Tag Archives: Hobart

Triple Take: Conference clashes underway

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In 2005, Kyle Gearman shocked Concordia-Moorhead with a 74-yard touchdown catch with under 30 seconds left. SJU hosts the Cobbers this weekend.
Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

Almost every team in an automatic-qualifying conference will have a conference game under its belt by the end of the weekend.

For those teams off to a rough start in nonconference action, now is the time to refocus and use what was learned in previous weeks to try to make a mark in conference play and reach for the AQ. For many, it is, or was, a new beginning to the season.

So which teams can turn things around, and which ones are out to prove that they’re more than just their nonconference record? Pat Coleman, Keith McMillan and Ryan Tipps walk you through some of the best this weekend has to offer.

Game of the week.
Ryan’s take: Hope at Illinois Wesleyan. I’m veering off the Top 25 pack a bit this week, but both teams are undefeated, with the Titans getting a fair number of votes in the poll. More significantly, though, is that each of these teams have been putting up some wild numbers against the competition, with neither team scoring fewer than 37 points in their five combined victories. And no opponent has been within 20 points at the end of four quarters. What does this mean? Well, each team is facing its stiffest test of the season, and this could be a breakout moment for one of them.
Keith’s take: No. 11 Wesley at Birmingham Southern. This is the first time in the history of Triple Take I’ve filled out all the below categories first, while skipping over Game of the Week to come back to it. It’s that kind of week. I nearly went with Cortland State at St. John Fisher or Pat’s game below in this slot, but it’s been a long time since the Wolverines were beaten so thoroughly in a regular season game, and the fate of the top 25 and Pool B rests on how they respond. B-SC is 3-0 and along with Huntingdon and Louisiana College is a deep south team that’s had its shot to beat the Wolverines but hasn’t been able to close the deal. All three of those teams are in the ‘can win 7-8 games and occasionally make the playoffs’ tier, and B-SC is the latest to get a chance at national recognition. The host Panthers have a shot because they can score — 143 points in three wins — but they’ve only been able to outscore in 2013 — they’ve allowed at least 32 points in each game, and Wesley brings a caliber of athlete B-SC hasn’t faced since a 26-17 loss in Delaware last season.


Hope has started off 3-0, but faces a more significant test this week in Illinois Wesleyan.
Hope College photo by Tom Renner

Pat’s take: Concordia-Moorhead at No. 21 St. John’s. This series has had a recent history of tight games and dramatic finishes. And St. John’s has had a particularly recent history of both, having won its three games this year by a TOTAL of eight points. All the signs point to a great game. Will it be a letdown for the Johnnies after the big win last week?

Surprisingly close game.
Ryan’s take: Washington at Centre. The Colonels are riding a three-game win streak, while the Bears are just 1-2. However, WashU hasn’t let opponents get out of reach (and that includes UW-Whitewater), and that striking distance could work out to their benefit. Centre has a defense that can be taken advantage of at times, and WashU can be in the game if they spot those times.
Keith’s take: Olivet at North Park. The more I looked at the slate, the more I found games I want to be tight but I think are going to be surprisingly not close (like Illinois College at Ripon, Montclair State at Rowan, or Williams at Trinity, Conn.). The Comets are 3-0, the Vikings 0-2. But Olivet is new money — at 1-39 the previous four seasons, they aren’t used to going on the road and winning. North Park (7-31 from 2009 to 2012) earned its only win last season, 46-21 in Michigan. This time around Olivet is making the three-hour bus ride to Chicago, and North Park is coming off a bye week.
Pat’s take: Stevenson at No. 22 Delaware Valley. Pretty sure Stevenson has never started a season 4-0. Stevenson had only won four games in the entire history of the program before the season started. I could consider picking this game in the next category down, as well. If you haven’t paid that close attention the first couple of weeks this year, you might get caught unaware of where the Mustangs have come, and there are enough questions about the Aggies to give one pause, that’s all.

Most likely Top 25 team to get upset.
Ryan’s take: None. On paper, this appears to be an easy week for the Top 25, as long as one of the teams at the top doesn’t get caught sleeping….
Keith’s take: No. 16 Johns Hopkins. Since it wouldn’t be much of an upset if Concordia-Moorhead beat No. 21 St. John’s or Lycoming beat No. 24 Widener, I’ll ride the Mules. The Blue Jays are still favorites, and for the upset to happen, Muhlenberg would have to figure out how to score on Johns Hopkins, which has given up no more than 14 points in each of its three games. The Mules have hung a 59 and a 58 on the score board this season, but against its only quality opponent, they scored 21 (in a loss to Franklin & Marshall).
Pat’s take: No. 11 Wesley. This probably comes from seeing the Wolverines dismantled by Mary Hardin-Baylor last week, but I’m a little concerned about Wesley in this key Pool B clash. Without the diversity on offense … or even a lot of success last week, Wesley looked a little ordinary and could be in trouble this week.

They’ll be on your radar.
Ryan’s take: East Texas Baptist. If you read this week’s Around the South column, you know that ETBU has been lighting things up through the air, with a nation-leading 435.5 yards per game passing. However, the opponents from the Tigers’ first two games are currently winless. Not so with Saturday’s opponent, Willamette. The Bearcats gave up a lot of points in their wins, so ETBU (which posted 50-plus in its two outings) might be able to run away with this one. Let’s just see which quarterback they use most.
Keith’s take: The Cleveland area. My friends Lacy and Kipp are heading to Cleveland for other sporting events this weekend, and asked me a few weeks ago how good the Otterbein at John Carroll game would be, since they were going to go. That, plus a tweet that noted that No. 1 Mount Union and No. 2 Linfield will be playing on miles apart on Saturday, got me intrigued. Someone interested in seeing a bunch of competitive D-III teams on one day — a WesleyDad of the Midwest, as it were — could catch six without leaving the Cleveland area. Linfield is at Case Western Reserve at noon, Muskingum is at Baldwin-Wallace at 2 p.m., and then the aforementioned Cardinals face the Blue Streaks at 7 p.m., which leaves just enough time for dinner in between Games 2 and 3.
Pat’s take: Huntingdon. Yeah. I’m a week late to this party. Keith was all over this last week. Struggling Ferrum makes the trip to Alabama for the first time to see the Hawks and I don’t expect the southern hospitality to extend between the lines.

Which team could get caught looking ahead?
Ryan’s take: Wooster. Hiram is coming off its first shutout win in nearly two decades, and Wooster has Wabash on the horizon in Week 5. The Scots would do themselves a favor to make sure they focus on the task at hand rather than the beast that lies beyond.
Keith’s take: No. 10 Pacific Lutheran. The Lutes’ game at Linfield is by far the most compelling matchup of Week 5, and of the other teams that have big games next week, most don’t have games they could possibly lose this week. There’s Wesley, which plays Birmingham Southern and then Huntingdon, but after being humbled more or less in consecutive weeks, there’s no way they look ahead. I don’t expect PLU to lose, but it’s all I got.
Pat’s take: No. 10 Pacific Lutheran. The Lutes travel to UW-Eau Claire, a team St. Thomas beat 52-7. Pacific Lutheran has Linfield next week. That, plus the trip a little over halfway across the continent could spell trouble for Pacific Lutheran if not handled well.

Which undefeated team is going to pick up its first loss?
Ryan’s take: Merchant Marine. While the Mariners are an impressive 3-0, they’ve hardly been getting in the victory column in convincing fashion. And that bodes poorly when lining up against a Top 10 team like Hobart.
Keith’s take: Juniata. So far the Eagles are one of my favorite stories of the season, so if they win at Franklin & Marshall, I will eat crow for all the long-suffering Juniata fans. The Diplomats — I couldn’t decide if they were historical peoples, a joke you’ll understand in a few paragraphs — are 1-2, but nearly won the opener at defending ODAC champion Washington & Lee, and beat Muhlenberg before losing at Ursinus. So the slate is a little tougher than what Juniata has faced so far — Thiel, Dickinson and Gettysburg are 2-7, and the records coming in could be misleading. It’s about to get real for Ward Udinski and the Eagles anyway; If they win at F&M, they should enjoy it. Johns Hopkins, Ursinus and Muhlenberg are the next three opponents.
Pat’s take: UW-Stevens Point. A trip to North Central isn’t really a good sign the way things are clicking for the Cardinals right now. North Central has run through the middle-to-bottom of the WIAC the past couple of weeks and there isn’t much reason to think this will be different.

Which historical peoples is most intriguing?
Ryan’s take: The Pioneers of Grinnell. Grinnell is hunting for its first win and is clearly not the same kind of team offensively in the wake of injured quarterback Sam Poulos. Last week, especially, the defense was tasked with keeping the team in its game against MWC leader Lake Forest, and the unit was largely successful – evidence of how senior-laden the team is on that side of the ball. If the Pioneers can manage a game when both sides are clicking, they can log wins this weekend against Beloit and onward through the season.
Keith’s take: The Saints of Thomas More. One of my favorite parts of Triple Take each week is scrolling down to see what Ryan has picked as the last question. Waynesburg’s visit to Kentucky is intriguing because the Yellow Jackets, 3-0 this season, have won 14 of their past 15 games. But during that stretch, they haven’t had to win a big game on the road. Muskingum, Bethany, Geneva and Thiel were all three-win teams last season, St. Vincent was 0-10 and the Yellow Jackets’ road win this year was at 1-2 Frostburg State. Thomas More is 2-0, back in the top 25 and hasn’t surrendered a point. So for both sides it’s the first test of how legitimate a contender each will be, and the winner gets a leg up in the PAC title race.
Pat’s take: The Colonials of Western Connecticut. I’m very interested to see how the Colonials do against Framingham State. Western Connecticut has started the season 2-0, but has done so against teams that were a combined 3-17 last season. Here they’ll take on the MASCAC favorite and we’ll find out how close Western is to actually contending for the MASCAC title. We already knew they would be competitive in the new league, where they were not competitive in the NJAC. But while Rowan held Melikke Van Alstyne to 63 yards, Western Connecticut may not be so lucky.

Around the Nation podcast: We’re semi-fine with it

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Wesley had just four second-half possessions against UMHB ending in a punt, an interception, a field goal and a fourth-down stop.
Photo by Andrew Zavoina, d3photography.com

Subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in iTunes.

Two great games, two not-so-great ones. And you can probably guess based on past experience which region was involved in the not-so-great games. We talk about all four games that took place in the national quarterfinals, of course, including the great plays, the special teams miscues. And, of course, the big bracket miscue that results in the No. 1 and No. 2 teams meeting this week instead of next week in Salem.

•Updated bracket, playoff features

And it had to happen eventually. After seven years or so of doing this podcast, we finally ran into a technical problem we didn’t discover until it was too late. There is an Around the Nation podcast this week, but the recording gets a little jittery a little way into the broadcast.

Pat and Keith give their thoughts on what it means to have a new team in Salem. Keith talks about what he missed in watching Mount Union games to make him think Widener had a chance. And we talk about why it’s important for all Division III fans to come to Salem, not just the ones whose teams are playing in the game.

We talk about that and more in this week’s Around the Nation Podcast, sponsored by the City of Salem, hosts of Stagg Bowl XL. Tickets on sale now!

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You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in iTunes. 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

D3reports postgame show

Here’s this week’s D3football.com reports, highlight packages and postgame interviews.

And this week’s photo galleries from our friends at d3photography.com:

Triple Take: Score predictions, analysis

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LiDarral Bailey
LiDarral Bailey is leading the most balanced UMHB offense in the program’s short history.
Photo by Andrew Zavoina, d3photography.com

Eight of the D3football.com top nine teams have made it to the regional finals, which is the maximum number that the NCAA brackets would have allowed. And of those eight still on the field, they are a combined 94-1 this season, with the only loss coming in September by No. 6 Wesley at the hands of No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor, a pair that is matched up again this weekend.

It’s sure to prove another exciting Saturday of football, so Triple Take is expanding a bit. Pat Coleman, Keith McMillan and Ryan Tipps bring you more than just score predictions this week; we also give you a breakdown of each game and what we think the key factors will be.

If you’re feeling prescient, leave your final score guesses below. On game day, if you’re using Twitter, be sure to include the hashtag #d3fb in your posts so the whole of the Division III community can hear you.

For more info on the postseason, including the brackets and our Road to Salem feature stories, check our playoffs home page.

No. 5 UW-Oshkosh at No. 3 Linfield

Ryan’s take: Linfield 48, UW-Oshkosh 38. It’s no secret that UW-Oshkosh’s biggest weapon is the man lining up under center. Nate Wara is an amazingly mobile quarterback who is among the best in the nation in pass efficiency. And if he’s playing up to his potential, he could be a serious threat for a Linfield team that has given up close to 300 yards or more against its tougher competition. We’ve talked before about how Linfield is the nation’s sack leader. The Wildcats will need a strong defensive line performance more than ever, to keep Wara off balance and constantly wondering what lurks just over his shoulder. And absolutely, definitely, positively the Titans can’t start slow out of the gate against this Linfield team. That’ll be a death blow. But more than that, I don’t see UW-O putting enough pressure on Mickey Inns and his receivers, and I would not be surprised to see Inns notch his fifth 300-plus-yard game of the season. After last week’s outing against North Central, Linfield’s momentum appears to be going strongest at the point in the season when it’s needed the most.
Keith’s take: UW-Oshkosh 34, Linfield 27. If I might just come totally clean here, my original pick was Linfield, 34-27. I’d just written a feature on the Wildcats and they’re tugging at my heartstrings, plus I’ve been wanting to see Linfield play Mount Union for years now. I think the winner of this game is going to Salem, and as much as I like the Wildcats at home, I switched my pick to the Titans for a couple of reasons (not that anyone looks at anything besides who we pick, right?). Both offenses are prolific, but Linfield’s is one-dimensional. The Wildcats rushed for 39 yards in the first round and 26 last week, and I’m not sure they can outscore the Titans like that. Linfield’s also been remarkably adept, or fortunate, at generating turnovers in these playoffs, but Nate Wara has thrown just four interceptions this season, although three have been during the playoffs. UW-Oshkosh has faced an offense like Linfield’s (though in fairness, not a quarterback like Mickey Inns), and held UW-Platteville to 13 points. So even though they’re susceptible to the pass (99th nationally this season), in big games they’ve held up well. Linfield, however, leads the nation in sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and may rattle Wara. Frankly, I’m sticking my neck out here — Linfield is the safe pick. This game is very much a toss-up, and the highlight of the quarterfinals — no disrespect to Cru-Wolverines IX.
Pat’s take: Linfield 31, UW-Oshkosh 30. We’ve got perhaps the best quarterback Linfield has faced this season in Nate Wara, and he’s a dual threat at that. Can Caleb Voss do for UW-O what Kyle Warner did for PLU two weeks ago (12 catches, 205 yards)? Probably not. But then again, Cole Myhra will make up for that a little bit with his ability to run the ball. Linfield might struggle to run the ball but they will be able to throw better than Bethel did against UW-Oshkosh, meaning they should still be able to score.

No. 7 Hobart at No. 4 St. Thomas

Ryan’s take: St. Thomas 21, Hobart 20. After last week, I became a little shakier on St. Thomas and grew a little more confident in Hobart. I do love a team that can run the ball and make it count. Both the Tommies and Statesmen can do that, and not surprisingly, when their defenses take the field, they both are highly skilled at stuffing their opponents’ ground game. That very well could make this a game of the trenches. But here’s where UST has the advantage: The Tommies have had success passing the ball if the situation called for it, and they have experience playing in the regional finals over the past couple of seasons. The mental endurance is there.
Keith’s take: Hobart 14, St. Thomas 13: “Oh snap, McMillan’s gone rogue. He’s feeling himself because he picked Widener last week when the other guys took Salisbury.” Actually, it’s simpler than that. Widener and Hobart might not win this week, but these aren’t your typical East patsies that run into power-conference teams and are brushed aside. Normally I’d take a MIAC champ over a Liberty League champ without a second thought. But athletically, these Statesmen should be able to hold their own. And they’re built in St. Thomas’s mold: Rugged on defense, dedicated to pounding out the rushing yards. And that might be the only place they have an edge. Stat comparisons are of limited use here because St. Thomas has won its 12 games against much better teams than Hobart’s 12, but both are stout against the run: The Tommies allow 75 yards per game, 7th nationally, and Hobart allows 88, 15th. Rushing yards will be hard to come by, but the Statesmen have the better backs in Steven Webb and Bobby Dougherty. The question is, can Hobart hang with St. Thomas along the line of scrimmage? I’m still of the opinion the Tommies were built to win it all last year, and might break through to Salem when this season’s offense, with freshman and sophomores in key spots, get a few years older. The Tommies looked vulnerable last week against Elmhurst, which makes this the East’s best opportunity to have a team break through to Salem in years. I’m sticking my neck out so much that I might have to make Wu-Tang my theme music this weekend, but it was time to make a stand. Although trends have developed over the years, teams aren’t automatically going to move on because of their name or their conference or their home region.
Pat’s take: St. Thomas 17, Hobart 16. Tempted to call this one of the great vaunted defensive battles that ends up being high scoring but I don’t have the guts to go that far against the grain. What I do believe is that St. Thomas will be facing the best defensive player it’s seen all season in Hobart’s Tyre Coleman and as the bracket has gotten smaller, the Tommies have scored fewer and fewer points. But St. Thomas has generally had a pretty good offensive line and they’ve been creative on offense to make things work even when their primary options have been taken away. In years past, the Tommies have really suffered when they’ve been banged up on offense but this year’s there’s a lot more depth and less drop-off between the starters and backups.

No. 6 Wesley at No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor

Ryan’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 35, Wesley 21. What hurts the Wolverine offense is that it is just too one dimensional, especially for this point in the postseason. Justin Sottilare is as good of a quarterback as you’ll find, but something has been missing from the Wesley team this season. And whatever that element is, it’s led the team to play games a lot tighter this season than they have in the past. Conversely, UMHB is peaking with senior skill players, notably a quarterback who can run and who throws waaaaay more touchdowns than interceptions. The Cru are stringing together something special this year.
Keith’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 31, Wesley 20. I’m a huge fan of the way Wesley scheduled this season, and how they’ve been playing of late, and I think their defense is underrated. The Wolverines are one of only three teams who kept UMHB under 45 points in a game this season, and they went toe-to-toe with the Cru in Delaware back in September. The story in Texas in December ends the same way though, as I just can’t think of any reason to pick against UMHB at this point. An outstanding Wesley defensive effort and a flurry of turnovers is about the only scenario I can see derailing the Cru. Even so, there’s the matter of Wesley matching UMHB offensively. Despite some big numbers lately, Wesley has been offensively modest in its games this season against top opponents. The teams know each other so well that you don’t really envision one side coaching the pants off the other. For all the talk about UMHB’s run game, QB LiDarral Bailey is the nation’s second most-efficient passer behind Mount Union’s Kevin Burke, and Bailey’s 26 TDs and three INTs compare with Burke (32/5), Wara (28/4) and Inns (29/6). He’s played so well we hardly even mention RB Darius Wilson anymore.
Pat’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, Wesley 27. Mary Hardin-Baylor is just firing on all cylinders offensively right now and I don’t see Wesley being able to shut that down enough to win. Will Wesley score some points? Sure. And Wesley will be able to throw a bit on UMHB. The big X factor in my mind is the fact that Wesley has had to battle through a lot of games this year and UMHB has not — so Wesley may be more prepared to play four full quarters.

No. 9 Widener at No. 1 Mount Union

Ryan’s take: Mount Union 45, Widener 17. Widener got the right bounce in a couple of games this year that helped propel them to an undefeated regular season and convincing wins through the first two weeks of the playoffs. But nothing has prepared them for what the Purple Raiders bring to the table. Statistically, Widener doesn’t have a Top 25 pass or rush defense. Mount Union will exploit that. Widener isn’t in the top half of Division III rushing offenses. Mount will exploit that, too. This isn’t an indictment on the Pride but rather a testament to the level that Mount plays at in the postseason. The Alliance-based machine packs too many weapons in Burke, Jasper Collins, Chris Denton, Antonio Tate, Charles Dieuseul and Nick Driskill, names that only scratch the surface of the team’s keys to success. Widener will get all that it can handle and then some.
Keith’s take: Mount Union 35, Widener 21: Let me say this up front: Widener deserves to be here. Having seen them play, they’re more than just a sacrificial lamb for the Purple Raiders. They will score some points and put some pressure on Burke. This is the best team Mount Union has played all season, and the 25-point margins of victory floating around on the message boards sell the Pride a bit short. Let me also say this: Mount Union’s dominance is so commonplace we sometimes take it for granted. This season, it’s come about with a smothering defense and the nation’s most efficient quarterback playing behind an offensive line that moves as one. The Purple Raiders are not perfect — they have been challenged, and have made some mistakes this season, but they’re resilient and recover quickly. And so when Widener — whose base offensive set last week seemed to be empty backfield, quads left — finds ways to move WR Anthony Davis around and get him open against what are sure to be Mount Union double-teams, likely involving CB Isaiah Scott or Ss Alex Nicholls or Driskill, don’t be surprised if they put up some points or are competitive in the game. QB Chris Haupt controls an offense that will line up in double-tight, I-backs one play, then empty the next. Haupt is a four-year starter who knows the ins and outs of his offense and leads with emotion. He’s thrown 18 interceptions this season, more than all but one QB in the nation’s top 100 passers, yet is still 13th in passing efficiency. Mount Union, though, will make Widener one-dimensional by stopping the run, and as good as the Pride defense was against Salisbury last week, handling Burke to Collins, Denton and Julius Moore requires more top-notch cornerbacks than most teams have. In the end, expecting Widener to do slightly better than Heidelberg did against Mount Union seems completely reasonable.
Pat’s take: Mount Union 52, Widener 14: I don’t see Widener being able to slow down the Mount Union offense, which Burke has been running at a high level all season. The Purple Raiders might not run well but they won’t have to this week, I don’t think. The Haupt-to-Davis connection should be good for a couple of scores but not enough on a consistent basis to beat a team such as Mount Union.