Linfield has gone 9-0 with Mickey Inns at quarterback this season. Photo by Rusty Rae

Usually we have some complaints about the bracket, so much so that there’s a category in the annual predictions column asking what the committee blew.

It’s not so much this time. There are a couple things that would have been better if fixed, and we’ll touch on those, but it’s not a deal-breaker. Unless, say, you’re Hobart.

Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan run down the brackets, give their surprises, look at some of the great matchups potentially ahead in the second and third weekends and have just a word of warning for UW-Whitewater fans. That and much more in this week’s Around the Nation Podcast. Scroll to the bottom and read the tags to see which teams are mentioned in this week’s show.

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You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Plus, here’s this week’s D3football.com reports. Keith checks in from Randolph-Macon, Ryan Tipps from Wabash-DePauw and more.

Albion · Baldwin-Wallace · Benedictine · Cal Lutheran · Case Western Reserve · Centre · Christopher Newport · Delaware Valley · Dubuque · Endicott · Franklin · Hampden-Sydney · Heidelberg · Hobart · Illinois College · Illinois Wesleyan · Johns Hopkins · Kean · Linfield · Mary Hardin-Baylor · McMurry · Monmouth · Montclair State · Mount Union · North Central (Ill.) · Norwich · podcast · Randolph-Macon · Redlands · Salisbury · St. John Fisher · St. Olaf · St. Scholastica · St. Thomas · Thomas More · Trinity (Texas) · UW-Whitewater · Wabash · Wesley · Western New England · Wheaton (Ill.)

Alex Tanney is the third Tanney to play football at Monmouth, but will be known as the best in the family Monmouth athletics photo

Records fell, as did snowflakes and the chances of anyone else winning any of eight conference titles. The Centennial, PAC, MIAA, MWC, MIAC, WIAC, UMAC and SCIAC each got the ultimate clarity on Saturday: automatic bids.

We talk about those, the records set by Mike Zweifel and Alex Tanney, the interesting things the purple powers did and really, much more. Check the list of tags at the bottom of this page to see who’s discussed.

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You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Plus, here’s the first look at this week’s D3reports, as well as Division III football highlight reels. These will also appear on the front page on Monday afternoon.

Adrian · Albion · Alex Tanney · Amherst · Baldwin-Wallace · Bridgwater State · Cal Lutheran · Carthage · Central · Centre · Christopher Newport · Coe · Dubuque · Endicott · Ferrum · Framingham State · Frostburg State · Guilford · Gustavus Adolphus · Hampden-Sydney · Hardin-Simmons · Ithaca · Johns Hopkins · Josh Vogelbach · Lewis and Clark · Linfield · Louisiana College · Luther · Maine Maritime · McMurry · Mike Zweifel · Monmouth · Mount Union · North Park · Norwich · Otterbein · Pacific Lutheran · Salisbury · St. John Fisher · St. Scholastica · St. Thomas · SUNY-Maritime · Thomas More · Trinity (Conn.) · Trinity (Texas) · UW-La Crosse · UW-Oshkosh · UW-Stevens Point · UW-Whitewater · Wabash · Wartburg · Washington and Lee · Wesley · Western New England · Wittenberg

LiDarral Bailey ran for 110 yards and threw for 123 for Mary Hardin-Baylor. UMHB athletics photo

There were a bunch of teams with big wins, the ones we like to call signature wins. The ones that used to be talked about openly as being necessary for playoff consideration, back when we used to have 16-team brackets and not-so-strictly followed playoff criteria.

That’s not the case anymore, but those wins are still key in terms of national exposure, respect and rankings. Pat and Keith talk about some of the key wins this weekend in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Also, there are plenty of unbeaten teams remaining, including teams that aren’t ranked. Why aren’t they ranked? Keith and Pat run through the list, plus some of the other surprise teams. That and more in this week’s podcast. See the list of tags at the bottom of this post to see who else is discussed.

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You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Plus, here’s the first look at this week’s D3reports, as well as Division III football highlight reels. These will also appear on the front page on Monday afternoon.

Also, this week’s photo galleries:

• St. Thomas vs. St. John’s
• UW-Whitewater vs. UW-Platteville
• Cal Lutheran vs. Redlands

Adrian · Augsburg · Bethel · Birmingham-Southern · Cal Lutheran · Centre · Curry · Dubuque · Endicott · Hobart · Huntingdon · Lewis and Clark · Mount Union · Muskingum · Ohio Northern · Redlands · Salisbury · Springfield · St. John's · St. Olaf · St. Scholastica · St. Thomas · Trine · Trinity (Texas) · Wartburg · Wesley · Wittenberg · Worcester State

Redlands quarterback Chad Hurst led four second-half scoring drives in the Bulldogs’ win.

The opening weekend of the season is exciting enough without all these hear-stopping finishes we had. North Central … Otterbein … Delaware Valley … Mississippi College … Bridgewater … Illinois College. Plus a big Top 25 matchup and much more to talk about.

The Around the Nation Podcast is a weekly discussion between D3football.com Executive Editor Pat Coleman and Deputy Managing Editor Keith McMillan, who writes the Around the Nation column. It’s the first analysis of the week that was. The show tends to run anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes per week — fit it into your lunch hour.

Click the play button below to listen.

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Plus, we want you guys to get in on the act as well. See below for more:

Alma · Bethany · Bridgewater (Va.) · Central · Coe · Cornell · Delaware Valley · Endicott · Framingham State · Frostburg State · Gallaudet · Geneva · Guilford · Hardin-Simmons · Heidelberg · Illinois College · Lycoming · McMurry · Millikin · Millsaps · Mississippi College · Monmouth · Muhlenberg · North Central · Olivet · Otterbein · podcast · Redlands · Rowan · Salve Regina · Shenandoah · St. Thomas · St. Vincent · Stevenson · Trine · Union · UW-La Crosse · UW-Oshkosh · UW-Stevens Point · UW-Whitewater · Wartburg · Willamette

In a battle of two run-oriented teams, Thomas More’s Rob Kues has nonetheless completed more passes than Washington and Lee has even attempted.

The NCAA brass has gotten out its erasers and given 32 teams a clean slate.

Our expectations are put to the ultimate tests as champions and runners-up of top conferences clash with those of their weaker counterparts. We see where the parities and disparities lie — within geographic reason, of course.

And no season is without its Cinderella stories: Johns Hopkins in 2009, Franklin in ’08, Bethel in ’07, etc. It’s the unexpected — the flashes of greatness that players show during playoff time — that captivates us. Every year, we keep our ears to the ground hoping to hear yet another underdog make some noise.

From now until the third weekend in December, Pat Coleman, Keith McMillan and Ryan Tipps will not only pick the winners of games, but we’ll also project the scores. It’s a transparent test of our perceptions week in and week out.

These postseason Triple Take predictions are not intended to be lines on the games, but rather a broad test of outcome vs. expectations.

Wesley Bracket
Ryan: Wesley 30, Muhlenberg 7
Pat: Wesley 42, Muhlenberg 10
Keith: Wesley 37, Muhlenberg 10

Ryan: Hampden-Sydney 21, Montclair State 17
Pat: Hampden-Sydney 28, Montclair State 10
Keith: Hampden-Sydney 17, Montclair State 14

Ryan: Washington and Lee 31, Thomas More 24
Pat: Thomas More 45, Washington and Lee 42
Keith: Washington and Lee 26, Thomas More 23

Ryan: Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, Christopher Newport 21
Pat: Mary Hardin-Baylor 56, Christopher Newport 14
Keith: Mary Hardin-Baylor 42, Christopher Newport 7

St. Thomas Bracket
Ryan: St. Thomas 48, Benedictine 10
Pat: St. Thomas 61, Benedictine 7
Keith: St. Thomas 49, Benedictine 0

Ryan: Linfield 35, Cal Lutheran 24
Pat: Linfield 35, Cal Lutheran 24
Keith: Linfield 34, Cal Lutheran 27

Ryan: Wartburg 20, Bethel 17
Pat: Bethel 13, Wartburg 10
Keith: Wartburg 14, Bethel 13

Ryan: Coe 38, Wheaton 34
Pat: Wheaton 34, Coe 30
Keith: Wheaton 27, Coe 24

Mount Union Bracket
Ryan: Mount Union 56, St. Lawrence 3
Pat: Mount Union 63, St. Lawrence 0
Keith: Mount Union 63, St. Lawrence 0

Ryan: Delaware Valley 20, Salisbury 14
Pat: Salisbury 45, Delaware Valley 42
Keith: Salisbury 22, Delaware Valley 21

Ryan: SUNY-Maritime 28, Alfred 21
Pat: Alfred 31, SUNY-Maritime 8
Keith: Alfred 28, SUNY-Maritime 21

Ryan: Cortland State 38, Endicott 7
Pat: Cortland State 20, Endicott 3
Keith: Cortland State 27, Endicott 9

North Central Bracket
Ryan: North Central 42, St. Norbert 13
Pat: North Central 45, St. Norbert 10
Keith: North Central 44, St. Norbert 17

Ryan: Ohio Northern 23, Wittenberg 14
Pat: Ohio Northern 41, Wittenberg 21
Keith: Ohio Northern 27, Wittenberg 17

Ryan: Trine 35, DePauw 20
Pat: DePauw 21, Trine 17
Keith: Trine 35, DePauw 21

Ryan: UW-Whitewater 48, Franklin 14
Pat: UW-Whitewater 50, Franklin 21
Keith: UW-Whitewater 45, Franklin 13

Alfred · Benedictine · Bethel · Cal Lutheran · Christopher Newport · Coe · Cortland State · Delaware Valley · DePauw · Endicott · Franklin · Hampden-Sydney · Linfield · Mary Hardin-Baylor · Montclair State · Mount Union · Muhlenberg · NCAA · North Central (Ill.) · Ohio Northern · playoffs · predicted scores · Salisbury · St. Lawrence · St. Norbert · St. Thomas · SUNY-Maritime · Thomas More · Trine · UW-Whitewater · Wartburg · Washington and Lee · Wesley · Wheaton (Ill.) · Wittenberg