The NESCAC title comes down to Trinity (Conn.) and Wesleyan, two teams tied for first meeting head-to-head on the final day of their season. Trinity (Conn.) athletics photo

As we hit Week 10 of the 2024 season, the temperatures are dropping but the heat is definitely on in the chase for playoff bids. A lot of tickets are going to be punched for the playoffs and we’ll be focusing in on many of those matchups. We’ve got our eyes on a highly anticipated showdown between undefeated teams in the OAC, the final week of an exciting NESCAC season, and we’ll see if UW-Whitewater can play spoiler for the second week in a row. Our panel of experts is back to get you read for all the action in this week’s Quick 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?

	Greg's take: No. 2 Cortland at Brockport. The Empire 8 is on the line as the reigning national champions Cortland comes in with the second highest scoring offensive in Division III with 56.0 points per game. The Red Dragons are led, of course, by senior Zac Boyes. Boyes leads the nation in passing efficiency and has not thrown an interception in 278 pass attempts dating back to the second round of the 2023 playoffs. Brockport will defend with, well, the nation’s best scoring defense. The Golden Eagles didn’t surrender a point in October and will need their best game against one of the nation’s best signal callers to reclaim the Empire 8 title.
	Pateick's take: No. 22 Marietta at No. 4 Mount Union. It's the most highly anticipated this matchup has been since Dante Brown suited up for Marietta. The Pioneers have been playing lights-out but it will still take a monumental effort to win in Alliance.
	Frank's take: No. 2 Cortland at Brockport. This is the first major test for the defending national champions since their tight tilt against Susquehanna on 9/21. Brockport’s only loss was a narrow one to… Susquehanna. That means these two teams are likely to be competitive in this Empire 8 championship game that could have bubble implications.
	Logan's take: No. 22 Marietta at No. 4 Mount Union. My model thinks Mount Union is just over a TD favorite this week. For reference, the last time the Purple Raiders lost a conference game (2016 to John Carroll) they were a 20-point favorite against the Blue Streaks. I'm fully prepared to have egg on my face by predicting a close game, and Marietta has played one of the easiest schedules in the country to date, but they've absolutely dominated everyone up to this point. Pay attention to Alliance on Saturday.
	Riley's take: No. 22 Marietta at No. 4 Mount Union. It won't surprise me if most (or all) of the panel lists this as the Game of the Week. The stakes are high for both programs, as Marietta is in the midst of a historic year. At 8-0, the Pioneers' average margin of victory has been 39.6 points, and right now, Marietta appears as a real threat to Mount Union's OAC title pursuit. If they pull off a win, it'd be the program's first over the Purple Raiders since 1977. But Mount Union, at home, isn't going to give an inch. Not at this stage of the season with the league title at stake. The Purple Raiders' balanced offense boasts a rushing attack that averages 285.3 yards/game, led by Tyler Echeverry's 9.4 yards/carry. The matchup between Echeverry and Marietta's defensive front, which allows just 57.3 rush yds/game, is going to play a key role in how this one ends up turning out.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?

	Greg's take: No. 20 UW-La Crosse. Rare is the opportunity for a team to strike a second consecutive Top 25 upset, but here we are with UW-Whitewater just outside of the Top 25. The Warhawks are on the road this week which is a significant change from last week’s win at Perkins stadium, but in a week without many great opportunities for upsets, this one seems most likely in a conference where nearly any result is plausible.
	Patrick's take: No. 20 UW-La Crosse. I'm rolling the dice on another Whitewater win, just because I don't really believe in any of the unranked teams defeating a ranked opponent this week.
	Frank's take: No. 20 UW-La Crosse (vs. UW-Whitewater). The Warhawks are enjoying playing spoiler now after their three losses this season — however, they may be able to, with three losses, still play themselves into the bubble for a Pool C bid because of their excellent strength of schedule. La Crosse can’t start slow like they did offensively against Stout last week. I think the Warhawks will pull this one off.
	Logan's take: There are enough competitive games for Top 25 teams this week that I wouldn't be surprised if two or three teams were upset this weekend, but I think the most likely upset is in the WIAC, with unranked UW-Whitewater travelling up I-90 to visit No. 20 UW-La Crosse. In the two DIII games they've lost, the Eagles have surrendered 14- and 15-straight points to UW-Oshkosh & UW-Platteville, respectively. With the way the Warhawks' offense has looked in most of their games this year, I don't know if that have the quick score ability to mount a comeback, so the defense needs to come through in a big way.
	Riley's take: No. 20 UW-La Crosse (vs UW-Whitewater). UWW's back is against the wall. Another loss, and the slim chance of a playoff bid that the Warhawks currently hold would completely fade away. We know this is a tested, talented football team for UWW, one that beat UW-Oshkosh and has been competitive in every conference game up to this point. The motivation of trying to preserve any chance at the postseason should produce an aggressive performance from the Warhawks, and if the defense steps up in the same way it did against UW-River Falls, it will be a long day for UWL.

Six of the eight quarterbacks averaging at least 300 pass yards per game play in Week 10.  Which one passes for the most yards?

	Greg's take: Mason Binning, Puget Sound. Binning has a great matchup against Lewis & Clark’s 222nd ranked pass defense. There are some other intriguing matchups, but many that I don’t think will see starting QBs play much beyond halftime. Binning seems a safe bet to play four quarters and in a game that could see a lot of offense.
	Patrick's take: Aaron Syverson, St. John's. I see St. Olaf staying in the game enough for Syverson to throw in the second half, which helps put him over the top for me.
	Frank's take: Aaron Syverson (Saint John’s). The Johnnies are a Championship-worthy team this year thanks to Syverson’s constant improvement. Look for him to have a great day vs. the Oles.
	Logan's take:  If I was just looking on the offensive side of things, I would probably go with Aaron Syverson. But I could see him getting an early exit to stay healthy for the MIAC championship week, and St. Olaf isn't the worst defense of this bunch - that would belong to Lewis & Clark. I actually have Lewis & Clark favored against Mason Binning and Puget Sound, but that just means they'll be passing more to stay in it.
	Riley's take: Tyler Prather. MSJ's passing attack is clicking at a high-level as Prather has five 300+ yard passing performances so far, and is in good position to make that six against Manchester. Manchester is allowing 224.6 passing yards/game, and surrendered exactly 323 yards against both Rose Hulman and Hanover in each of the last two weeks. And while those two have solid passing numbers, MSJ's big-play capability through the air is on another level. Very likely we see 400+ yards from Prather on Saturday.

Which under the radar game are you following?

	Greg's take: Greenville at Northwestern. Northwestern scored a key 34-14 win at Greenville earlier this season, but the Eagles will need to complete the season sweep in order to clinch the UMAC title and make a second consecutive trip to the NCAA playoffs. Greenville is just one game behind in the UMAC standings and can play their way back to a share of the title if they can repay the favor.
	Patrick's take: Juniata at Keystone. I'm just concerned that with Keystone's ongoing issues that there's a chance this might be the last football game ever for the school. But Keystone also probably comes into this game favored as its offense has found some life in the past few weeks.
	Frank's take: Otterbein at John Carroll. At 46th in the NPI rankings this week, John Carroll, still with Marietta on their schedule in Week 11, are not out of contention for a playoff slot. However, they can’t look ahead as Otterbein challenged Mount Union for most of their game earlier this year. I’m curious to see how JCU handles this game that might not affect their NPI if they win, but that would knock them out of they lose.
	Logan's take: Eastern at Delaware Valley shouldn't be close... right? Del Val has dominated the MAC for a decade, and Eastern has only been playing football for a little over a year, but the Eagles are riding a 3 game win streak, they're only a game back from the Aggies in the Middle Atlantic standings, and they have a transitive win over Del Val by beating Stevenson. A win on Saturday, and they could be bowling by the end of the year.
	Riley's take: Monmouth at Lake Forest. It is very likely that the MWC title will be decided in northeastern Illinois on Saturday, as the league's lone two 7-0 teams square off. Last year's meeting ended with a 16-14 Monmouth win, and considering the way both squads have looked so far, another single-digit margin very well could be in the cards. There is big-play potential out of both offenses, with fifth-year WRs Nate Thornton (Monmouth) and A.J. Jackson (Lake Forest) leading the way, but I think we also see a huge effort out of both defenses, neither of whom are allowing more than 15 PPG against conference opponents.

In Week 10, teams have to bear down. How many Bears win this weekend?

	Greg's take: I’m going with five out of seven bears to win this weekend. Bridgewater State, Ursinus, WashU, , Western New England, and in Week 10’s primetime, Bowdoin to secure their second consecutive C-B-B Trophy.
	Patrick's take: Time to bear down? Looks like time to bear up! I count four Bears up and three Bears down.
	Frank's take: Bowdoin, Bridgewater St., Ursinus, WashU, and WNE make it a bearable 5 Bears wins.
	Logan's take:  Five. Here are my odds for each game:  Bowdoin (44%) vs. Colby Bridgewater State (88%) @ Castleton Coast Guard (42%) vs. SUNY-Maritime ONU (16%) @ Baldwin Wallace Ursinus (97%) vs. Gettysburg  WashU (92%) @ North Park Western New England (91%) vs. UNE
	Riley's take: Four. I'm taking Bridgewater State to beat Castleton, Ursinus to win at home against Gettysburg, WashU to defeat North Park, and Western New England to go above .500 overall with a victory over UNE. And I predict all four win by at least two scores.

What will be the closest game in the NESCAC’s final weekend?

	Greg's take: The NESCAC has been highly competitive across the board this year and most of this weekend’s games look like they’ll be close. I’ll take Middlebury at Tufts as the closest game of the final weekend.
	Patrick's take: Amherst vs. Williams. These rivals are destined for a hotly contested battle to begin with, and Williams has played four one-score games in a row.
	Frank's take: The NESCAC Championship game: Wesleyan at Trinity. Both teams should play well with strong defenses — I see a low-scoring game overall here.
	Logan's take: Is "all of them" an option? I'll go with Middlebury at Tufts. Both teams seem to have a knack for playing in close games, with over half of their combined contests being decided by single digits, they're tied in the NESCAC standings, and they have nearly identical offensive & defensive scoring outputs so far this season.
	Riley's take: Wesleyan at Trinity. This features the NESCAC's top-scoring offense against arguably its best defense. I think that dynamic will produce a tight result. Trinity's efficient passing game will lead to a few scores, but Wesleyan's defense should keep the Cardinals within striking distance.

Got picks? Put them in the comments!