The party most of us have been waiting for is finally upon
us. Whether you see the playoffs as “let’s see how far
my team can go” or “who is going to play Mount Union in
the Stagg Bowl?” there’ll be plenty more drama over the
next five weeks than there ever will be waiting on a bunch of
computer-savvy math professors and know-it-all sportswriters.
Division III gets it done on the field, although there are always
questions about the field. This year’s 32-team bracket is no
more perfect than any other, so here are five in-depth answers to
common queries about the postseason:
1. Is the Texas matchup a major travesty or minor
flaw?
I don’t even know anymore, because I am numb to it.
Texas teams have met in the first round for the past five seasons,
so a sixth comes as no shock. We’ve accepted that this is how
it has been done and this is how it will be done, despite the fact
that there seemed to be a way to follow the seeds and split Mary
Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons this season while maintaining just
the one first-round flight in that bracket, as Pat Coleman and
Gordon Mann laid out in their Nov. 11 playoff
projections.
If you operate with the logic that a team headed for a
national championship will eventually play the best teams anyway,
there might be some consolation for American Southwest Conference
fans. If the seedings were followed and held, South No. 3 HSU at
South No. 2 UHMB would have been a second-round game. So the most
that’s been lost here is a chance for each team to say
it’s won a playoff game and an extra game for one of them.
Definitely not right, but also not a major travesty.
2. Did Cortland State get the short end of the
stick?
Yes. But someone had to. There were nine legitimate Pool C
teams for seven at-large slots. Most of them came from conferences
who have had recent playoff success, and many of them played at
least one difficult non-conference game.
Cortland’s omission is not an endorsement of the Empire
8 or Liberty League over the New Jersey Athletic Conference, which
had a strong year. It’s a case of having more deserving teams
than could be accommodated. If Cortland and Franklin hadn’t
been left out, another team who only lost to its conference
champion would have been.
With margin of victory not to be considered, which makes
sense because doing anything but trying to win with class
isn’t something the playoffs are meant to encourage, the
credentials of Capital, Hardin-Simmons, Hobart, St. John’s,
St. John Fisher and Wheaton don’t look all that different.
And while UW-La Crosse lacks a win over a regionally ranked
opponent, the Eagles’ win over I-AA scholarship South Dakota
State, which is 7-3 and about to play for its conference title, had
to turn some heads on the selection committee.
With those kind of credentials, the committee can’t
lose, but it also can’t win. Inevitably, the 33rd and 34th
teams will be displeased.
For Division III fans, be glad this isn’t 2004, when we
would have had nine worthy teams for three Pool C spots. Be glad it
isn’t 1998, where a four-per-region, 16-team bracket was in
place. That would have left one of the five unbeaten conference
champions in this year’s West at home before the discussion
even reached Bethel or St. John’s.
Photo by Pat Coleman, D3football.com |
Clearly, since D3football.com’s poll has Cortland
well into the top 20, we think they’re one of the 32 best
teams in the country. But the playoffs are set up for fair access,
not to be a fair assessment of the 32 strongest teams.
Any 9-1 team with a legitimate schedule whose only loss is in
overtime on the road to the automatic qualifier should be in.
That’s a textbook Pool C case. But Cortland is out, and you
can’t blame the selection committee.
Cortland had its shot on the field. That, by definition, is
“fair access.” That fact that one overtime touchdown
knocked them from possible top seed in the East to out of the field
is admittedly hard to grasp.
The committee lays out its at-large criteria well in advance.
If they stuck to it, they should be admired, not
slandered.
When the selection criteria benefited Cortland’s 8-2
team last year, Red Dragons fans certainly didn’t voice any
problems with the system’s fairness.
In all, it’s not a perfect system, but it is explained
in advance, and it’s much, much better than the
alternative.
3. What about Franklin then? Didn’t they deserve to
be in?
In a different season they would have been. A 9-1 team with a
7-point loss to the conference champion is usually a money pick in
Pool C (see the history under question No. 4).
The win against Wabash (8-2) probably helped, but Mt. St.
Joseph losing on the final weekend did not. But Franklin still had
a QoWI of 10.400, which was marginally better than 13 playoff
teams, including UW-La Crosse (10.286) and St. John’s
(10.200), not to mention Cortland State (10.222).
In D3football.com’s mock regional rankings (the
selection committee declined our request to reveal its final
rankings), Wabash was in the North Region top 10, so Franklin would
have been 1-1 against North Region regionally ranked opponents.
Here’s how the other Pool C contenders stacked up in QoWI and
vs. RROs:
Hobart: No. 4 QoWI (11.667); beat Alfred, lost to
Union
St. John Fisher: No. 8 QoWI (11.100); beat Alfred, lost to
Springfield
Hardin-Simmons: No. 10 QoWI (11.000); lost to Mary
Hardin-Baylor
Capital: Tie No. 11 QoWI (10.900); beat Wittenberg, lost to
Mount Union
Wheaton: Tie No. 11 QoWI (10.900); beat North
Central
Franklin: No. 20 QoWI (10.400); beat Wabash, lost to Mt. St.
Joseph
UW-La Crosse No. 26 QoWI (10.286); lost to
UW-Whitewater
Cortland State: No. 27 QoWI (10.222); lost to
Rowan
St. John’s: No. 28 QoWI (10.200); beat St. Olaf, lost
to Bethel
Since the committee said St. John’s graded out ahead of
Cortland State in the primary criteria, we can only assume that the
Red Dragons’ victory in Week 11 knocked Ithaca, which also
lost to Alfred and St. John Fisher, out of the No. 10 slot in the
East Region rankings. Wartburg’s loss, on the other hand, may
have opened up a spot for St. Olaf to move in at No. 10 in the
West, giving the Johnnies an edge.
With Franklin and St. John’s at 1-1 each, and Franklin
with the better QoWI, I’m not sure what would separate the
two. St. John’s was ranked second in the West after Week 10,
so presumably they stayed in the West rankings. Historical
performance is not supposed to be considered, so we can’t
blame it on the past performance of the HCAC vs. the
MIAC.
The bottom line is that Franklin had playoff-worthy
credentials, just in a year when there were plenty of other teams
that also did. If Cortland had finished off Rowan before overtime,
the Profs would have been replaced in the field by the Red Dragons.
If St. John’s had beaten Bethel, the Royals would have had
two losses and no place in the tournament. Franklin fans can blame
those two games, or the Grizzlies themselves. They were tied in the
fourth quarter with Mount St. Joseph before losing
21-14.
4. So does that make this the best Pool C ever
then?
As far as getting into the pool, yes. But St. John’s
(2000) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (2004) have both dried themselves off
in Salem, so there’s a long way to go before this is the best
ever. In the seven seasons of expanded playoffs and the pool
system, Pool C teams are 25-25 with two Stagg Bowl appearances, a
John Carroll loss to Mount Union in the ’02 semifinals, and
quarterfinal losses to the Purple Raiders by Ohio Northern in
’99 and Capital in ’05.
Here are past Pool C qualifiers, their regular-season records
and how many playoff wins they combined for:
2005 (Seven teams went 4-7): Capital, 8-2; Central, 9-1;
Concordia-Moorhead, 9-1; Cortland State, 7-2; Hobart, 9-1; North
Central, 9-1; Wilkes, 8-2.
2004 (Three teams went 6-3): Christopher Newport, 8-2; Mary
Hardin-Baylor, 9-1; Wheaton, 9-1.
2003 (Three teams went 1-3): Baldwin-Wallace, 9-1; Bethel,
9-1; Simpson, 9-1.
2002 (Three teams went 5-3): John Carroll, 9-1; Wartburg,
9-1; Wittenberg, 9-1.
2001 (Three teams went 0-3): Bethel, 9-1; Mary Hardin-Baylor,
8-1; Montclair State, 9-1.
2000 (Three teams went 6-3): Bridgewater, 9-1; Ohio Northern,
8-2; St. John’s, 9-1.
1999 (Three teams went 3-3): Central, 9-1; Ohio Northern,
9-1; UW-Stevens Point, 9-1.
5. What about the ECACs? Should I care?
If your team is playing in one of the six second-chance bowl
games, why not? It’s no different than the NIT in major
college basketball, except without a bracket or a chance to
advance. It’s a lot of fun if you’re involved, but it
means little to the rest of the nation focusing on the big
playoff.
Here are a few reasons why:
1. It involves a very small swath of Division III, which as
you know, stretches geographically from coast to coast.
2. A limited number of teams, even within the Northeast, play
in the games. Some conferences ban postseason play, and other
schools refuse to apply for an ECAC game even if they have the
credentials.
3. We have heard reports in the past of a team not taking the
game seriously. If seniors prefer not to play, or the coaches want
to use the game to get a jump on next season, that’s their
prerogative. Some teams with playoff aspirations may not feel
comfortable being “rewarded” with a second-chance game.
Certainly many teams are playing to win, for pride and leaving it
all on the field, but if anyone is not, it begins to damage the
competitive credibility of the entire operation.
4. The best teams are generally already in the 32-team
tournament.
Still, a chance to play one more game is usually a gift in
and of itself. This year’s ECAC bowl slate:
Northeast: RPI (6-3) at Cortland State (9-1)
Northwest: Rochester (7-3) at Alfred (7-3)
North Atlantic: Bridgewater State (7-2) at Coast Guard
(8-2)
South Atlantic: Salisbury (5-5) at Delaware Valley
(8-2)
Southwest: Widener (6-4) at Ursinus (8-2)
Southeast: King’s (6-4) at Kean (6-4)
Bracket
reactions
Last year, D3football.com publisher Pat Coleman and I added
our snap reactions to Around the Nation’s traditional look at
the playoffs. We brought back the same categories for this season
as a way to provide extra insight on the bracket. Later in the
week, on the blog, The Daily Dose, we’ll also repeat
something we did last year: picking final scores for all 16
first-round games. We’ll wait, so you can make your own picks
in our traditional playoff Pick ‘Em first. But the scores,
which were pretty successful at last season, will at least give you
a clear picture of what’s expected to happen, so you know a
playoff stunner when you see one.
Reactions to the 32-team bracket and road to
Salem:
Toughest first-round draw
Coleman: The Texas matchup, as always.
But after that, Central’s reward for going 10-0 is a home
date with St. John’s? Yikes.
McMillan: Bethel won one of the
half-dozen top conferences in the nation and got sent on the road
in the first round, to WIAC runner-up UW-La Crosse. Other teams may
have more difficult opponents, but the Royals got the toughest
draw.
Easiest opening game
Coleman: Mount Union/Hope.
McMillan: Wilkes hosts ODAC champion
Washington and Lee, which lost by two touchdowns or more three
times, including to 3-7 Franklin & Marshall and 5-5 Case
Western Reserve.
Biggest first-/second-round matchup disparity
Coleman:In which direction? The Texas winner
should by all accounts have an easier time in its second
game.
McMillan: Capital, which hosts
Wittenberg, a team it’s outscored 111-7 the past two
regular-season openers, could follow its first-round game with
North Central, which the Crusaders defeated 21-19 in last
year’s playoffs.
Toughest path to Salem
Coleman: At a glance, it seems like
Bethel might face the most ranked teams out of any underdog with a
decent chance.
McMillan: The St. John’s/Central
winner gets the Whitworth/Occidental victor – those four
teams have one loss between them. If that weren’t enough, the
team would likely have to go through UW-Whitewater and Wesley or
Mary Hardin-Baylor to get to the Stagg Bowl. Good luck with
that.
Longest road to Salem
Coleman: Occidental. Didn’t I
pick them last year? So let’s try Millsaps (fly to CMU, fly
to Wesley, dri … sorry, fly to Mary Hardin-Baylor, fly to
Whitewater).
McMillan: Millsaps flies to Pittsburgh
for its opener, and would likely head back to the "Northeast"
(Dover, Del.) for round two, even though it’s the South
Region. While advancing further may be unlikely, if the Majors did,
Virginia, Texas or another trip to Pennsylvania would be next up. A
semifinal appearance would probably also mean a road trip. As a No.
7 seed, the Majors could go from Mississippi to California,
Washington state or Iowa, among other places.
Easiest path to Salem (Book
now)
Coleman: Too late. I’m sure many
Mount Union fans booked hotel reservations in August. They’re
refundable but I doubt that will be an issue.
McMillan: I’d be willing to bet
there are Mount Union fans who have already booked rooms at the
Roanoke Clarion and/or Wyndham. And with a team it already beat
38-12 the most formidable standing in its way, I can’t blame
them.
The committee nailed
Coleman: The selections and almost all
the pairings.
McMillan: The West bracket. With the
distances to be traveled, this is never an easy region to piece
together. But the committee managed to stick to their seeds and
keep the West Coast teams matched up against each other. A No. 6
seed may seem low for an unbeaten Occidental squad, but considering
they didn’t play a non-conference team that finished with a
winning record and had to rally twice from double-digit deficits in
the final three weeks, I won’t insist they’re being
shorted like they were last year in a first-round matchup at
Linfield.
The committee blew
Coleman:The gas budget on moving Dickinson
out of region to play at Wesley instead of putting Dickinson at
Wilkes. Sixty miles longer. Just food for thought.
McMillan: The entire South bracket.
Full of logical matchups (Washington and Lee at Christopher
Newport, Washington and Jefferson at Carnegie Mellon, low seed
Millsaps at either high seed, Hardin-Simmons or UMHB), the
selection committee managed to produce none of them. Then, on top
of that, the Texas teams were paired to save a flight, except that
Millsaps has to fly in the first round anyway. What the Texas and
West Coast subbrackets really appear to be all about is eliminating
powerful teams that might require multiple flights in the second
round and quarterfinals. Imagine if No. 2 seed UMHB hosted No. 7
Millsaps and won, and No. 3 Hardin-Simmons hosted No. 6 Washington
and Jefferson and won. Then the two Texas teams would play each
other in the second round. Wait! That’s way too
logical!
Road team most deserving of a home
game
Coleman: Hardin-Simmons.
McMillan: Mount St. Joseph probably
would have hosted if it had not blown a Week 11 game against Thomas
More. Occidental, Curry and St. Norbert are undefeated teams on the
road, but Bethel is the champion of a power conference on the road
against a runner-up and Hardin-Simmons is a No. 3 seed playing at a
No. 2.
Home team least deserving of a home
game
Coleman: I don't have a good answer
here. Christopher Newport is the only lower-four seed getting a
home game and they lost two games but did beat UMHB.
McMillan: Carnegie Mellon might not
beat all of the road teams in the South Region, but they’ve
earned a home game. St. John Fisher is a runner-up hosting a league
champion, but Union lost its finale. Wheaton backed into a home
game when MSJ lost, as did UW-La Crosse when Bethel beat St.
John’s. Christopher Newport lost twice, but one was an
out-of-region game, so the Captains graded out as home-game
worthy.
We would have liked to see
Coleman: Hardin-Simmons vs. Occidental
and Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Whitworth. Come on, switch things up
once in a while.
McMillan: Logic applied to the South
bracket. And Cortland State in the field somewhere, especially with
such a good defense.
Played their way in during Week
11
Coleman: Bethel, to Cortland State's
dismay.
McMillan: Bethel, NEFC title game
winner Curry and the Pool C teams … except Cortland State.
Hobart’s win over Rochester was big, but couldn’t seal
a home game for the Statesmen.
Played their way out during Week
11
Coleman: St. John’s. But they got
in anyway.
McMillan: Wartburg blew a chance to be
considered alongside nine other one-loss Pool C teams by losing at
home to Dubuque in overtime, 17-14.
Best first-round matchup besides national No. 6
Hardin-Simmons at national No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor
Coleman: Carnegie Mellon/Millsaps. It
doesn’t have the most meaning to the title picture but it
seems like a fun game.
McMillan: The West bracket may have the
three tightest games on Saturday, with the South and East also
having a couple really good-looking matchups. The Concordia-North
Central rematch could be appealing as well. Forced to choose,
Bethel and star RB Phil Porta going up against a UW-La Crosse run
defense still smarting from giving up 286 yards to
UW-Whitewater’s Justin Beaver could produce a
barnburner.
The thanks for playing
award
Coleman: Hope, which won’t
improve the MIAA’s playoff record.
McMillan: Hope, Wittenberg and
Washington and Lee, be sure to take pictures. Unless you prefer
happier memories. Yes, I know this is officially bulletin board
material. I still don’t think it’ll help vs. Mount
Union, Capital and Wilkes.
If this is 2004, we’re sitting
home
Coleman: Oh shoot, you name it. Hobart,
UW-La Crosse, St. John’s ... anyone not named Hardin-Simmons,
St. John Fisher or Wheaton.
McMillan: It’d be hard to pass on
Capital, Hardin-Simmons and St. John Fisher if there were only
three Pool C spots open like there used to be. In that case,
Hobart, St. John’s, UW-La Crosse and Wheaton could have been
watching from the sidelines.
The 33rd team award
Coleman: Cortland State.
McMillan: Has to be Cortland State at
No. 33, a year after we felt they were the 31st team into the first
32-team field. Franklin would get the No. 34 award, with 8-0
Williams of the high-and-mighty NESCAC taking No. 35 and our
“You shoulda been there, man!” honor.
The 32 best awards
If this year’s playoffs matched the top 32 teams
regardless of conference affiliation, here’s who we’d
kick out and invite:
McMillan: Apologies to Washington and
Lee, Wittenberg and Hope, all three-loss teams, and two-loss
Dickinson. Those four could be replaced with Cortland State,
Ithaca, Baldwin-Wallace and Alfred for an improved field. Franklin
could go in too, although Millsaps, winners of seven in a row
despite their three losses, definitely deserves its spot. Concordia
(Wis.), Curry and St. Norbert do too.
The ‘sorry for the false hopes’
award
McMillan: With the selection
committee’s criteria available to the public, anyone with a
computer and a keen eye can take a good guess at the field. But
D3football.com bracketologists Pat Coleman and Gordon Mann outdid
themselves this year. Their projection not only nailed all 32
teams, but correctly projected 22 of the seeds – 23 if you
count Washington & Lee being an 8 seed in the Wilkes (East)
Bracket, not the Wesley (South) Bracket as predicted. The other
seeds were off by no more than one spot, except for Rowan, a 4 seed
which was projected as a 6. Then of course,
there’s the South
Bracket matchups they put together that make far
more sense than what the committee came up with.
Historical
performance of the projections
2006: 32-for-32.
2005: 31-for-32: We projected Alfred; the committee preferred
Wilkes, which lost to Rowan 42-3.
2004: 28-for-28.
2003: 27-for-28: We projected UMHB; the committee took
Simpson, which lost in the first round to St. Norbert, still the
Midwest Conference’s only NCAA playoff win since the 1999
expansion.
2002: 27-for-28: We projected Hartwick; the committee took
Washington and Jefferson, which beat second-year Christopher
Newport and got routed at Trinity (Texas).
2001: 25-for-28: We picked Menlo and Linfield in Pool B; the
committee took Whitworth (0-1) and Ithaca (advanced to regional
final). In Pool C, we chose UW-Eau Claire; the committee took
Montclair State (0-1).
Surprises and
disappointments
As has become tradition each year since 2001, D3football.com
assembles its top analysts and, instead of giving you a simple list
of winners and losers, goes in-depth by predicting who could
surprise, disappoint and come out victorious in each
bracket.
Photo by Pat Coleman, D3football.com |
WILKES (East)
BRACKET
Surprises
Coleman: Rowan. The Profs are at least
firing on some cylinders now, and that’s scary. Coach Jay
Accorsi told me after Friday night’s game that even more
would be added to the offense, which looked about 50% Classic Prof
against William Paterson.
Mann: W&L stays within seven of
Wilkes at the half. The Colonels have generally started slowly but
seem to get stronger as the game goes on with their wearing,
physical style.
McMillan: I think it’s a mistake
to assume that Hobart will lose at Rowan, but I’ve been
pondering a bigger surprise for a few weeks now. In a bracket where
the top six are pretty even, No. 7 seed Curry is overlooked. We
hardly ever mention the Colonels, who just keep winning (40-5 since
2003). They were competitive against Delaware Valley in last
year’s playoffs, leading 14-7 midway through the third
quarter of a 37-22 loss. I’m not sure Springfield is ripe for
upset, but Curry can play defense. It’s certainly possible
that a disciplined, sure-tackling group can slow down an option
attack.
Disappointments
Coleman: Springfield. They should beat
Curry, but will they catch lightning in a bottle for a second time
against either Union or St. John Fisher? Seems unlikely.
Mann: Springfield. With a run-heavy
offense and a pass defense that’s giving up almost 200 yards
a game, I could see a very lopsided regional final between the
Pride and Rowan.
McMillan: With a pair of road games,
the Liberty League could quite easily go two-and-out after taking
serious steps forward with the same two teams last year.
Champion
Coleman: Rowan, with the Wilkes game
the most competitive.
Mann: Rowan. As disappointed as
Cortland State fans are at the Red Dragons’ near miss against
the Profs, I suspect many other East region teams will soon feel
the same way. There’s something to be said for mystique. A
fantastic defense and great quarterback doesn’t hurt
either.
McMillan: Defenses shine in the
playoffs, and Wilkes and Rowan both have the pedigree to snuff out
talented offenses. It might come down to which offense can generate
13 or 14 points in the second round. The Profs’ defense is as
good as any, but the Colonels (8.3 points per game) are right
there, and the rest of the team has been more
consistent.
MOUNT UNION (North)
BRACKET
Surprises
Coleman: With apologies to Concordia
(Wis.), North Central would not have lost the regular-season
meeting if it had had a game under its belt like Concordia did. If
you make your biggest improvement between the first and second
game, the way most coaches say, then CUW had made its improvements
and North Central hadn’t had a chance yet.
Mann: That the IBFC has a
representative in Concordia (Wis.) that actually makes people pause
about picking against them in the first round, especially after the
Falcons beat North Central earlier this year.
McMillan: With Mount Union and Capital
blocking the route to the quarterfinals, a semi-surprise I could
actually see happening is if Mt. St. Joseph of the HCAC and
Concordia of the IBFC each defeat a CCIW opponent and win for the
less-respected leagues of the North Region.
Disappointments
Coleman: Anyone who plays Mount Union.
This part of the bracket is far less likely to give the Purple
Raiders trouble than it was last year.
Mann: HCAC fans will be disappointed if
Wheaton (Ill.) blows out Mt. St. Joseph in the first round.
Franklin missing the playoffs despite better mathematical criteria
than Cortland State and St. John’s hints that the Heartland
is considered relatively weak. Mt. St. Joseph needs to be
competitive, if not win, on Saturday to improve the
conference’s chances at getting future at-large
bids.
McMillan: The rematches are
disappointing. We’ve already seen Wittenberg-Capital and
Concordia-North Central, not to mention Wheaton-North Central, a
second-round possibility. There was a chance to get creative with
this bracket, but travel didn’t dictate it, the seeds held,
and the fans will have to get excited about second
chances.
Champion
Coleman: The aforementioned 800-pound
gorilla in the region.
Mann: Mount Union.
McMillan:Capital knows the Purple Raiders as
well as anyone, and they’d still need to play a perfect game
to upset Mount Union.
WESLEY (South)
BRACKET
Surprises
Coleman: Millsaps, at least enough to
get the Majors through the first round.
Mann: Millsaps will probably be the en
vogue pick. But I picked Hardin-Simmons to win this bracket in the
preseason so let’s go out in a blaze of glory with the
Cowboys again.
McMillan: Everyone seems to have
forgotten that No. 5 seed Christopher Newport has already beaten
No. 2 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor. A rematch would be in central Texas,
not southeastern Virginia, but the Captains remind me a lot of
Wesley last season. There’s speed all over the offense and on
special teams, at least enough to make another game of it against
the American Southwest survivor and against the Wolverines
themselves.
Disappointments
Coleman: Too easy to take Carnegie
Mellon here. Or the map readers. Or Wesley’s choice of
footwear. But based on what I’m picking below, I would have
to say Wesley.
Mann: None. How could Carnegie Mellon
be disappointed if they finish at 10-1? Or Mary-Hardin Baylor
should they lose to a very respectable rival? Is there even a
favorite who could be disappointed in the CNU-W&J
game?
McMillan: Clearly the early matchup of
Hardins is going to lead to another disappointing first-round
ending for a Texas team. State squads have met in the first round
each year since 2001, and HSU and UMHB played in the second round
in ’04. It stinks that two top-six teams meet this early, but
we expect it, and the Texas teams must be used to it by
now.
Champion
Coleman: Mary Hardin-Baylor, where the
revenge could well be sweet for last year's early
dismissal.
Mann: Wesley. While Mount Union and
UW-Whitewater have deservedly earned kudos for blowing out just
about everyone on their schedule, the Wolverines have quietly done
the same with the third-largest margin of victory among Top 10
teams.
McMillan: I’m pretty torn on this
one, as I see four teams that can win the bracket and a co-favorite
that could go to the Stagg Bowl or be bounced in the first round.
Forced to choose, I like the UMHB team that played UW-Whitewater at
the end of October. The defensive speed can match up with this
region’s fast offenses.
UW-WHITEWATER (West)
BRACKET
Surprises
Coleman: Can I take Bethel here? It
seems odd picking a team with no playoff wins but the buzz is
positive for this team, if Phil Porta is healthy.
Mann: Largely ignored by pollsters all
year (myself included), Bethel gives UW-La Crosse a scare behind
Ben Wetzell, Phil Porta and a ball-control offense.
McMillan: Normally a No. 2 seed
isn’t your surprise, but Central is getting little respect.
The Dutch are tested in close games (three overtime wins), they
dominated most of their second-half opponents and they’re at
home for at least the first two weeks. So even if their opponents
are the toughest first two any high seed will face, they have the
defense (9.9 points per game) to hang with the best in this
bracket.
Disappointments
Coleman: Whitworth. Although their
defense has been strong, I’m not confident their offense can
hold up against a strong playoff defense, though they’ll have
to win a game before they to see one.
Mann: The biggest disappointment would
be if UW-Whitewater didn’t at least reach the regional finals
here. But they will. Meanwhile, Central has been living on the edge
all year. The luck runs out against St. John’s on
Saturday.
McMillan: St. John’s could have
one of the most precipitous falls in history, going from a 9-0
start and No. 3 national ranking to consecutive losses and an early
playoff exit, which would nix a chance Johnnies fans have waited
since last year for: a rematch against UW-Whitewater.
Champion
Coleman: UW- uhh ... when is Justin
Beaver coming back? Whitewater.
Mann: UW-Whitewater to set up a rematch
with Wesley in Wisconsin. Rowan heads to Mount Union. Pat Coleman
posts “Déjà vu” as the headline following
the regional finals.
McMillan:Toughened by midseason adversity
and road-tested against an elite team, UW-Whitewater has the stud
defense to win this bracket, and perhaps the whole thing if their
offensive parts are all healthy.
Season in
review
Around the Nation will begin
accepting brief suggestions from
readers (and players, coaches and school-affiliated professionals)
for our 2006 Year-in-Review, due out in January 2007. Use last
year’s review (linked at the top right-hand corner, posted
Jan. 25, 26 and 27) as a guide for which categories we’re
looking to fill, or make up your own. ATN cannot promise public
credit for your suggestions this year, and we may or may not use
them.
But if you think Sul Ross State was the surprise team of
’06 or Luther was the biggest disappointment, let us know
(contact information, as always, is below). We’d like to hear
your games of the year, plays of the year, players, coaches and
things, but most importantly, your off-the-beaten path nominations
and suggestions. Things we haven’t covered much or would have
no way of knowing about are where you can help most.
Feedback
Around the Nation is largely interactive, and since its
inception has made reader feedback a part of the column. We
keep a running
board on Post Patterns (under general football) to
discuss issues raised in the column, and we’ll share feedback
and answer questions there, as well as in the column
occasionally.
What the eyes can
see
Around the Nation is searching for video of playoff teams in
order to help us handicap the field. Anyone with access to footage,
please send an e-mail to keith@d3football.com for
more
information. Games against tough opponents, especially other
playoff teams, are preferred.
We are always looking for video of anything Division III
football-related. That means we’d like to get our hands on
documentaries, local cable broadcasts and re-airs, links to
archived broadcasts and coaches’ tapes. Arrangements can be
made to not share coaches’ footage or to pay fans for
shipping and materials.
For print, radio and
Internet journalists
Keith McMillan is available, by appointment, on Thursdays and
Fridays to talk Division III football. For more information, e-mail
Keith.
Attention
SIDs
As always, Around the Nation requests media guides and any
other aids in helping us cover your school or conference this
season. For more information, contact Keith McMillan at
keith@d3football.com, or snail mail to D3football.com, 13055
Carolyn Forest Dr., Woodbridge, Va., 22192.
Links to online media guides are now preferred over mail. In
addition, please do not add my e-mail address to your regular
release lists, but instead use our news release capabilities to
have your information posted on our front page and your team’
s page. For more information on how that works and how we can help
each other, contact publisher and editor Pat Coleman
at info@d3football.com. Thank
you.