Sep 05, 2024
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| No longer a stranger to big postseason games, Alma now takes on a Top 25 opponent in the regular season and all eyes will be on the Scots and UW-River Falls on Saturday. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
Welcome to another season of Quick Hits! We know it can be a challenge to wade through over 100 games every week in Division III and Quick Hits is our weekly primer for fans to get ready for gameday. We bring together a panel of Division III football experts to give you our takes on what the best games are, which teams are on upset alert, which games beyond the top 25 you might want to pay attention to, and a number of other categories. Every week we'll ask six questions to our panelists to get you ready for the upcoming weekend in Division III football! Week 1 is stacked with Top 25 matchups, Thursday and Friday night lights, and more than 30 head coaching debuts. Let's get on with the Hits!
Our regular crew is Greg Thomas, Patrick Coleman, Frank Rossi, Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas.
— Greg Thomas
Which game is the Game of the Week?
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Greg's take: No. 19 John Carroll at No. 3 UW-Whitewater. Is Week 1 too early for must-win games? Not in the NPI era where two losses, even against great teams, could keep teams out of the postseason. John Carroll faces Mount Union in their second game, UW-Whitewater faces UMHB and the standard WIAC meat grinder. Neither team can afford to lose the opener. Expect playoff intensity at the Perk on Saturday. |
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Patrick's take: No. 17 UW-River Falls at No. 7 Alma. One could certainly pick JCU at UWW as well but this is a new matchup and it represents a nice step up for Alma, scheduling like a contender as it should after back-to-back seasons with playoff wins. This features two quarterbacks who like to bring the ball down and run with it, and Kaleb Blaha should be a big test for an Alma defense that is replacing a lot of seniors. Meanwhile, Alma quarterback Carter St. John should have the River Falls defense reviewing its Keyser Helterbrand footage. |
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Frank's take: No. 8 Johns Hopkins at No. 20 Ithaca. It’s one of three ranked-vs.-ranked showdowns of the extended weekend, but it possibly has the most ultimate playoff implications now that Week 1 games definitively count as much as Week 11 games without exception. The loser of this game faces a tough schedule and could very well lose three games this season over the next ten weeks. This will be a tough game, for sure, if the 2023 version was any indication. |
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Logan's take: We have three Top 25 matchups, but I think the game with the highest stakes and most interesting matchups is No. 9 Wheaton at UW-Oshkosh. UW-O found its stride at the end of the season, and returned as much on defense as anyone, which they'll need against Wheaton's offensive stars. |
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Riley's take: No. 17 UW-River Falls at No. 7 Alma. If you appreciate quality offense, this is going to be the matchup for you. Both teams ranked amongst the nation's best in total offense last season, and a number of the central figures from last fall will be on the field again in 2024. That includes the two quarterbacks--UWRF's Kaleb Blaha and Alma's Carter St. John--who each bring a sense of poise to their respective offenses as third-year starters. Standout running backs Michael Krueger (UWRF) and Eddie Williams (Alma) also have big-play potential. And while it might sound odd to be talking playoffs in Week 1, the WIAC is, per usual, extremely deep. UWRF could elevate its playoff outlook considerably with a statement win on the road. But doing that will be no easy task against a team that hasn't lost a regular season home game since 2021. |
Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?
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Greg's take: No. 24 Whitworth. The Pirates are breaking in a new quarterback, sort of. 2022 starter Ryan Blair returns to the starting role for Whitworth after serving in a reserve role for Whitworth’s NWC championship campaign in 2023. It’s a long trip to St. Peter and Gustavus Adolphus is a tough place to play. Yes, playmaker Jake Brietbach is back for the Gusties, but don’t overlook an experienced defense which also returns reigning MIAC Defensive Player of the Year Carson DeKam. |
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Patrick's take: Ahh yes, which fan base to anger today? One could make a minor case for a number of teams who have challenging Week 1 opponents combined with some key questions after graduations, but I'm going to throw No. 6 UW-La Crosse out there. I generally don't pick games between two ranked teams for this question, eliminating some good options, and while I think teams such as Wartburg and Trinity (Texas) are not quite as good as their ranking, I have a hard time seeing them losing these sorts of games. So I'm going to go with the Eagles flying (presumably) halfway across the country and playing a road game on a Thursday night. |
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Frank's take: No. 6 UW-La Crosse (at RPI). New starting QB… On the road… Electric atmosphere… Against a well-coached team… This is NOT going to be an easy game for UW-L to win. RPI will keep the score low and use the play clock to their advantage to shrink this game — and they will have a chance to win this game in the 4th quarter. I’ll give RPI the edge for the upset here. |
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Logan's take: I usually limit myself to games against ranked opponents, but this week I'm going with No. 7 Alma hosting No. 17 UW-River Falls. Alma returns most of their superb offense, but an underrated storyline is how much of their defensive production graduated last spring, with only 46% coming back. I cannot think of a worse offense to prepare for in your first start game as a starter than the Falcons. |
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Riley's take: It may not be the most obvious choice, but I think No. 24 Whitworth could be put on upset alert by a sneaky-good Gustavus Adolphus squad, who will be at home. The Gusties notably went 4-1 at Hollingsworth Field last year, including a 38-35 shocker over St. John's, and are 11-4 at home over the last three years. But more importantly, Gustavus returns the explosive quarterback-receiver duo of George Sandven and Jake Breitbach, who combined for 1,599 yards and 13 TDs in 2023. Whitworth's secondary is both mature and talented, but if the Gusties' passing attack expands outside of Breitbach--as we saw at points last season--an upset in southern Minnesota might just be in store. |
Whose head coaching debut are you most interested in?
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Greg's take: Dubuque’s Ryan Maiuri was the architect of one Division III’s most potent offenses while at Central. The Dutch set a jillion school records on offense under Maiuri’s watch and quarterback Blaine Hawkins won the 2021 Gagliardi Trophy as the Division’s most outstanding player. Maiuri and the Spartans host No. 15 Aurora (53.3 ppg in 2023) under the lights on Friday night in what should be a delightful contest for offense enthusiasts. |
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Patrick's take: Trent Figg at Calvin. He and Centenary (La.) coach Bryan Dawson each have a good chance of coming away with wins in their openers, with Calvin hosting Oberlin and Centenary playing host to Hendrix in the first varsity football game for each program. |
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Frank's take: Jon Drach (Union at Utica). Union has had a bit of a coaching revolving door of late after Jeff Behrman left for John Carroll and Jon Poppe left after one season for Columbia. Drach’s departure from Wilkes raised eyebrows, but he’s back in New York and is ready to be back for a while. This is a great test for his team with a new starting QB under the Friday Night Lights in Utica — and I’ll be there to watch it. |
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Logan's take: Max Andrews - University of Chicago. The Maroons still only list two football coaches on their official site after several coaches left mid-season last year and previous head coach Todd Gilcrist left the program with minimal fanfare this summer. Add to the mix that 2024 is only Coach Andrews's third season coaching in college, and I'm intrigued to see if he can keep Chicago among the top teams in the MWC. |
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Riley's take: Johns Hopkins' Dan Wodicka knows his program through and through, as an alum who has been on the Blue Jays coaching staff for the last seven years. But the head coaching role is another step up, and right out of the gate is a Top 25 duel on the road at No. 20 Ithaca. Ithaca isn't an unfamiliar opponent for JHU--the Blue Jays won last year's meeting in Baltimore, 27-17--but there's a reason the Bombers have won five straight home openers. That said, Wodicka's defenses were always well-prepared during his time as JHU's DC, and that level of readiness should extend to the entire team entering his head coaching debut. |
Which under the radar game are you following?
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Greg's take: Delaware Valley at Hamdpen-Sydney. Two more first time coaches making their debuts this weekend. Delaware Valley comes in flying under the radar and unranked to start a season for the first time since 2015. Mike Isgro returns to his alma mater to take over for Duke Greco, who made stalwart defense the signature of Delaware Valley. On the other sideline, Hampden-Sydney raises the curtain for Vince Luvara, taking over for offensive guru Marty Favret. Two new eras are set to get underway in Farmville on Saturday. |
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Patrick's take: Lyon at Grinnell. The Pioneers actually have 61 players on their roster this season, and while that's the same as they listed last season, it's a good number more than what used to be the norm for Grinnell. The Pioneers could not complete the season back in 2019 when they had fewer than 40 players. Last year Lyon eked out an 18-12 win at home and went on to finish 4-4 in games which count. Grinnell hasn't beaten an out-of-conference opponent since before Trinity Bible dropped football, and this is a chance. |
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Frank's take: Western New England at Springfield. After the heart-wrenching news out of Springfield over the weekend of DB Tyler Pohlman’s loss of his father, the sad emotion still is present for the Springfield team. It’s possible that the team might start flat in a game that most people saw them winning somewhat easily. It’s an important game early for the Pride to win, so I’m interested to see how the team responds Friday to the roller coaster they’ve faced before even taking a snap in 2024. |
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Logan's take: Centre at Hanover should be one of the most competitive games of the week. I have Hanover favored by 1 point. The Panthers underperformed their metrics last season, going 4-3 in conference after a strong start. Another strong start could set them up for one of 12 Pool C bids if they can't get past MSJ again. On the national scene, the SAA champion looks to be primed for one of the overall 1 seeds per NPI, and every non-conference win will boost that resume. |
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Riley's take: Union at Utica. This will be the eighth time since 2011 that these two programs have met, and five of the first seven matchups were decided by single digits. It shouldn't be much different this time around, and with the talent both teams have defensively, a low-scoring duel might just be in store. Neither enters 2024 as the favorite to win their conference, increasing the value of a quality non-conference matchup such as this one when it comes to the at-large bid discussion and building a playoff-worthy resume. |
What will be the WIAC’s record in Week 1?
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Greg's take: 5-3 for the civision’s best conference on opening weekend with a couple of really nice road wins. |
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Patrick's take: 4-4. I don't believe I get any points for picking specific winners, so I won't. |
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Frank's take: 4-4. I have UWW, UWS, UWEC, and UWP winning this week. |
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Logan's take: 5-3, with odds! John Carroll @ UW-W (93.0%) |
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Riley's take: 6-2. The Week 1 WIAC schedule certainly has the potential to produce some must-see fourth quarters, but in the end, the conference's eight teams will open the season with at least six wins in Week 1 for the third time in the last four years. |
2024 is the final season for the ECFC. How many games will ECFC teams win in Week 1?
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Greg's take: Get the brooms out! 4-game sweep for the ECFC quartet vs. teams that combined for a 3-37 record in 2023. |
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Patrick's take: Three of these teams will get one in the 1. |
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Frank's take: 2. Alfred State showed their abilities vs. Mount Union in the playoffs, and Dean should handle a Fitchburg St. team that is 1-29 in their last 30 games (granted, Dean was the one win for them in 2022). I give the edges to Westfield St. and Albright in the two remaining games. |
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Logan's take: 3, but they're favored in all four games! Gallaudet @ Albright (68.1%) |
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Riley's take: 4. All four ECFC teams will come out on top in Week 1, making the final opening weekend in the conference's history one of its most successful. |
Got picks? Put them in the comments!