|
| Tommy Coates and the Warhawks sprinted past Bethel into the second round. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
Division III football fans have much to be thankful for this weekend. Sixteen teams remain in contention for the Walnut & Bronze. Fifteen of those teams are ranked in the top 20, 12 are ranked in the top 13. This is one of the strongest second-round fields in the Division III Football Chapmionship since the field epanded to 32 teams. Assemble that turkey leftover sandwich, grab another slice of pie and settle in with our Quick Hits crew for predictions for all eight second round games.
Our playoff panel will be our regular crew of Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Frank Rossi, Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas. We're excited to have Around The Nation originator and longtime Division III guru Keith McMillan joining us again this season on the Quick Hits panel throughout the playoffs.
— Greg Thomas
UW-La Crosse bracket
Aurora at UW-La Crosse
Greg’s take: UW-La Crosse 31, Aurora 20
Patrick’s take: UW-La Crosse 28, Aurora 16
Ryan’s take: UW-La Crosse 34, Aurora 17
Frank's take: UW-La Crosse 31, Aurora 20
Logan's take: UW-La Crosse 34, Aurora 31
Riley's take: Aurora 34, UW-La Crosse 30
Keith’s take: UW-La Crosse 24, Aurora 20
Consensus: Varying opnions on Aurora's offense, but most think UW-La Crosse will at least 30.
Trinity (Texas) at North Central
Greg’s take: North Central 44, Trinity (Texas) 21
Patrick’s take: North Central 45, Trinity (Texas) 24
Ryan’s take: North Central 28, Trinity (Texas) 21
Frank's take: North Central 27, Trinity (Texas) 21
Logan's take: North Central 42, Trinity (Texas) 24
Riley's take: North Central 31, Trinity (Texas) 23
Keith’s take: North Central 21, Trinity (Texas) 7
Consensus: A couple of optimistic takes on this being a close game.
Wartburg bracket
Whitworth at Wartburg
Greg’s take: Wartburg 41, Whitworth 17
Patrick’s take: Wartburg 40, Whitworth 20
Ryan’s take: Whitworth 24, Wartburg 23
Frank's take: Wartburg 34, Whitworth 10
Logan's take: Wartburg 42, Whitworth 21
Riley's take: Wartburg 34, Whitworth 13
Keith’s take: Wartburg 35, Whitworth 14
Consensus: Wartburg winning, generally comfortably.
Wheaton at UW-Whitewater
Greg’s take: UW-Whitewater 28, Wheaton 24
Patrick’s take: UW-Whitewater 38, Wheaton 14
Ryan’s take: UW-Whitewater 42, Wheaton 28
Frank's take: UW-Whitewater 37, Wheaton 20
Logan's take: UW-Whitewater 45, Wheaton 24
Riley's take: UW-Whitewater 28, Wheaton 17
Keith’s take: UW-Whitewater 26, Wheaton 17
Consensus: UW-Whitewater winning and generally by multiple scores.
Mount Union bracket
Alma at Mount Union
Greg’s take: Mount Union 48, Alma 22
Patrick’s take: Mount Union 41, Alma 27
Ryan’s take: Mount Union 49, Alma 17
Frank's take: Mount Union 41, Alma 17
Logan's take: Mount Union 49, Alma 21
Riley's take: Mount Union 35, Alma 14
Keith’s take: Mount Union 40, Alma 20
Consensus: Alma generally expected to score more and allow fewer than Alfred State, but not necessarily close.
Grove City at Cortland
Greg’s take: Cortland 38, Grove City 31
Patrick’s take: Cortland 38, Grove City 31
Ryan’s take: Cortland 38, Grove City 14
Frank's take: Cortland 31, Grove City 21
Logan's take: Cortland 31, Grove City 28
Riley's take: Grove City 30, Cortland 28
Keith’s take: Cortland 27, Grove City 17
Consensus: Not unanimous, and most people think Grove City is right in there the whole game.
Johns Hopkins bracket
Union at Johns Hopkins
Greg’s take: Johns Hopkins 29, Union 20
Patrick’s take: Johns Hopkins 21, Union 10
Ryan’s take: Johns Hopkins 31, Union 21
Frank's take: Johns Hopkins 27, Union 24
Logan's take: Johns Hopkins 35, Union 21
Riley's take: Johns Hopkins 38, Union 24
Keith’s take: Johns Hopkins 23, Union 16
Consensus: Johns Hopkins, in a somewhat lower-scoring game.
Ithaca at Randolph-Macon
Greg’s take: Randolph-Macon 24, Ithaca 23
Patrick’s take: Randolph-Macon 27, Ithaca 24
Ryan’s take: Randolph-Macon 28, Ithaca 17
Frank's take: Randolph-Macon 31, Ithaca 20
Logan's take: Randolph-Macon 28, Ithaca 27
Riley's take: Randolph-Macon 24, Ithaca 20
Keith’s take: Ithaca 28, Randolph-Macon 27
Consensus: Nobody thinks Randolph-Macon is running away and hidng here. Ithaca has a shot.
Got picks? Put them in the comments! Include your scores!