ATN Podcast 307: In camp and ready to rock

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Pat Coleman

Teams are in camp, with the first games coming in just 10 days, on Sept. 1! And while it is definitely too early to talk about this year’s playoff bubble, we decided to visit with two of last year’s bubble teams.

For Hardin-Simmons and coach Jesse Burleson, last year’s Selection Sunday brought disappointment, as the Cowboys were left out of the playoffs. There’s no doubt that the team has been using that snub as fuel for their 2022 fire, and Burleson talks about that, plus the amazing number of players the team has in camp, and how far ahead his team is at this point in the preseason. Plus, you won’t believe how many schools Burleson said he called in order to get one D-III team to agree to play them.

On the opposite side, we have Bethel and coach Steve Johnson. His Royals got new life on Selection Sunday last year, as the team, which had two losses, both to St. John’s, got an at-large bid. The Royals have just over half the players in camp that Hardin-Simmons have, but Bethel has 28 of its top 30 players from last year returning. Johnson talks about the way the Bethel program has been built over his 34 seasons, and what the team’s phrase, “play fast and free” means.

Pat and Greg field a listener question regarding what effect the coronavirus might have on this year’s season, discuss what (if anything) can be learned from a conference preseason coaches’ poll, and much more.

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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Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos: Andy Zavoina for Hardin-Simmons athletics; Caleb Williams, d3photography.com

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ATN Podcast 303: New UMHB coach; scheduling big; SOS

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Pat Coleman

We’re continuing our offseason series diving into interviews with new coaches at Division III football powers, as we check in with Larry Harmon, the new head coach of the defending national champion, Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Much like last month’s guest, new North Central coach Brad Spencer, Harmon had been an assistant coach at his school for years, including defensive coordinator for the past 17. Harmon talks about what the expectations are for the Cru’s title defense, the transition into taking over the UMHB program, and what the team learned from spring ball. Plus, UMHB made some of the biggest news of the Division III offseason in April, announcing an ambitious non-conference schedule of Muhlenberg and UW-Whitewater.

Plus, three words: ASC-WIAC Challenge?! Sounds like it could happen.

That leads us into the other podcast conversation, where we dive into exactly what strength of schedule means, why it’s broken, and what it would take to fix it. We have that conversation with Logan Hansen, @LogHanRatings, the former Wartburg player whose ratings have been refined over the past decade to provide a quality ranking of Division III football programs.

The current SOS metric could take a couple of minor tweaks to fix obvious flaws, and we talk about those, but it needs a wholesale replacement which involves measuring home-field advantage, and yes, margin of victory. Logan talks about how that works, why running up the score won’t work, and much more in our conversation.

Plus, Pat and Greg talk about the various big games on the schedules that have been announced so far.

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

Full episode: [display_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
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Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photo: North Central athletics

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ATN Podcast 298: Breaking down the semifinals

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Pat Coleman

We get a new, never-before-seen matchup in the Stagg Bowl, and that’s something to be excited about. In the latest edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast, Pat and Greg break down each of the semifinals, and North Central coach Jeff Thorne and Mary Hardin-Baylor coach Pete Fredenburg join us to do the same.

For North Central, the key performances came all over the field: from an offensive line missing two starters, from a freshman kicker called on to do the unlikely on a rainy and windy day, and of course from the dare-we-say future All-American running back and his quarterback, and the entire defense. We’ll talk about each of those performances.

For Mary Hardin-Baylor, of course, the biggest performance on offense was from the biggest man on the offense, Brandon Jordan. Plus the defense did more than enough to keep Alex Peete in check, and there are very few questions for UMHB. But we ask those questions anyway!

Plus, we talk about who the elite teams are in Division III football right now, and where does Mount Union rank among them after we’ve had two consecutive Stagg Bowls without the Purple Raiders for the first time since the early 1990s. And what the heck was up with the replay official in Whitewater on Saturday?

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