Around the Nation Podcast 228: Down to four games

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Pat Coleman

We’ve got one national semifi… no, sorry, four national quarterfinals, and we think three of them are shaping up to be pretty good, as RPI can certainly hold its own against Johns Hopkins, UW-Whitewater and Bethel should be a clash of similar teams and UMHB and St. John’s will give each other what should be the best test either of them has faced this year.

Of the eight head coaches on the sideline this upcoming Saturday, two of them have particularly challenging jobs ahead, preparing for those toughest tests, and since we’ve already talked to Pete Fredenburg this season on the podcast, we sit down with Gary Fasching, head coach of St. John’s. He talks us through what a team has to do to prepare for not only a top-notch opponent, but a long trip, on Podcast 228.

Pat, Keith, Adam Turer and Frank Rossi preview the four games, then Pat and Keith discuss them as well as we get you one complete hour of pregame coverage in your Game Day edition of the national quarterfinals on the D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast.

The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation between Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan and guests covering the wide range of Division III football.

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Link: Our full NCAA playoff coverage

Photo: Royals’ quarterback Jaran Roste in the spot the UW-Whitewater defense hopes it sees him often. (Photo by Scott Pierson, d3photography.com)

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Around the Nation Podcast 227: No place like home

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Pat Coleman

Well, how about that, with RPI getting a big upset win, and Johns Hopkins getting a large win to send Frostburg to Division II on, and St. Norbert giving a valiant effort and Mount Union looking all Machine-like?

No, we know — many of you are not happy with the unbalanced way the bracket was laid out, and some of you are talking about reseeding the bracket. There are definitely positives and negatives to this — the NAIA does it, and college baseball does it as well, so Pat and Keith talk a little bit about what that looks like, and how it could work, if Division III were to ever give it a shot in football.

In addition, Pat and Keith each give their individual take on all eight second-round games. Who did they want to see do the same, but better? Who was playing at ludicrous speed? What does Keith have to say to those who don’t watch Mount Union until the semifinals? Plus, what did Tyler Messinger have to deliver about his great rushing afternoon for Johns Hopkins?

The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation between Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan and guests covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.
Full episode: [display_podcast]

Link: Our full NCAA playoff coverage

Photo: UW-Whitewater’s Ryan Wisniewski stiff-arms a smaller St. Norbert player. (Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com)

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Quick Hits: Our crew predicts the second round

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Pat Coleman

The story goes, one day on a long ride to a playoff game at Thiel (which tells you how long ago this happened), Pat and Keith decided to pass the time by guessing not just the winner of each second-round playoff game, but the score. And there was born the expectations game: Do we expect a close game? A high-scoring game? A blowout? Does everyone agree on who will win? Those are the factors worth looking at.

Keith McMillan, Ryan Tipps, Pat Coleman, Adam Turer, Frank Rossi and Greg Thomas each take their guesses at scores for each first-round game. Plus, we have Logan Hansen’s odds to advance.

— Pat Coleman (d3photography.com photo)

Mary Hardin-Baylor bracket
Keith’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, Berry 14 Ryan’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 34, Berry 14 Pat’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 35, Berry 6	Adam’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 52, Berry 17 Frank’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 40, Berry 10 Greg’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 40, Berry 7
Hansen odds to advance: Mary Hardin-Baylor, 99% Consensus: Varying levels of high scores to low scores.
Keith’s take: St. John’s 49, Whitworth 21 Ryan’s take: St. John’s 38, Whitworth 13 Pat’s take: St. John’s 45, Whitworth 17	Adam’s take: St. John’s 38, Whitworth 13 Frank’s take: St. John’s 27, Whitworth 14 Greg’s take: St. John’s 49, Whitworth 21
Hansen odds to advance: St. John’s, 93% Consensus: St. John’s offense will be in good shape.

UW-Whitewater bracket
Keith’s take: UW-Whitewater 31, St. Norbert 3 Ryan’s take: UW-Whitewater 45, St. Norbert 7 Pat’s take: UW-Whitewater 42, St. Norbert 9	Adam’s take: UW-Whitewater 40, St. Norbert 20 Frank’s take: UW-Whitewater 41, St. Norbert 13 Greg’s take: UW-Whitewater 31, St. Norbert 0
Hansen odds to advance: UW-Whitewater, 96% Consensus: One upset is all the Green Knights get.
Keith’s take: Bethel 25, North Central 22 Ryan’s take: North Central 27, Bethel 24 Pat’s take: North Central 24, Bethel 16	Adam’s take: North Central 32, Bethel 29 Frank’s take: Bethel 27, North Central 24 Greg’s take: Bethel 28, North Central 24
Hansen odds to advance: North Central, 63% Consensus: Nobody really has any idea who will win this one.

Mount Union bracket
Keith’s take: Mount Union 38, Centre 17 Ryan’s take: Mount Union 38, Centre 20 Pat’s take: Mount Union 38, Centre 10	Adam’s take: Mount Union 45, Centre 24 Frank’s take: Mount Union 47, Centre 17 Greg’s take: Mount Union 45, Centre 10
Hansen odds to advance: Mount Union, 96% Consensus: The consensus matches the odds.
Keith’s take: Muhlenberg 17, Randolph-Macon 16 Ryan’s take: Muhlenberg 28, Randolph-Macon 23 Pat’s take: Randolph-Macon 17, Muhlenberg 16	Adam’s take: Muhlenberg 24, Randolph-Macon 21 Frank’s take: Muhlenberg 31, Randolph-Macon 20 Greg’s take: Muhlenberg 27, Randolph-Macon 21
Hansen odds to advance: Muhlenberg, 68% Consensus: A non-unanimous pick of Muhlenberg in a low-scoring, close game.

Brockport bracket
Keith’s take: Brockport 35, RPI 21 Ryan’s take: Brockport 21, RPI 13 Pat’s take: Brockport 28, RPI 16	Adam’s take: Brockport 31, RPI 10 Frank’s take: Brockport 37, RPI 17 Greg’s take: Brockport 35, RPI 17
Hansen odds to advance: Brockport, 95% Consensus: Closer than last week.
Keith’s take: Frostburg St. 42, Johns Hopkins 28 Ryan’s take: Johns Hopkins 42, Frostburg St. 38 Pat’s take: Johns Hopkins 31, Frostburg St. 30	Adam’s take: Frostburg St. 48, JHU 45 (OT) Frank’s take: Frostburg St. 17, Johns Hopkins 14 Greg’s take: Frostburg St. 38, Johns Hopkins 35
Hansen odds to advance: Johns Hopkins, 58% Consensus: All over the map — high scoring, low scoring, close game, two-touchdown game.

We invite you to add your predictions in the comments below, or tweet at us at @D3Keith, @NewsTipps and @d3football. Download the Around the Nation podcast on Mondays, where Pat and Keith review the picks and the highlights from the weekend’s playoff games.