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ATN Podcast 425: Already a November to remember

November is already delivering history. Baldwin Wallace ended Mount Union’s 33-year playoff streak, Calvin completed a remarkable rise to the MIAA championship, and UW-Whitewater won a top-five WIAC showdown to claim its 40th conference championship.

Everything happens in Division III, as you may remember us saying. This week that includes a record 63-yard field goal, a 391-yard rushing performance, a 335-yard receiving day, and more pick-sixes this season than you can shake a stick at.

George Linberger and Boston Mulinix join the podcast in Fast Five after powering Baldwin Wallace’s clock-controlling ground game, while Logan Hansen runs 10,000 simulations to assess the top-eight seeds, at-large contenders and highest-leverage games. Patrick and Greg hand out game balls, highlight more top stories from each of Division III’s six regions, and go through each of those conference head-to-head matchups, all the way to predicting scores in The Final Countdown.

The mailbag isn’t all about Mount Union, but, sure, some of you have questions related to that. Also, how does NPI affect our Top 25 votes? Also, someone is on the run in the 1, someone’s pulling through in the 2, someone’s going for three in the 3, someone’s got a chore in the 4, someone’s in overdrive in the 5 and someone’s taking their licks in the 6.

Patrick and Greg cover it all in Around the Nation Podcast No. 425.

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

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:

Photos: Baldwin Wallace photo by Erik Drost; Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com; Calvin athletics photo by Johann Van Tassel

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ATN Podcast 422: Some of the numbers almost mean something

Week 7 in Division III football brought dominant defense, dramatic finishes and a playoff picture that is beginning to take shape, even if the current NPI still needs much more data before it tells the full story.

UW-Platteville put together an almost incomprehensible defensive performance against UW-River Falls, while Maryville forced five turnovers to upset Trinity (Texas) and continue its remarkable turnaround after an 0-3 start. St. John’s survived a serious challenge from Concordia-Moorhead, and Hope erased a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Adrian.

Hope coach Peter Stuursma joins us to discuss the halftime adjustments, his three-headed backfield and an electric homecoming atmosphere.

We hand out game balls to two big backfield performers from Saturday, talk about why two Division III football teams keep playing each other and a which conference contender is getting its injured quarterback back at exactly the right time.

Logan Hansen returns with Analytics 301 to examine the race for those coveted top eight seeds, likely at-large candidates and four Week 8 games that could reshape the postseason picture.

Then we go region by region: For example, Bridgewater wins with eight points after the clock hits zero, Texas Lutheran’s Malik Johnson makes NCAA history, Baldwin Wallace keeps building its case, Millikin and Illinois Wesleyan go wild in the final two minutes, and UW-Eau Claire takes another step forward.

We also revisit some of the “drunkest” games we’ve ever seen, ask whether anyone is truly driving the Centennial Conference race, and discuss Division III’s unusual run of in-season coaching changes.

Patrick and Greg cover it all in Around the Nation Podcast No. 422.

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

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:

Photos: UMass Dartmouth athletics file photo by Calder Troutman Photography cgtshots; Andy McNeill for UW-Platteville athletics; Maryville athletics file photo

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ATN Podcast 417: Another splashy Saturday

It seems like Division III football made another big splash this past weekend, and we’re not just talking about that flood that overtook Washington & Jefferson’s field at halftime vs. Keystone. No, we’re talking about another great week of games.

How about unranked Randolph-Macon taking down then-No. 3 Johns Hopkins? No. 1 North Central and No. 9 Wartburg tight going deep into the fourth quarter? No. 6 UW-River Falls taking it to No. 21 Coe? No. 14 Hardin-Simmons winning at No. 12 UW-La Crosse?

And none of that even includes the fact that Mount Union was 16 seconds away from losing its third consecutive game.

Game balls get handed out to some of the top performances and most memorable performances in Division III from Week 2. Plus, which team held the ball for more than 25 minutes in the second half? Yes, you read that right. Who’s hitting a ton in Region 1? What’s the hullabaloo in the 2? What do you see in the 3? Who’s got questions galore in the 4? Who’s taking a long drive in the 5? Who’s getting their kicks in the 6?

Randolph-Macon coach Pedro Arruza joins us for Fast Five. Plus, when Patrick pulls over the podcast car to the side of the road, what is the big question? And didn’t Pumpkin Spice season come even earlier this year? We’ll have a Pumpkin Spice Showdown in the Final Countdown. Plus we take four mailbag questions, and much more.

Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas deliver all of the goodness to your fall in this week’s edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast.

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

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:

Photos: Randolph-Macon athletics; Wade Gardner, d3photography.com; Hardin-Simmons athletics