While Pat and Gordon were pretty darn close in their predictions, nailing 31 of 32 teams and missing on Whitworth (UW-Eau Claire made it instead), it’s clear we’d grown accustomed to the committee being fairly predictable.
Perhaps it’s because there was only one West Coast team in the field, but whatever the reason, they were anything but this time around. The bracket has been revealed, and some curveballs have been thrown.
Ithaca at Mount Union, Redlands at St. John’s and Widener at Case Western Reserve were among the matchups we did not see coming. You can throw Olivet at Central in there too. With the proximity of so many of the teams, the committee’s matchups did not hold to the regions. For years they have not had to, but often they simply shake out that way. In Saturday’s first round, we’ll have an East Region team at a North, a North at a West in two different brackets and two South Region teams who could have been moved to the East playing each other. And then Redlands flying halfway across the country … but still Texas vs. Texas.
Without further ado, the floor is open for your reactions.
So moving UWW out of the West changes the bracket from one solid favorite to a five-team crapshoot: Central, Bethel, UWEC, SJU, Redlands all ought to feel blessed right now.
Ok—-see how weak Mt Unions bracket is——no wonder they get to the Stagg bowl every year——they never play anyone. The South bracket—–tell me, how do teams that are ranked lower than UMHB get a higher regional ranking——–they get corn-holed again—— every year and this time so does Trinity. I can’t believe that even Muhlenberg is seeded higher than UMHB——-good job guys. I will however give Mt Union their due—–they have been a tremedous football team and program which no other football program in any division can claim——–that’s good football! Do we see a possible rematch of Wesley and UMHB——3 yrs in a row——-will the result be the same or will we see the rematch that I am sure UMHB would like(Whitewater)
Just talked to Pat. He said that he spoke to prominent members of the committee and a couple of points they emphasized (I believe this is stuff you might have already heard if you watched the show on the U):
1) They wanted to be sure the four best teams each got No. 1 seeds. So I’m assuming that meant with Central and UW-Whitewater being West teams coming in after Mount Union, they didn’t want to make one of those teams a 2 and make some team in the South or East a 1 if they didn’t quite deserve it. This is something we’ve advocated for in the past in the ‘This should be changed next year’ section of the ATN Year in Review, although I’m sure this year’s situation, and not the column, influenced the change.
2) Earlier in the week, the committee’s preference for teams who have played strong schedules (including in strong conferences) was emphasized.
3) UW-Eau Claire did pass Whitworth in the criteria, apparently. We’ll have to take a closer look to determine why.
Looking forward to the playoffs finally starting. It is questionable how Mount Union is essentially hosting the East region and Capital being matched up with Whitewater. Someone tired of the OAC team success on the committee? The moving of seeds is humorous and would not have been such a spectacle if they kept the teams in region. Oh well, should still be fun despite any ineptitude from the committee. It’s playoff time … the way champions should be crowned. Good luck to all teams!
I must say, those are some interesting matchups. I look forward to seeing what UW-Whitewater can do against one of the other regions. I’ve never seen any OAC teams in person besides MUC, so I’m looking forward to this week’s game against Capital. Should be a good one.
Well, with St John’s loss to Bethel, wouldn’t UMHB have moved up a spot to number 4?—You have 2 teams(Wesley and Muhlenberg) ranked lower than UMHB but seeded higher—-is that for travel purposes????————So, in the situation you were talking about above, in order to prevent that, the committee will stick 2 Texas teams together but not 2 west teams together??????———–doesn’t make much sense.
Hey I like Prairie View’s thought—Capital out of region but not UMHB or Trinity———-whoever is on that committee should be canned———you guys couldn’t find your way out of a paper bag.
Apparently it takes an automatic bid for the NWC to get their conference champion into the bracket. Luckily that will take place next year, but for me that still does not explain the snubbing Whitworth (and the NWC) received this season. First off, the NWC has proven that it is one of the top tier conferences in all of D3 football year after year. They have produced national champions and teams with deep runs through the bracket throughout their history, not to mention recently with Pacific Lutheran winning the the title in 1999 and Linfield in 2004. Taking a runner-up from another conference seems unexplainable, regardless of their schedule or circumstances (UW-Eau Claire is 8-2, UW is 8-1). And just to point out that UW -Eau Claire lost to UW – River Falls, a WIAC team that lost pretty handily to NWC runner – up PLU.
I know there are plenty of deserving teams and the bracket could probably hold 64 playoff caliber teams and everyone could make a case for their favorites, but I can’t help but feel some biased towards the Eastern region slipping into this decision and maybe even some financially charged motivation. Whatever it is, it’s not right.
So the field is set, actually I think there are some very interesting matchups. Trying to get the supposed 4 best teams to beat in the semi-finals is a good idea. It looked like going into yesterady that St. John’s would have been one of the top four…but they lost. Finally the 4th top four had to come down to who was still undefeated. So when Central got one of the four that put two teams in one region togteher, so somebody had to move. Then as cheap as the NCAA is, that meant reducing airfaire…is that why Mount Union got moved and Whitewater also so everybody could bus? With only one team from the west, somebody had to fly in or out. The seedings don’t follow the normal path in the “Mount Union Bracket”…why is that?
For a change the Ithaca fans should be thanking Cortland for rolling over and giving the Bombers a new season, although it may be a short one. Long live the JUG.
wildcatfan,
Interesting that you think it matters how strong or “weak” Mount Union’s bracket is. They tend to play teams within 500 miles of them, just like everyone else in the playoffs. And considering that the past two years they had to go through Capital and Whitewater, who both ended up in the top 5 (if not 3) both times, the implication that they skate all the way to Salem is pretty off base. (St. John Fisher also finished last year No. 4, although I’ll acknowledge much of their ranking was based on how they fared at MUC in the semis).
Touchdown,
I think getting the four best teams to be 1 seeds is a great idea. I praise this year’s committee for thinking outside the box a little bit, or at least thinking a little differently than other committees in the past few years have.
If reduced airfare (not just reduced number of teams who had to fly) is a factor, I’d be interested to know why Redlands flies to St. John’s, as opposed to, say, Mary Hardin-Baylor. They aren’t much further from a major airport, flying from L.A. or Orange County, than St. John’s is. And they each had one loss to another playoff team. But then that would put Trinity on a plane. So I understand what factors the committee is up against, at least some of them, but I imagine in Texas they are going to see all the interesting matchups and still be ticked off that their two teams play each other. I wonder if Millsaps had got in this year would they have gone to UMHB now that we think the schools are officially 491 miles apart.
Not criticizing the committee, just wondering aloud … these are things we’ll have all week to think through and try to figure out their logic. And they only have overnight to really work on it, especially if you consider the Occidental game had major playoff implications and kicked off at 10 last night, Eastern Time.
Well one thing we all have to stop doing is thinking in terms of regions. Even we here at D3football.com even refer to them as West bracket, and while regions are a big part of the process (in-region games, Pool C selection), the brackets are NOT made by region. They are made with first-round matchups of less than 500 miles each (busing distance) in mind.
So Capital, Widener, Ithaca, etc. might be out of region, but they are within 500 miles of their first round opponent. UMHB and Trinity were not within 500 miles of any other D3 team, so although it’s annoying to the Texans, it’s a no-brainer given the guidelines the committee is given to work with.
Prairie View,
I don’t get why you think teams playing teams from other regions is such a negative. I take it you’re not a fan of a team from the West, where they constantly complain they have a strong region to battle out of.
What’s wrong with balanced brackets, teams playing teams they usually don’t play, etc.?
Eventually, if you’re the best team, you’re going to have to go through the strongest teams anyway. There’s an argument there, but not a very good one.
Are some of you folks commenting sure you even know how things work? Seeds are frequently “mismatched” and aren’t required to be matched. They’re basically for determining home games in later rounds, not for affecting first-round matchups.
I don’t think this is a botch job at all, on first glance. I love the committee taking advantage of the fact that it doesn’t have to put a team against the team next door. Also, with so many rematches to avoid (Empire 8, ACFC, OAC, WIAC) that might have forced some of the bracket creativity.
Same number of first-round flights if Whitworth is in or out, Westregionrespect. And yes, the only automatic bid is an actual automatic bid — there’s no guarantee any conference gets a team in without one.
From Charlotte airport, for D3football.com, I’m Pat Coleman. 🙂
I for one, welcome MUC into the East. Hey, if we ever want to live down “being the weakest region” as everyone keeps saying, why not try and topple the kings of the mountain?
Central’s a paper tiger, it’s a Bethel – St. John’s rematch for all the marbles in the West
st. john fisher gave mount a heck of a game last year, so i’m not convinced it’s a walk for MUC.
Well BUDDY——–MUC has pitched 6 straight shutouts————either they have a heck of a defense or as I said before, they have a really weak schedule. I am a UMHB fan but pulling for the Cards in that one.
So as a Redlands alum, I am disappointed again to see the West Coast disrespected in terms of playoff berths. But no matter, St. Johns’ is toast anyhow.
I applaud the committee for getting the most balanced matchups possible. The only teams happier than the North (and in particular Wabash) should be the West. I look forward to matchups we haven’t seen. It will be great fodder for conference and regional comparison all next year. It also rewards strong regions with multiple high quality teams.
I’m the color commentator for Bombers Football on Ithaca College Television, and I’ve got a couple of questions for Pat: Obviously, everyone in Ithaca is excited about winning the Cortaca Jug yesterday, especially since it propelled the Bombers into the playoffs. Why do you think the selection committee was willing to take three Empire 8 teams? Most of of the broadcasters and writers here thought Hartwick’s win over Utica would block an IC at-large bid. And, of course, do they have any shot against the Purple Raiders? Thanks.
From one standpoint, this bracket certainly hurts UMHB. It only guarantees them one home game. Unless I am looking it wrong. That is ridiculous. They are ranked 5th and 6th in various polls, yet are ranked 4th. This whole process does not make any sense. It seems the committee does not agree with the rankings of D3Football.com and the AFCA or the only thing the NCAA committee cares about is its precious travel budget. Why not give UMHB a higher seed and Trinity a lower one….just a thought. 🙂
D3 Keith, that is not at all the case. I have no problem with teams playing “out of region” but let’s face the FACTS, Mount Union is far closer to the teams like Wabash, Case Western, etc. than they are Ithaca, RPI, etc. Since we all know it comes down to dollars and travel, it makes more sense to keep it regional. Or, at the very least, not call it the Mount Union bracket. Each region is tough year in and year out, not just the West. Bottom line, though, they settle it on the field and that is what is best for Division III football. I like that … A LOT!
You imply the brackets are never balanced but when these teams only typically play each other in the playoffs, you make assumptions on ranking, OWP, etc. Lots of theorizing but little substantial argument to base things on. Thus, maybe this new “scheme” will work for this year. Should be fun.
Conflicting statement, Keith. Are these balanced brackets or not? Or do balance and matched mean different things? No offense to you. You and Pat do an AWESOME job with this site and keeping us up to date with Division III football. That’s why we banter about this, because we LOVE it. Again, best of luck to ALL teams! May the best team win!
It would be pretty stupid to think MUC has a weak schedule. If you want your team to get their shot, just go ahead and win all your playoff games and you will get to see up close if its their schedule or their defense. and by the way, they have a decent offense too!
Ok, I think I figured out “matched” with the 1 vs. 6 or 2 vs. 5 thing. But again, easier to keep those pairings “matched” if you keep it regional. And I agree about UMHB and Trinity, this committee cannot seem to figure out how to separate them from a first-round matchup. Pathetic.
“And just to point out that UW -Eau Claire lost to UW – River Falls, a WIAC team that lost pretty handily to NWC runner – up PLU.”
It’s rough not to the NWC team in there, but it’s a stretch to triangulate that kind of comparative argument. Whitworth’s certainly better than more than a few teams in the field.
UWEC also beat a 7-3 NAIA playoff team and a d2 team in its NC sked. Whit lost to a non-NAIA playoff team as well as a d3 team without much of a playoff pedigree.
In the end, not having the AQ (yet) bit a pretty good team. But then I don’t feel too bad for 509 …
Hey USee—-that’s what I am hoping for. Afterall, UMHB is 1-0 vs MUC REMEMBER???????? 38-35 at the MUC as well———hopefully we will get that opportunity. If there is a rematch of UWW and UMHB, I don’t think it will be the same result.
I think UWW really got screwed by this bracket. At first glance, the UW-Whitewater Bracket is easily the most difficult, and I agree with those that have said MUC’s bracket is a cakewalk.
I still expect to see UWW-MUC v3.0 in Salem, but Whitewater might take some bruises along the way.
I have to say that I’m stunned that UWEC made it into the bracket, but pleasantly surprised. I think year in-year out, the WIAC is one of the toughest, if not the toughest conference to win, and I figured a one loss WIAC team (loss to UWW) would be a LOCK each year to get in, but i figured the very bad loss to UW-River Falls would keep UWEC out.
Interesting to note that Wisconsin got four teams in (SNC, UWEC, Concordia, and UWEC) It will be nice to see either SNC or UWEC actually get a win in the playoffs. Poor SNC had run into the Whitewater buzzsaw the last four years and I’m sure they are glad to avoid that.
I think if we swap out Central (for Whitewater), and switch the bracket placements, this would have been fair, but I guess I can live with it. I’m just frustrated that Central and MUC have a “cakewalk” until they meet in the Semis.
If Whitewater wins narrowly (or loses) to Capital, i’ll have alot of respect for the OAC, but if Whitewater wins by its usual playoff margin (of 30-40 points), I think that will definitely put into perspective how weak MUC’s schedule is.
Based on SOS, (if you take out UWW’s division 2 loss (which shouldn’t count anyways), i think there is a very real/clear argument that UW-Whitewater should be the #1 overall seed this year.
I really hope that we can have a prolonged mp3 summary by Pat on the football selections like we do for Hoopsville!
I think that we fans are now ready for it.
And, I would hope he can get a sponsor for it as well!
wildcatfan,
you should be careful what you wish for. if you can’t even stay within spitting distance of UWW what makes you think you will even come close to this year’s muc team? I am not an OAC guy but i’ll take the other side of that wager. UHMB is a fine program and team but you should really worry about surviving your bracket than throwing mud on a national championship team’s schedule.
Hey USee—no disrespect to MUC—–I give them their due! I just don’t think the UWW-UMHB rematch would be the same outcome. Umhb had what 5 or 6 turnovers in that game–can’t give the ball up that many times to a good team and expect to win——-I just think UMHB is a much better team than what they showed that day—–and I agree, they will have to prove that. Just give them a little credit, they have a much better record against the MUC that UWW.
As a long time Tiger fan, and I do mean when Obert Logan was playing, I am glad to see I am not the only one who thinks Trinity is getting ripped off. The Tigers were ranked 14 in the last D3 poll which suggests a 4 regional seed. Instead they are seeded 6. Mary Hardin-Baylor was a top four team all year until they took their only loss. This drops them to a 4 seed? And of course since Trintiy and MHB are the only teams within 500 miles of each other they have to play in the first round.
Keith says that the good teams have to play each other eventually, but if you are a top 15 team, matched in the first round against a team that should be in the top 4 you never get a chance to show what you can do. This hurts in recruiting.
I think its not so much that we don’t understand the criteria as that we think Division III has matured to the point where the need to travel by bus should not be the controlling consideration.
Good thinking labart96 and Usee, re: Mount Union.
As far as the NWC snub, I agree on the most basic point: I would put Whitworth (the NWC champ) into the field. I just cast my top 25 vote, and Whitworth was on there.
BUT, past playoff history is not official criteria. In other words, if you go to another team and say “Well, we took Whitworth because teams in their conference won titles three and eight years ago,” it’d be their right to call BS on that. Whitworth didn’t help itself with the loss to Redlands (although at least they made the playoffs) and the other non-conference games. The loss to Asuza Pacific isn’t supposed to hurt, but if you’d been able to get another good D3 opponent on the schedule instead, another win would’ve helped.
Regarding Eau Claire, the teams did have a common opponent in UW-Stout, but the results were a wash.
The in-region winning percentage favored Whitworth over UWEC by a lot, although the OWP and OOWP favored UWEC. I’m not sure if that’s what the committee saw that the rest of us didn’t, but that doesn’t seem like enough.
Regarding East Coast bias, I think that’s what people on the West Coast say whenever they don’t get their way. In D3, it makes no sense. Of the 225+ playoff-eligible schools, 16 are West of the Rockies. So I don’t need to do the math to see that the proper proportion (1, Redlands) got in.
But that’s not how they playoff field is chosen anyway, so it’s a silly for me to even engage in that discussion.
The membership of Division III, who (in an effort to save on travel costs — it’s not just the NCAA that likes to watch what it spends) set the emphasis on in-region wins as playoff criteria. The membership’s rules are what the committee goes by to select its field. So teams on the West Coast and Texas (and for different reasons, the WIAC) have a hard time scheduling D3 opponents. The in-region rules were relaxed a few years ago to help in this situation.
All but Azusa ended up being in-region games for Whitworth, so you’d be better off focusing your beef on why Whitworth had an 8-1 in region record and UW-Eau Claire was 5-2 than claims of “East” bias. All the East teams that made it were projected in the field by D3football.com, so it’s pretty safe to assume that’s who stole your bid.
And as you noted, everyone who is on the bubble has a pretty good argument, and this will be a non-issue next season as the NWC’s AQ kicks in. And I imagine it’ll be really welcome.
Playoffs, Playoffs… Are you kidding me, Playoffs???… LoL… Comic Relief… Welcome to the East Mt. Union, where you have hungry teams trying to de-throne you… Will it happen? I don’t know, teams everywhere have been trying to do that for years…
MUC has been feeding the hungry for a number of years. As a frequent dinier at the alliance buffet I recommend you bring a bib, it can get messy.
In case anyone is wondering, here are the members of the National Selection Committee:
AD Al Dorenkamp Central College (Iowa) Iowa Intercol. Athletic Conf.
Associate Professor/Head Fooball Coach Christopher Smith Grove City College Presidents’ Athletic Conference
CCD, Associate AD / Head Football Coach Norman Eash Illinois Wesleyan University College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin
Commissioner Kenneth Andrews Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corp. Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corp.
Director of Men’s Athletics, Compliance Director Dick Kaiser Defiance College Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Head Coach Football Steve Mohr Trinity University (Texas) Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Head Football Coach Michael C. Maynard University of Redlands Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.
Head Football Coach Michael DeLong Springfield College New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference
MUC has been feeding ON the hungry for a number of years! 🙂
What is the minimum margin of victory by MUC in the first three games?
28? 35? 42?? 49???
I think that is another question for the front page poll!
Long time first time.
I appreciate D3Keith’s measured response regarding Whitworth getting hosed, but it really hurts to see the kind of season this team had, particularly with their phenomenal defense (notice that turnover margin, anyone?), and not get to see these seniors play at least one more game.
It seems that Linfield has earned significant national respect coming out of our conference, yet a hard-fought win against them wasn’t enough to do any more than take the Wildcats out of the spotlight for another season.
NWC fans, it is tough to sit and wait until next year, but there will be plenty of post-season glory for our Northwest boys in seasons to come.
By the way, a column on this site referred to the Whitworth footballers as the Rats, a nickname I have never heard in my 25 years supporting Whitworth. Go Bucs!
LoL, good point Ralph… I was thinking the same thing… Couldn’t even vote b/c I didn’t see the numbers as feasible haha
Who’s in the Stagg bowl this year?
The big winner, SJU.
Hey, I don’t have much of problem with Trinity travelling to UMHB, even though I think they’d match up better against Muhlenberg. 4 hosting 6 is a lot better than 1 hosting 3 or whatever comedy the NCAA has subjected us to in the past, and you could make an argument that UMHB should be seeded 3, not 4, in which case this is the exact matchup that should have happened.
I agree Ron—-UHMB should have been seeded number 3 to begin with. After sorting through all of this, guess it doesn’t do any good to gripe about the traveling issue–it is always going to be there and if a team is that good, they will beat whoever they face, no matter the circumstances.
Must be playoff time cause I am back!!! Look for UWW over MU this year big! No way they beat UWW three years in a row. Rest of the teams are Roadkill.
OK, fine I will be the sacrificial lamb for the East: The OAC is overrated…MUC is undeniably great and the rest of the conference just happens to be in MUC’s conference. I understand that MUC beats EVERYONE, but Capital and Ohio Northern, who were highly ranked teams this year (and Cap. most years) didnt even breath against MUC this year.
I was just having a conversation with a former teammate of mine last week: that if MUC had to mentally and physically prepare for the likes of Hobart, RPI, SJF, IC, Cortland, etc every week (just look at Brockport’s schedule every year in the East), they would get ‘dinged up’ here and there and it would wear on them. Instead of preparing for a game every week, MUC’s third string QB and RB are probably debating eachother about who is going to score more second-half TD’s…lol.
MUC would likely still win just about every game for a while, but the wear and tear each week would eventually catch-up to them. They would also have a bigger competition for the H.S. talent in the East. This of course is all hypothetical because, MUC isnt packing up and moving to the East any time soon….yet the EAST can put their money where my ‘MOUSE’ is starting next Saterday!!!
I told ya last year not to underestimate SJF in the Final Four…and SJF only trailed by 5 with 7 minutes to go. Now I see a few posters are already ‘laughing’ at MUC’s East Region competition. Well, for the next 4 weeks, MUC will not be playing the same old ‘one and dones’ they play every year at this time! They will have to get through a hot IC team, and possibly RPI and SJF.
If and/or when MUC steamrolls the East, I will take the heat for this….that is ok, I look forward to the East’s opportunity to bring some heat of their own!
GO ITHACA!!!
You can watch Pat’s preview by going to
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/espnu/index
The D3 Playoff preview is one of the videos listed on the right (sorry, no direct link). You do have to sit through a commercial first. 🙁
SJF,
Great post. I was going to write one too, but you said everything I wanted to say and them some.. Great post man…
Interesting that the D2 championship will be on ESPN2 while the Stagg will be on the Sports Leader itself (ESPN). Take that D2 guys !!
I think this is the year that the NEFC makes it out of the first round. Curry matches up well with Harwick. The key for Curry is to score points here. I don’t know if Hartwick can be stopped on offense, so Curry has to be able to get the ball in the end zone, which they can do seeing they averaged 41.5 ppg.
sjff82,
Love the intensity you still have 13 years after you hung the cleats up! Couldn’t agree more with your sentiments. Go Bombers!