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ATN Podcast 386: Too early surprises, disappointments

It’s sad to think that we are already phasing out of Great Non-Conference Game Season, but at least it is leaving us with some quality memories. Yes, Mary Hardin-Baylor and UW-Whitewater still get to grace us with their presence, and so do Springfield and UW-Platteville, and Johns Hopkins and Susquehanna, but … well, OK, we’ll hold on for one more week.

Meanwhile, the rest of the ranked teams got on the field this week in Week 2, as did the NESCAC, and Case Western Reserve managed to get through and finish a game. We’ll talk quite a bit about the new quarterback situation at North Central, and how the answer was not really what people thought it would be, or thought they had discovered. We’ll do the same with the quarterback situation at St. John’s, and we dive into UW-La Crosse’s first game as well as the opener for Bethel.

Plus, with a number of non-conference games over and done, we’ll take a suggestion from the mailbag and look at which conferences have surprised and which have disappointed so far through two weeks. The answers … well, they might surprise you a little, some of them.

We talk with Mount Union quarterback Mikey Maloney — Patrick Coleman went out to Grove City to see that game with Mount Union in person, and has a glowing report and an interesting Fast Five subject. Plus, Grove City coach Andrew DiDonato reflects on what his team went through in the 49-14 loss and what he sees his team needs to do to take that next step up the Division III ladder.

Patrick and Greg Thomas hand out game balls, Logan Hansen talks about which games in Week 3 have the most leverage, plus we take mailbag questions about the season’s first PAC showdown and whether it’s necessary to Fear the Moose, as well as whether Great Lakes states Indiana and Michigan can join Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin as producers of Division III championship teams.

All that and more in this edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast.

Bonus content links below:

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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: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos by Ed Hall, Mount Union athletics; Braiden Foster, Wabash athletics; Colby athletics

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ATN Podcast 384: Looking ahead

Games kick off two days from now, so there’s no time like the present for a Week 1 preview! Patrick and Greg take you through Division III football’s opening week, going region by region with a region Game of the Week and more games to watch in each region, Region 1 through Region 6.

Plus, we bring back J.P. Williams, the NCAA’s liaison for the Division III football championship, aka the person at the NCAA who runs point on the football season, playoffs, and the committee. This part of the conversation is about some more hot-button issues around the Division III football playoffs, such as, seriously, artificial noisemakers. That’s an issue being discussed. So is trying to stagger the start times of the quarterfinals so that they overlap a little less. Great, now how about the first three rounds? Anyone? And are wearables or radios in helmets coming to the Division III playoffs this season?

And listen, you might not be happy with the possibilities for the Stagg Bowl, the Division III football championship game. It’s hardly set in stone yet, but consider this your first warning that it might be … interesting. Listen for more.

Plus, the season is here, and if you’ve listened to our podcast over the past several years, you might remember that big occasions sometimes call for big productions. There is one of those in this podcast, as We’ve Got Our Eyes on 2025.

Patrick and Greg have this and more in the latest edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast.

Mailbag topics include: Which games in Week 1 could most upset the apple cart and change expectations for the Division III football season? And, what three games this week need to have a rivalry trophy and a title? And check the bottom of the podcast page for the names of teams mentioned in the episode — it’s a big number!

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:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos by D3sports.com; Aurora athletics; Grove City athletics

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ATN Podcast 371: Measuring the fallout

Now everyone in the playoffs has played at least one postseason game, or if you look at it another way, more than 60% of the playoff games are already over. And people are in a hurry to dismiss the WIAC, and they’re in a hurry to crown NPI, because higher seeds have won 21 of the 24 games. (Of course, higher seeds have been at home in 23 out of 24 games, which might be a factor.)

What did we learn from these games? Of the remaining high seeds, which ones improved their standing, improved their chances of going deep into this bracket, and which ones’ chances are diminished? Patrick and Greg go through it all in this edition of the podcast. And most importantly, if the Texas Lutheran-Linfield game was dessert, what kind of dessert was it?

We hear from coaches and players involved in second-round games on Saturday, and we sit down with Johns Hopkins coach Dan Wodicka to talk about his team’s heart-stopping finish against Grove City, their defensive prowess and their offensive adjustments as the season has progressed. Wodicka, who played for and coached under the late Jim Margraff, talks about how playing at JHU made him want to coach there, and reminds us how the program is carrying on Margraff’s memory.

Plus, who is leading the staff pick-em contest that is better known as Quick Hits? Stay tuned to hear about whose picks are doing the best, and to hear a tribute to his performance so far. 

The D3football.com podcast is a weekly in-season podcast by Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas, which was started in 2007. 

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device. This podcast was re-published on Monday evening to try to get the feed on Spotify to recognize it.

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 by Johns Hopkins athletics; Cortland athletics; Linfield athletics; Hope athletics