Category Archives: Playoffs

ATN Podcast: Boring? Not really

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Mount Union's Kyle Miller; UW-Whitewater's Levell Copage
Yep. More purple. But is that a problem?

Alright, we’ve heard all the weeping and gnashing of teeth the past couple of days, and there’s certainly reason to talk about it. But, indeed, we’ve got Purple-Purple VI and that’s because they are the best two teams in Division III football.

Would it be better some other way? Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan each have their own takes on it in this week’s Around the Nation podcast.

Stagg Bowl XXXVIII could be the game remembered for its backup quarterbacks — Neal Seaman got knocked out of Saturday’s game early in the first quarter trying to make a stop on an interception and Matt Blanchard, well, who knows? Does it makes sense for UW-Whitewater to play Blanchard at this point even if he’s healthy? Will the Mount Union running game have a shot against UW-Whitewater’s defense?

Plus, a look forward at the rest of the weekend’s festivities in Salem.

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ATN podcast: Four games, plus awards

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Wesley's Chris Mayes
Wesley defensive end Chris Mayes had Mary Hardin-Baylor quarterback LiDarral Bailey in his sights all day on Saturday.
Photo by Peggy Erwin, D3sports.com

Four teams survived and advanced on Saturday … perhaps Mount Union didn’t really have to do the “survive” part … and we have two semifinals upcoming with familiar opponents.

But before we even get there, it’s also awards season, and Keith and Pat give their take on the four Gagliardi Trophy finalists and the apparent direction of the award itself in recent years. We’ve taken to referencing it as the top overall student-athlete in Division III football. Also, the D3 Senior Classic was played on Saturday, taking some important steps forward toward being an all-star game

And then there were the games, including UW-Whitewater’s rally, the impressive showings by the Wesley and Bethel defenses and Mount Union’s methodical dismantling of another opponent. That and we look forward to next week’s two semifinals. All that’s covered too, and it’s even under an hour long this time.

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Game Day: The quarterfinals

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As of this hour, I don’t even know where I’ll be, whether that’s at North Central/UW-Whitewater or St. Thomas/Bethel. My original flight out of MSP to O’Hare has already been canceled and my next shot is 8 a.m. tomorrow.

But at least I should be assured of seeing something.

We’re throwing it open early Saturday, just in case I get stuck in an airport somewhere.