Game Day: Heading for Final Four

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Four more teams get eliminated today, and while the Triple Take trio doesn’t expect too many close games, stranger things have happened.

I’ve mentioned on the site the past couple of days that it’s a good day to be surfing and watching or listening to games from home, and that’s partially because that’s where I am. Choices were that or drive six hours each way to UW-Whitewater, and I’ll save that drive for next week, if it turns out that way.

Our audio crews are on the upset watch at Wesley and UW-Whitewater. There are broadcasts of all four games, of course.

And I’ll be working to keep the blog open as long as possible today.

43 thoughts on “Game Day: Heading for Final Four”

  3. And also early … RT @purpleraiders Drew McClain interception and TD. Raiders on top 7-0. 14:07 left in 1st qtr.

  4. Uggh….3 turnovers for Mount so far – 2 picks and 1 fumble that just happened…Albright now in the red zone…

  11. I think the Albright D has played well in the first half…they have just been on the field too long. Fumbled kickoff was costly.

  12. Albright D:
    Two Interceptions and a Fumble Recovery.

    Two of MUC TDs were not the Ds fault. One Int for a TD and the KO team fumbling on the 17 not their fault.

  17. I think our usual Wesley commenters are at the game and it’s raining … so they may be keeping their phones in their pockets.

  21. Witt quarterback Aaron Huffman gets a short TD run, Justin Ankley blocked the PAT. 1026 2nd, 7-6 UWW

  23. UWW answers quickly, four plays later in the end zone. Jeff Donovan is 9-for-9 passing so far for the Warhawks.

  24. 68 yard TD pass to Petruzillo after MUC D keeps Albright out of the endzone for the second time in the game. PAT missed.

    48-3

  25. I’m hearing that Albright looks bad from a neutral friend who traveled the 5 hours to Alliance and u also think I remember someone on the ATN Podcast this week say that Johns Hopkins is well coached and disciplined enough to hang with Wesley..

  29. MUC recovered a fumble in the endzone to make the score 55-3. The previous play Albright had recovered a MUC fumble inside the Albright 5.

  31. Any updates on Hopkins and Wesley?

    Pat, I’m nowhere near anything for scoreboard.. Watching UC in a bar. Its 48-3 now?

  33. Some teams can play relatively well and still get their doors blown off in Alliance in December, though..

  34. Linfield leads 24-14 at halftime. Cats have taken advantage of two turnovers and a blocked punt. UST scored with under a minute left to get back into it.

  36. Every game turned out to be as advertised again…except UWW made it a little more exciting than preferred heading into the semis.
    Does d3football.com know their stuff, or what?

  37. Linfield forced 5 turnovers today against a UST team that had like 7 all year (I think). Can’t imagine that continues next week. Linfield is either really really lucky, or really really oppurtunistic on D. Right now I think they deserve credit for making big plays but it seems like teams can move the ball against them when they don’t turn it over. 12 drives have ended via turnover for Linfield opponents the last two weeks.

  38. GoScotties:

    I think a better explanation for Linfield’s success on Defense is probably preparation and coaching, along with lots and lots of team speed! Just remember that spectacular results are always preceded by less than spectacular preparation! (quoted by Hall of fame Coach Ad Rutschman).

    Your imagination might not extend through next week, but the Wildcats will be prepared again. You can ask Cal Lutheran, St. Thomas and Mary-Hardin Baylor about the Wildcats preparation, ability to make adjustments and overall team speed. Linfield will give UW-Whitewater a real challenge next week! The only playoff challenges that UWW has had in the past 5 years, have been Mount Union (UWW lost 3 out of 4 games), Linfield (UWW won by 3 pts) and Willamette (UWW won by 3 pts). Two of those teams are in the same conference (the NWC). The only conference to win the Stagg Bowl with their regular season’s 2nd place team (1999 PLU). The committee should consider selecting a second team from the NWC, next time, before they give the PAC another 2nd place team (that has been BLOWN OUT the past few years). I do believe that all 8 of the teams put into the “St. Johns Bracket”, this year, could have won games in all 3 of the other brackets.

    What Linfield’s Defense has done in the playoffs this year, is outstanding, but I wouldn’t start calling them “really really lucky”? That’s just a lack of understanding of what it really takes to compete at the elite level in the D-III playoffs.

    Good luck next year, and I look forward to seeing Monmouth or St. Norbert match up with the WIAC, MIAC or NWC in preseason. It will be good experience and an opportunity to continue to improve those programs. Great progress! Keep up the good work!

  39. Stagg Bowl results past 14 years:

    Mount Union 9 wins;

    NWC (Linfield, PLU) 2 wins;

    WIAC (LaCrosse, Whitewater) 2 wins;

    MIAC (St. Johns) 1 win

    🙂

  40. You need a fact check……….

    Actually, Eagle, W&J has been the second place PAC playoff team over the last two years. Last year they actually won two games in the playoffs including beating the number 1 team in the region on its home field (Millsaps). They got blown out by mt union this year but so has everyone else. I do not think that the second placed team in the NWC would have done much better against MUC. If you think otherwise then you are living in a dreamworld.

  41. Mille125:

    Actually the facts are pretty clear in regards to W & J:

    2007 W & J lost to NC Wes (who was then beaten 64 – 0 by UMHB);

    2008 W & J was beaten by UMHB 63 -7;

    2009 W & J was beaten by MUC 55 – 0.

    Did i miss something? I don’t think so. I am talking about big boy football – rounds 3, 4 & 5, not the first two rounds were easy match ups may exist.

    Milsaps – didn’t they have a play that had 75 laterals a couple of years ago? That was pretty cool!

  42. Eagle23 – You don’t have to resort to calling anything “big boy football”. Our DIII is all great football!!! If that’s the case, let’s call a spade a spade……………..”big boy football” was the SEC Championship last night between Alabama and Florida…………..and the “biggest/best boy football” occurs on Sunday’s, when the best of the best plays for a living.

    Linfield’s Brett Elliott was good enough to start and compete (at Utah) with the eventual #1 pick in the NFL Draft but it did nothing for his own NFL career. The Kenny Anderson story (for DIII QB’s) is an aberration, but if you are truly good enough to play with the “big boys” (DII, D1AA), “bigger boys” (D1) and “biggest boys” (NFL – see Pierre Garcon and Andy Studabaker), they will all find you.

    Now let’s sit back today and watch the best of the best play in the greatest sport in this country’s most popular league, the NFL. Being capably run by the way………….by Washington & Jefferson’s own Roger Goddell. His football career at this “non-big boy” school didn’t hurt him from one day running the most successful league on the planet:)!!

  43. Eagle23,

    My point was simply that teams seem to move the ball effectively against Linfield when they take of it. Hence the fact that they are allowing nearly 20 ppg in the playoffs despite the fact that their opponents have coughed it up 16 times in 3 games. That has to be close to 50% of their opponents possessions.

    They also allowed 36 points to Puget Sound (averaged 14.1 on the season) and 44 to Pac Lutheran (mostly in the 4th Q) who were a combined 3-15 on the year. It was just an observation of how their defense has performed this season. Of the final 4 teams, Linfield has allowed more than twice the points of the other 3 yet they continue to get turnover after turnover.

    Also, if you think that every turnover is really a “takeaway” then you need to stop listening to the Lovie Smith press conferences after Bears’ games.

    I’m not trying to take anything away from Linfield, I just think that if UWW takes care of the ball they will win…that’s all I’m saying.

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