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ATN Podcast 308: Best things to watch in 2022

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We’re getting ready to kick it all off with the first week of Division III football games for 2022 this weekend, and this week’s podcast takes you around to the big stories and big things we’re watching across Division III this season. We take it on, region by region. What’s fun in the 1? What’s new in the 2? What do we see in the 3? What’s in store in the 4? Who’ll thrive in the 5? What’s in the mix in the 6? Pat and Greg run it all down, along with special guest Frank Rossi of In the Huddle weighing in on Regions 1 and 2.

Plus, we know — we know, sometimes it’s hard to pay attention in the offseason. If that’s you, never fear — Pat runs down the big news from the offseason, in song form. Yes, in song form — picture the Yakko’s World song from Animaniacs, and if that doesn’t resonate with your generation, just know we tested it against a 9-year-old, a 20-year-old, a 39-year-old and a 49-year-old and they had all heard the original. Lyrics below, in case it’s too fast to follow!

There are a number of big games — rest assured we’ll talk plenty about UW-Whitewater at St. John’s and Muhlenberg at Mary Hardin-Baylor in other ways before those games kick off, so we focus on two additional games to watch.

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.

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

Full episode: [display_podcast]

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos: Delaware Valley athletics photo; Westminster (Pa.) athletics photo by by Jason Kapusta; Wittenberg athletics photo by Nick Falzerano

Full lyrics to D3 world: 

UMHB won the national title and blew the ’19 champs away
And 36 weeks later, offseason’s over and let’s all get ready to play
Coach Fred retired and Jeff Thorne got hired at D-I so both guys are gone
So how many coaches still left have a title? It turns out the answer is none.

Hilbert is taking the field this season, with seven games all on the slate
And 229 others are hoping a postseason trip is their fate

(Sorry, NESCAC, let us know when you are ready for the playoffs)

The Carousel turned and coaches were spurned with many more moving around
Defiance keeps turning, Alvernia’s learning it’s hard to get teams off the ground
Jim Collins is back and the bottom of the PAC sees new coaches at Bethany and Thiel
Three guys from Columbia, while at UW-Platteville they gave an assistant a deal.

Oh and Whitewater’s offense guy went up to Oshkosh and now calls the Titans his team
Then Titans assistants went 84 miles west and make up the whole Pointer scheme

(Seriously, four coaches on the website and three are former Oshkosh assistants)

No one got drafted, yes D-III got shafted, with two guys on free-agent deals
While HSU managed to find an opponent for happier playoff reveals
The first month’s obsession will make an impression, with Whitewater up at St. John’s
Then hosting the Cru, while there’s Muhlenberg too, Wheaton, Trinity chase Walnut and Bronze.

Hopefully COVID won’t be a big deal and we can play all of our games!
And 16 weeks later we’ll know all the scores and then you can learn lots of new names.

(No big Week 1 showdown for Mount Union.)

And here’s what we have for the ’22 season en route to Stagg Bowl 49
The Cru down in Belton with defense reloading and Kyle King, QB divine
The Raiders in Purple might almost be sleepers with two titles in the last nine
and YOU DUB DUB Whitewater lost some big players but probably looks to be fine

Remember the Stagg Bowl is now in Annapolis, that’s where you’re wanting to be.
No matter what happens at least more than just two teams
have some good chances
to win a few playoff games,
If the committee will give them a bid
So you better just go win your league.

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ATN Podcast 307: In camp and ready to rock

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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.

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

Full episode: [display_podcast]

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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ATN Podcast 306: From Columbia to Division III

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This month’s podcast finishes our offseason series of conversations with new coaches at Division III playoff contenders, and we get to Podcast 306, where we talk to Carnegie Mellon head coach Ryan Larsen. Larsen is just 35 years old, and he replaced Rich Lackner, who had been head coach at CMU since literally before Larsen was born.

Larsen came from Columbia to take this job in Division III, and so did Andrae Murphy, the new head coach at Dean. In fact, Larsen and Dean had offices next to each other. We hear their stories of working together, plus Murphy talks about returning to Dean, his alma mater, which was a two-year school when he attended.

Murphy talks about his decision to join the U.S. Army between his playing career at Dean and the beginning of his coaching career, and Larsen tells us about the mantra that Murphy brought to the Columbia program, and is bringing to Dean.

Plus, we react to today’s news of a new Division III bowl game, the Lakefront Bowl, by matching up the remaining conferences that do not play postseason bowl games. So Pat and Greg run down the list and give every remaining potential game a name, and a sponsor. Who sponsors the ASC-SAA game? The SCIAC-NWC game? We’ve got ideas! And with preseason Top 25 season around the corner, Pat and Greg field a listener question asking which teams have the potential to be big movers up and down the poll from how last season ended.

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.

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

Full episode: [display_podcast]

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download