Category Archives: Around the Nation

Our Around the Nation column takes on the world of podcasting.

Around the Nation podcast: Almost quite as expected

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Linfield’s defense sparked the comeback.
Linfield athletics photo

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Crazy comeback on the west coast, a Midwest game with more subplots than a [insert your cliche here] and in all, a good second round of action. Pat and Keith were on-site at Wesley, calling their game with Ithaca, but all eight games get a good run of time on this week’s podcast. Will Bethel continue to perform well with its backup quarterback? Does Wesley have a shot at Mount Union? How about these usual suspects in the round of eight?

For a week in which all three Triple Take pickers got all eight winners right, there were still some surprises, after all.

Plus, there are a couple of short rants here, only one about officiating, Continue reading →

Around the Nation podcast: Stories of the first round

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The Wartburg defense came out fired up and locked down Illinois Wesleyan.
IWU athletics photo by Marc Featherley

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There were some great games in the first round. Some of them were supposed to be great games between evenly matched teams, and in most cases, we got them.

And then there was what Wartburg did on Saturday. Just wow, folks. Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman try to figure out what happened and what we all missed about a Knights team that crushed Illinois Wesleyan on the road in their opening-round game.

Plus, Pat actually talks to Keith about defense, rather than vice versa, Continue reading →

What the committee chair said

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When a former WIAC head coach became the chair of the Division III football committee, it’s understandable why strength of schedule was more important this year.
Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

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With the selection show cut down to less than eight minutes of actual content, there’s no analysis, no breakdown, just a reading of teams and a few nuggets of info. So it’s up to the rest of us to try to generate that, get the committee chair on the phone, try to get some questions answered, etc. Duey Naatz, the athletic director and former head football coach at UW-Stout, gave more than a half-hour of his time to our friends at In the HuddLLe, the weekly show covering the Liberty League and East Region football. Frank Rossi and James Baker are the interviewers on the clip below.

Definitely worth a listen, as there are several insights to be had regarding the emphasis on strength of schedule, how deep you might go within a region for at-large bids and much more. This conversation is also available as part of the Around the Nation podcast, Continue reading →