Oct 24, 2025
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| Central athletics photo by Katie Bower |
We’ve hit the stretch run, and the pressure is getting cranked up to playoff levels. Nine games this week feature teams sitting first or second in their conferences and plenty more will shape who’s still playing come November. It’s a full slate of high-leverage football, where the snaps start to matter just a little more.
It’s a week with Game 7 vibes, too, with a few true toss-ups where seasons can take a turn. We’re keeping an eye on this week’s Gold Rush, with four “Golden” mascots looking to cash in. Our panel is here to call the winners, spot the streaks, and help you get ready for a pivotal Saturday across the Division.
Our regular crew is Greg Thomas, Patrick Coleman, Logan Hansen of Hansen Ratings, Riley Zayas of True to the Cru, Carlo Guadagnino of Dingo Talk, and Kobe Manzo of D1 Rejects.
— Greg Thomas
Which game is the Game of the Week?
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Greg's take: Washington U. at No. 20 Wheaton. It’s not one of the four ranked vs. ranked games this week and it isn’t either of the WIAC blockbusters, but this game in Wheaton is likely going to identify the second playoff team from the CCIW. WashU beat Wheaton in their first CCIW season in 2018, but have lost the next five in the series. If the Bears are going to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 (as a member of the SAA- remember that?!), they’ll have to bookend their CCIW years with another win over the Thunder. Wheaton seems to have gotten healthy at quarterback with Mark Forcucci returning to All-America type form in the last two weeks. The postseason is on the line in this one on Saturday afternoon. |
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Patrick's take: No. 4 Salisbury at Rowan. There are a number of key games this week, and I assume others will spotlight Central at Wartburg and Platteville at Whitewater and Hope at Adrian ... maybe those all can't be spotlighted, so I'm doing so here. But for Salisbury, this is the first big test this season, and for Rowan, it's a chance to get out from under the radar. If Salisbury is as good or better than it was last season, then we begin to find out on Saturday. |
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Logan's take: No. 14 Central at No. 7 Wartburg. Both teams' seasons have followed similar trajectories - two impressive non-conference wins against either a conference favorite or against a contending team from a top conference, lulls against some of the lower tier teams in the ARC (both were losing to Loras at the half), but they've locked it in and played their best against the best competition. My model and conventional wisdom probably think this will be a defensive slog, but these teams know each other so well that I wouldn't be surprised to see both offenses come alive for some explosive plays. |
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Riley's take: No. 8 UW-Platteville at No. 9 UW-Whitewater, and not only because it’s a Top 10 matchup. This will be a defining result in the WIAC title race, as six teams currently sit knotted at 2-1. You’ve got a suffocating Whitewater defense that held UW-Stout to just two points a week ago, clashing with a Platteville offense that looked sharp while putting up 455 yards in last week’s win over UW-La Crosse. Then consider that Platteville hasn’t won at Perkins Stadium since 2001, but comes into this game as the higher-ranked of the two. There will be no shortage of storylines to watch in Whitewater. |
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Carlo's take: Central at Wartburg, Carnegie Mellon at Muhlenberg, and UW-Platteville at UW-Whitewater are all big games. This week's Game of the Week is No. 19 Hope at No. 25 Adrian out in the MIAA. |
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Kobe's take: The game of the week is No. 14 Central at No. 7 Wartburg. The ARC runs through Waverly yet again and the Dutch are also unbeaten in 2025. While this game might produce the least points of all contests this weekend, don't confuse that for bad football. Knights have won the last three meetings but it has never come easily. |
Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?
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Greg's take: No. 16 Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans are on the road to play a Muhlenberg squad that let a bit of their playoff destiny slip through their fingers two weeks ago at Franklin & Marshall. The Mules absolutely need to (at worst) split games with Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins to have a shot at qualifying for the tournament. This won’t be easy- the Tartans are carrying two losses and need every win down the stretch to return to the tournament as well. |
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Patrick's take: No. 4 Salisbury. Unusual for me to double-dip, but I think this is a possibility. |
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Logan's take: No. 16 Carnegie Mellon. Any of the four Top 25 matchups this week would be a good option as well, but I'm going with the Tartans against the Mules. Both teams lost 28-27 two weeks ago and had tune-up games last week. If Muhlenberg can manage to not have any blocked kicks/punts against CMU (not an easy task!), and to corral QB Joey McGinnis IV like JHU did in the second half of their game, this should be a back and forth battle. |
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Riley's take: No. 22 Cortland. This is a St. John Fisher team carrying a three-game win streak into a home matchup that very well might decide the Empire 8 title. Mason Lister and his receivers seem to have found a higher gear in the passing game as of late, and the SJF defensive front remains solid against the run. The key? Finding a way to move the ball against the No. 13 scoring defense in the country. But then again, we just saw SJF put together two 75-yard scoring drives against a similarly gritty Brockport defense in a win two weeks ago. I believe they’re capable of doing that again. |
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Carlo's take: I’m taking No. 7 Wartburg in the battle to 10 points. |
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Kobe's take: No. 16 Carnegie Mellon. Muhlenberg is a 2-point conversion away from being a top-25 team and having an undefeated record this fall, and the Mules offense has a lot to take pride in. |
Five teams picked up their first win of the season last week. Which of them turns that into a winning streak this weekend?
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Greg's take: George Fox really seemed to have turned a corner last week. They’ll have a big challenge to keep pace with the nation’s passing yardage leader, Hayden Teeter, but I do like the Bruins to notch their second win of the year. I’ll also take Northwestern (Minn.) to turn the tables on Crown and avenge their Oct. 4 loss to the Polars. |
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Patrick's take: George Fox. Something's gotta give, as the cliche goes, and this is where I'm going in the battle between Puget Sound and George Fox. |
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Logan's take: Both George Fox and Northwestern should probably be considered favorites this weekend, but I think the Bruins have the better chance to keep the wins coming. George Fox has been more competitive against better competition than their opponent this week, Puget Sound, whose sole win came against 1-win Willamette. |
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Riley's take: George Fox. The Bruins’ eye-opening, 14-point win over red-hot Lewis & Clark team says plenty about what they’re capable of. Whatever clicked in the backfield with RB Brody Snyder last week needs to continue, and that offensive dynamic combined with a solid performance from the pass rush will be more than enough to put the Bruins in the win column yet again. |
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Carlo's take: George Fox. The Bruins are playing good ball. |
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Kobe's take: Puget Sound. Points have been easy to come by for the Loggers who average more than 30 PPG, and I'm taking them to ruin Family Weekend for George Fox in Newberg, OR. |
Which under the radar game are you following?
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Greg's take: Bluffton at Rose-Hulman. Both teams are sitting on one loss in HCAC play and are looking up at Hanover for the conference title, but both teams remain very much in the mix for a spot in one of the Opendorse Bowl Series games. Bluffton is having a strong season at 4-2. The four wins are a single season high dating back to 2016, which was the last season that Bluffton had a winning record. |
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Patrick's take: Merchant Marine at Springfield. For the NEWMAC implications. And then, when that game is over, you can focus more on the end of Curry-Western New England, for the CNE and YD2K implications for Montie Quinn. |
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Logan's take: Dubuque at Simpson. For a few years, the American Rivers has been one of those conferences where the top 4 teams (Wartburg, Coe, Central, Dubuque) hardly ever lose to the teams in the bottom half of the standings. Looking at common opponents within the conference, Simpson has arguably been better than Dubuque this season, but it's been 6 years since the Storm managed a win against any of the four contenders in the ARC. |
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Riley's take: Huntingdon at LaGrange. LaGrange is in the midst of a historic run, off to its best start at 5-1 since 2008. Let’s add some context to that: two years ago, the Panthers went 0-9, now they’re sitting on top of the USA South standings, with a four-game win streak in late October. Meanwhile, Huntingdon entered this fall as the preseason favorite to win the USA South, but has struggled to live up to those expectations. Even still, a road win at LaGrange would keep the Hawks in the conference title conversation. That storyline in itself makes this a must-watch game. |
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Carlo's take: No. 22 Cortland at St. John Fisher is definitely an underrated game this week. It’s a prove it game for SJF. |
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Kobe's take: Carleton at No. 11 Saint John's. Hard to argue that any game with SJU is under the radar, but I make the pick because of the challenge posed by Jack Curtis and this Knights offense coming into town. Johnnies have the best pass defense in the league currently but that is certainly going to be put to the test against the MIAC's top passing attack. |
Everyone loves a Game 7 this time of year. Three games this week feature teams sitting at 3-3: which teams get to 4-3?
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Greg's take: Mount St. Joseph and Mary Hardin-Baylor at home are probably too much for Franklin and Howard Payne, respectively, but those could turn into entertaining games. Heidelberg at Muskingum is a much more difficult call. I’ll go with the Student Princes but this could be a wild game with touchdowns aplenty. | ||||||||||||||||
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Patrick's take: My instincts are going to be totally terrible here, so I'll pick Mount St. Joseph, Muskingum and UMHB. | ||||||||||||||||
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Logan's take: The most likely combination of winners:
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Riley's take: Mary Hardin-Baylor knows the pressure is on, and I trust the Crusader defense to suppress Howard Payne’s run game to secure the win at home. I’ll also take QB Garrett Gurney and Muskingum to get it done at home against Heidelberg, with ample opportunities for the OAC’s leading passing offense. And in the HCAC, Mount St. Joseph will extend its win streak over Franklin to seven. | ||||||||||||||||
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Carlo's take: Heidelberg, Mount St. Joseph, and UMHB. |
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Kobe's take: Muskingum coming off a win over Marietta and being at home, MSJ has played a slightly tougher non-con and feels more proven, UMHB bounces back and extends the streak to 20 in a row over HPU. |
Gold Rush! Which of the four “Golden” teams in their mascot names take the field this weekend will get wins?
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Greg's take: Brockport’s Golden Eagles and Geneva’s Golden Tornadoes are both in very favorable matchups this week. Alvernia’s Golden Wolves have struggled this season and I think Widener will win this game. And look, I can’t bring myself to pick against the Curry Colonels this week. Keep an eye on running back Montie Quinn who comes into this game against Western New England’s Golden Bears fresh- just 20 carries last week. |
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Patrick's take: Going to go with just Brockport and Geneva for the gilded age this week. |
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Logan's take: Brockport, Geneva, and Western New England. The first two there should be big favorites, but I'm just not sure I can pull the trigger on a Curry upset over WNE. They don't need to stop Montie Quinn, but slowing him down some should help immensely, and Quinn accounts for nearly 60% of the Colonels total yards on the season. |
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Riley's take: Two. Brockport’s defense will carry the day in a win over Morrisville State and Geneva is going to roll past Bethany for the Golden Tornados' third-straight victory. |
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Carlo's take: It’s the Geneva Golden Tornadoes 4-1 in PAC play and their best start since 2011. Bethany comes to town for Homecoming- expect the Golden Tornadoes to move to 5-1 in PAC play. |
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Kobe's take: Brockport gets the W on the road and Geneva defends home field for homecoming. |
Results entering this week, tabulated by Logan:
Quick Hits prediction tracker from the @d3football crew.
— Logan Hansen (@LogHanRatings) October 21, 2025
Greg (@wallywabash) had the lead after last week, but an 0-fer in Week 7 moved him back to 3rd place, behind myself and @ZayasRiley. pic.twitter.com/W3eF2XhWDR
Got picks? Put them in the comments!