Seed: | No. 1, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 4, Week 11 2018 |
Location: | Brockport, NY |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 6304 |
Stadium: | Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium (11000) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | E8 |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 6 |
Head coach: | Jason Mangone |
Career record: | 48-18 (.727) |
Base offense: | Multiple |
Base defense: | 3-4 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 5-5 (2000-03, 2017) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
447 | 76 |
How they got here: | Pool A, Empire 8 champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | They are converting their red-zone opportunities. In games they won by less than 17 points, they scored 8 times in 15 opportunities (53.3%). In the other seven games, they were 39 for 49 (79.6%). |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The other team breaks triple digits in rushing yardage. In fact, NOBODY did so this season, as the Golden Eagles gave up a season-high 66 yards to Cortland in the Empire 8 championship game. |
This season's turning point: | Oddly enough, Week 11 at Morrisville State. After having two consecutive games that were head-scratching affairs for many observers (22-6 at Utica, 21-16 vs. Cortland), and with a somewhat slow start at Morrisville, the Brockport offense got it together with a 42-point win as junior quarterback Joe Germinerio threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more. That momentum was a needed boost heading into the NCAA playoffs |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .527 (67) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 233.1/281.0 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | -2.8/183.5 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.6/3.1 |
How far can they go? | Now will be a disappointment if they don't make the semifinals. |
Seed: | Likely No. 2, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 6, Week 11 2018 |
Location: | Frostburg, Maryland |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 4122 |
Stadium: | Bobcat Stadium (4000) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | NJAC |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 8 |
Head coach: | DeLane Fitzgerald (James Madison '99) |
Career record: | 64-43 (.598) |
Base offense: | Multiple |
Base defense: | 4-3 attacking |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 3-2 (1993, 2017) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
379 | 120 |
How they got here: | Pool A, NJAC champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | The Bobcats come out of the gate strong and are balanced both on offense and defense, while keeping the opposing offense off-balance. |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The offensive line is giving up sacks and senior quarterback Connor Cox isn't able to get into a groove in the passing game. |
This season's turning point: | After overcoming long delays between games because of a hurricane, Frostburg's 35-34 win over then-No. 6 Wesley, their first over the Wolverines in 12 tries, put the Bobcats into the driver's seat in the NJAC title race. They've been steady ever since. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .525 (77) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 195.0/219.8 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 113.4/115.8 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.7/4.0 |
How far can they go? | Anywhere from the second round to the semifinals, depending on how well they start games. |
Seed: | Likely No. 3, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 14, Week 11 2018 |
Location: | Baltimore, Maryland |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 6006 |
Stadium: | Homewood Field (8500) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | CC |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 19 |
Head coach: | Jim Margraff (Johns Hopkins '82) |
Career record: | 218-88-3 (.710) |
Base offense: | Spread |
Base defense: | 4-2-5 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 6-9 (2005, 2009, 2011-17) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
477 | 150 |
How they got here: | Pool A, Centennial champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | The offense is on the field. Opponents are going to try to control the tempo of the game and keep David Tammaro and company on the sideline. The Blue Jays ranked third in the nation in total offense, with 542.9 yards per game. |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The defense is not putting pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Blue Jays racked up 34 sacks and picked off 11 passes this season. In their only loss, they notched just two sacks and didn't pick off a pass. |
This season's turning point: | A 37-35 loss to Susquehanna in the conference opener on September 8. It was just the Blue Jays' second Centennial Conference loss since 2012 and made the rest of the slate must-win. Johns Hopkins dominated the next eight games, outscoring opponents 379-82. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .544 (39) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 199.4/349.8 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 117.5/172.3 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 7.4/4.1 |
How far can they go? | May not get out of Maryland. |
Seed: | Likely No. 4, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 14, Week 10 2018 |
Location: | Troy, New York |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 5778 |
Stadium: | East Campus Athletic Village (5200) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | LL |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 25 |
Head coach: | Ralph Isernia (Davidson '91) |
Career record: | 43-21 (.672) |
Base offense: | Spread option |
Base defense: | 4-3 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 3-5 (1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2017) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
252 | 154 |
How they got here: | Pool A, LL champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | Sophomore quarterback George Marinopoulos is distributing the ball well and the defense is forcing three and outs (and getting interceptions). |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The offense turns the ball over (they did that four times in the loss to Union) and having to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns in the red zone. |
This season's turning point: | A defensive stand on a two-point conversion with no time left to seal a hard-fought, 10-9 win over Ithaca back in Week 6. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .529 (61) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 155.8/207.6 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 82.7/266.3 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.4/4.8 |
How far can they go? | Probably not past Brockport. |
Seed: | Likely No. 5, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | Never ranked |
Location: | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 4485 |
Stadium: | Steinbrenner Field (1600) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | NEWMAC |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 112 |
Head coach: | Brian Bubna (Hobart '04) |
Career record: | 9-1 (.900) |
Base offense: | Pro style |
Base defense: | 4-2-5 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 1-1 (2014) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
231 | 106 |
How they got here: | Pool B |
You'll know they're playing well if: | They're winning the time-of-possession game. In their 7-0 start to the season, they led this stat in every game, averaging 35.6 minutes of possession time per game. Their defense is a key part of that equation, limiting teams to under 100 rushing yards per game on average this season. |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | Quarterback Udgam Goyal is struggling. In their 13-6 loss to WPI, Goyal went 5-for-23 for 48 yards while rushing for 62. While that was in bad weather, the prior week in a 13-0 win vs. Coast Guard, Goyal went 13-for-25 for just 108 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 INT |
This season's turning point: | Week 9 in their WPI loss. Coming out of that loss, the Engineers knew there was no margin for error despite two tough opponents remaining on their schedule -- Norwich and defending NEWMAC champ, Springfield. They won the games by an impressive combined margin of 42-7, bringing some momentum into the NCAA playoffs. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .483 (164) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 137.4/163.6 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 85.3/156.4 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 4.6/3.5 |
How far can they go? | This is a less-favorable matchup than MIT's last playoff trip. |
Seed: | Likely No. 6, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | Never ranked |
Location: | Framingham, Massachusetts |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 3872 |
Stadium: | Bowditch Field (1500) |
Playing surface: | Grass |
Conference: | MASCAC |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 76 |
Head coach: | Tom Kelley (Framingham State '76) |
Career record: | 89-56-1 (.610) |
Base offense: | Spread |
Base defense: | 4-3 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 0-3 (2012-13, 2015) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
335 | 179 |
How they got here: | Pool A, MASCAC champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | Senior running back Quron Wright is rushing for over 100 yards and the defense is causing turnovers. |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The secondary is giving up big plays and the front four isn't stopping the run. |
This season's turning point: | A crushing 29-28 loss to MASCAC-rival Plymouth State could have taken the team down another direction, but the Rams pulled together and won four straight games to clinch another conference title and NCAA playoff berth. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .529 (63) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 183.7/208.6 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 110.3/166.7 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.8/5.4 |
How far can they go? | They will provide a much better first-round opponent for Brockport than last year's MASCAC champ did. |
Seed: | Likely No. 7, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 24, 2017 preseason |
Location: | Springfield, Massachusetts |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2576 |
Stadium: | Golden Bear Stadium (1500) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | CCC |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 72 |
Head coach: | Jason Lebeau (Western New England '10) |
Career record: | 8-2 (.800) |
Base offense: | Read option |
Base defense: | 3-4 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 1-4 (2011, 2015-17) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
448 | 203 |
How they got here: | Pool A, CCC champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | Junior quarterback Alec Coleman is running the ball well (he's ranked sixth in the nation for rushing touchdowns with 18) and making big plays on special teams. |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The Golden Bears' defense is getting beat deep because of lack of a pass rush (they had zero sacks in their loss to Endicott). |
This season's turning point: | After a 21-point loss to crosstown rival Springfield, WNE rebounded with a 31-23 win over Westfield State, and went on to win eight of nine. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .492 (151) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 265.1/199.1 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 151.5/163.5 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.6/2.6 |
How far can they go? | To Frostburg, Maryland, and back. |
Seed: | Likely No. 8, Brockport bracket |
Last Top 25 ranking: | Never ranked |
Location: | Bangor, Maine |
Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2227 |
Stadium: | Winkin Complex (3000) |
Playing surface: | Turf |
Conference: | ECFC |
Preseason ranking from Kickoff: | 135 |
Head coach: | Gabby Price |
Career record: | 71-43 (.623) |
Base offense: | Pro style |
Base defense: | 4-2-5 |
Record in NCAA playoffs: | 1-3 (2014, 2016-17) |
NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
Points for | Points against |
407 | 145 |
How they got here: | Pool A, ECFC champ |
You'll know they're playing well if: | Senior quarterback Cory Brandon is playing with efficiency and if the Eagles defense is completely shutting down the run. |
You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The offense is struggling to run the ball and the defense isn't generating pressure on their opponent's backfield. |
This season's turning point: | A 35-21 win on the road over conference foe SUNY-Maritime in Week 5 after starting the season 1-2. |
Strength of schedule (rank): | .464 (199) |
Rushing/passing yards per game: | 230.4/238.2 |
Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 53.1/213.8 |
Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.8/4.3 |
How far can they go? | A second first-round upset may be unlikely this time. |