Triple Take: Third-round predictions

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Welcome to the Round of Eight. The initial 32-team field has been quartered, and it’s Friday — tomorrow we watch as it’s cut in half again.

Reading some of the comments recently, I almost thought ‘why bother with a fancy intro this week?’ But the discerning among you read closely, and that we appreciate, as well as your feedback. So let me jog your minds before we get to the actual picks.

I might not be able to keep pace with Ryan Tipps, but here’s one prediction I’ll nail this week: The three of us (and remember, we take a stab at scores without talking to each other) will be unanimous on three games, and split on one.

There’s no reason to take offense. Three of the dominant programs of the last half-decade are at home tomorrow. Mount Union, UW-Whitewater and Mary Hardin-Baylor have accounted for seven of the past eight Stagg Bowl appearances. And although the Cru, whose 2007 group was one of the best non-Stagg teams of the automatic bid era, lacks the jewelry the other two can show off, they have something no one I can think of does: A winning record (1-0) in Alliance.

So fans of Cortland State, Wartburg and Washington & Jefferson, don’t take it as a sign of disrespect. It’s more like a sign that respect is earned, not given. For certain, this is 2008 were talking about, and history doesn’t strap up on Saturday. All eight teams still standing have earned respect, and they honestly all have a chance to win.

What W&J did defensively and in the running game against Millsaps was tremendous, proving the team was more than just The Bobby Swallow Show. Wheaton and Wartburg, both with two losses, have been playing with their backs against the wall for weeks, and responding again and again. Cortland State and Wheaton played two of the more grueling schedules you’ll find, and Franklin … when that offense gets humming, it’s some see-it-to-believe-it type stuff.

Step back a second and remember that there are 231 Division III football programs who could not be with us this wekend, and the vast majority of them would love to have one more Saturday of football. Enjoy it. Represent college football in its purest form by playing and rooting hard, but being good to each other as well.

What’s been accomplished so far by these elite eight is really special. Four of these teams will end their seasons with a loss Saturday. It’s our job to set the expectation on which ones it will be, but even an “expert” isn’t always 100% sure. There’s reason to believe in every team left.

As always, feel free to tally the composite prediction. And please share your picks below.

MOUNT UNION (East) BRACKET FINAL
No. 3 seed Cortland State at No. 1 Mount Union
Ryan: Mount Union, 45-20
Keith: Mount Union, 38-21
Pat: Mount Union, 52-17

MILLSAPS (South) BRACKET FINAL
No. 5 Washington & Jefferson at No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor
Ryan: UMHB, 38-28
Keith: UMHB, 35-28
Pat: UMHB, 34-24

NORTH CENTRAL (North) BRACKET FINAL
No. 7 Wheaton at No. 5 Franklin
Ryan: Franklin, 42-34
Keith: Franklin, 37-31
Pat: Wheaton, 45-42

WILLAMETTE (West) BRACKET FINAL
No. 7 Wartburg at No. 5 UW-Whitewater
Ryan: UW-Whitewater, 31-21
Keith: UW-Whitewater, 24-7
Pat: UW-Whitewater, 34-13

Hey, hey! Let’s behave out there!

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It’s probably time to reprise something that I’ve posted each of the past couple of years at playoff time, since it’s always relevant and people are pretty engaged in the Daily Dose this time of year.

It’s about sportsmanship. And it’s something we should have throughout college football, but especially here in Division III, at the truly amateur level. As the NCAA disclaimer goes:

“Ladies and gentlemen, the NCAA promotes good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators. We request your cooperation by supporting the participants and officials in a positive manner. Profanity, racial, or sexist comments, or other intimidating actions directed at officials, student-athletes, coaches or team representatives will not be tolerated and are grounds for removal from the site of competition. Also, the consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages at the site of competition is prohibited.”

This has been said so many times in the past dozen years that it comes pouring at as if it were second nature. But there’s a fan (or a few) in every crowd in need of a refresher course. So here it is.
Consider this, fans, especially you students out there. These are big games, no doubt, and it’s great to get excited about them, but these players do not deserve your abuse. A Division III football player gets no special treatment above and beyond what you get. They’re not on scholarship, don’t get special dining halls or treatment in the classroom (in fact, you can count on some professors being harder on football players than on the rest of the class).

I would be in favor of immediately kicking anyone out of the stadium who is in violation of the sportsmanship agreement. So what if you paid $5, $8, whatever to be there? Act like a grownup, since that’s what you allegedly are.

If you need to get all liquored up in order to enjoy a football game, stay home. The football should be reason enough. If you’re of legal age, there’s plenty of time to drink after the game — that’s one of the benefits of a noon kickoff.

I have been fortunate enough this season to be at a lot of games with really big crowds, and I have to say, it seems like there has been less of a problem this year than in years past. Perhaps that’s just the midwest talking, though.

So let’s behave. That’s all.

ATN Podcast: High fives, sevens

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So our predictions weren’t great this week. But picking five road teams to win in the second round of the playoffs was more than a lot of people could have pictured. Two seventh seeds advancing? Well, we did nail that one, at least.

Keith McMillan did the home game this past week, so he watched and listened to pretty much everything, while Pat Coleman took the trip west to Willamette. And the red-eye home. Still catching up on sleep.

But while that happens, you can get their take on a great weekend of Division III playoff football.

You can load the podcast page in iTunes or can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?feed=podcast

Or you can click the play button below to listen.

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