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ATN Podcast 284: Both happy and emotional

If you have gone 650-some days between games, you can be expected to be happy, and you can be excused for being a little bit emotional as well. And when that long break culminates in a big win, well, all bets are off.

We talk to a couple of players who had big wins of varying varieties in Week 1, plus Pat and Greg give out game balls, find the off-the-beaten-path highlights and surprising stats from Week 1. And for Week 2, they discuss their games to watch, pick a first-year coach to go 2-0, and make up a rivalry game (and more!) on the spot from a random game in the Week 2 schedule. All that and more in Podcast 284.

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.

Pat tells an anecdote about his Tour de Tejas basketball trip from Abilene to Brownwood in 2006. You can find it and a picture of him standing in front of the road sign for the town of Coleman, Texas, on our D3hoops blog archive.

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

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Theme music: DJmentos.
Photo: Caleb Williams, d3photography.com

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ATN Podcast 249: The one with the Cru reaction

This was shaping up to be a perfectly normal week with awesome Division III football games, and then the news broke, that UMHB was being told it had to give up the 2016 Division III football national title.

UMHB is appealing this decision. But it could well go through. We’ll open with a sound bite from Randy O’Rear, the UMHB president, and a couple of quotes from coach Pete Fredenburg, and then Pat and Keith will run down the context, what it all means, whether it’s right, and how it’s not like when Thomas More vacated the NCAA Division III women’s basketball title. (Even though it’s being treated like it is.)

We also talk to Wheaton coach Mike Swider, whose team had a pretty big win last week against North Central. But his Thunder teams have beaten North Central before and then not run the table, so there are some things to talk about there. Swider talks about motivating his team, what motivates him beyond being a football head coach, and exactly how many Wheaton head coaches were upset by the injury to quarterback Spencer Peterson last Saturday.

This edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast is sponsored by Gotta Have It: 3D Fan Foam Wall Signs for the D-III fan in your life.

Plus, the guys make plenty of Subaru references, pick winners in about two dozen of Saturday’s Division III games, and generally get you ready for 2019’s Week 6 by trying to create an alternate trophy for a game which already has one..

Pat and Keith talk about it all in the latest 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.

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: DJmentos. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com.

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Quick Hits Week 3: Please stay

It’s been such a long week in Division III football, but game day is finally here. (Apologies to Guilford, Catholic and Randolph-Macon.) Our regular crew for picking games is Keith McMillan, Ryan Tipps, Pat Coleman, Adam Turer and Frank Rossi. Our sixth spot goes to a guest each week, and this week’s is broadcaster and longtime friend of the site John McGraw, who is broadcasting Hamilton football this weekend.

— Pat Coleman

Photo: Defensive lineman Mike Williams for W&J, by Martin Santek Photography

Which game is the Week 3 game of the week?

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Keith’s take: Redlands at No. 11 Linfield. The Bulldogs’ second trip to the Pacific NW could prevent a third in the postseason.
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Ryan’s take: No. 12 Wheaton at Illinois Wesleyan. Last year, IWU’s win shook up the conference race — and perceptions — big time.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: Carnegie Mellon at No. 15 W&J. Lots of quality games this week — I like that this is the first solid test for each of these teams.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: No. 18 Berry at Rhodes. The SAA has impressed in non-conference play and the Lynx could serve notice that this race is wide open.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: Redlands at No. 11 Linfield. Was Linfield’s loss to a middling NAIA team a fluke, or are the Wildcats taking a step backward? Playing 2-0 Redlands could help answer this.
Guest
John’s take: No. 12 Wheaton at Illinois Wesleyan.Two of the preseason favorites in the CCIW not named North Central go head-to-head under the lights.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to get upset?

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Keith’s take: No. 6 Frostburg seems upset that its home game vs. CNU is canceled. (And Rhodes could beat No. 18 Berry).
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Ryan’s take: No. 6 Frostburg State. They, along with CNU, are “upset” that they won’t be playing on Saturday.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: No. 21 RPI. Going to take a flier here vs. Utica. If nothing else, really think Ithaca should be ranked from LL, not RPI.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: No. 18 Berry. Rhodes dual-threat quarterback PJ Settles has accounted for 524 yards through two games while the Lynx defense has held opponents to 448 yards.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: No. 25 Springfield. The teams have split their last ten matchups with five wins apiece. Union’s air attack looks legit, so it’s a real test for the Pride on both sides of the ball.
Guest
John’s take: No. 16 UW-Platteville. Started slow in week 1 against ETBU. Another slow start could doom them against TMC.

Pick a home team to win a NESCAC game.

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Keith’s take: Wesleyan. Hosting Middlebury, the Cardinals are the only team Kickoff ’18 picked to finish top half of NESCAC that’s home.
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Ryan’s take: Hamilton. Even if I’m wrong, with the starters returning for both Hamilton and Tufts, this should be a good one.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: Hamilton. Wesleyan is the “easy pick” but I am taking a flier on Dave Murray moving the needle in his fifth year in charge.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: Wesleyan. The Cardinals’ fourth quarter rally came up short at Middlebury last year. The home team gets revenge to open the 2018 season.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: Wesleyan. The home team won last year, 30-27. Flip the script for Wesleyan’s hosting duties this year.
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John’s take: Hamilton. While Tufts has one of the stronger offenses in the NESCAC behind dual-threat QB Ryan McDonald, the Jumbos have holes to fill on defense.

Which game are you following that nobody else on this panel is following?

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Keith’s take: Maine Maritime at Mass. Maritime. The 46th Admiral’s Cup features teams that lost openers by four scores (or, by 28 and 30).
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Ryan’s take: Muhlenberg at Susquehanna. The River Hawks are the newest entries on my ballot, and this is another stiff test.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: McMurry at Howard Payne. Teams have lost by a combined score of 116-9 so far and interested to see them face more even matches.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: Southwestern at East Texas Baptist. Y’all like offense? These offenses have collectively averaged 41 points per game. Expect a speedy back-and-forth shootout.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: Merchant Marine at SUNY-Maritime. The Privateers have won by an average of 29 points, but this is a rivalry game.  And USMMA coach Mike Toop won the Internet leading up to it.
Guest
John’s take: Ithaca at Alfred. Ithaca held Brockport to 13 and came within one score of the Golden Eagles last weekend after rolling past St. Vincent in its opener. How good are the Bombers?

Predict a final score in the Willamette-Occidental game.

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Keith’s take: 45-21, Willamette.
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Ryan’s take: 42-7, Willamette.
Pat Coleman
Pat’s take: 41-12, Willamette.
Adam Turer
Adam’s take: 34-13, Willamette.
Frank Rossi
Frank’s take: 31-24, Occidental.
You heard it here first.
Guest
John’s take: 24-10, Willamette.

The sixth question is intentionally left blank in memory of Evan Hansen.

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If you need help ...
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Call 1-800-273-8255.
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Tweet .
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: Text HOME to 741741.
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1-866-488-7386.
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Please stay

We invite you to add your predictions in the comments below. Download the Around the Nation podcast on Fridays, where Pat and Keith review the Quick Hits that were prescient, and the Quick Misses that were terribly off base.