We’re staring at Week 8. Already.

It seems we’re just starting to figure things out, and we’re getting ready to wrap up. I know players feel that way. But instead of waxing nostalgic about how a college football career can be fleeting, let’s enjoy what we have left. There are 32 playoff spots to fight for and argue about.

We know following every conference is a chore, so Around the Nation will get right to the nitty gritty. Below is the second nine in our three-part look at how the 26 conferences and independents will shake out in terms of championships and automatic playoff bids, and which coming games will help us do the sorting. We resume, going in backwards alphabetical order.

LIBERTY LEAGUE (LL)
Suspense rating: 4
Contender(s): Hobart, Union, RPI
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A; a second in Pool C possible
Key results in the books: Hobart 56, RPI 48 (3 OT), Sept. 24
Key games approaching: Hobart at Union, Nov. 5; RPI at Union, Nov. 12
ATN’s analysis: Take a look at this: Hobart is 6-0 and has won 14 of its past 15, with the Statesmen’s only loss in the playoffs last season against Rowan. Union is 6-0, having won 12 of its past 13 with the only loss in that stretch in overtime last November at Hobart. And 4-1 RPI, a 2003 final four participant, has won eight of its past 10. The two losses in that stretch? A five-point loss in last season’s Dutchman’s Shoes Trophy game against Union, and in triple overtime earlier this year against Hobart. So what does all that mean for the stretch run? We have a three-horse race and two Saturdays in Schnectady that'll produce an exciting finish. If the Dutchmen beat the Statesmen, this year’s trophy game with the Engineers will have a playoff berth, league title and possibly an undefeated season on the line. Since the prospect of a one-loss runner-up is likely in two scenarios, the Liberty League should have a strong shot at getting a second team into the field of 32.
ATN’s predicted champion: We’ll take Union, if for no other reason than games against both contenders are at home.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC CORPORATION (MAC)
Suspense rating: 4
Contender(s): Delaware Valley, Widener, Wilkes
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A; A second in Pool C possible
Key results in the books: Delaware Valley 17, Wilkes 14, Sept. 17; Widener 34, Moravian 24, Oct. 1; Widener 33, Albright 19, Oct. 8; Delaware Valley 35, Albright 34, Oct. 15.
Key games approaching: Wilkes at Moravian, Oct. 22; Widener at King’s Oct. 22; Albright at Wilkes, Oct. 29; King’s at Delaware Valley Oct. 29; Widener at Delaware Valley, Nov. 12.
ATN’s analysis: This is a race with two contenders and as many as four spoilers, include three two-loss teams clinging to playoff hopes. But it could have a drab finish if Widener stumbles in a conference game before playing at Delaware Valley to end the season. The Pioneers also have a key non-conference clash at Salisbury, which could be in position to win the ACFC by then. A split in the final two games would go a long way toward a Widener playoff bid, especially if the clash with the Aggies means the title is on the line. Wilkes, with an early-season win over Widener and loss to Delaware Valley, is still a factor and could be part of a three-way tie for the top spot if it wins out and the Pioneers beat the Aggies. Consecutive losses to those two teams has knocked Albright out of the picture for now, and Moravian could be gone as soon as this weekend’s Wilkes game. With games left against Widener, Delaware Valley and Wilkes, King’s could play spoiler. With the MAC’s 11-team, nine-game conference schedule however, the game counts in the conference standings for the Monarchs only.
ATN’s predicted champion: It’s Delaware Valley’s race to lose, but Widener and Wilkes are very much alive for the AQ or a Pool C bid. The MAC’s complicated point-differential-up-to-3 three-way tiebreaker actually favors Wilkes if all three win out, and Delaware Valley loses to Widener by less than a field goal.

MICHIGAN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (MIAA)
Suspense rating: 2
Contender(s): Alma
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A
Key results in the books: Adrian 30, Albion 27 (OT), Oct. 1; Alma 13, Adrian 10, Oct. 8.
Key game approaching: Alma at Albion, Nov. 5.
ATN’s analysis: Alma, whose only loss is to Division II Tiffin, is in the driver’s seat, given its win over Adrian and the Bulldogs' result against the Britons. But the three-point margins in each game also show that there isn’t a whole lot of distance between the trio. The Nov. 5 game bears watching, but there are a pair of spoilers worth checking out too. Although Hope went 0-3 against an ambitious non-conference slate, their 31-24 loss to Olivet hurt most, since the Flying Dutchmen still have Adrian, Albion and Alma ahead. (ahh, the A-lliteration!). The Scots were the front-runner last season before a 35-10 home loss to Albion, but Olivet dealt the Britons a defeat. Alma took the AQ with a 6-1 MIAA record, while Albion, Adrian and Olivet were 5-2 in conference games.
ATN’s predicted champion: It’s Alma title to lose. But three of their final four are on the road, and three-way tie scenarios are still possible.

MINNESOTA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (MIAC)
Suspense rating: 5
Contender(s): St. John's, St. Olaf and Concordia-Moorhead
Probable playoff spots: Two, in Pools A and C
Key results in the books: St. John’s 20, Concordia-Moorhead 16, Oct. 15.
Key games approaching: St. Olaf at St. John’s, Oct. 29; St. Olaf at Concordia-Moorhead, Nov. 5.
ATN’s analysis: This is a classic three-team race, and we have proof that the horses are neck-and-neck. The Johnnies were fortunate to leave Moorhead with a win, and the Oles (21-19 winners over the Johnnies last season) go on the road for both of their big games. Concordia-Moorhead must be careful with Bethel on Saturday, but can be confident knowing one of the unbeaten Saints will lose the following week. Obviously, they’d hope for the Oles to beat the Johnnies and preserve their shot at the AQ. But even if St. John’s wraps up the MIAC, the Cobbers and Oles will fight the next Saturday for a likely playoff spot, considering the only loss among the three contenders was the Johnnies’ 20-16 win over Concordia. Basically, there are two chairs and three dancers, and they’ll play in successive weeks to see who is standing when the music stops.
ATN’s predicted champion: The gut feeling about the Cobbers was looking good until Saturday’s final 30 seconds. That puts them at the back of this toss-up, which should yield an unbeaten champion and a one-loss Pool C lock.

MIDWEST CONFERENCE (MWC)
Suspense rating: 1
Contender: Monmouth
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A
Key results in the books: Monmouth 28, St. Norbert 20, Sept. 17
Key games approaching: None
ATN’s analysis: Barring an unforeseen and stunning stumble, pencil the Scots in for the postseason. The win at St. Norbert was huge, and the only low-loss teams left after that, Ripon and Carroll, each have two conference defeats with one of the big two still on the schedule. The Green Knights, however, probably lost any chance at a Pool C bid with the 45-7 loss to UW-Whitewater in the opener.
ATN’s predicted champion: Monmouth. Even Bridgewater's ODAC title isn't wrapped this well.

NORTH COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (NCAC)
Suspense rating: 2
Contender(s): Wabash, Wittenberg, Ohio Wesleyan, Kenyon
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A
Key results in the books: Wabash 29, Ohio Wesleyan 7, Oct. 1
Key games approaching: Wittenberg at Wabash, Oct. 22; Ohio Wesleyan at Kenyon, Oct. 22; Ohio Wesleyan at Wittenberg, Oct. 29
ATN’s analysis: With 2004 champion Wooster pretty much out of the way, Wabash, Wittenberg and Kenyon lead the pack. And not only are we serious about the Lords, but they don’t play either of the other contenders (finishing with Ohio Wesleyan Earlham, Hiram and Denison). While four teams are seriously in the hunt, the race only gets interesting if Wittenberg beats Wabash on Saturday. If the Tigers win, Ohio Wesleyan is back in the picture beginning with a showdown the following Saturday. The Battling Bishops, as well as Wooster, are the only teams with even slim Pool C hopes left, but there are enough spoilers here, Denison included, to prevent that.
ATN’s predicted champion: Wabash, as it wins on Saturday and heads into the Monon Bell game unbeaten, playoff berth in hand.

NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL CONFERENCE (NEFC)
Suspense rating: 3
Contender(s): Fitchburg State, Bridgewater State, Worcester State (Bogan Division), Curry, Endicott (Boyd)
Key games approaching: Endicott at Curry, Oct. 22.
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A
Key results in the books: Fitchburg State 28, Bridgewater State 21, Oct. 1
Key games approaching: Endicott at Curry, Oct. 22; Bridgewater State at Worcester State, Oct. 29; Worcester State at Fitchburg State, Nov. 5; NEFC title game, Nov. 12.
ATN’s analysis: The Boyd Division is down to a two-team race, as Curry and Endicott aren’t just the only teams unbeaten in conference play, they’re the only ones with more than two wins. The Bogan is more cloudy, with three teams in the hunt. Worcester’s results against Bridgewater and Fitchburg could help sort things out. If the Lancers lose both, the Falcons hold the edge because of their Oct. 1 win over the Bears. In non-division conference games, Curry’s beaten Worcester (23-18 on opening weekend) and lost to Fitchburg, while Endicott beat Fitchburg 21-7. That would make the Gulls the AQ favorite if they can pull off a win over Curry this weekend, but nothing is certain when a team has to prove itself all over again in a title game. And since that game will deal the runner-up an additional loss, and since each NEFC team is saddles with at least one loss already, given the strength of schedule, a Pool C bid would be nearly impossible.
ATN’s predicted champion: In their third year, the Gulls make the first visit to the postseason, by beating Fitchburg again.

NEW ENGLAND SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (NESCAC)
Suspense rating: 1
Contender(s): Trinity (Conn.), Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby
Probable playoff spots: Zero (conference teams do not participate in postseason)
Key results in the books: Amherst 28, Colby 9; Bowdoin 16, Amherst 13, Oct. 1
Key games approaching: Bowdoin at Trinity, Oct. 22; Trinity at Amherst, Nov. 5; Colby at Bowdoin, Nov. 12
ATN’s analysis: With all due respect to Bowdoin, it’s hard to consider a team that’s been outgained 1,395-1,001 a true contender. But their Oct. 1 win at Amherst does create some difficulties, especially if Trinity wins this weekend and Amherst beats the Bantams in Game 7. It would be easy to say Trinity is a lock to roll to its third undefeated season in a row, and having outscored its opponents 146-6 so far, it would not be a shock. But before we crown Trinity the one of the best teams in the East, we need to see how they bounce back from last week’s 7-0 nail-biter at Tufts. Colby does not have Trinity on its schedule, so if Bowdoin wins this weekend’s matchup of the top two teams in the New England Division III football poll, the NESCAC will have to keep a close eye on Maine and the CBB rivalry games. All kinds of problems arise if Amherst beats Trinity and both teams head into their rivalry games (against Williams and Wesleyan) with one loss.
ATN’s predicted champion: Trinity is too dominant for us to pick another team to win the title, but it was fun to imagine the possibilities.

NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (NJAC)
Suspense rating: 1
Contender: Rowan
Probable playoff spots: One in Pool A; Slim Pool C hopes
Key results in the books: Rowan 24, Cortland State 16
Key games approaching: None
ATN’s analysis: With Cortland, New Jersey and Western Connecticut in the rear view mirror, the Profs can already start worrying about getting quarterback Mike Orihel healthy for the playoffs (remember, there are no first round byes this year). Sure, Profs coaches won’t want to hear that, and they do finish with a couple of traditionally tough opponents. Montclair State is mathematically in the picture, but their 39-14 loss to Cortland earlier in the year doesn’t inspire much confidence (although their non-conference win over Salisbury did), and there aren’t any easy games left on the schedule. The Red Hawks are a Pool C candidate, but would need to beat Rowan to stay that way, while Cortland’s early-season loss to Buffalo State makes their annual Cortaca Jug game a must-win for playoff consideration.
ATN’s predicted champion: Rowan. What else is new?

Road trip of the week
If it isn’t the same old Tigers and Lynx showing up on our long trips list. Rhodes goes to Colorado College, and it’s actually a surprisingly short 16-hour drive from Memphis to Colorado Springs (although flying must be involved here). It’s one of six home games for the likely travel-weary Tigers, who are playing a 10-game schedule for the first time since 1950.

Another repeat visitor to our long trips list, the ACFC, gets a couple of nods this week as well. Newport News Apprentice’s 10½-hour trip to Buffalo State is more than 600 miles away, while No. 22 Wesley seems farther from Brockport than it is. That game, "just" seven hours and 430 miles away, is within the NCAA’s 500-mile we-don’t-have-to-pay-for-your-flight playoff matchup radius.

Recommended road trips of the week
We can only cobble together one decent double header this week, but seeing Rowan at Kean and Western Connecticut at Montclair State would leave you within driving distance of New York for Sunday activities.

No. 7 Occidental kicks off at 7 p.m. Pacific time, which means a Southern California doubleheader is possible, as usual.

Five games to watch
Here are the games with the most national significance this weekend:

No. 20 Ohio Northern at No. 2 Mount Union: Either the Polar Bears play their best game and pull an upset that will make their season, or the 100th OAC win in a row for the Purple Raiders clears the way for their 14th consecutive conference title. 

No. 9 Mary Hardin-Baylor at No. 3 Hardin-Simmons: This game was looking more intriguing before the Crusaders stumbled against Howard Payne, but the recent history between these two is enough to make it worth watching again. HSU won 49-22 last season. That snapped UMHB into focus, and they beat the Cowboys 42-28 on their way to the Stagg Bowl. 

Redlands at No. 7 Occidental: If the Tigers survive the de facto SCIAC title game, they should finish 9-0 and force someone to fly to Los Angeles for a first-round game. The Bulldogs needed overtime to defeat Whittier last week, but there shouldn’t be any lack of emotion this week as the Bulldogs hope to reclaim control of conference they once owned. 

Johns Hopkins at Muhlenberg: It’ll take some offense to take command of the Centennial Conference, as defense is each of these teams’ specialties. The Blue Jays have given up just 34 points this season, allowing more than a TD just once. Muhlenberg has only had one opponent score more than 16, but it hasn’t scored more than 21 since the season opener. A Johns Hopkins win would pretty much clinch a playoff berth, since it’s already beaten the other teams (Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall) close to it in the standings. 

Wittenberg at Wabash: The Tigers are basically the last significant threat standing in the way of Wabash running the table in the conference , especially since fellow NCAC unbeaten Kenyon is not even on Wabash's schedule. For Wittenberg it's the fourth of seven consecutive elimination games after starting the season 0-3. 

North Central at Elmhurst: With bigger CCIW clashes ahead, the Cardinals can’t look past the 5-1 Bluejays. On the other side, Elmhurst’s final five games are Wheaton (lost 24-7 last week), North Central, at Augustana, at Millikin, and at home against Carthage. The Bluejays have a chance to prove their big start has not been a fluke, as well as clinch a winning season. 

Also keep an eye on: No. 11 UW-La Crosse at UW-Eau Claire, No. 12 Concordia-Moorhead at Bethel, No. 21 Augustana at Millikin, No. 22 Wesley at Brockport State, Christopher Newport at Methodist, Luther at Central, Centre at Trinity (Texas), Endicott at Curry, Bowdoin at Trinity (Conn.), Wittenberg at Wabash, Ohio Wesleyan at Kenyon, Wilkes at Moravian, Widener at King’s.

Who are those guys?
With wins from Catholic, Christopher Newport, Buena Vista, Kean and Linfield, Division III managed to go unbeaten in five games against teams from other classifications. Ralph Turner has been tracking our performance on our message board, Post Patterns, and we include a look at who’s next:

Against Division I-AA: 1-0 in Week 7, 5-7 in 2005.
This week’s opponents: St. Peter’s at Salisbury, La Salle at New Jersey

Against Division II: 1-0 in Week 7, 5-9 in 2005.
This week’s opponent: Becker at Bryant

Against NAIA: 3-0 in Week 7, 14-14 in 2005.
This week’s opponent: Seton Hill at Frostburg State

Streak watch
Well, our streak watch has just tracked game streaks, but in case this is your first day following Division III, or if you’ve been away for a while, there’s one much longer streak to be acknowledged. With its win over Southern Oregon, No. 1 Linfield (5-0) clinched its 50th consecutive winning season, a streak unmatched in any division throughout the history of college football.

Of course, Mount Union lost in last season’s finale, so the Purple Raiders have won just six games in a row, but they have won 110 consecutive regular season games, 99 OAC games in a row and 54 straight road games.

Now back to our regular schedule.

It’s the same story for the teams running our longest losing streaks. We’d track them and move on, but misery loves company.
->Heidelberg (22 consecutive losses, last win against Marietta on Oct. 4, 2003, 0-5 in 2005)
->Concordia (Ill.) (17 consecutive losses, last win against Eureka Nov. 8, 2003, 0-6 in 2005)
->Macalester (12 consecutive losses, last win against Knox Oct. 2, 2004, 0-7 in 2005)
->Menlo (11 consecutive losses, last win against Whittier Oct. 2, 2004, 0-6 in 2005)
->Massachusetts Maritime (11 consecutive losses, last win against Framingham State Oct. 2, 2004, 0-6 in 2005)
->Austin (10 consecutive losses, last win against Mississippi Oct. 16, 2004, 0-6 in 2005)

The nation’s longest winning streaks:
->Trinity, Conn. (26 consecutive wins, last loss against Williams, Sept. 28, 2002, 4-0 in 2005)
->Linfield (18 consecutive wins, last loss against St. John’s, Dec. 6, 2003, 5-0 in 2005)
->Monmouth (14 consecutive wins, last loss against St. Norbert, Sept. 18, 2004, 7-0 in 2005)
->Johns Hopkins (10 consecutive wins, last loss against Muhlenberg, Oct. 23, 2004, 6-0 in 2005)

As we track the winless and undefeated, we include the NESCAC for the first time, as Trinity (Conn.) and Bowdoin — who play this week, incidentally — have now logged enough games for us to put them in the undefeated club. Wesleyan and Middlebury, both 0-4, get the unfortunate honor of joining on the back end.

Winless teams in 2005: The group went from 20 to 13 this week, although it’s really 15 since we’re including the NESCAC. Randolph-Macon left the group by keeping Emory & Henry in it, and Mississippi College did the same to Austin. Greensboro, Pacific Lutheran, Benedictine and Augsburg also won for the first time. Looking more closely at this group, we found several streaks to add to our list above. And interestingly, Allegheny, which has now lost seven in a row, won four straight before losing the finale last season. And Massachusetts Maritime is in 1-19 in its past 20 games, but had won two in a row in 2003 before that.

Unbeaten teams in 2005: This group lost 10 teams the week before, but only three last week in Concordia-Moorhead, Coe and Ithaca. Twenty-one unbeatens remain, including four each at 7-0 and 5-0, 11 more at 6-0 and two at 4-0. Twelve of the 21 were not playoff teams last season, meaning they did not necessarily lose their last game. But while the potential for long streaks existed, only Johns Hopkins (now added to our above group) was in double digits.

Mark my words (or eat ’em)
As a reward for staying tuned in this long, I’ll kick around a few gut feelings and point you toward blog posts and message board threads worth checking out, and also give my top 25 overflow.

After you’re finished with Around the Nation, poll-watchers should check out a few different spots. On page 7 (kid) and 10 (smedindy) of the the Top 25 rankings thread on Post Patterns, you’ll find a couple of charts going above and beyond the top 25 poll.

As has become habit, I’ll give a little insight into the teams that just missed making my top 25 ballot. There wasn’t a whole lot of change this week, although I’m finally feeling like the first 10 teams I listed are top 10 material. Often it’s a few exceptional teams, and a bunch you feel belong between 17 and 22.

My last two teams last week had been Otterbein and Trinity (Conn.), but their results last week pushed the back into the overflow pile. Coe dropped out with their loss, and Ithaca fell far, but remained in the top 25. Their loss to Lycoming seemed a little fluky, and it dragged St. John Fisher (an overtime loser to the Bombers earlier) down the poll with it. But I’ll watch closely to see if Ithaca bounces back. The other top 25 losers last week, Concordia-Moorhead and UW-La Crosse barely budged. I felt each proved themselves worthy of keeping a ranking similar to what they’d had in close losses to St. John’s and UW-Whitewater, a pair of teams likely battling Rowan and Occidental for the No. 4 spot on many ballots.

So we’re still not even talking about the overflow yet, but John Carroll, Salisbury and Ohio Northern snuck back into my top 25. That means the unranked teams to consider, in a rough order, go: St. Olaf, Whitworth, Capital, Widener, UW-Eau Claire, Carthage, Christopher Newport, Bridgewater (Va.), Union, Hobart, Johns Hopkins and Trinity (Conn.). Alma is unbeaten in Division III, so they stay amongst Monmouth and Ferrum, which notched a good win over Methodist. Cortland State helped itself in a loss against Rowan, and so did Albright against Delaware Valley. I lost a little confidence in DePauw during a low-scoring win; I felt similarly about the Bantams (mentioned above).

Otterbein’s game at Ohio Northern was much better than the final score indicated. The Cardinals led 26-25 in the fourth quarter, but the Polar Bears scored 19 points in the final 10:26 to blow it open.

The thin-ice brigade still includes Texas Lutheran (a 44-41 winner over over Louisiana), Albright and Adrian. Elmhurst needs to beat someone good before we can even begin to think top 25. East Texas Baptist’s 38-13 loss to Hardin-Simmons had us wondering if the Tigers were never that good, or are the Cowboys just that powerful? UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout are hanging on, and Huntingdon squeezed in after the close loss to Trinity (Texas).

RPI was off, but is still under consideration. Wooster isn’t anymore, after a 44-10 loss to Wabash, and neither is Hampden-Sydney, after Washington & Lee’s 38-34 victory.

We should probably start taking the Generals seriously. Same goes for Alfred, who has won five straight since a 36-22 season-opening loss to W&L. Wartburg’s familiar late-season push began with Saturday’s win over Coe, and we should be thinking about voting for the Knights as well as the (Central) Dutch and Kohawks. McMurry’s 4-2 start is nice, especially since it was two points from beating Howard Payne. But a win over Sul Ross State this weekend is imperative, as a back-loaded schedule makes a 5-5 finish likely.

Words to eat:
I thought Methodist might stun Ferrum, but the Panthers won 42-37. I felt good about Cortland State and Concordia-Moorhead, but both were one-score losers to Rowan and St. John’s respectively. The same ol’ same old, I guess.

I seriously doubted Chicago in the UAA capsule last week. The Maroons beat Carnegie Mellon 35-6 to go to 2-4, 2-0 in the conference. A Nov. 5 win over Case Western would lock up the title for a school that won seven Big Ten championships years ago under national championship namesake Amos Alonzo Stagg, and also produced the first Heisman Trophy winner. (Trivia alert!)

Lastly, of this week’s six games to watch above, I don’t see any big upsets. I’ve been told that Ohio Northern can match up with Mount Union physically, and I believe Redlands really feels like they should be the pride of the SCIAC. They should give Occidental a game, and UMHB-HSU should be fun since the Stagg Bowl runner-up Crusaders are perhaps playing for playoff survival with the earlier loss on the record.

For more candid thoughts from D3football.com staffers, we kick each weekend in our blog, the Daily Dose, with a look ahead to Saturday. We end the weekend with our immediate thoughts on the games just played. So while you wait for new features, ATRs and ATN, stay active there and on Post Patterns.

Speaking of the message board, we cast a line for feedback last week. Much came in on brothers and family connections, and at the same time we ran a story about the Riccas. I’m going to begin a family connections thread, and post some of the feedback we received there.

I think a good resource, which I'll start on the Around the Nation board, would be to keep a running list of significant injuries. When evaluating results, it would really pay to know if a certain star missed Game X or only played the first four weeks. I'll start the list on the ATN thread, but please help me populate and maintain it.

And of course, last but not least, I’ve been getting a lot of great questions via e-mail. Instead of keeping the responses between myself and the writer, I’ll be answering them on the Around the Nation thread on Post Patterns.

Feedback
One advantage to the Web format is instant reaction and interaction from readers. As noted below, we always encourage all kinds of feedback, in several ways. And for the second week in a row, we're asking for specifics to help us flesh out story ideas.

Here are three things D3football.com staffers are still interested in writing about soon. If you can help us in any way, we’d appreciate it.

->Around The Nation has examined Division III’s best rivalries in the past, and as this year’s rivalry week draws near, we’d like to examine the topic from a different angle. We want to tell the best stories, period. Whether it’s old-timers recalling pranks or official historians recounting the history of a trophy, we’re interested. Even if you don’t know much, but you know someone in the program does, use our feedback form or e-mail to point us in the right direction.

->We know video games are a dorm room staple, whether you’re a current player addicted to Madden, or a former one who remembers going at in on Bill Walsh football for Sega Genesis. But games have become so advanced these days, coaches and players can use them to teach parts of their real-life playbooks, or hone game-management skills. If you know of any players or coaches who have done this, we may write a feature on it.

->ATN is interested in tackling issues regarding racial, religious and cultural differences on campus. Division III football players have much in common, but have taken many different roads to the college fields. If you’re a player who doesn’t quite fit in with your teammates, or on campus, we’d like to hear from you. Likewise, if you feel at home with your teammates, but notice your squad is a lot different than the opponents you play, write to tell us how you feel. As of now, I have no angle on this story or axe to grind, I’m just intrigued.

If you can help us with any of those, or have some other beef to air, there are three ways to contact us: Use our feedback form, send e-mail to keith@d3football.com, or follow the Around the Nation thread on the new Post Patterns message board. Also, the comments section of our blog, The Daily Dose, is open to the public.

Attention SIDs
As always, Around the Nation requests media guides and any other aids in helping us cover your school or conference this season. We are also interested in seeing game tapes from schools we aren’t able to see in person this season.