 Leo Gutierrez was the fourth of four Mary Hardin-Baylor players to rush for more than 100 yards Saturday. |
A strong ground game; playing strong defense. These are the tenets of teams that go deep into the playoffs, and they were things that all eight winners had in common in Saturday’s second round. (Other than UW-Whitewater on defense.)
Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan break down Saturday’s playoff games, from the thrillers at St. Thomas and UW-Whitewater to the snoozers at Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wesley. At least those two teams will meet in what is expected to be an epic on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
Plus we have an MIAC rematch and more coming up in this week’s games with the much-awaited UW-Whitewater/North Central showdown.
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I heard Mary Hardin had 14 flags and 5 turnovers…..
Keith and Pat – Please don’t apologize or for that matter explain yourself to anyone who has a problem with what you talk about on this or any podcast. If people have a problem with what you talk about in the world of D3 sports on this site why don’t they go to all of those other great D3 websites that go so far in depth. Yeah, those sites do a much better job then Pat and Keith do here. I disagree with their point of views once in a while and wish my team got more coverage too, but this isn’t UWW.D3FOOTBALL.com or UMU.D3FOOTBALL.COM. Wisconsin and Minnesota apologize to all teams not in the area for having teams left in the playoffs. You could lump NCC in there with those teams too since they are so close to Wisconsin. These teams all wanted to apologize to every other state for playing well and accomplishing so much.
Pat and Keith keep up the good work and if these schools fans have a problem with you giving their team 2 minutes the next time give them 0 and they shouldn’t have anything to complain about.
@Keith – I may have used the wrong word… but my comment about the NCAA is basically to say that the seedings (something we NEVER see in basketball) are based pretty much on numbers only. There is nothing else considered… so Wesley is basically the overall number one team in the bracket because of this only… not whether or not they are actually the best team in the country overall.
footballfan: Yes that is true…they’ve got to get both under control, to advance. But in their defense,…..those “things” sometime occur more often, when you empty your bench as they did against Thomas More.
I agree with your assessments Keith regarding the MUC (now UMU)/Wesley game. Plenty of opportunities for Wesley to overtake Mount given the abrupt exit of Rocco by a vicious sandwich hit.
What struck me during the game was the demeanor of the Wesley players on the sidelines. Early in the game, they were bantering with the fans and very confident.
In the second half, their confidence level waned and the bantering stopped. Some of that I’m sure was due to the coaches instructing them to focus on the game and not the stands but I saw less swagger and heads starting to hang.
I realize the game turned into the Cecil Shorts show and that won the game for Mount (similar it sounds with Coppage for UWW last Saturday).
My pont was that Wesley just didn’t seem to have the confidence to know they could beat Mount no matter the circumstance. Whether that was going to Alliance or the acceptance they didn’t have an answer to Shorts is debatable but I think it was a bit of both.
Great Post deucedubs! I agree completely. The big 2 do get a lot of coverage but than again why wouldn’t they? They make news longer than any of the rest. It will make it more exciting when one of our teams eventually knocks them off. I don’t always agree with everything on this site, however where else would I go to get this much depth on d3 football. Being new to d3 football I had never even heard of many the college’s especially on the east coast and yet now I can talk with some knowledge on what kind of offenses some of these teams run as well as getting wonderful human interest stories about them. Thanks again to Pat and Keith for their hard work.
From the UWW fan site last night:
11/30/2010 Leipold: We hope to have Matt Blanchard back for the North Central game
Who will be quarterbacking the UW-Whitewater football team on Saturday when the Warhawks take on No. 1 seed North Central College in NCAA Division III quarterfinal action in Naperville, Illinois?
“Right now its looking like Matt (Blanchard) will start,” Hawk head coach Lance Leipold indicated on Monday night’s KOOL 106.5 UW-Whitewater Coaches Show. “He (Blanchard) has made steady progress in his rehab process,” Leipold said. “His work during this week’s practice will ultimately determine if he (Matt) will be back after missing the first two playoff games.”
Does anyone know what happened to the brackets we picked at the beginning. I have been pretty bummed not find it because I know I picked (luckily) every game right in the first round.
I may has missed it, but can someone explain why St. Thomas and Bethel did not play each other in the first round of the playoffs? If the committee held true to travel costs in matchups – it would seem those two would have played each other…I can bet you that had Hardin Simmons made the playoffs, they would have played UMHB in the first round….
brewcru: yeah…I understand… frustrating huh ?. I personally gave up asking those type of questions a few years back…there always seems to be a “logical” reason….(that does not “favor” the ASC). As “they” say, “it is what it is”.
Good Luck to all of the remaining teams. DIII football is truly football at its best! With that said, why does MT Union not allow any type of live broadcast of this game. Does the coach really think that another team might find a flaw at this late in the season. Come on! They won’t even give our SID an internet access. Real Class Act! Are you also searching for scouts for the other teams that might be at the game, and if you found one would you let them in?? Good Luck Alfred University. We will be listening and cheering you on this Saturday!!!
Any news on the video feed from Wesley vs UMHB Game? I just bought my HDMI Cable to hook up the computer to my big screen……
footballfan: Just posted to the UMHB web-site…..”The game will kick off at 11:00 AM Central Time and will be broadcast locally on KTEM 1400 AM. There will also live video streaming, live audio streaming and live statistics available. You can find those links through the UMHB athletic department web site at http://www.cruathletics.com. The UMHB Student Life Division and Campus Activities Board will also be hosting a watch part on campus this Saturday for those who cannot make the trip to Dover.”
Thanks Sarge!!!
Bethel and St. Thomas are within 500 miles of several other playoff qualifiers each year and UMHB and HSU are not. Simple as that.
The handbook even says to avoid conference rematches when possible. When it’s going to cost them the price of flying someone into UMHB and HSU out somewhere else, you’re actually talking about a two-flight difference (i.e. 124 plane tickets; two 52-man teams and 10-person travelling parties) from just having them play each other.
It’s not fair. But at least now you can understand why.
“They won’t even give our SID an internet access.”
I’ve never had any trouble getting Internet access at Mount Union.
Does that mean no live video Pat? I have me computer all hooked up to my TV for the game tomorrow……. I sure hope I can find a live feed
Yes, no live video from Mount Union.
How about Wesley?
the NCAA seeded THAT team (St. Thomas)ahead of Mt. Union and Whitewater??!! Are they all INSANE??!!