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Quick Hits Week 2: Some teams just getting started

On our podcast, Keith previewed a Week 2 which might not have as much star power as Week 1, but we still have some key non-conference games, such as Bethel facing Carthage and Cortland meeting Framingham State. Plus, Wabash guys take shots at DePauw and plenty of more matchups are highlighted below in this week’s Quick Hits.

Our regular crew is Keith McMillan, Ryan Tipps, Pat Coleman, Adam Turer and Frank Rossi. Our sixth spot goes to a guest each week, and this week’s is Kickoff contributor Greg Thomas.

— Pat Coleman

Which game will be Week 2’s game of the week?

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Keith’s take: UW-Whitewater at Concordia-Moorhead. Warhawks essentially face the IWU of the MIAC; must play well to avoid 0-2.
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Ryan’s take: Sul Ross State at No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Top 25 votes for SRSU last week were from me. I’m interested.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: Augustana at Central. Also the game of 1984, when these teams met in the Stagg Bowl.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: Ithaca at No. 25 Brockport. After nearly upsetting a ranked opponent in Week 1, the Bombers get another opportunity.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: St. John Fisher at Hobart. No rankings, but a major battle to avoid 0-2 for recent East powers.
Guest
Greg’s take: St. John Fisher at Hobart. Top 25 teams just one week ago, both are looking to avoid 0-2 starts.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to get upset?

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Keith’s take: No. 25 Brockport. Beat Ithaca by double digits past two seasons, but I think rest of top 25 coasts.
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Ryan’s take: No. 25 Brockport. Despite Ithaca’s move, still there’s an E8 smash-’em-up mentality.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan. Well, well, well, how the turntables … (stares at camera)
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: No. 25 Brockport. This might be the team to give Dan Swanstrom his first win as Ithaca head coach.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: None. Week 2 has some pretty lop-sided matchups on paper.
Guest
Greg’s take: No. 15 UW-Whitewater. A road game against a sneaky tough team from one of D-III’s top leagues? The same recipe tripped up UWW in Week 1.

Which team is going to wish it already had a game under its belt?

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Keith’s take: Pomona-Pitzer. Sagehens make 1,760-mile trip to Rhodes, a 45-42 cross-country winner at Willamette Week 1.
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Ryan’s take: DePauw. Mount St. Joseph is 1-0 against an OAC team. Make them an automatic threat.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: Whittier. Although another 10 games would not be enough vs. No. 24-and-climbing Whitworth.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: No. 7 Linfield. I nearly picked Chapman to knock off the Wildcats in their first game post-Sam Riddle.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: Rochester. Small roster lacks experience as they play at Carnegie Mellon, which had good Week 1 win.
Guest
Greg’s take: DePauw. With a lot of new starters, the Tigers may find themselves in a tricky spot at Mount St. Joseph.

Which team will surprisingly be 2-0?

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Keith’s take: Oberlin. Kenyon crushed the Yeomen during an 0-10 2016, but D was sharp in Week 1 vs. Kalamazoo.
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Ryan’s take: Guilford. Last week’s win really surprised me; this week’s won’t as much.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: Allegheny. An impressive Week 1 performance is a start, but beating Wooster would mean more.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: King’s. Monarchs surprise by starting 2-0 and upsetting Stevenson, which surprisingly falls to 0-2.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: Illinois Wesleyan. The surprise is that they had to get through UWW to do it.
Guest
Greg’s take: Sewanee. W&L needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to get past Sewanee in 2016.

Pick a conference that wins a majority of games from another conference:

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Keith’s take: MIAA over HCAC. Our 17th-rated conference in Kickoff could go 3-0 vs. No. 22, the HCAC.
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Ryan’s take: NWC over SCIAC. Lots of teams playing their debuts in these matchups.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: ODAC over USAC. There are four matchups and the ODAC should be able to win three.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: IIAC over MWC. Wartburg and Coe over Monmouth and Cornell, respectively.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: NWC over SCIAC. I’d explain why, but it took me hours to find an answer.
Guest
Greg’s take: NWC over SCIAC. Whitworth and Linfield feel safe. Surely there’s one more win in there this week for the NWC.

Pick a conference-game winner which contradicts the Kickoff preseason ranking:

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Keith’s take: Muskingum (115) over Otterbein (77). Muskingum shut out Waynesburg Week 1, and faces Otterbein in OAC’s only game.
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Ryan’s take: McDaniel (182) over Moravian (118). They already went in opposite directions in Week 1.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: Wilkes (138) over Lebanon Valley (122). Making a mess in the muddle in the middle of the MAC.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: St. Vincent (142) over Thiel (141). They were separated by one spot in Kickoff. Let’s flip a coin.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: FDU-Florham (179) at Widener (65). MAC Week 1 results suggest Widener lacks offense; the Devils don’t.
Guest
Greg’s take: McMurry (121) over Southwestern (113). Not exactly a warm welcome to the ASC for the Pirates.

We invite you to add your predictions in the comments below. Download the Around the Nation podcast on Mondays, where Pat and Keith review the Quick Hits that were prescient, and the Quick Misses that were terribly off base.

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