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ATN podcast: 2 times 1 equals 8


These notes have been on Pat’s desk most of the season and they’ll still come in handy this week.

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We know there are people who don’t want to hear it but Saturday really is a bright point for the rest of Division III football. You know, the 99% of us who can’t lay claim to the term Purple Powers. But with Mount Union and UW-Whitewater needing two one-point games to reach their eighth Stagg Bowl meeting, it should be clear that the two are very close to the pack, and that the “six-pack” of teams at the top we were talking about earlier this season who were all capable of winning the title were in fact capable of doing so.

Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman tell about the facts, though, not just the theory. Keith was in Alliance and can speak to the snow and the momentum and the great plays and great Continue reading

Game Day: Fall, for sure

I mean, in your part of the country anyway, I’m sure it’s fall. But here in Minneapolis I woke up to snow on the ground. Not enough to last the day or affect any games around here, probably, but just a reminder that Oct. 10 is … yeah, way, way too early for snow.

I’ll be watching Concordia-Moorhead (Division III team No. 120 on my list of whom I’ve seen) at No. 15 St. Thomas, basically as prep for next week’s Game of the Week broadcast of the St. Thomas-St. John’s game. Ryan Tipps is at the Emory & Henry/Hampden-Sydney game, while Gordon Mann is at FDU-Florham at Delaware Valley. The short trip is my deal with the folks at home. New rule in the Coleman house: If I take a plane one weekend, I stay home or stay in the Twin Cities the next weekend. Keeps the peace.

I still have a few Minnesota schools I haven’t seen yet and will get to those eventually. Hamline will be the only MIAC team I haven’t seen, then throw in a bunch of stadiums I’ve never seen a game at: Hamline, Carleton, Concordia, Crown … pretty much you name it.

Looking at this week’s schedule on paper has me thinking not at all about last week, where there weren’t a lot of games where we could foresee upsets. We have two games between Top 25 teams (No. 1 Mount Union at No. 21 Capital, No. 22 Redlands at No. 24 Occidental), and then UW-Whitewater, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Wheaton, Linfield, Central, Case Western Reserve, Monmouth, Otterbein, St. Thomas, Cortland State and Ithaca are each playing teams where you could conceivably pick them to lose.

Stick around, watch, listen, follow live stats. The wireless connection at St. Thomas wasn’t great the last time I was there but we’ll see. I’ll be on Twitter at least from my phone, hopefully blogging.