/notables/2024/12/quick-hits-playoffs-week14

Quick Hits: Our predictions for the third round

Mary Hardin-Baylor athletics photo
 

With an expanded playoffs, we still have 16 teams remaining now as we enter December. Will home teams continue to dominate? Will Mary Hardin-Baylor's barnstorming tour through these playoffs continue? Can Springfield or Hope prevent a rematch of last year's Stagg Bowl next weekend? Our Quick Hits playoff panel is back to give you scores for all eight games, and give you an idea about whether or not a game will be close, high or low scoring, and who we expect to advance to the national quarterfinals. 

Our playoff panel will be our regular crew of Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Frank Rossi, Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas. We're excited to have UW-Eau Claire football alum Mike Shoultz joining the panel for the playoffs as well. We also welcome Around The Nation originator and longtime Division III guru Keith McMillan back to the panel. 

— Greg Thomas

St. John's bracket

Susquehanna at St. John's

 
Greg's take: 34 37
Patrick's take: 31 42
Frank's take: 20 37
Logan's take: 28 42
Riley's take: 24 38
Mike's take: 27 38
Keith's take: 27 43

Consensus:  Expect a lot of points and another home game for St. John's next weekend. 

 

Bethel at Wartburg

 
Greg's take: 19 21
Patrick's take: 24 28
Frank's take: 27 17
Logan's take: 24 27
Riley's take: 27 23
Mike's take: 20 32
Keith's take: 16 23

Consensus:  The panel picks Wartburg in a split decision in a game that we think will be close. 

 


Cortland bracket

Springfield at Cortland

 
Greg's take: 30 42
Patrick's take: 28 42
Frank's take: 21 30
Logan's take: 27 40
Riley's take: 31 27
Mike's take: 14 28
Keith's take: 24 38

Consensus: Not quite unanimous, but our crew picks Cortland to advance, generally by more than one score. 

 

Hope at North Central

 
Greg's take: 17 49
Patrick's take: 20 41
Frank's take: 17 34
Logan's take: 24 49
Riley's take: 23 42
Mike's take: 23 42
Keith's take: 14 35

Consensus: All seven panelists agree that North Central will cruise into the quarterfinals.


Hardin-Simmons bracket

Mary Hardin-Baylor at Linfield

 
Greg's take: 14 24
Patrick's take: 17 28
Frank's take: 28 20
Logan's take: 21 24
Riley's take: 20 17
Mike's take: 24 27
Keith's take: 21 44

Consensus:  The panel is split in just about every way. Linfield has the most picks to advance, but the margins vary widely. 

 

Johns Hopkins at DePauw

 
Greg's take: 16 31
Patrick's take: 14 28
Frank's take: 27 20
Logan's take: 17 27
Riley's take: 20 24
Mike's take: 20 26
Keith's take: 28  29 (OT)

Consensus:  Not quite a sweep for DePauw, but six panelists see the Tigers' season carry on to next weekend. 

 


Salisbury bracket

Randolph-Macon at Salisbury

 
Greg's take: 37 35
Patrick's take: 28 33
Frank's take: 21 24
Logan's take: 38 35
Riley's take: 34 38
Mike's take: 28 32
Keith's take: 38 28

Consensus:  Salisbury is the slight favorite with four picks to win, but the panel sees a high-scoring and close contest in this one. 

 

Carnegie Mellon at Mount Union

 
Greg's take: 14 28
Patrick's take: 14 31
Frank's take: 20 37
Logan's take: 17 34
Riley's take: 27 35
Mike's take: 17 30
Keith's take: 20 27

Consensus:  It's a sweep for Mount Union, almost all by more than one touchdown. 

Got picks? Put them in the comments! Include your scores!

Sep. 4: All times Eastern
6:00 PM
Averett at N.C. Wesleyan
7:00 PM
Brockport at Buffalo State
7:00 PM
Franklin and Marshall at Lebanon Valley
7:00 PM
King's at Wilkes
7:00 PM
Marietta at Westminster (Pa.)
7:00 PM
Hiram at Heidelberg
7:00 PM
Pacific at Howard Payne
7:00 PM
Carroll at UW-Eau Claire
7:00 PM
Greenville at Illinois College
8:00 PM
Trinity (Texas) at Texas Lutheran
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8:00 PM
Coe at Cornell
8:00 PM
Millsaps at Belhaven
Sep. 5: All times Eastern
6:00 PM
Montclair State at Merchant Marine
6:00 PM
Concordia (Wis.) at Thiel
6:00 PM
Bridgewater State at Curry
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6:00 PM
Dickinson at Randolph-Macon
6:00 PM
Albright at Gallaudet
7:00 PM
Hobart at Alfred
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7:00 PM
Moravian at Muhlenberg
7:00 PM
Juniata at Gettysburg
7:00 PM
Dean at Fitchburg State
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7:00 PM
SUNY-Maritime at Massachusetts Maritime
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7:00 PM
Norwich at St. Lawrence
7:00 PM
McDaniel at Catholic
7:30 PM
Ursinus at Alvernia
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Sep. 6: All times Eastern
TBA
Nichols at MIT
12:00 PM
Plymouth State at New England College
12:00 PM
TCNJ at Lycoming
12:00 PM
Misericordia at Endicott
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12:00 PM
Olivet at Rochester
12:00 PM
St. John Fisher at FDU-Florham
12:00 PM
Grove City at Cortland
12:00 PM
Union at Susquehanna
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12:00 PM
Johns Hopkins at Ithaca
12:00 PM
Utica at Washington and Jefferson
12:00 PM
Calvin at Oberlin
12:00 PM
Hampden-Sydney at Delaware Valley
12:00 PM
Morrisville State at Kean
12:00 PM
Ohio Wesleyan at Otterbein
12:00 PM
Maine Maritime at Hartwick
12:00 PM
Anna Maria at Eastern
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12:00 PM
Husson at Framingham State
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12:00 PM
Mass-Dartmouth at Salve Regina
12:00 PM
Minnesota-Morris at Concordia-Chicago
1:00 PM
Geneva at Widener
1:00 PM
Case Western Reserve at Rowan
1:00 PM
Coast Guard at University of New England
1:00 PM
John Carroll at Waynesburg
1:00 PM
Alfred State at Anderson
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1:00 PM
Salisbury at Washington and Lee
1:00 PM
Ky. Christian at Brevard
1:00 PM
Trine at Christopher Newport
1:00 PM
Apprentice at Southern Virginia
1:00 PM
Methodist at Shenandoah
1:00 PM
Hilbert at St. Vincent
1:00 PM
Sewanee at Bethany
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1:00 PM
Springfield at Western New England
1:00 PM
Castleton at Westfield State
1:00 PM
Carnegie Mellon at Chicago
1:00 PM
Alma at UW-River Falls
1:00 PM
Maryville (Tenn.) at Hendrix
1:30 PM
Ohio Northern at Franklin
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1:30 PM
Wheaton (Ill.) at Mount Union
2:00 PM
Baldwin Wallace at Wittenberg
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2:00 PM
Denison at Allegheny
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2:00 PM
Crown at Hamline
2:00 PM
Martin Luther at Lawrence
2:00 PM
Macalester at Grinnell
2:00 PM
Buena Vista at Benedictine
2:00 PM
Hope at Loras
2:00 PM
Central at Illinois Wesleyan
2:00 PM
Wabash at St. Norbert
2:00 PM
Albion at UW-Stevens Point
2:00 PM
Augsburg at Valley City State
2:00 PM
Carleton at UW-Whitewater
2:00 PM
Millikin at Luther
2:00 PM
UW-Platteville at Aurora
2:00 PM
Beloit at Rockford
2:00 PM
Dubuque at UW-Stout
2:00 PM
Westminster (Mo.) at Manchester
2:00 PM
Northwestern (Minn.) at St. Olaf
2:00 PM
St. Scholastica at Wisconsin Lutheran
3:00 PM
Pomona-Pitzer at Willamette
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4:00 PM
UW-Oshkosh at Linfield
4:00 PM
Gustavus Adolphus at Whitworth
4:00 PM
Lewis and Clark at Puget Sound
4:00 PM
Pacific Lutheran at Cal Lutheran
5:00 PM
William Paterson at Western Connecticut
6:00 PM
RPI at WPI
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6:00 PM
Wooster at Wilmington
6:00 PM
Huntingdon at Berry
7:00 PM
Mount St. Joseph at Muskingum
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7:00 PM
Kenyon at Bluffton
7:00 PM
DePauw at Rose-Hulman
7:00 PM
Hanover at Centre
7:00 PM
Greensboro at Guilford
7:00 PM
Stevenson at Bridgewater
7:00 PM
Knox at Eureka
7:00 PM
Bethel (Tenn.) at Mary Hardin-Baylor
7:00 PM
Augustana at Simpson
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7:00 PM
Carthage at Lakeland
7:00 PM
North Park at Ripon
7:00 PM
Adrian at Valparaiso
7:00 PM
Kalamazoo at Austin
7:00 PM
Southwestern at McMurry
8:00 PM
LaGrange at Point
8:00 PM
Mayville St. at Concordia-Moorhead
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8:00 PM
Monmouth at Wartburg
8:00 PM
Rhodes at Washington U.
8:00 PM
Nebraska Wesleyan at Dakota St.
8:00 PM
Lyon at East Texas Baptist
9:00 PM
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Lake Forest
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10:00 PM
Hardin-Simmons at Chapman
10:00 PM
George Fox at Redlands
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