrix. Jacob Buniff has three solid wideouts and a good tight end to help his team down the field. This number of targets should play very well against Millsaps.
	Frank's take: Hendrix (at Millsaps). Millsaps has lost three games by a total of 127-30, so Hendrix will likely be flinging the ball all around to pick up the W.
	Logan's take: This is a doozy. Macalester and Rockford are likely to be playing from behind, Carleton is a big favorite so they may take their foot off the gas, Hendrix is playing the worst passing D, and Pomona-Pitzer is likely to allow plenty of passing yards themselves. I'm going with Hendrix.
	Riley's take: I think the team to look for here is one that will be in a close game or trailing for much of the contest. In most cases, the passing attack takes a back seat once teams take a three or four-score lead. With that said, I'm taking Macalester to throw for the most yards of these Top 5 passing offenses. The Scots' path to a big win over St. Olaf lies in quarterback Michael Nadeau's arm and his performance through the air, especially against a St. Olaf secondary that has had its struggles against the pass through the first two games.

Which under the radar game are you following?

	Greg's take: SUNY-Maritime at Merchant Marine. These local rivals will clash in the NEWMAC opener for both teams -- including the first ever NEWMAC game for SUNY-Maritime. This rivalry has been streaky.  USMMA is currently on a four game heater in the series. Prior to the current streak, SUNY-Maritime had won three in a row.
	Pat's take: Berry at Centre. The SAA is perhaps the only Region 3 conference playing a full schedule this week, and this should be the most competitive game on the slate.
	Ryan's take: Millikin at North Park. North Park couldn't break past one win last season, and now that they're 1-1 and going up against the 0-2 Big Blue, the Vikings could find some early-season momentum, while Millikin can try to put the two blowouts so far in the rearview mirror.
	Frank's take: No. 17 John Carroll at Heidelberg. While I hate picking games involving a ranked team in this question, this is a vitally important game for both teams should they have Pool C hopes at the end of the season. It’s likely a must-win for John Carroll, but it could go a long way to solidify Heidelberg’s season, as well.
	Logan's take: Morrisville State at Moravian. Morrisville State took a step forward as a program last season, finishing 7-4 (with an asterisk from that Utica end of game debacle), but they lost a winnable game last week in their first game on the black turf. They play at Moravian this week, which is probably going to be closer than most people expect.
	Riley's take: Cal Lutheran at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The SCIAC does not have a far-and-away frontrunner and with the three-team division format, these matchups against in-division opponents will be especially critical when it comes to reaching the SCIAC Championship Game. C-M-S won its first two games by nine points and while there is a good chance this is decided by a wider margin than that, I'm not ready to count Cal Lutheran out. The offense can put points on the board, though the C-M-S defense is likely the toughest the Kingsmen have faced this season. Meanwhile, the Stags are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2016.

In E8 vs Landmark games, pick an E8 winner and a Landmark winner.

	Greg's take: I could pick all four games here and go for extra points, but I’ll stick to the brief and give you two road winners to boot. Don’t let the records fool you -- Wilkes is 0-3 against a very rugged early season schedule while St. John Fisher is 2-1 against a significantly less robust schedule. I like Wilkes to get in the win column. I also like Morrisville State to bring back a win for the E8 against Moravian.
	Pat's take: Catholic if by land, and Brockport if by E. ... 8. Scooter Hendricks and Derek Comestro won't be suiting up for Alfred, the way they did when they came to Catolic in 1995.
	Ryan's take: Catholic, Brockport, Morrisville State, Wilkes.
	Frank's take: Empire 8: Brockport (the Golden Eagles are still looking pretty strong on paper, making this game a good litmus test for them). Landmark: Catholic (QB Madden Lowe and WR Preston Jeffrey will become a tandem you’re going to hear a lot about all season)..
	Logan's take: Empire 8: Brockport Landmark: Catholic
	Riley's take: Out of the Landmark, I think Catholic pulls out a victory this week on its home turf against Alfred, using that momentum from last Saturday's dramatic comeback win over Morrisville State. And let me take a gamble in what might end up being the closest game of these E8 vs Landmark matchups, and go with Morrisville State taking down Moravian. The offense needs to be better, and that is a likely possibility against a Moravian defense that is giving up 452.7 yards per game.

NESCACs excluded, which team will give up more points this week than they have so far this season? 

	Greg's take: Union has been impressive early this season in all phases this season.  The Garnet Charger defense has allowed just 7 points through three games. Montclair State visits Union this weekend.  I like Union to stay undefeated, but the Red Hawks well go over those seven points allowed.
	Pat's take: McMurry. The War Hawks have only given up 22 points all season, but have the task of trying to slow down Mary Hardin-Baylor, which faces a non-Top 10 team for the first time this season.
	Ryan's take: No. 20 Alma. The Scots have given up 21 this season, but they haven't seen an offense quite as good as Wittenberg's yet, and we can expect the score to climb on Saturday.
	Frank's take: Muskingum (vs. No. 2 Mount Union). It just takes 7 points for Muskingum to break that mark in this case, and they’re fully capable of that with over 100 points of offense so far this year.
	Logan's take: Augsburg. They've allowed 10 points in two games. Playing Gustavus Adolphus this weekend, I would be shocked if they hold the Gusties to single digits.
	Riley's take: While Augsburg is 2-0 and coming off a shutout of Martin Luther, I think the Auggies will surrender at least double the number of points they've allowed through two games thus far (10 points) against Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday. The Gusties didn't find consistent success on offense in last week's 24-7 loss to UW-Stout, but I expect them to turn the page in their MIAC opener and pull out a road victory behind a strong performance from QB George Sandven and his receiving corps.

Got picks? Put them in the comments!