In 2019 the second round of the Division III playoffs featured a number of blowouts, and this year, yes, there were two big wins, perhaps not coincidentally by the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in our Top 25 poll, but a bunch of other games that were one-score or two-score games.

That strikes us as being fairly unusual … and also awesome. Whether that holds up in the quarterfinals remains to be seen, but it’s a start. Could there have really been eight teams in the bracket capable of winning it all? Is Mount Union actually vulnerable after giving up 35 points on Saturday? Does Linfield have what it takes to get past Mary Hardin-Baylor on another long trip?

Plus, every week it becomes time for more and more players to hang up their cleats — some by choice, and some who simply run out of time. We talk to both types in this week’s podcast.

Plus, Ralph Isernia, head coach at RPI, perhaps the most unlikely quarterfinalist, joins us for a playoff-worthy expanded Tight Five to talk about the adversity his team has gone through just in getting this far and the personal sacrifices players have made to come back for this year. That and more in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation podcast.

Related link: Despite a year apart, RPI is thriving

Plus, we hand out game balls from the weekend that was Division III football. We talk about who will rise in the Top 25 poll based on their performance in the first two weeks of the playoffs. And we tackle the question: Is this more parity? Is it just about teams with super seniors?

Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

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Full episode:

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Theme music: DJmentos.
Photos: Caleb Williams, d3photography.com; Dan Hunter, d3photography.com

If the committee doesn’t do its due diligence to make sure it is giving the teams that have the best criteria home games in the playoffs, but the teams that benefited from this mistake ended up losing, does it make a sound?

Sure, UW-La Crosse should not have had to travel to Albion. We knew it. We said it out loud on the last podcast and in the Around the Nation predictions column. But coach Matt Janus and the Eagles made the most of it, going 470 miles by bus to deliver a message about the strength of the WIAC. We talk with Janus about the trip and how UW-La Crosse’s schedule has prepared it for this moment in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation podcast.

Plus we hear voices from all around the bracket, including the reaction of a coach whose program was playing a home playoff game for the first time, one who took points off the board, players who helped deliver the day’s only true upset, and much more. Plus, we hand out game balls from the weekend that was Division III football.

And we were challenged to come up with a solution that might actually get traction in making the NCAA Division III playoffs better. We’ve got a couple! Listen to the podcast to find out. We talk about all of the games from the first round and take an early look at second round games as well.

Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast [ 1:11:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. 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

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

• Apple Podcasts: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
• Google Podcasts: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
• iHeart Radio: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
  Stitcher: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
• Spotify: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast

Theme music: DJmentos.
Photos: Perry Laskaris, RPI athletics; Damon Prestby, UW-La Crosse athletics

Now we know who is in and who is out, and unless you are a Hardin-Simmons fan, there might not be a lot to complain about with this bracket. Yes, we thought the Cowboys would be in, and surely many people in Texas did so as well, but as it turned out. But the Region 3 committee thought otherwise — enough so that they even put Randolph-Macon in front of Hardin-Simmons, so Hardin-Simmons never even got to the table for discussion.

In other regions, committees made some interesting decisions that ended up boosting the at-large candidacy of teams in their region. Is that fair or is that gaming the system? Plus, what did the committee get right and what did it get wrong?

Who gets our game balls from a great weekend in Division III football? Hint — both made big plays that secured their team’s place in the postseason.

Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast [ 53:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. 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

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

• Apple Podcasts: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
• Google Podcasts: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
• iHeart Radio: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
  Stitcher: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
• Spotify: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast

Link: Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound to play for The Trophy

Theme music: DJmentos.
Photos: Carnegie Mellon athletics photo