In seven instances last weekend, the road team (and by inference, the lower-seeded team) upended their opponents, with the victories coming by an average of 13 points each. Six of those teams will be on the road again, while St. Thomas this time gets a home opportunity. How many upsets are in store this time around?
Although every year we say these picks aren’t a competition between the three of us but rather a gauge of what we expect to happen, Pat Coleman clearly had the best foresight for Round 1. He nailed the winners of all the games in the West, and came out ahead of Keith McMillan and far ahead of me in the overall number right.
Still, we go at it again, on a week when the ASC and MAC remain the only conferences with two teams still in the dance.
–Ryan Tipps
Ryan’s take: Mount Union 52, Montclair State 10
Keith’s take: Mount Union 42, Montclair State 17
Pat’s take: Mount Union 48, Montclair State 3
Ryan’s take: Delaware Valley 38, Albright 17
Keith’s take: Delaware Valley 35, Albright 21
Pat’s take: Delaware Valley 24, Albright 18
Ryan’s take: Wesley 42, Mississippi College 21
Keith’s take: Wesley 38, Mississippi College 28
Pat’s take: Wesley 34, Mississippi College 31
Ryan’s take: Johns Hopkins 20, Thomas More 14
Keith’s take: Thomas More 21, Johns Hopkins 13
Pat’s take: Thomas More 27, Johns Hopkins 9
Ryan’s take: UW-Whitewater 38, Illinois Wesleyan 14
Keith’s take: UW-Whitewater 49, Illinois Wesleyan 21
Pat’s take: UW-Whitewater 38, Illinois Wesleyan 13
Ryan’s take: Wittenberg 34, Trine 30
Keith’s take: Wittenberg 17, Trine 14
Pat’s take: Trine 21, Wittenberg 17
Ryan’s take: St. Thomas 20, Coe 17
Keith’s take: St. Thomas 24, Coe 13
Pat’s take: St. Thomas 20, Coe 7
Ryan’s take: Linfield 30, Mary Hardin-Baylor 24
Keith’s take: Linfield 31, Mary Hardin-Baylor 28
Pat’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 37, Linfield 35
WItt-Trine and Linfield-UMHB were the toughest games to pick, IMHO.
Round two:
Mount Union 48 Montclair St 7 (Cupcake #2)
Delaware Valley 31 Albright 17
Mississippi 35 Wesley 31 (no not an upset)
Thomas More 28 Johns Hopkins 10
UW-Whitewater 48 Illinois Wesleyan 14 (Cupcake #2)
Wittenberg 24 Trine 21
St. Thomas 28 Coe 10 (great year for Coe, but its the MIAC’s turn)
Linfield 35 Mary Hardin-Baylor 31 (Game of the week)
I just might have figured out why the committee didn’t give any seedings or pairings for later rounds? Maybe its because of the outside chance for a UMHB and Mississippi college rematch in the Stagg bowl? If those two teams get to the regional finals, (and that’s not entirely unlikely) I wonder what the committee would do for semi pairings?
Are MUC and UWW close enough to drive? But then who hosts a UWW & MUC Semi’? . . . Maybe they will play two games in a row at Salem? LOL
Eagle23, I believe the parrings have been set via the bracket the NCAA released. I have not heard they would re-bracket. What has not been set is where the games will be played. But maybe they will like your idea for next year.
What, no love for UMHB? Nobody dared to venture out and pick UMHB? Both of the teams(Central and Linfield) were not even ranked in the pre-season. UMHB went on the road and ran all over Central. Now, UMHB gave up big plays and scores on by way of passing and if that is the reasoning behind no picks for UMHB against Linfield then I could understand that. Linfield is giving up more yards and more points. Now I know Central and Linfield are not the same but Central’s defense was giving up a lot less against the run than Linfield and UMHB ran for over 300 yds against Central. UMHB has also shown to have a decent passing game as well————–BUT, still no love for UMHB?
Sorry, just looked at it again——-way to go Pat——–way to hang in there buddy.
MUC 55 Montclair St 10
Delaware Valley 38 Albright 14
Wesley 35 Miss Co 31
Thomas More 27 Johns Hopkins 20
WW 49 IWU 27
Trine 21 Witt 20
St. Thomas 24 Coe 17
Linfield 41 MHB 35
Don’t hold me to these..
SaintsFAN,
No love for UMHB either? What part of Linfields game do you think will bring them victory?
I’ll take a gander at the picks:
MU 51 Montclair St 10
Delaware Valley 45 Albright 24
Miss Co 34 Wesley 31
Thomas More 35 John Hopkins 24
UWW 42 IWU 28
Witt 31 Trine 24
St. Thomas 21 Coe 17
UMHB 37 Linfield 28
My GUESS:
MU 49 Montclair St 6
Delaware Valley 42 Albright 21
Wesley24 Miss Co 21
Thomas More 35 John Hopkins 17
UWW 45 IWU 20
Witt 28 Trine 21
St. Thomas 21 Coe 14
UMHB 31 Linfield 21
UMHB vs Linfield: My guess is that Linfield will have minimum success passing on UMHB, but UMHB will “shut them down on the ground”….and play “their game” on offense…..advantage UMHB.
Everyone (aside from you, Cap’n) picked the game to have a one-score difference. Doesn’t really qualify as “no love” for the Crusaders. Even more, it’s probably recognition by everyone that that game could really go either way.
I’m with Keith. It was my hardest game to pick.
since I got wiped out in the first (picking with my heart not my head) I only have M U & WWW left so guess I’ll watch High School section D New york finals in the Syr Dome …my pick is never pass Randolph High school
Relax, Captain. Just because a few people online might have a different opinion than yours doesn’t mean there’s an anti-UMHB conspiracy. Try to respect everyone’s opinion as we respect yours.
Of course, opinions won’t matter much in about 24 hours. 🙂
I usually don’t chime in on predictions (mostly afraid of being ill-informed and wrong), but this week looks like a good one to start:
Mt. Union 49 Montclair State 13 – Only way this goes the other way is if they served some bad turkey at the team dinner in Alliance.
Delaware Valley 31 Albright 20 – Close but no cigar, Albright.
Mississippi College 31 Wesley 28 – I’ve just got a feeling Wesley’s going to disappoint.
Thomas More 21 Johns Hopkins 17 – Won’t be as close as the score indicates.
UW Whitewater 52 Illinois Wesleyan 14 – I’d love to see the Warhawks hang another 70 on the board, but IWU is better than Lakeland.
Trine 28 Wittenberg 20 – Got a good feeling about Trine this year. Doubt it lasts past this weekend, though.
Coe 32 St. Thomas 28 – Another “west” toss-up. Hard to pick against the Tommies, but I think they were hoping for another shot at St. John’s.
UMHB 41 Linfield 35 (OT) – Could easily see this going the other way or into multiple overtimes. Winner could be pretty beat up for next week though.
Best of luck to all the teams tomorrow. I’ll be in Whitewater, tootin’ my horn for a Warhawk victory. Enjoy!
On the ASC pick’ems Wednesday night, I picked the same 8 teams as Pat Coleman, but with one point margins on the UMHB and Wesley games for strategic purposes.
I also like the margins of victories that Pat picked for each of the 8 games.
Trine may be putting together a solid program that may shake up the North Region pecking order. I think that the #3 rung on the North Region ladder is up for grabs.
My GUESS:
MU 49 Montclair St 6
Delaware Valley 42 Albright 21
Wesley24 Miss Co 21
Thomas More 35 John Hopkins 17
UWW 45 IWU 20
Witt 28 Trine 21
St. Thomas 21 Coe 14
UMHB 31 Linfield 21
UMHB vs Linfield: My guess is that Linfield will have minimum success passing on UMHB, but UMHB will “shut them down on the ground”….and play “their game” on offense…..advantage UMHB.
I’m no expert, CaptainCru, but I went off the observations of one who said the QB is primary ball carrier BC of injuries at the rb position.. Plus the long trip. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m not sorry for having an opinoin that differs.. Socialists haven’t completely taken the USA over, yet.. Btw.
I agree with Oldsarge. I think UMHB gets the adjustments made as far as pass coverage and the defense against the running game(business as usual). UMHB pounds the ROCK and puts it to Linfield!
You people are out of your minds. UWW will not be able run the ball on that Illinois Wesleyan defense. The IWU offense will score 40 or more points on UWW defense. This will shock the D3 world, as IWU IS A LOT BETTER THAN YOU THINK! 70 points by UWW , PLEASE! THEY WILL BE LUCKY TO GET 20.
I don’t believe anyone has said UW-Whitewater will get 70, wacky.
I appreciate that IWU hasn’t given up a lot of points this season, but UW-Whitewater is no Wabash, or North Central, or Hope.
Nor is Illinois Wesleyan a UW-STOUT, EAU-CLAIR, LA-CROSS, OSHKOSH, RIVER FALLS, OR LAKELAND FOR THAT MATTER. AGAIN, PAT, IWU IS MUCH FASTER THAN YOU THINK. FUNNY, YOU DID NOT MENTION WHEATON. ALSO, TRINE IS GOING TO WIN.
Of course, Whitewater might be better than Millikin (since we’re comparing) …..
Just maybe ….. :-p
IWU scores 40? UWW lucky to get 20? No wonder wacky is part of your SN. That prediction really brings home that “fan” is short for fanatic.
MUC 45 Montclair St 10
Delaware Valley 38 Albright 21
Wesley42 Miss Co 24
Thomas More 38 John Hopkins 20
UWW 30 IWU 14
Witt 30 Trine 24
St. Thomas 24 Coe 14
UMHB 38 Linfield 35
Wacky, you seem pretty impressed with IWU! Wow, they must be really good. I haven’t seen UWW lose a game like you are predicting in, well, years. I look forward to seeing the “IWU Machine” tomorrow to see if it’s as good as advertised.
IT IS! BY THE WAY, GAMES ARE WON ON THE FIELD, NOT IN OUR MINDS BEFORE IT IS EVEN PLAYED. IWU IS NOT AFRAID NOR TERRIFIED OF UWW. YOU WILL SEE THEIR FIRST LOSS AND IT WILL SIMPLY AMAZE YOU. ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD NOT. WHAT I AM DOING GUYS IS STICKING UP FOR THE UNDERDOGS IN TOMORROWS GAMES. SO IF YOUR TEAM IS AN UNDERDOG STOP THINKING THEY ARE AUTOMATICALLY GOING TO LOSE! AND REMEMBER THESE WORDS “ON ANY GIVEN SATURDAY”! ENJOY THE GAMES.
Yeah, and on the Field WW is much better. Sorry. By the way will we ever see you again when you and your team lose 56-0?
WTG wacky (that sounds clever)!!!
stick up for all those little guys –
love your work – keep it up – LOL
THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENTS! I THINK? YES YOU WILL! JUST BECAUSE MY TEAM LOSES, DOES NOT MEAN ITS THE END OF THE WORLD. IT ISN’T 2012 YET! LOL. BY THE WAY PORTGRAD2004, SOME OF THE GUYS ON BOTH TEAMS GREW UP TOGETHER AND KNOW EACH OTHER WELL. THATS WHY WE RIB EACH OTHER A LITTLE. SO LIGHTEN UP! I’M JUST TALKING SMACK FOR THE LITTLE GUYS. ALSO, TELL UWW TO WATCH THOSE CHOP BLOCKS AND LEG WHIPS! SOMEONE COULD GET HURT! JUST KIDDING! ON A SERIOUS NOTE, DO YOU THINK UWW CAN BEAT MOUNT UNION THIS TIME?
OK. Good luck to you!! Trust me, if MUC and/or WW lost that would make me nothing but happy… so, go for it.
NO THEY WILL NOT, BECAUSE ALL THE UNDERDOGS ARE GOING TO WIN TOMORROW’S GAMES! LET’S GO UNDERDGS!!!
^^ Whatever he’s sniffing must be some good stuff.
UWW 42
IWU 13
amen, hscoach… probably got it on the Northside of Alliance.. ha
WW will have 20 pts 23 minutes into the game.
I dated a girl named Jade once, and she was… well, she was crazy.
wackyjade – Massey ranked UWW as the 147th best football team……….at all levels. When you consider that there are just 120 1-A teams (I refuse to use that silly FBS:), they fall just outside the Top 25 of 1-AA teams (where they probably belong with # of students, facilities and alike…………and I refuse to use FCS:), above most, if not all Div. II teams and all (MU aside) Div. III teams. They’ll only be out of your way when they and the other UW schools take their rightful places (similar to the PA. state schools) in Div. II, if not Div I-AA. For now, they’re going to beat you by at least 35 points. Good luck!!
Interested I checked the latest Massey Ratings. The Top DIII teams are:
Sorted by the “Rating” Column:
86 UWW
123 Mount Union
158 Wesley
185 St Thomas (MN)
209 Delaware Valley
Sorted by the BCS Column:
134 Wesley
147 Delaware Valley
153 Mount Union
161 UWW
184 Thomas Moore
Ah, must be that time of year again. The crazies always come out of the woodwork around playoff time. 🙂 Reminds me of Flush The Johnnies and others of recent past…
wackyjade, I give IWU props for playing a good game, especially in the first half. I can see why you think your team is very good. I was certainly impressed by IWU’s running back (#31 I think?). However, you need to temper your expectations a little bit. Just because a team has made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs doesn’t mean they’re going to run over anyone they come across. I certainly hope IWU keeps playing good football. I’d love to see them on UWW’s non-conference schedule in the next few years!
Well, only one thing to say about my pre-game thoughts for weekend #2.
Really ugly. Missed several outcomes, big time!
Congratulations to Wittenberg, who re-asserted themselves in the North Region.
How can anyone rate UWW higher than MUC until they actually beat them? ratings are nonsense. I may be biased but MUC deserves nothing but ultimate respect. D3 really looks like a battle between the two each year. Yes, the WIAC SHOULD be D2. Its pathetic that there are only 80+ scholarships for football in the whole state, all in Madison. Still, they are all equal in that way.
IWU looked good in the first half. UWW made some mistakes yet completely owned IWU on the line. OWNED. They have a great punter, thats for sure! 2nd half looked like UWW made adjustments. They ran the ball at will, same play time and time again and could not be stopped. Coppage was impressive every time he cut and slashed. Our line is not impressive looking, I played with bigger, better, more physical men, but these guys really get it done.
I’d like to see IWU, and Monmouth college play UWW nonconference too. There are some great teams in the area. Central, St. John’s, Coe, etc….
HELLO EVERYONE! I AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT IWU PLAY UWW ON A NON CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AS WELL AS OTHER TEAMS FROM WISCONSIN. ALSO CAN YOU TELL ME WHY CARTHAGE DOESN’T PLAY UWW, ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE SO CLOSE? SEEMS LIKE A NATURAL RIVALRY TO ME. WHAT ELSE IS ODD, IS THAT IWU PLAYING THE INDIANA AND OHIO SCHOOLS IS NON EXISTENT. BY THE WAY, I WAS AT THE GAME SATURDAY AND WAS IMPRESSED WITH UWW,S CAMPUS AS WELL AS IT’S STADIUM.HOWEVER, CONCERNING UWW LINE OWNING IWU LINE, I WOULD HAVE TO DISAGREE TO THE POINT THAT IWU’S #90 AND #91 WERE HELD ALL GAME LONG. BUT NO PENALTIES WERE CALLED. TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND THE REFS WERE LOOKING RIGHT AT THE PLAY AND NEVER CALLED ANYTHING. BUT THATS NIETHER HERE NOR THERE, AND I WISH THEM ALL THE BEST. A QUALITY PROGRAM TO BE SURE.