2022 North Central bracket
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North Central (Ill.) Cardinals
| Seed: | No. 1, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 1, Week 11 2022 |
| Location: | Naperville, Illinois |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2530 |
| Stadium: | Bendetti-Wehrli Stadium (5500) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | CCIW |
| Head coach: | Brad Spencer (North Central '04) |
| Career record: | 10-0 (1.000) |
| Base offense: | Spread/multiple |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 22-12 (2005-08, 2010-13, 2016-19, 2021) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | 2019 |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 583 | 51 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, CCIW champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | OT Jeske Maples and his fellow offensive line mates are laying on their man 6-plus yards down the field as Ethan Greenfield and the No. 1 rush/scoring offense runs over opponent defensive backs while on the other side of the ball, DT Dan Lester and DE Tyler Rich are high fiving each other in the other team's backfield for the No. 1 ranked scoring defense. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | They are in a high scoring shootout and there are more North Central wide receivers on the stat sheet than there are running backs. |
| This season's turning point: | When Brad Spencer was elevated to head coach after Jeff Thorne's departure and he was able to keep the entire staff together. On the field, beating Wheaton on Oct. 1 paved the way for a No. 1 seed in this year's playoffs. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .530 (59) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 380.4/194.1 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 61.7/159.6 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 8.6/3.6 |
| Leading passer: | Luke Lehnen, 185.8 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Ethan Greenfield, 137.0 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | DeAngelo Hardy, 90.1 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | BJ Adamchik, 64 (40 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Dan Lester, 8.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Zack Orr, 4 |
| How far can they go? | Totally super far. Crazy far. Maryland far. |
Ithaca Bombers
| Seed: | Likely No. 2, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 10, Week 11 2022 |
| Location: | Ithaca, N.Y. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 5735 |
| Stadium: | Butterfield Stadium (5000) |
| Playing surface: | Grass |
| Conference: | LL |
| Head coach: | Michael Toerper (Pitt '08) |
| Career record: | 10-0 (1.000) |
| Base offense: | Power T/Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-2-5 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 28-16 (1974-75, 1978-80, 1985-86, 1988, 1990-92, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007-08, 2013-14) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | 1979, 1988, 1991 |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 383 | 99 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, E8 champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | QB AJ Wingfield is completing a high percentage of his passes and calling his own number on running plays when defenses let him, as well as the Bombers defense bringing pressure and forcing their opponents to turn the ball over. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | So far this hasn't really happened this season, but there have been a few instances where the defense has been beaten deep or allowed long run plays while in man coverage. Offensively, the offense rides on Wingfield. If he struggles, so do the Bombers. |
| This season's turning point: | Finally getting over the hump with a 13-10 win over Liberty League rival, RPI back in Week 9. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .562 (24) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 193.6/199.0 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 101.7/139.8 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.8/3.9 |
| Leading passer: | A.J. Wingfield, 174.4 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Jake Williams, 68.2 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Michael Anderson, 61.1 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Matt DeSimpliciis, 74 (25 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Matt DeSimpliciis, 5.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Kevin Schoch and Tommy Moran, 2 |
| How far can they go? | They should be able to get to the quarterfinals, but anything after that seems blocked. |
Carnegie Mellon Tartans
| Seed: | Likely No. 3, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 19, 2022 Week 11 |
| Location: | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 5609 |
| Stadium: | Gesling Stadium (3000) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | PAC |
| Head coach: | Ryan Larsen (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps '09) |
| Career record: | 10-0 (1.000) |
| Base offense: | Two-back |
| Base defense: | 3-4 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 3-6 (1978-79, 1983, 1985, 1990, 2006, 2021*) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 260 | 109 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, PAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The defense is stuffing the run and getting off the field quickly, while the offense is having extended possessions that lead to TD, instead of settling for field goals. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The Tartans need to lean on their defense to score points because the offense can't get it together, which has happened at least a couple of times this season already. |
| This season's turning point: | Case in point, the Logan Young 42-yard interception return for a TD against W&J in Week 7, gave CMU a 12-7 win and kept them in the driver's seat in the PAC. It was the only TD the Tartans scored in the game. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .572 (15) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 99.5/193.0 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 74.9/222.5 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 4.6/4.1 |
| Leading passer: | Ben Mills, 179.8 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Tre Vasiliadis, 71.7 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Kris Hughes, 63.9 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Robert Coury, 83 (43 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Ben Coyne, 9.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Adrian Williams, 5 |
| How far can they go? | Love the thought of CMU getting paired up adjacent to North Central, the game that never was in 2021. |
Endicott Gulls
| Seed: | Likely No. 4 seed, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 22, Week 11 2022 |
| Location: | Beverly, Mass. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2839 |
| Stadium: | Multi-Purpose Stadium (2200) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | CCC |
| Head coach: | Paul McGonagle (Kentucky '99) |
| Career record: | 34-9 (.791) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 0-3 (2010, 2013, 2021) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 336 | 65 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, CCC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | QB Clayton Marengi is finding open receivers and the players like DL Hector Johnson is getting to the opposing team's quarterback. He and Jackson DeAngelo have combined for 24 sacks and 39.5 tackles for loss. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The Gulls are committing turnovers and struggling to convert on third down. In Endicott's only one-score game this season, Week 11 vs. Western New England, the Gulls converted five of 13 third-down opportunities (plus two more on fourth down). They turned the ball over just twice, including one of Marengi's three interceptions in 205 attempts this season. |
| This season's turning point: | Hard to say because the Gulls have been so dominant this season, including pitching four shutouts, but how about Week 11, when Endicott fell behind 14-0 to WNE in the first quarter and had to rally for a 26-21 win. Experiencing that small amount of adversity just before the playoffs could come in handy. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .483 (152) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 196.9/170.1 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 82.2/147.0 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.5/3.6 |
| Leading passer: | Clayton Marengi, 152.1 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Tyler Bridge, 60.1 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Shane Aylward, 46.6 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Matthew Licciardi, 70 (41 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Hector Johnson, 14.5 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Alfino Davis and Tyler Davis, 3 |
| How far can they go? | Anywhere from zero to two wins possible. |
DePauw Tigers
| Seed: | Likely No. 5, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 25, Week 10 2021 |
| Location: | Greencastle, Indiana |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 1939 |
| Stadium: | Blackstock Stadium (4000) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | NCAC |
| Head coach: | Brett Dietz (Hanover '04) |
| Career record: | 20-4 (.857) |
| Base offense: | Multiple spread |
| Base defense: | 3-4 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 1-3 (2009-10, 2021) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 400 | 127 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, NCAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The Tigers are outrushing their opponents. DePauw has the 24th ranked rushing offense in D-III and the 29th ranked rushing defense. The Tigers were outrushed twice this season: in a 30-7 loss against Wittenberg and a 22-21 win against Ohio Wesleyan. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | They're getting careless with the football. In the rough six quarter stretch of football between their game against Wittenberg and the first half against Ohio Wesleyan, DePauw turned the ball over six times. DePauw turned the ball over just six times in the other 34 quarters of football during the regular season. |
| This season's turning point: | After trailing 19-0 at Ohio Wesleyan in Week 8, the Tigers rallied to win 22-21 scoring the go ahead touchdown with 13 seconds to play. The rally avoided a second consecutive loss and kept DePauw in control of their own destiny in the NCAC title chase. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .481 (156) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 220.7/206.1 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 81.7/179.9 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.9/4.3 |
| Leading passer: | Wally Renie, 133.8 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Gus Baumgartner, 75.9 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Trey Shaw, 50.0 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Jonathan Bruder, 61 (29 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Brevon Gude, 6.0 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Four tied with 2 |
| How far can they go? | A trip to the second round isn't out of the question, but that's as far as it goes. |
Springfield Pride
| Seed: | Likely No. 6, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 19, Week 11 2017 |
| Location: | Springfield, Mass. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 2139 |
| Stadium: | Benedum Field (2500) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | NEWMAC |
| Head coach: | Mike Cerasuolo (Springfield '93) |
| Career record: | 44-19 (.698) |
| Base offense: | Triple option |
| Base defense: | 3-3 stack |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 3-6 (1998, 2000, 2002-03, 2006, 2017) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 373 | 161 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, NEWMAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | The triple option is humming at 5-plus yards per carry and QB David Wells catches the opposing defense sleeping on his ability to stretch the field with his arm. Defensively, you'll know if the Pride can limit the opposition's running game (under 100 yards per contest) and not get beat deep, they have a shot. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The offense fumbles the ball -- always a higher risk in an option-based offense -- or gets intercepted on the rare pass attempts, giving opposing teams a short field. |
| This season's turning point: | After a slow 1-2 start, a big 49-7 win over Husson in Week 4 got the Pride started on their seven-game winning streak. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .515 (92) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 357.3/84.3 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 97.5/190.8 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 6.3/5.2 |
| Leading passer: | David Wells, 73.9 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Arsen Shtefan, 66.2 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Noah Wagnblas, 32.5 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | DJ Brown, 50 (26 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Billy Carr, 4 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Joe Maurer, 3 |
| How far can they go? | Good opportunity for Springfield to pick up a playoff win. |
Mass-Dartmouth Corsairs
| Seed: | Likely No. 7, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | Never ranked |
| Location: | North Dartmouth, Mass. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 5439 |
| Stadium: | Cressy Field (1850) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | MASCAC |
| Head coach: | Mark Robichaud (Springfield) |
| Career record: | 70-80 (.467) |
| Base offense: | Spread |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 0-1 (2002) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 423 | 188 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, MASCAC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | QB Dante Aviles-Santos is making plays with his arm and his feet and the defense is forcing the opposition to quick 3-and-outs. The Corsairs have held teams to an impressive 23.4% on third down this season. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | The secondary keeps getting beat deep and the offense turns the ball over, as they did in the Anna Maria loss. |
| This season's turning point: | After what was a turnover plagued and head-scratching 63-48 loss to Anna Maria in Week 2, the Corsairs bounced back in Week 3 to defeat the defending MASCAC champions, Framingham State, by a convincing 46-21 margin. UMD never looked back and went undefeated in conference play. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .472 (166) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 241.9/303.9 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 82.1/164.6 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 7.1/4.3 |
| Leading passer: | Dante Aviles-Santos, 294.0 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Marvens Jean, 165.0 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Angel Sanchez, 138.0 |
| Leading tackler: | Javien Delgado, 52 (29 solo) |
| Leader in sacks: | Josh Lacerte, 8.0 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Trell Best, JP Mason, Shane Meerbott, 2 |
| How far can they go? | The MASCAC champ generally performs better than expected in the first round, thouh generally not well enough to win the first-round game. Espect it to be a closer score than the Quick Hits consensus. |
Lake Forest Foresters
| Seed: | Likely No. 8 seed, North Central bracket |
| Last Top 25 ranking: | No. 25, 2021 final |
| Location: | Lake Forest, Ill. |
| Enrollment (FT undergrads): | 1509 |
| Stadium: | Farwell Field (1500) |
| Playing surface: | Turf |
| Conference: | MWC |
| Head coach: | Jim Catanzaro (Greenville) |
| Career record: | 82-52 (.612) |
| Base offense: | Multiple one-back |
| Base defense: | 4-3 |
| Record in NCAA playoffs: | 0-2 (2002, 2021) |
| NCAA D-III championships: | None |
• D3football.com team page: Schedule and results, more news
| Points for | Points against |
| 369 | 78 |
| How they got here: | Pool A, MWC champ |
| You'll know they're playing well if: | They get some of that special teams magic. There's no A.J. Jackson back there returning kicks this season, but special teams is still a big focus for Lake Forest, which has blocked 10 kicks this season. |
| You'll know they're playing poorly if: | You see issues along the offensive line. The Foresters have taken some big hits to their lineup up front and have been playing with three backups, two of them freshmen. |
| This season's turning point: | Lake Forest scored on back-to-back plays in the third quarter on Oct. 29 against Monmouth, turning a 15-14 deficit into a 24-14 lead thanks to a blocked punt safety and a kickoff return for a TD on the next play. Lake Forest went on to beat Monmouth 31-14, ensuring it would stay in the hunt for the Midwest Conference title. |
| Strength of schedule (rank): | .499 (124) |
| Rushing/passing yards per game: | 202.3/120.7 |
| Rushing/passing yards allowed: | 72.2/102.8 |
| Yards per play/allowed per play: | 5.2/3.1 |
| Leading passer: | Tre Stewart, 109.6 ypg |
| Leading rusher: | Damon Bonds, 84.9 ypg |
| Leading receiver: | Langston Metoyer, 26.4 ypg |
| Leading tackler: | Alex Bendler, 46 (30 solo) and Thomas DeChesaro, 46 (28) |
| Leader in sacks: | Alex Bendler, 11 |
| Leader in interceptions: | Trenton Brail, Nik Rieck, Dylan Pedersen, 2 |
| How far can they go? | This does not shape up well for Lake Forest, against North Central which is even bigger than 2019. |