The crowd had something to get excited about in Alliance. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

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A Salem regular and a Salem newbie will meet Friday night for the 2012 Division III football national championship, as No. 1 Mount Union will face No. 4 St. Thomas in yet another matchup of purple programs. Could St. Thomas someday be a Purple Power? Shoot, can St. Thomas even beat Mount Union this week? Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan discuss in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

They each talk about what they saw in Saturday’s semifinals, and in fact, Keith gets to turn the tables on Pat and ask the questions for once. Why is this St. Thomas team more successful than the ones preceding it, despite what seems like less star power? Did Kevin Burke perform well under pressure against Mary Hardin-Baylor? Was Nate Wara affected by the broken pinky finger? What’s next for UMHB? Plus, a lot of talk about the two head coaches and a sales pitch to get fans to come to Salem.

•Updated bracket, playoff features

(Disclaimer: Although the podcast is sponsored by the City of Salem this year, that’s not part of the advertising agreement. If you remember past year’s podcasts, we did the same thing then, too!)

We talk about that and more (Gagliardi Trophy favorites, anyone?) in this week’s Around the Nation Podcast, sponsored by the City of Salem, hosts of Stagg Bowl XL. Tickets on sale now!

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D3reports postgame show

Here’s this week’s D3football.com reports, highlight packages and postgame interviews.

Also, the Mount Union postgame news conference (audio only).

And this week’s photo galleries from our friends at d3photography.com:

• Mary Hardin-Baylor at Mount Union
• UW-Oshkosh at St. Thomas

Gagliardi Trophy · Luke Heinsohn · Mary Hardin-Baylor · Mount Union · Nate Wara · Salem · Scottie Williams · St. Thomas · Stagg Bowl · UW-Oshkosh · Zach Autenrieb

UW-Whitewater hoists the trophy for the third time in four years.

The Stagg Bowl ended on Saturday with one piece of unfinished business, naming the D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. Plus, Pat, Keith and Sideline Guy Frank Rossi wrapped up the game and the 2010 season from Salem, long after the game was over but before we could pack up and move on out of the press box.

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Matt Wenger · Mount Union · North Central · Salem · Stagg Bowl · UW-Whitewater

Let’s enjoy this one, since it’s our last game for a while! d3photography.com photos

It seems like the Division III football offseason is interminable. And nothing else is a good substitute.

That’s why you need to follow the game today, no ifs, ands or buts.

We get that you may not all be in love with the matchup, but you won’t get to see another Division III football game until next September. So let’s get our fix with matchup No. 6 of UW-Whitewater and Mount Union. The live chat is below!

Game Day · Mount Union · Salem · UW-Whitewater

Yep. More purple. But is that a problem?

Alright, we’ve heard all the weeping and gnashing of teeth the past couple of days, and there’s certainly reason to talk about it. But, indeed, we’ve got Purple-Purple VI and that’s because they are the best two teams in Division III football.

Would it be better some other way? Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan each have their own takes on it in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Stagg Bowl XXXVIII could be the game remembered for its backup quarterbacks — Neal Seaman got knocked out of Saturday’s game early in the first quarter trying to make a stop on an interception and Matt Blanchard, well, who knows? Does it makes sense for UW-Whitewater to play Blanchard at this point even if he’s healthy? Will the Mount Union running game have a shot against UW-Whitewater’s defense?

Plus, a look forward at the rest of the weekend’s festivities in Salem.

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Bethel · Gagliardi Trophy · Mount Union · Purple · Salem · Stagg Bowl · Stone Station · tailgate · UW-Whitewater · Wesley

Wesley defensive end Chris Mayes had Mary Hardin-Baylor quarterback LiDarral Bailey in his sights all day on Saturday. Photo by Peggy Erwin, D3sports.com

Four teams survived and advanced on Saturday … perhaps Mount Union didn’t really have to do the “survive” part … and we have two semifinals upcoming with familiar opponents.

But before we even get there, it’s also awards season, and Keith and Pat give their take on the four Gagliardi Trophy finalists and the apparent direction of the award itself in recent years. We’ve taken to referencing it as the top overall student-athlete in Division III football. Also, the D3 Senior Classic was played on Saturday, taking some important steps forward toward being an all-star game

And then there were the games, including UW-Whitewater’s rally, the impressive showings by the Wesley and Bethel defenses and Mount Union’s methodical dismantling of another opponent. That and we look forward to next week’s two semifinals. All that’s covered too, and it’s even under an hour long this time.

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Alfred · Bethel · D3 senior classic · Mary Hardin-Baylor · Mount Union · NCAA · North Central (Ill.) · playoffs · Salem · St. Thomas · UW-Whitewater · Wesley