First of all, props to the four teams eliminated this weekend on fine seasons. Though none of the scores looked close by the end … and one of them was a blowout 10 minutes in … the road to Division III football’s Final Four was never easy.
Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman review the four games and take a first look at the two upcoming in this week’s Around the Nation Podcast.
You can load the podcast page in iTunes or can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?feed=podcast
Or you can click the play button below to listen.
Another great podcast guys !! Thanks for your insight and coverage. One correction : On the PBP you featured from Franklin-Wheaton, Ittersagen did not step in front of the play, he was in a deep zone and the Rupp pass was high into the wind and overthrown. I do not intend to take away from the fact he caught the pass and returned it, just that it was more like fielding a punt than making a defensive break on the ball. Ittersagen’s true brilliance showed on the kick return TD which was a back-breaker and momentum stealer !!
While MUC is the program head and shoulders above everyone else, the other three, UWW, Wheaton, and MHB, are programs that have been models of success for several years and I think represent D3 well.
The remaining games should be pretty solid.
I don’t know how many thought Wheaton would be in the final four, but would guess, many could have fore saw MHB and UWW there.
Great job –
Off topic –
Pat – 100% wrong for suspending my ID on post patterns.
I went back and looked at my last ten posts – Go East Region, one word replies to a couple zingers, and a discussion thread on Boltus. No vulgarity, nothing better or worse than others.
If you disagree with a view fine, if you don’t like someone for their lack of bowing down to the MUC alter Ok, but to shut out someone completely on a web blog of all things though is pretty small on your part. . . .
Disagree, sir. The Terms of Service enable me to get rid of disruptive posters and you overly qualify. Just because it wasn’t in the last 10 posts you managed to get on the board doesn’t mean jack. You violated the TOS earlier, and just because I wasn’t there at the very second you did it doesn’t mean that you get to skate.
And if you want to have this discussion, you can email me privately. This is far, far out of bounds.
Fine – give me your email and we will. . .
What is it again? PatColeman@MUC.edu?
I’ve gotten two other emails that have stated that my comments were not anything out of bounds and far less compared to others – the difference being which teams I do and don’t support.
So yes, give me your real email because this is a railroad job and you know it.
Same as it has been for the past decade: pat@d3football.com.
grizfan4–thanks for your congratulations! Going down fighting are we? Ittersagen doesn’t play a deep zone as Wheaton is a cover 2 team or M2M otherwise. It was a great play by ittersagen to catch the ball and his talent/speed showed after he managed to bring it in.
Wheaton held Rupp to his worst performance of the year. A qb who was completing near 70% of his passes completed just over 50%. He also had 11 picks for the year and Wheaton got 3 in the game. Rupp was the whole show for Franklin and Wheaton’s discipline to stay with the run game and not try to get into a shootout was the difference in keeping him off the field. Pete Ittersagen and Rocky Gingg had career days.
Franklin was very good and deserved to be there but in the end Wheaton was a better team and played like it. The Thunder will have their hands full in familiar territory this week.
USEE … no – not going down fighting at all. The play happened right in front of me and I can only tell you what I saw from 10-15 yards away. It WAS a great play by Ittersagen, and I commend him for his athleticism … as I also pointed out his kick return was AMAZING as he weaved through the coverage and then put on a burst of speed that was nearly blinding !! My only point was that the “PBP call” in the podcast indicated a defensive step in front of a receiver for the pick — whereas it was an overthrown ball that sailed into his arms as he played deep – whether it was M2M and he was playing off 10 yards deep, or something else. Wheaton played a great game — dominated the line of scrimmage, scored when given the opportunities deep in Franklin territory, and kept the Franklin offense off the field at the end. They deserved the win and I will no doubt be looking for a great showing against MUC.
SJF Fan: If you’d take your head out of your rearend long enough to follow this site for more than a week or two, you’d realize that Pat is anything but a MUC shill.
If anything, D3football.com AVOIDS talking about Mount Union until the last couple rounds of the playoffs.
Yah! I am TIRED of Mount not getting the RESPECT they deserve! I mean Pat isn’t even coming to the Mount game. He wants to go where “it’s warm” or some such thing. 🙂
Pat….who IS doing the Mount/Wheaton game?
He is saving his Mount Union visit for the Stagg Bowl. 😉
Keith, I highly disagree with your feeling of UMHB’s loss to SO. At that time, we had 3 guys at RB that have not had a carry the last several games. Our leading rusher was a freshman, something you hardly ever see from UMHB. Another thing not fully understood, we have a QB now that is patient and content. Nothing to take away from Welch and Padron, but Saenz is SO patient! He really waits for the holes and will take what he can. We have two quarterbacks now that are fairly big for us, and they do a great job of passing. Welch was never really a great thrower. He ran the option well, but when it came to getting the pass down field, didn’t really have what we needed in the playoffs. I think that what you see from UMHB now and in the future is something that will surprise you!
Well said umhb2001!!!!!!!!!!!
You know, if I hear one more person say that stupid [expletive] about bowing at the MUC altar …
Stop trying to sound cool and tough. Man up and give respect where it is due.
Unlike such eminently hateable teams as the Yankees, who outspend nearly everybody else, or the Dallas Cowboys, who employ guys who run their mouths or run afoul of the law, Mount Union does things the way you wish your program did. And in fact, if St. John Fisher, Hobart, Ithaca or any of about 220 others did it 1/9th as well, we’d shower them with deserved praise, because that’s what happens when you tell it like it is.
You don’t have to like them or UW-W or UMHB et. al., but you should respect them. Otherwise you just make yourself look bad.
Jealousy is a stinky cologne, my brothers.
Also,
I’m confused as to why people think it’s their right to post on D3football.com rather than a privelege.
Shoot, Pat could kick ME off the site for violating the TOS, being a general nuisance or any other reason he sees fit, really.
Sucked in again 🙂
UMHB2001,
Certainly you’re entitled to disagree, but I’m not sure what there is to disagree with, since you’re on the inside, and I was basically describing how it looked from afar. It was a loss to a 3-5 NAIA team that didn’t make much sense at the time, and if injuries were so much of a factor that they could drop a game like that, I certainly didn’t come into the playoffs (as evidenced by my picks) expecting what they’ve done lately.
It’s been a great surprise, and whoever said this isn’t UMHB’s best team but it has been playing as well as any the past two weeks is on to something.
I think most certainly we don’t KNOW who’s going to win at this point, which makes the final four a heck of a lot more compelling than the final eight/third round was.
Yeah you have Mount Union, but you have two teams who have beaten the Purple Raiders the last time they played them, so whichever one it ends up being, assuming Wheaton doesn’t scale the Mount, I don’t think there’s going to be a strong favorite going into Salem.
I think we have a compelling Stagg Bowl locked in. If Wheaton wins, it’s wow, what a run. UMHB would come in wanting to win their first title. MUC is not the champ but trying to send Kmic/Micheli out on top. And UWW could defend with a mostly new cast. All kinds of storylines.
And being surprised is what it’s all about — who wants to watch when they know who’s going to win?
Points well taken about the QBs. I remember often saying if some of UMHB’s previous teams could pass just well enough to take the pressure off — and Fredenburg always said he was working towards this — it would add the extra dimension necessary to keep teams off balance.
Although when I say a team can be one dimensional offensively and win if it’s exceptional at that one dimension, UMHB is one of the teams I am thinking of. If they can line up and run right at you and you can’t stop it, well, uh … there ain’t a scheme in the world that can help you at that point.
D3Keith,
You’re right on. Folks need to refocus their thoughts and realize that their teams need to GET BETTER!!! UMHB realized that, UWW realized that, and from what I’ve seen R-Mc, Cortland ST and Hobart are turning the corner. As long as LK in in charge Mount is not going anywhere. The thing with LK is he truly believes one can reach perfection. If they’re 14-0, 13-1 runners up, champs, it doesn’t matter because the program has not reached their true potential (in his eyes). I read a lot of garbage saying Mount fans are smug, big headed and so on. We have earned that right to a point but one thing is for sure, just as LK demands from his players we RESPECT all of Mounts opponents. However, if someone makes an attack the Mount Union family we will have each others backs.
I’ve been following the site for a little while now, but this is my first time posting, and I think you guys do a great job with balanced coverage of all the teams, so thanks for that.
I’ll confess my bias right up front: I’m a Wheaton College employee and my younger brother is a Senior on the team this year, so I’m in the minority of people who think the Thunder can overcome Mount Union on Saturday (it won’t be easy by any means, but I think this team can pull it off). These guys have a LOT of respect for MU and are definitely aware of their own underdog status, but they also know they’ve had an unlikely run, so they won’t be overconfident going into the game in Alliance. Either way, it should be a good game and I’m looking forward to it.
Well, I don’t know how far I am on the inside, but having just been a fan since football came to UMHB in 98 and have seen a bunch of games, I’d like to think I have a little insight. Anyways, all I was saying was that judging the Cru from the SO game would be difficult. Loosing QD was huge, and we hadn’t really found ourselves yet. The D had been banged up as well, and so to think we were sliding a bit would be said while neglecting the injuries we had sustained. I guess it comes as an expectation around these parts, as we expect to see the Cru at or near the top every year, so thinking we had slid seems reasonable. I just wanted to give a bit of info into the situation!
On a different note, I don’t understand the contempt for MU and UWW. They are great teams that have been the standard, not the exception the past few years! In some ways, we are still trying to emulate that, as we have not won our first title. But there is a new air about this Cru team, one that I haven’t seen before! They are confident and will come at you hard, as I know WW will! I look forward to the game!!
I can count the number of UMHB home games I have missed ( since 1998), on one hand. And I’ve attended most away games that are within a days drive…(I’m retired-smile). My observation of this years team is that while they are not as “individually” talented as teams of the past…..they have, over the course of this year, developed a “hell of a lot” of character. I’m talking about character that has been forged by having to “step-up” when called…..one example is the freshman running back who played for the junior varsity on Monday…..then gained 100 yard for the “Big Boys” on Saturday. Having served in the Army for over 30 years I’m well acquainted with the challenge of training young men….these UMHB coaches have done a wonderful job. I’ve taken the opportunity to visit with these young guys after the games and they are courteous, grounded young men. They will be ready to “step-up” again on Saturday!!!
YEE-HAW————–git er done! Can’t we move the game up a couple of days so we can see some smash mouth a little sooner?
An honest look at the crusaders showed a team that struggled at the beginning of the year because of multiple injuries. It was not necessarily a struggle against opponents, they continued to win easily against everyone except a great Hardin Simmons team, but a struggle to find the rhythm and strength of past crusader teams. Out of the struggle, though, has emerged a team that is more well rounded than any team they have ever fielded. The move of Bryson Tucker from defense to offense was a brilliant move. The guys have pulled together to create an exciting multi-dimensional football team with an unexpected game plan each week. As a fan, I have enjoyed the end of the season immensely, and the last two games have revealed two amazing performances. I can’t wait to see them compete with Whitewater once again.
Wheaton is in a very similar position to where UMHB was in 2004. We came in with an at-large bid because of a loss to Hardin Simmons, then beat Mount Union and had a trip to the Stagg Bowl. It is underdog teams that come out and win that make this game so fun to follow. It is also a fun part of the game to go out and try to beat the best. Without a doubt, Mount Union gets the best of each team they play each week, and yet they still continue to win, that is quite a legacy. (We would still rather play Wheaton in the Stagg bowl!)
Should be an exciting weekend of football!
Skunks,
I will be joining Matt Florjancic in the booth for the d3football broadcast in Alliance on Saturday.
Hey, we got snow here in Belton TX——————should set well for UWW. Oh, wait a minute———-it is suppossed to be back up in high 60’s for Saturday——-they are saying around 68-69 degrees. Well, that’s TX weather for ya. One day we have a blizzard and the next it’s a heat wave.
With all of the weapons Mt. has, Ittersagen may be forced to cover Shorts one on one all day. Should be a great match up, Wheaton had better get pressure on Micheli.
As an IL resident (with no traceable phone calls to our fine governor) I am rooting for Wheaton to do well. Doing well though, is based on reasonable expectations. Wheaton, like most other successful schools, probably needs to pay a bit more dues first. Their game against MUC will help them build for the future, but I don’t believe it will put them in the Stagg this year. I hope they are competitive into the fourth quarter.
UWW was successful against MUC for a variety of reasons; sound tackling being one of the biggest factors. Although I haven’t seen UMHB this year, I have a feeling that UWW’s chances for a fourth visit to Salem rests on how well they tackle- and then maybe a battle of field goal kickers. This puts a lot of pressure on two new linebackers and a totally new starting secondary. I do feel this game will be less about schemes and play calling, and much more about old time football.
randy???????????//
Great piece on Chad Reynolds. He was instrumental in breaking down the Cortland St defense and will be needed again on Saturday.
All (including Kieth and Pat, our “Big Brother” censors),
Looks like nothing was learned from our lengthy and heated discussions a couple of weeks ago. I tried telling eveyone back then to take a real close look at the MUC program prior to yelling from the mountain tops about how good MUC is. I asked that you stop looking only at the win-loss record. Keep in mind I want MUC to win it all. It’s like we are right back to where we were. I wouldn’t want Hobart to get better if it meant having 180 kids on the team. I’m happy with Hobarts 34-9 record that my son was instrumental in getting over his 4 year career. It certainly is not close to the record that MUC has amassed over the past four years, but…so what. Hobart did it with only 90-100 kids on a roster at any given time. I would venture to say that what Hobart has accomplished is even better than MUC, given what they had to work with.
Keith and Pat,
Could you tell me please, did you censor anyone else but me during my argument with you folks two weeks ago. I mean, I don’t recall calling anybody names but I do recall being called names by plenty of MUC fans. In fact, in your earlier post, you called SJFfan “stupid {expleteive}”. Is this good honest journalism. You said that SJF and Hobart would get more press if they did things 1/9th as well. Was that just from the hip or is there something that you actually have in mind. 1/9th of what? For example, Hobart has won the LL 3 of the last 4 years. They are 34-9 in the last four years. Is this 1/9th of anything. We have to be 1/9th of what exactly.
Actually, of course, you are mistaken. Keith didn’t call him a stupid [expletive] — he said that what the guy said was stupid [expletive].
So even though you are completely twisting the meaning of what he said, your post is here anyway. Take heed of that. There are thousands of comments on our blog, not all of them positive. We let anything through that isn’t spam, but as I tried multiple times to explain to you privately, first-time commenters and comments from new IP addresses fall into our moderation filter.
I thought you were done posting? 🙂
bartman………………………………………..go away……………………
Pat,
I guess I just couldn’t stay away. This stuff is just too interesting for me to “sit on the sidelines” (like most of the MUC players). OK, I admit, a cheap shot…Sorry! Don’t you MUC people get all crazy (read nasty) on me again.
Point od contention: you did not tell me “multiple times” about your policy. You told me once.
I understand your explanation about first time posters. It is an understandable and necessary requirement of running a blog. This explains why a post may take some time to get on the stream, but it does not explain you trying to keep me off the stream initially. No matter. My point is that maybe you should remind EVERYBODY, not just us upstate NY people, that they need to be nice and not call others names.
You really are threading the needle there re: Keiths name calling. My feeling is that when you call someones words Stupid [expletive], you are also calling that person stupid [expletive].
Go MUC.
Purplephyco,
Really thought that one out….huh? Hey Pat, is Purplephyco being nasty here or is it just me?
It’s just you.
Just you twisting people’s words around.
Just you beating a dead horse. (Well, now that SJF Fan is done beating it. He hasn’t emailed me.)
Just you taking cheap shots.
“it does not explain you trying to keep me off the stream initially.”
I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Your comments were held for moderation automatically. Then they were approved. When there are hundreds of comments and I’m traveling, not every comment can be approved in a timely manner and sometimes things fall through the cracks. If I tried to keep you off the stream, trust me, you would be off the stream.
Ax-grinding is a good way to get off the stream.
Here s an honest question. It has probably been asked before, but I haven’t seen it: Why doesn’t MUC move up to the DII level for better competition. The fact is that MUC really isn’t challanged until they get to the semi-finals. This happens year after year. I would like to hear the MUC fans opinion about this. When Hobart was winning the National Championship in DIII lacrosse every year, they moved to DI. Initially they got their butt’s handed to them but are doing better as of late.
I rarely post anything on this sight but I do have to agree with HScoach in that this site recognizes a lot of different schools across the country during the reglular season and that there is usually no reference to MUC until the playoffs. MUC is a small college in a small town with normal kids with normal athletic ability who rarely get any press in the big-city newspaper 40 miles away. Individually they are not special but as a team they are able to succeed and I have to compliment the coaching for this. How else do you explain what they have been able to accomplish in the third quarters year after year. It’s knowing who you are playing and being able to adjust on the fly. Just normal kids!!
bartman, welcome back! I for one(and probably the only one), missed you. Hey I got a great idea, drive done to MT. this weekend (I’ll get the Genny’s, my treat) and we’ll watch Mount get to another Stagg bowl. Wadda ya say cowboy?
Pat,
Here is what I’m talking about. You refused to put my post on until I wrote to you via E-mail. Had I not written to you my post would have never made it on. C’mon, stop being holier than thou and be honest…at least with yourself.
No, you’re not biased at all….NOT. The horse is not dead, it is still alive and kicking. Just look at some of your favorite peoples post. Telling me to “go away” is not nasty? You need to get past your dislike of me and my writing to really see others as they are. A nasty, nasty bunch. Including you, my freind.
I think that you and Keith are too close to this thing. I think you should hand off the reins to someone else because you are starting to believe all the butt kissing that is going on here.
Sometimes comments fall through the cracks. I think I said that. Your second comment alerted me to the fact that there were others that hadn’t made it up. This past Saturday 30 of the comments went into the moderation queue. It’s easy for one to get missed.
Thanks for providing your view of the business. Sounds like you need to fund or run a rival site if you think you need to keep us honest. But I’m not worried — I think you’ll find the hours required and the low-to-nonexistent pay is a real barrier.
bartman, what about me? Alliance, Genny’s? Who luvs ya?
R24aider,
I’m positive that you are the only one that missed me. Can you get Genny in Ohio? Can you garauntee my safety? I won’t get jumped or anything will I?
If I do come down, just look for the guy with panties on….oh..wait, you won’t be able to see them. OK, just look for the big guy with a very condescending look on his face. No, i wouldn’t want you to mistake me for Pat. How ’bout this, I’ll be the guy wearing Hobart Orange.
I’ll look like a big 320 pound pumpkin
cant we all just get along and focus on the games this weekend. the past is over. mount union is d3. there not moving up. whitewater found a way to beat us, mary harden baylor, onu, etc,. other teams just have to get better.and they are. no point to move to d2 and give scholarships.
r24aider.. carefull with them gennys, might wanna check out the sam adams winter brew.
Don’t knock the Genny beer, or we really will have a problem.
Just so you know, if I start cheering for MUC, I am loud and obnoxious. The big orange pumkin in a sea of purple.
You could have probably guessed the obnoxious part…silly me.
WE’VE HEARD FROM UWW, UMHB AND MUC FOLKS, WHERE THE HECK IS WHEATON? PROBABLY ON THEIR WAY TO ALLIANCE 400 MILES, HAVE A SAFE TRIP WE WILL SEE YOU SATURDAY.
BARTMAN, WAIT TILL YOU TRY THE FAMOUS HOOD BURGER (AT 320 MAY 3 OR 4) THE BEST!
wow. it never stops. just like the constant whining at home years ago from my then 4 year old about why he couldn’t have fruit loops for every meal, every day of the year.
bartman, 4 years old and fruit loops?
i might be onto something……….
HScoach, NOW YOU WENT AND DID IT. YOU HURT BARTMANS FEELINGS AND NOW HE MAY NEVER COME BACK! WHERE ARE THE WHEATON FOLKS?
HSCoach,
Take a chill pill pal. There really is no need to be so angry.
R24aider,
Naw, he didn’t go and hurt my feelings. For whatever reason he is just an angry man. Anyway, I’m going to ask my wife if I can take a trip down to Alliance to watch MUC kick some butt. I may even put a purple hat on. Last time I was down there I felt like I had to hide the beer bottle. Is that not the case?
Pat,
Is HSCoach calling me a 4 year old nasty or not. I can’t seem to get your criteria straight.
R24Aider (since you are my best buddy now),
I know I have only seen one game, so per HSCoach I’m not worthy of a comment, but here goes.
From what I’ve seen, if you don’t keep MUC’s offense off the field you’re done for, kaput, fine’, finido. The key for any MUC opponent is to take time off the clock, even if you don’t score on any particular drive. When the MUC offense gets the ball, you can stop them, but not 3 times in a row. The only way to stop the MUC offense even once is with a rested defense. It obviously gets harder after that if your offense is going 3 and out. This is the reason: When a team has as potent a running back as Kmic, the linebackers have to stay at home. Even when MUC doesn’t use him, he is holding sway over an entire linebacking unit.
MUC’s defensive speed is simply superior, so when a hole opens up,and they do, MUC fills the hole twice as quick as a normal team would. Similarly with the secondary: if your reciever is open, and he will be, he won’t be open for long. That is why a team needs to be perfect to beat MUC. Speed, Speed, Speed.
Assuming that the next couple of teams are not quite as fast as MUC, the only way to deal with MUC’s speed advantage is through execution.
Since Hobart laid clear a problem with the MUC punt return team, don’t even try a fake punt because you know the MUC coaching staff was all over that on Sunday morning at breakfast.
Can you tell me if Cortland tried a fake put?
Any ways, I’m sure the above is obvious to all, but I just wanted to get my opinions down. I hope they are clear and concise, I’m only four years old after all.
Go Purple Raiders!!!
I hope I didn’t spell his name wrong, My apologies if I did.
R24Aider,
I’m also a bit surprised at the lack of Wheaton support on here, but I’ll proudly represent the Thunder. (I did post up the thread a bit, but the “First timer” filter delayed my post a bit).
I won’t be able to make the 7 hour drive this weekend, but I’ll be cheering my team on from here. I’ve got a good feeling that the trend of the Thunder getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Purple Raiders is going to end! (I can hope, right?)
Go Thunder!