If I had to summarize what I learned in Week 3 in one sentence it would be, “Life after Superman as your quarterback isn’t nearly as much fun.”

The three best quarterbacks I’ve seen in person the past three seasons are Brett Elliott (Linfield), Adam Knoblauch (Delaware Valley) and Mike Orihel (Rowan). The first two graduated, leaving Linfield and Del Val trying to find replacements and ways to score. Through four games the Wildcats and Aggies have combined for 46 points. Yes, they’ve played some very good defenses in (HSU, Wilkes, non-Division III Western Oregon). But there are lots of growing pains when you try to replace quarterbacks like those two.

On the flip side, the sign of a great defense is that they have different guys who impress you on any given weekend. For Wilkes, I’ve been a big fan of All American LB Kyle Follweiler for a couple years now. But it was DT Anthony Serafin who impressed in Week 1, causing havoc in WPUNJ’s backfield. This week it was Wilkes’ defensive ends Keith Cavallotti and Erik VanGilst who used their speed on the outside to cause pass protection problems in the Colonels 14-7 win over Delaware Valley.

Elsewhere…

Back up and running: Springfield College certainly knows how to bounce back from losing seasons. They went from 4-6 in 1999 to 11-2 in 2000…4-5 in 2001 to 8-2 in 2002…4-6 in 2005 to, well, we don’t know yet. But they’ve already registered two impressive wins over Union and Montclair State.

Maybe it’s coincidental that Springfield has this sort of cyclical success. Or maybe it just takes Coach DeLong a little while (about a year) to find some players who can thrive in that triple option set. Once they get that system down, the Pride offense takes off.

Looking at quarterback Chris Sharpe’s numbers over the past four games going back to 2005 — 795 yards and 13 TDs — I think he’s got the system down pretty well now.

Close games are overrated: Five of the top six teams were in action today and won by an average margin of 43.2 points. Mount Union scored 71 and didn’t even have the largest margin of victory — SJU won 60-0.

Magic Carpet Ride Watch: There is usually at least one team a year that has a surprising undefeated run through the regular season. Last year there were at least three in Monmouth, Thiel and Wesley. The year before it was Wooster, to some extent.

There’s still A LOT of football to play, but maybe this year’s magic carpet rider are Concordia (Wis.). At a glance they are the first IBFC team to get through non-conference play unscathed since MacMurray did it back in 2002.

Three cheers for: Wheaton (Ill.) receiver Noah “says if we get in the ark it’ll be” Dreyer, who had 3 TDs in the Thunder’s 45-7 win over Washington University of St. Louis…Mount Union quarterback Mike Jorris who has thrown 10 TDs and just on INT through two games…Bethany Head Coach Tim Weaver whose Bison need just one more win this season to equal their total wins from 2003-2005.

K-Mack’s already done a nice job looking at this weekend’s action so I’ll just quickly throw my two-cents (plink, plink) in the jar.

Wish you were here: While the showdown between No. 7 Hardin-Simmons and No. 11 Linfield should be a lot of fun, I’m pretty satisfied with where I’ll be this week — Edwardsville, Pa. for No. 12 Delaware Valley vs. No. 19 Wilkes.

This game has played a big part in deciding who will win the conference title the last three years. In 2003 Wilkes upended upstart Delaware Valley, knocking the Aggies out of first place for good. In 2004 Del Val clinched the school’s first ever NCAA playoff appearance for a team sport by beating Wilkes 12-0. In 2005 a late field goal by Bill Miller was the margin of victory in the game and the season as the Aggies nosed out Wilkes for the title.

I don’t know how much offense there will be on Saturday, but the two defenses are very good. Maybe first one to 10 wins.

Down sleep on this one: Christopher Newport opened the season by getting drubbed 32-0 by No. 3 Rowan and then bounced back to upset then-No. 6 Mary Hardin-Baylor. Salisbury basically did the opposite, opening with a win over then-No. 15 Washington & Jefferson and then getting beaten handily by Brockport last week. This is a crucial game for both teams who come in 1-1.

Just throwing it out there: Big weekend for the CCIW and the UAA. Elmhurst and Chicago meet after winning their openers by a combined score of 86-0. Wheaton (Ill.) gets a good test in 2-0 Washington University. If you can’t get to a game on Saturday, you could hopefully still watch that second one via streaming video on WETN.

Most likely Top 25 team to lose: Obviously at least two will lose with the aforementioned games between ranked teams. But Bethel could make it three against No. 23 Concordia-Moorhead who is coming off a loss, a bye and a road trip. UW-Whitewater isn’t “likely” to lose, but NAIA Azusa Pacific is a big test and hasn’t lost to a Division III team in a long time.

Super Ridiculous Pick of the Week: It wasn’t that long ago that Hartwick lost some heartbreaking games to Ithaca. In 2002 and 2003 the Bombers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Hawks 19-18. Since the 2003 loss Hartwick has won 8 games total with some Arena Footballicious scores along the way (70-41, 59-41).

Ithaca has given no reason to pick against them in the first two weeks with convincing wins over Buff State and Huntingdon. Meanwhile Hartwick needed a shootout victory over Endicott in Week 1.

So naturally this is a perfect candidate for this week’s super ridiculous pick of the week – Hartwick 42 Ithaca 41 2 OT

And finally…

A pretty cool souvenir: When a certain MIAA team is done playing Austin College this week, they should return home with Austin’s nickname and become the Kalamazoo Kangaroos.

With just about everybody in action except the NESCAC, this is a week for filling shoes.

Enter Tim Benzel (pictured here), Mike Isgro, Dustin Huff.

They are the guys with the unenviable task of filling the shoes of Brett Elliott, Adam Knoblauch and Russ Harbaugh respectivley. Three graduated quarterbacks who led their teams to conference titles and undefeated regular seasons in 2005. Three of the five quarterbacks who were finalists for the 2005 Gagliardi Trophy, which Elliott won.

Elliott has a truck load of honors from his two years at Linfield, a national championship and a roster spot on the San Diego Chargers. Knoblauch has eye popping numbers from starting every game for four years at Delaware Valley. Harbaugh has a senior season in which he threw for 3,000+ yards, led Wabash to the top of the NCAC and helped the Little Giants capture the Monon Bell.

Their departure doesn’t mean the cupboards are bare at any of these schools. Linfield is ranked No. 7, Del Val No. 12 and Wabash No. 22 in this week’s poll.

But the team’s prospects for continued success will hinge on how these players fill the void left behind. At some point, they will be asked to make a play to help keep their team on top. And, other than the goalie in hockey, I’m not sure there’s another position that’s as important to a team’s success in sports as a quarterback.

So good luck to these guys — two seniors and the freshman Isgro — as they try to fill big shoes and maybe start to write their own success stories.

Not to be overlooked: Two other quarterbacks debuted last week for teams with 2005 Gagliardi Trophy finalists.

Sophomore Mark Petruziello went 12-17 for 124 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT for John Carroll in place of graduated Doug Phillips. The Blue Streaks fell to Wooster 30-22.

Sophomore Steve Zidow went 10-19 for 100 yards with 1 INT for Monmouth in place of graduated Mitch Tanney. The Scots were shut out by Wartburg 20-0.

Wish you were here: If I could be at any game in Division III this week, I’d be in Western New York where Alfred hosts Thiel. Neither team is in the Top 25 yet, but both intrigue me. The Tomcats had a nice opening week win and could vault into next week’s poll with a win on the road. Alfred had a good 2005 but I’m not sold yet on whether they will really contend with Ithaca and St. John Fisher for the Empire 8 title.

Don’t sleep on this one: The last time Washington & Jefferson lost two in a row in the same season was…uh…actually, I don’t know because we don’t track scores that far back. After getting upset by Salisbury last week, there’s no way the Presidents don’t come out and lambaste Allegheny (3-7 in 2005) at home, right? Can’t the new Mayor of Pittsburgh sign a law prohibiting losing streaks?

Not so fast. The Gators lost a series of heartbreaking games last year, but started 2006 on the right foot, booting Westminster (Pa.) 35-10. I think Allegheny will give W&J all they can handle here.

Just throwing it out there: Baldwin-Wallace, which features running back Brandon Hedges, takes on traditionally run-heavy No. 15 Augustana. With the new rules designed to speed up the game, won’t this one take about 90 minutes total to play? Can fans get a discount on parking since their car won’t be there as long?

Most likely Top 25 team to lose: I can’t pick Thiel two weeks in a row, particularly after I was wrong last week. It’s one of those unwritten rules like “don’t talk about animal husbandry on a first date.” Trinity (Texas) is tempting, but the Tigers don’t lose games like this one, early in the season against an ASC team. So let’s go with Widener in an upset over No. 23 Wilkes in Chester, Pa.

Super Ridiculous Pick of the Week: Okay, so I’m still 0-for-ever on these. But at least I had Central’s point total right last week! So here we go…

Principia was close last week. So close they could taste it in a 28-20 loss to Crown. I know they are ranked very low in Kickoff’s 234 (if you haven’t bought it yet, you should — but let’s just say they are ranked VERY low). But this is the week the Panthers break through.

Principia WR/DB Schuyler Onderdonk — I love that name — makes a fantastic touchdown catch late and the man known as “Donk” gets an INT on Macalester’s final drive to seal the win.

Principia 14 Macalester 10

And finally…

Couldn’t we do a double-header with Hamilton playing Emory & Henry?: Franklin & Marshall at Washington & Lee