We get letters over the course of a week, some of which are worth sharing. This recent sampling is pretty indicative of the usual e-mail.

Submitted by Xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxxxxxx@adephia.net) on Saturday, October 07, 2006 at 08:18:45 PM

I could not believe what I saw at Hampton-Sydney Va.today.I and 75 other Emory & Henery parents and fans witnessed the home officials throw the game for
HSC. I have witnessed this happening at the high school level but never in my wildest thoughts would this happen at the college level.

All be it we are only talking about the D-3 level, If this would of happened D-1 on national TV. with 30 million watching and fifty camaras on the game there would of been White House investigation. It’s a sad day when our sons find out that college football is corrupt. Book score HSC 24 Emory 21, real score Emory at least 21 HSC 10!!! Thanks for allowing me to vent.

I’ve heard lots of negative things and witnessed some by officials in this conference, but to suggest that they were corrupt is pretty silly. But venting is healthy, I’m sure.

Submitted by xxxxxx (xxxxxx@hotmail.com) on Monday, October 09, 2006 at 10:57:24 AM

Why is Rowan ranked so high? They just barely beat New Jersey and play nobody in the NJAC that is worth anything. Union came very close to beating them in the playoffs last year, and play a tougher schedule than Rowan, but are not in the top 25. I think D3 football.com is the best thing to happen to small college football, but you guys seem to be so in love with certain leagues, while ignoring others.

Rowan is presenting a bit of a problem for us right now, to be sure. I keep sliding them down on my own ballot and others are doing the same — as you can see, they keep falling even though they are winning. But is Bridgewater better than Rowan? Is Occidental? Who have either of those teams played? Is Central better? They haven’t put anyone away and keep getting taken to overtime.

Curious to know who he thinks we’re ignoring.

Submitted by xxxxx (xxxxxxxxxxxxx@sbcglobal.net) on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 01:15:09 AM

Subject: Who’s That Guy
Notes: YES I HAVE HEARD ABOUT A DOMINIQUE TAYLOR WHO PLAYS FOR LA. COLLEGE WHO IS THIS GUY ANF WHERE HE COME FROM. HE’S REALLY GOOD.

I see he has a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, but my gut tells me you know a lot more about this kid than I do and are just fishing for a compliment.

Submitted by Xxxxx Xxxxxxx (Xxxx_Xxxxxxx_23@yahoo.com) on Wednesday, October 04, 2006 at 05:45:20 PM

I was just wondering if you could send me a listing of all the top colleges that are heavenly recruiting

Many religious schools in Division III but I think most are recruiting living players. No, seriously, spelling aside, we get this question a lot and we are not a recruiting service.

OK,
So someone will post later with a fancier, more well-thought-out writeup, but until then, here are some reactions to the games in progress and early scores coming in.

St. Olaf’s not yet in St. John’s class. Period.

Same could be said of Mount Union and ONU this year, although I imagine that’s mostly a function of the Polar Bears having not much of the same team that won 21-14 in Alliance last year. Only five starters returned this fall. Still, 49-7 is a big swing. Wonder if the Purple Raiders were looking to make a statement, and I wonder if any of the three voters with UWW No. 1 will swing their vote this week.

Juniata up 27-3 over Susque in the 4th. Tri-State almost joining them on the long-losing-streak broken bandwagon, but they can’t catch a break. They fell in 2 OTs.

We got 10-7 Hardin-Simmons at the half in Texas … sounds about right.

In the Liberty, Union over WPI in a one-point squeaker, while RPI falls to St. Lawrence. Someone on the blog earlier in the week (Cortland?) said the LL didn’t look “down” so much this year as it looked more even across the board. Early results from today support that.

I’m sure there’s more to take note of, and there will be as the day rolls along, My babies just woke up from naps simultaneously, so I gotta roll anyway.

Discuss.

Clearly, peeps can’t wait to start being chatterboxes about this Saturday’s games, and rightfully so.

Therefore, in the absence of a well-thought-out Gordon Mann blog post to kick things off (although one is probably coming), here’s the ATN five games to watch and others to peek at with your peripheral vision:

Five games to watch
Skimming the schedule, I got about halfway down, seeing a few that intrigued me and the best game looking like Lycoming at Wilkes. And then we hit the mother lode. This is the week. Enough with the tune-ups against creampuffs and out-of-conference/out-of-division games. Some conference races are about to get ugly.

No. 10 Ohio Northern at No. 1 Mount Union
The Polar Bears are looking crazy-good right now, averaging a 29-10 win in four games, having given up single digits in the past three and coming off a 26-0 shutout of Otterbein. They’re giving up fewer than 150 yards per game as the nation’s No. 2 defense. And the Purple Raiders dwarf all of that. Their average win is 66-7, they’ve got two consecutive shutouts and the nation’s No. 4 defense, along with the No. 1 offense. And the game is in Alliance for the second consecutive season. The Polar Bears’ trump card, despite having fewer players back from last season, is that they won there last year 21-14.

No. 5 Hardin-Simmons at No. 12 Mary Hardin-Baylor
Here’s defacto title game No. 1 this week, and it’s never an easy one to predict. The Cowboys can come in riding high, like last season, and get chumped 38-7. Two seasons ago Hardin-Simmons won the midseason matchup 49-22, only to lose 42-28 to UMHB in the playoffs. The American Southwest title is likely on the line in a game that could have a ripple effect throughout Division III. If the Crusaders and Cowboys each make the postseason and Trinity (Texas) wins the SCAC, a Texas team will play an out-of-state team in the first round (there are no more byes to help avoid this) for the first time since HSU played Wittenberg in 2001.

No. 4 St. John’s at St. Olaf
A pair of 5-0s meet in a possible defacto title game, although there are MIAC challenges a plenty the rest of the way for the Oles. St. Olaf brought a 7-0 record into the game last year, lost 63-9 and let its playoff chances go the following week in a 49-35 loss to Concordia-Moorhead. They do get the Johnnies in Northfield this time, and St. John’s hasn’t overwhelmed in either of its MIAC games.

Washington & Jefferson at Thiel
This is the third game on the list that will likely decide a conference title, and because of the PAC’s Pool B status and each team’s early-season loss, the playoff implications are grand. Conference-title-wise, Thiel is 2-0 in PAC games already while it’s the Presidents’ opener, but since these are the only two conference teams with winning records, it’s safe to say the winner is in good shape.

Monmouth at St. Norbert
The fourth defacto title game, and I promise it’s the last time I’ll use that word this week. This one is more like an elimination game than any of the others, however, because the NCAA committee has never taken two Midwest Conference teams in the same season. Monmouth’s loss to Wartburg hurts its Pool C chances with a loss, and hurts the league’s profile (and therefore, St. Norbert’s chances) if the Scots win. The Green Knights haven’t lost since a 28-20 defeat in this game last year, and have only played one close game since, two weeks ago against Lake Forest. Oddly, like the ONU-MUC game, this one is at St. Norbert for the second year in a row.

Also keep an eye on — No. 3 Capital at John Carroll, UW-Platteville at No. 7 UW-La Crosse, No. 11 Occidental at Redlands, No. 13 Central at Luther, No. 15 St. John Fisher at Brockport State, Lycoming at No. 16 Wilkes, North Central at No. 20 Wheaton, Augustana at Elmhurst, Texas Lutheran at Howard Payne, Trinity (Texas) at Huntingdon, UW-Oshkosh at UW-Stout.