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11/20
Week 1 of the regular season is over, and we had a bunch of coaches and good teams kicking off their season with competitive games.
NC favorites and #1 EPR
Huntingdon started with a
17-0 complete shutdown against
Sewanee, outgaining them 447 yards to 181.
Timothy Carlson was the player of the game, finishing 28/43 for 384 yards and 2 TD.
Concordia (WI) started off with a convincing
32-13 win at
Macalester. Defense was they key for them, with great performances from
John Hernandez (10 TCK, 3 SCK, 1 FF) and
William Martinez (4 TCK, 1 SCK, 1 FF, 2 INT, 1 PD). They outgained their opponents 421 yards to 222, and forced a total of 4 turnovers.
In a very close game,
Mount Union took care of business and walked out with a
30-23 win against
Husson, who were surprisingly much better than expected and outgained Mount Union in total yards, but couldn't pull it off. The game ended in the most dramatic of ways, when
Steve Reed connected with
James Adams on a 93-yard touchdown pass, with the score tied at 23 with only 20 seconds remaining.
In what can be considered a minor upset,
Union (NY) showed they are for real this season with a
37-26 win over
Colorado College. They completely controlled the game with their RB tandem,
Phillip Santana (18 CAR, 141 YDS, 2 TD) and
Jay Estrada (14 CAR, 100 YDS, 1 TD)
11/21
Week 2 is in the books, and the highlight is the surprising 0-2 start for
Colorado College, after another
14-21 loss to
Curry. Colorado allowed 21 unanswered points in the last 10 minutes, after completely shutting down Curry in the first 50. Despite outgaining their opponents 419 yards to 282, Colorado allowed 5 turnovers in the game, and that enough to make the difference.
The game of the week was a very close and hard fought battle, with
Trinity (TX) pulling out a
18-16 upset against EPR #1
Huntingdon.
Timothy Carlson was sacked in the endzone with 3:10 remaining, and that made the difference. Trinity's defense was behind their win, with good contributions from
John Simpson (10 TCK, 1 SCK) and
Samuel Quinn (9 TCK).
Another huge upset saw
Colby walking out with
30-29 double overtime win against
Loras on the road.
Andrew Johnson kicked a 39-yard field goal with 0:04 remaining in regulation to tie the game, but this only "delayed" the upset. He then missed an extra point in OT2, causing Loras to suffer a dramatic upset, despite 4 turnovers throughout the game by Colby.
In another close game that ended up as a defensive struggle,
Whittier did enough to walk away with a
13-6 win against
King's (PA).
Michael Roberts (10 TCK, 2 SCK) was the player of the game. Whittier completely shut down the run, holding King's to just 19 yards on 18 carries.
In the last of our top games for today,
Concordia (WI) walked away with their second consecutive win this season, after a
41-28 effort against
Hiram.
Lee Garcia replaced the RS Fr QB
Kevin Harper in the second half, and he was sharp once again, almost walking out with a perfect game (15/16, 191 yards, 3 TD).
Michael Donnelly had 7 catches for 135 yards and 2 TD.
11/22
Several teams from the SCAC were having top games in Week 3, unfortunately for the conference, they all lost.
After defeating the #1 EPR and NC favorite Huntingdon last week,
Trinity (TX) had another close game, this time suffering a
15-18 loss to
Susquehanna.
John York connected with
Edward Shelton on a 1-yard toss to tie the game for Susquehanna with 5:16 remaining, and then
Anthony Dugan made a 34-yard field goal to win it with only 0:08 left.
Loras overcame a 10-point deficit at halftime to beat
La Verne 20-10. Fr QB
Robert Newman (19/27, 194 yards, 2 TD) was the player of the game.
Whittier was the final SCAC team involved in top games this week, losing
24-30 to
Greenville.
Joseph Mills kept making his case for best rookie RB in DIII Bryant, finishing with 6 carries for 138 yards and 1 TD. He also had a catch for 8 yards. Greenville is now 3-0.
The other powerhouse of the IBFC,
Concordia (WI), also made a 3-0 start, avenging their last season first round playoff loss with a
13-6 win against
Curry. In a low-scoring affair,
Leroy Carter made a 42-yard field goal to tie the game at 6 for Curry, with 1:14 remaining. Right after that,
Goerge Chavez returned the kickoff for 89 yards to score the game winning touchdown for Concordia. This was the only TD of the game, and Concordia moved to top the Press Rankings after this win.
In the last of our top games for this week,
King's defeated
Colorado College 19-7, behind a good performance by
Richard Holden (35/55, 348 yards, 2 TD). In the past 9 seasons, Colorado had never lost 3 games in the entire regular season. This season, however, they have an 0-3 start.
11/23
Week 4 was not different than Week 3 in terms of the SCAC teams being booked in competitive games.
Trinity (TX) suffered their second consecutive loss of season,
37-40 against
Howard Payne. The game saw a dramatic finish.
Leo Arrington made a 28-yard field goal to tie the game at 37 for Trinity with 0:20 remaining.
Ray Riley then returned the kickoff for 94 yards, to set up the game winning field goal for Howard Payne with 2 seconds left.
In another losing effort for the SCAC,
Menlo defeated
Redlands 47-30. Menlo's prolific offense kept rolling, and
Paul Lewis made another huge effort to contribute to his player of the year candidacy, finishing 38/52 for 493 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT. Menlo is now 4-0, ranked #6 in the first WIS rankings for this season.
Whittier were back on track with a
23-7 win against
California Lutheran, scoring 17 unanswered points in the second half.
Kenneth Smith was the player of the game, with 11 TCK, 1 FF, and 2 PD.
Defending national champions
Gettysburg had a comfortable win in their first competitive game this season,
35-19 against
Washington (MO). Their RB tandem had another great game,
Steve Morrison had 19 carries for 105 yards and a TD, while
John Gore had 16 carries for 124 yards and a TD.
After week 4, the first WIS Rankings of the seasons were out, and they were topped by
Austin.
11/24
OOC games are over fellas, and top teams were playing each other in this last week, as we go over 4 top games.
#4 Concordia (WI) finished their OOC schedule undefeated after a
20-3 win against
#11 MIT. Concordia outgained MIT 350 yards to 257, and had 36:04 TOP. The last time Concordia defeated MIT in the OOC seasonal rivalry, they went on to become undefeated national champions. Concordia has gained a couple of spot in the WIS rankings after this win, jumping to #2.
In a close and hard fought battle,
#21 Huntingdon shut down the prolific offense of
#6 Menlo, beating them
22-19.
Paul Lewis had the toughest game of his career, finishing 44/72 for 417 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT. Huntingdon jumped to #9 after this win, while Menlo dropped to #18.
In a game between top 10 teams,
#1 Austin did enough to walk away with a
16-13 win against
#7 Methodist. Despite the win, Austin dropped to #2, leaving
St. Olaf on top of the rankings, while Methodist dropped to #12.
In other top games,
Susquehanna defeated
Hiram 20-17, and
Loras defeated
Wisconsin Lutheran 24-21.
11/25
Week 6 is of course the first week of conference play, where teams who slipped earlier in OOC get their final chance to make the playoffs with an automatic bid. Let's start with the upsets.
#8 Bluffton is undefeated no more, suffering a surprising
10-20 loss against
Randolph-Macon. Bluffton just couldn't get anything going, finishing with 179 yards of total offense, compared to Randolph-Macon's 275.
Another upset saw
#11 New Jersey also losing their first game of the season,
20-21 against
Chapman.
David Fontenot connected with
Steve Wright on a 8-yard TD pass with 1:23 remaining to win it for Chapman.
Tyler Parker's effort (22 CAR, 177 YDS) wasn't enough to lift New Jersey.
Moving on to the Week 6 top games, and the hottest one was in the OAC, with
#17 Mount Union pulling off a comfortable
24-3 win against
#14 Wlimington (OH).
Steve Reed (22/39, 347 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT) was voted the player of the game.
In another huge game, this time in the very competitive ASC,
#5 Howard Payne held on to pull off an important
36-29 victory against
California Lutheran. Howard Payne went all running, finishing with 275 rushing yards on 65 carries. With a win against one of the ASC top dogs, they have proved that this team is for real.
In the CC, defending national champions
#6 Gettysburg remained undefeated, pulling off a close
24-17 win at
Union (NY). They had great contributions from their RB tandem once again,
Steve Morrison (18 CAR, 121 YDS, 1 TD) and
John Gore (23 CAR, 79 YDS, 1 TD). They also had good contribution from their defensive linemen,
George Torres (9 TCK, 1 FF, 1 PD) and
Ray Womack (7 TCK, 1 SCK, 1 FF).
Week 6 WIS Rankings: 1. Austin (6-0), 2. Wisconsin-Platteville (6-0), 3. Concordia (WI) (6-0), 4. Ferrum (6-0), 5. Howard Payne (6-0), 6. Gettysburg (6-0), 7. St. Olaf (6-0), 8. Huntingdon (5-1), 9. Whittier (5-1), 10. Mount Union (6-0)
11/26
Week 7 is in the books, and no major upsets this week as all of the Top 20 teams have won their games. Below is a summary of Week 7 top games:
In the IIAC,
Loras were dominant against
Waynesburg, walking away with a
26-6 win.
William Ward had a huge game, finishing 18/31 for 233 yards and a TD. He also had 11 carries for 120 yards and a rushing TD. Loras outgained Waynesburg 445 yards to 252, and sacked
Travis Dillon 4 times. With those teams looking like pretty much everything in the IIAC, a possible rematch for the Conference Championship is expected.
In the ODAC,
#22 Bluffton suffered their second consecutive defeat of the season after a 5-0 start, this time losing
14-24 against
Bridgewater (VA). Bridgewater's defense was key for them, as they forced 4 fumbles, recovering 3 out of them for turnovers, and returning 2 of them for TDs.
In the SCAC,
Rhodes defeated
#23 Sewanee 23-14, and
#11 Trinity (TX) did enough to manage a
31-28 win against
La Verne. With most of the human coached teams still having decent records despite tough OOC schedules, the SCAC is looking like one of the most competitive conferences this season.
In the WIAC,
#15 Wisconsin-Stout were convincing once again in their
43-12 win against
Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After surprisingly missing the playoffs last season, this team was tipped for a huge rebound this seasons, and they're definitely delivering, standing at a 7-0 overall record so far.
John Nelson had a great game, finishing 21/34 for 383 yards and 3 TD.
Week 7 WIS Rankings: 1. Concordia (WI) (7-0), 2. Austin (7-0), 3. Wisconsin-Platteville (7-0), 4. Howard Payne (7-0), 5. Gettysburg (7-0), 6. St. Olaf (7-0), 7. Ferrum (7-0), 8. Mount Union (7-0), 9. Huntingdon (6-1), 10. Whittier (6-1)
11/27
Week 8 is behind us, and now we get to the most important part of the regular season as divisional games start tomorrow. Again no major upsets today, so let's move to our top games review.
In one of the greatest and most dramatic games I've seen in my short GD career,
#19 Linfield escaped with a
59-55 win against
#16 Menlo. Linfield got the ball trailing by 17 with 4:05 remaining. They scored a TD on a 8 play, 82 yard drive that took 1:37. They then forced an interception to get the ball back on their own 6, and
Peter Park scrambled for 91 yards to set up another TD, cutting the lead down to 3 with 1:07 remaining. Linfield then recovered the onside kick, and scored another TD on a 6 play, 56 yard drive to take a 59-55 lead with just 19 seconds left. That was enough to secure a very important win, in a game that was an absolute shootout, where Linfild had 90 passing attempts, and Menlo had 70.
In the very competitive ASC,
California Lutheran did enough to secure a
24-17 win against
East Texas Baptist. They improved to #19 in the WIS rankings with this win, while ETBU suffered their first loss this season.
Robert Alvarado (20/39, 237 YDS, 3 TD) was the player of the game.
In the NCAC, Donald Green made a 34-yard FG with 1:03 remaining to help
#21 Oberlin maintain their undefeated record, with a
36-35 win against
Ohio Wesleyan.
William Richardson (25 CAR, 155 YDS, 2 TD) was the player of the game.
Week 8 WIS Rankings: 1. Concordia (WI) (8-0), 2. Wisconsin-Platteville (8-0), 3. Austin (8-0), 4. Ferrum (8-0), 5. Gettysburg (8-0), 6. St. Olaf (8-0), 7. Howard Payne (8-0), 8. Wisconsin-Stout (8-0), 9. Trinity (TX) (6-2), 10. Mount Union (8-0).
11/28
Week 9 is history, and 2 top games shook off the WIS Rankings. In the Game of the Week,
#19 California Lutheran improved 7 ranks, after a
27-6 win against
#3 Austin, who dropped to #6, behind good performances from
Robert Alvarado (21/36, 276 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT) and
Thomas Mack (23 CAR, 109 YDS, 1 TD). That was Austin's first loss this season.
The SCAC continued to prove that it's wide open this year,
Sewanee getting the best out of their game against
#12 Whittier, beating them
27-21. Whittier lost 5 ranks with this loss, dropping down to #17.
Norman Crowder had 16 carries for 109 yards and a TD,
David Santos had 6 catches for 100 yards.
In the CC, defending national champions
#5 Gettysburg did just enough to get a priceless
31-29 win against
Muhlenberg, and improve to #3. Not that this is something new, but another good contribution from their RB tandem
Steve Morrison (26 CAR, 169 YDS, 1 TD) and
John Gore (15 CAR, 133 YDS, 3 TD).
The state of Wisconsin keeps looking solid, having Wisconsin-Platteville at #1, Concordia (WI) at #2, and Wisconsin-Stout at #11, all undefeated at 9-0.
Week 9 WIS Rankings: 1. Wisconsin-Platteville (9-0), 2. Concordia (WI) (9-0), 3. Gettysburg (9-0), 4. Ferrum (9-0), 5. Howard Payne (9-0), 6. Austin (8-1), 7. St. Olaf (9-0), 8. Huntingdon (8-1), 9. Trinity (TX) (9-2), 10. Mount Union (9-0)
11/29
At the end of today's simulation, every team in DIII had played 10 games, and Merchant Marine had lost their first one.
Western Connecticut State stunned
#14 Merchant Marine in overtime,
20-17.
Wesley Stafford tossed a 3-yard TD pass to
Joseph Hill to tie the game with 4:19 remaining, and then
James Jones kicked a 39-yard FG in OT to complete the upset. Western Conn St has improved to 7-3 with this win.
In the Game Of The Week,
#6 Austin bounced back from their loss to California Lutheran and got an important
34-24 win against
Texas Lutheran. Austin still needs Cal Lutheran to drop one of their last 3 games in order to qualify for the conference championship.
In the MWC,
Chicago took a huge step towards the CC after a convincing
26-9 win against
#22 Washington (MO). Both teams are now 8-2, but Washington (MO) dropped out of the Top 25 after this loss.
Week 10 WIS Rankings: 1. Ferrum (10-0), 2. Concordia (WI) (10-0), 3. Wisconsin-Platteville (10-0), 4. Gettysburg (10-0), 5. Howard Payne (10-0), 6. Austin (9-1), 7. Linfield (10-0), 8. Huntingdon (9-1), 9. Trinity (TX) (8-2), 10. California Lutheran (8-2).
11/30
We are 2 games away from the post season, and let's start today's review with a couple of upsets. The number of undefeated teams after 11 games has gone down to 8, after two previously undefeated teams suffered their first loss of the season in Week 10.
In the ASC,
#5 Howard Payne are undefeated no more after a
7-20 loss against
Louisiana. They just couldn't get anything going on offense, and their QB
Louis White finished 1/8 for 6 yards and an INT.
In the NCAC, another previously undefeated team fell off as
#22 Oberlin suffered a dramatic
17-20 overtime loss at
Wittenberg.
David Hampton kicked a 33-yard FG with 4:21 remaining in regulation to tie the game, and then another 33-yard FG in overtime to win it for Wittenberg. Oberlin couldn't find an answer to
Harold Workman who finished with 9 catches for 107 yards and 2 TD.
In another upset,
#15 Wilmington lost
16-24 against
Marietta in the OAC. Wilmington wasn't able to take good care of the football, and 3 turnovers tipped the scales towards Marietta.
In the Game of the Week, defending national champions
#4 Gettysburg totally outplayed
Franklin & Marshall and beat them
37-6. They did the usual, running the football very well, with 2 names that must be very popular to you by now:
Steve Morrison (19 CAR, 122 YDS, 1 TD) and
John Gore (13 CAR, 53 YDS). Their QB
Steven Blue didn't have the best of games but got the job done, finishing 11/23 for 162 YDS and 2 TD.
Week 11 WIS Rankings: 1. Concordia (WI) (11-0), 2. Wisconsin-Platteville (11-0), 3. Gettysburg (11-0), 4. Ferrum (11-0), 5. St. Olaf (11-0), 6. Austin (10-1), 7. California Lutheran (9-2), 8. Trinity (TX) (9-2), 9. Huntingdon (10-1), 10. Mount Union (11-0)
The remaining 11-0 teams are #11 Linfield and #13 Wisconsin-Stout.
12/1
With one more week left in the regular season, upsets continued as
#17 Susquehanna suffered a
23-26 quadruple overtime loss against
Albright.
Anthony Dugan missed a 23-yard FG in OT4, and Susquehanna walked away with their second loss this season. They can still make the MAC championship game if they beat King's in their season finale.
Moving to the top games,
#1 Concordia (WI) remained undefeated after a thrilling
26-15 win against
#18 Greenville to clinch the division and move to the IBFC championship game.
Lee Garcia came in at halftime and was sharp once again, finishing 13/17 for 131 yards and a TD. Concordia however lost the efforts of tireless WR
Robert Barber, who will be out for the next 2 games.
In the ASC,
#12 Howard Payne suffered their second consecutive loss after a 10-0 start, losing
28-40 against
East Texas Baptist. East Texas Baptist now has its destiny in its own hand, and a win tomorrow will see them through to the ASC Championship game. If California Lutheran also wins, they will play ETBU on Monday.
In the SCAC,
Trinity (TX) clinched the North division with a
27-6 win against
Rhodes, and moved to the SCAC championship game.
Randy Fletcher (19 CAR, 114 YDS, 2 TD, 3 REC, 24 YDS) was the player of the game.
Week 12 WIS Rankings: 1. Wisconsin-Platteville (12-0), 2. Concordia (WI) (12-0), 3. Gettysburg (12-0), 4. Ferrum (12-0), 5. Huntingdon (11-1), 6. California Lutheran (10-2), 7. St. Olaf (12-0), 8. Trinity (TX) (10-2), 9. Austin (11-1), 10. Mount Union (12-0)
12/2
The regular season is over, and for many coaches, the real season has just started. No major upsets in Week 13, but some major games that shaped the CC picture took place.
In the MIAA,
Colorado College might be going to the playoffs as one of the hottest team, after a
26-6 win at
#11 Macalester. This was Colorado's 10th consecutive win this season, after a surprising 0-3 start. Colorado will now play Wisconsin Lutheran (9-4) for the MIAA crown. If they win, they might be going to the playoffs as a #8 seed and be a real pain of a matchup for the corresponding #1 (who might actually be me by the way haha).
In the MAC,
#24 King's finished the season undefeated in the conference, after a close
20-17 win against
#21 Susquehanna, who suffered their second consecutive loss, and the third of the season. They now play Fairleigh Dickison for the MAC championship game tomorrow. With this loss, Susquehanna has dropped to #25 , and they will be hoping there won't be many upsets in the CC games so that they still sneak into the playoffs with an at-large bid.
After a 1-5 start,
Kean has continued their great run, and managed their seventh consecutive win, edging
New Jersey by a score of
20-16, and clinching the NJAC North division in the process, to qualify to the CC game with the daunted task of playing Huntingdon.
John Richardson's deep pass was incomplete on 4th & 6 with 10 seconds left, and Kean hold on to win the game.
Week 13 WIS Rankings: 1. Wisconsin-Platteville (13-0), 2. Concordia (WI) (13-0), 3. Ferrum (13-0), 4. Gettysburg (13-0), 5. Trinity (TX) (11-2), 6. Huntingdon (12-1), 7. California Lutheran (11-2), 8. Mount Union (13-0), 9. MIT (12-1), 10. St. Olaf (13-0)
Remaining teams with 13-0 undefeated regular season are #12 Wisconsin-Stout and #13 Linfield.
12/3
Our final review of the season, as shortly we will be busy doing playoff predictions, let's go over the best CC games!
If you guys thought that the regular season game between Linfield and Menlo was the best in a while in DIII Bryant, you should probably think again. In the NWC championship game, we had another nail-biter. Speaking of "Deja Vu", Menlo had a comfortable 48-30 lead with 9:46 remaining, and looked like on their way to avenge their regular season loss, but then the unimaginable happened... once again!
Jason Johnson caught a 14-yard TD pass from
Peter Park with 8:31 remaining to cut the lead down to 11. Later,
Tommy Cole picked off
Paul Lewis to give Linfield hope once again. Getting the football back,
Kevin Griffin caught a 14-yard TD pass from
Peter Park with 3:36 left, and Linfield converted the 2 to make it a 3-point game. Rather than going for the FG, Menlo went for it on 4th & 8 on the Linfield 27-yard line with 1:39 left, but couldn't convert. Linfield got the football back needing a FG in one-and-a-half minute to force OT, but instead scored a TD to win it,
Peter Park connecting with
Bruce Berry on a 2-yard toss with 16 seconds remaining.
#13 Linfield escapes once again with a
52-48 win against
#23 Menlo, this time to win the ASC championship. This was probably the longest single-game review I will ever write, but my God that game was worth it!
Another interesting game was the IIAC championship, and another wild finish as
#15 Loras escaped with a
22-17 win against
#18 Waynesburg.
Derek Buckley scored a 42-yard FG to give Waynesburg a 1-point lead with 1:01 remaining, but then
William Ward connected with
John Murphy on a 77-yard TD pass to give Loras the win with 47 seconds left.
Reviewing quickly the top 2 conferences of DIII Bryant Season 85,
#14 Whittier defeated
#5 Trinity (TX) 38-31 to win the SCAC, and
East Texas Baptist stunned (it wasn't the fact that they won but the margin)
#7 California Lutheran 31-3 to win the ASC. Good news for the ASC, they get to be represented by 4 teams in the playoffs!