The Johnnie-Tommie game definitely fits the bill of someone taking down the big dog, and so does WashU’s win vs. Wheaton. Both get a good amount of discussion, especially with the state of the CCIW standings and the D3football.com Top 25. Why isn’t WashU ranked? You’ll hear some of that in this podcast.
Plus, a reader question prompts a discussion of what separates the power teams in Division III from everyone else. Is it geography? Is it coaching? What were the most surprising results in Week 7? When does a chain of results become useless for trying to make out your Top 25 ballot? Which team saved itself from being cooked this week? And when will Earlham win a game?
That and more 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]
Photo: At two carries for minus-1 yard, Jaelin Goldsmith was Wheaton’s second-leading ballcarrier on Sunday at Washington U. (Photo by Linda Clement-Holmes Photography for Washington University athletics)
Pat and Keith open the August podcast with some really big news about the future of the D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. It’s probably considered good news for people who like the podcast, but we won’t spoil it here in the description.
The guys get us all ready for Week 1 with a look at the biggest half-dozen games coming up this weekend, with games starting Thursday night. Plus, Pat and Keith put each other on the spot, and the random number generator is put into play to give the guys one more game to talk about, with no prep time allotted.
That and more on the August 2018 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]
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 first-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. We also looped in the Hansen Ratings, updated with playoff experience as a factor, for anther objective take. The algorithm takes into account both home-field advantage and playoff experience, so a game such as Hardin-Simmons and Linfield, between teams with identical team ratings, ends up with Linfield given a 65 percent chance to win.
Hansen odds to advance: Wesley, 91%
Consensus: Wesley makes it final: No upsets expected in this bracket.
Here’s more data from Hansen Ratings. Select any two playoff teams to see how they would compare in a real or hypothetical matchup
We invite you to add your predictions in the comments below, or tweet at @d3football. Download the Around the Nation podcast on Mondays, where Pat and Keith review the picks and the highlights from the first round.