Quote from: UMHB03 on Yesterday at 03:11:56 PM

Quote from: The Third Division on Yesterday at 01:45:37 PMAny bets how many scam division 4 cheeseburger universities UMHB plays this fall?

In fairness, at least those "cheeseburger universities" aren't afraid to strap on their pads and face us, unlike most of D3 outside of Whitewater. UMHB faces all comers, there just aren't many comers who have the guts to take on the challenge.

This remains an extremely narrow view on this topic.  Plenty of teams are willing to play good teams (we see it all through the month of September) and nearly all can get an equivalent competition experience for a fraction of the cost as a game in Belton.  I'm sympathetic to the problem UMHB has here, but calling everyone a chicken isn't the way. 

Quote from: ADL70 on February 21, 2025, 11:14:35 PMCWRU schedule updated. At Rowan 9/6 and at Wabash 9/13

https://athletics.case.edu/sports/football/schedule

Only 4 home games? And two are week 10 &11.

That's a great non-con pair.  I think Rowan is on the upswing and that's a really nice interregional game. 

I wrote about long distance scheduling in a piece that featured Central's trip to Thousand Oaks, CA last year!  I wouldn't have said this is an obvious game to make, but after talking to Coach McMartin last fall, this game is exactly the kind of contest he's talking about in the piece. 

This is an exciting game, IMO.  Definitely a non-con highlight for 2025. 

Quote from: Little Giant 89 on January 23, 2025, 02:26:24 PMThe Little Giant football season begins on September 6.  The schedule features non conference games at St. Norbert on the 6th and at home against Case Western the following weekend.  The first conference game against John Carroll takes place at JCU on October 4.

All the deets can be found here:  https://sports.wabash.edu/sports/football/schedule/2025

Are you ready for some football?

This is a really good schedule.  Love the non-cons and you can really sense the difference in weight when you take Hiram out and put John Carroll in. 

You named some.  There are more.  Basically all of the teams that you won't let yourself believe can possibly be any good now because they weren't 20 years ago. 

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 08, 2025, 02:38:49 PMD3FB would be a hell of a lot better in '24/25 if there was a 00's Wesley around, a mid 10's St Thomas, even a Rowan from back in the day or if there were two teams at the top a la the Mount & UWW run. NCC has had a great 5 year stretch, no doubt.  But having the JHU's, Susquhanna's etc of the world ranked in the top 5...come on. Many factors in place, but D3FB is weaker than ever.

Those teams are around, they just aren't named Wesley or St. Thomas.  You're stuck in an era that is gone. 

Love to see this and I'm glad you were able to go as a nonpartisan.  Go to NCAA Championships!  They're great and fun!  Attendance at the Stagg Bowl is obviously not exactly where we would like to see it, so testimonials like this helps. 

Wild ticket fees do not help.  Hopefully we can avoid that in the future- this might be a function of the stadium?  That's an unnecessary hindrance for sure.  Should also have walk up options for an event like this that definitely won't sell out the stadium.  Also, this explains why I wasn't able to find a souvenir ticket!  I usually like to grab one for myself before I leave the stadium.

I'm not sure if the open practice is open to the public or just open to the media.  My sense is the latter as I've never seen a crowd at one of these and teams would be keen to make sure they aren't open to opponents.  It's an opportunity for media to get some photos and shoot some b-roll of players running around in helmets.  The teams are smart enough to not show anything too exotic at these open practices. 

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 07, 2025, 06:16:17 PMDon't think Mount is down?  Nearly every "expert" picked Mount to disappoint and picked teams such as Salisbury or CMU to beat them lol

Three of seven panelists picked Salisbury.  Nobody picked Mount Union to lose to CMU or JCU or JHU.  I'm sorry that this doesn't fit the narrative you're desperately trying to paint. 

I'll reiterate that on the surface, this current 5-year stretch isn't a heck of a lot different for Mount Union than let's say 2009-2013/14.  It sounds different in here mostly because you're comfortable criticizing and nitpicking the current HC in a way that you wouldn't dare nitpick the HC back then. 

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 07, 2025, 06:16:17 PMNo, there were just two all time programs going back and forth each year for a decade back when most players only had 4 years of eligibility (5 in the WIAC).

"They were going back forth each year" is a really creative way to interpret Whitewater winning six of the last seven championship games against Mount Union. 

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 07, 2025, 05:27:32 PMMount is down, UWW is down, UMHB is whatever they are, the MN schools get pumped up by D3football but they arent on the St Thomas level, the WIAC no longer has a power.  Sounds like a down period to me.  Feel free to bring up analytics and such that say that D3 has never been better, but c'mon.  One team (with a generational class) has dominated.

If you're going to be stuck in a lane that only includes Mount Union, Whitewater, and UMHB that's on you.  The enjoyability and competitiveness of the division isn't inextricably linked to those three teams.  It's not 2012 anymore. 

FWIW, I don't think Mount Union is really down.  Mount Union is great.  They're just not quite as great as North Central right now.  Was Mount Union down when they were losing six out of seven to Whitewater?  I don't see the current situation as much different. 

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 07, 2025, 04:57:48 PMbut Mount played them in '22.  I guess that I just expect more from "The Standard" in a down period of D3FB.  Mount did a less than stellar job in the super senior COVID era, and nobody took advantage of that era more than NCC.

 

Lame excuse.  Mount Union had really notable COVID seniors in 2023.  Guys that hold career records there that aren't going to get broken in a long, long time.  The continued harping on guys using permitted eligibility as if Mount Union isn't also leveraging the same rules as every other program is disingenuous. 

Not sure what "down period of D3FB" you're talking about.  The quality of depth in this division is better than it's been in decades.  Downplaying the division like that really kind of only serves to marginalize the great accomplishment its been to get to the final game twice in the last three years. 

If there's an opening (there won't be because adults are in charge there), what football coach in their right mind is going to take a job where 56-4 isn't good enough?  This is pure lunacy. 

Quote from: Cardinal773 on December 16, 2024, 09:59:16 AMPat and Greg,

Just listened to your podcast.  Always fun to get my D3football fix on a Monday morning!

Regarding the announcers, my sentiments exactly.  It's a shame that we D3 fans have knowledgeable announcers pulled away from us just to have some dispassionate underling from ESPN Ocho stand in their rightful place.  Then, for the next three hours we get to listen on as they mispronounce everything - players and school names alike - and blurt out the one stat that they learned Saturday morning, over and over and over...  Thankfully I will be at the game.  For the rest of you, think fondly of Alex and Grant.

And now on to more important matters...  Pequod's Pizza is the best.  It's like the first team AA QB of pizzas.  It's #1 out of 237 pizza places in Chicago.  While Uno's and Malnoti's have the College Gameday hype like Amhurst/Williams, Pequod's is the real deal. The caramelized cheese crust running circles around the field.  An overwhelming layer of cheese, daring you to go a full 60 minutes.

I don't want to pile on the ESPN crews that do the semis and the Stagg Bowl. No, they haven't followed the teams closely for 14 weeks, they will botch some names, and they miss some nuances of Division III, but I don't ever get the sense that they don't care.  They're generally pretty enthusiastic about the event. 

I haven't had Pequod's but I am aware of it and it's definitely on my list to try the next time I get to Chicago!

Quote from: USee on December 10, 2024, 12:53:41 PMIt's not a secret how to defend NCC, yet no one seems to be able to do it. You have to stop the run and try to keep Lehnen in the pocket to face 2nd/3rd and long as a pocket passer. NCC's defense has been stout up front (top 20 against the run) and they get off the field on 3rd down (4th nationally). Much better defense this year vs last in the playoffs (healthier) and an equally potent offense. They continue to be the strong favorite IMO

It's one thing to know what to do, it's another entirely to not get repeatedly knocked on your keister by that Cardinal offensive line.  Those guys put you where you don't want to be more often than not. 

Quote from: Ron Boerger on December 07, 2024, 02:45:25 PM3) and then there's the blown call on Whitehead's TD in the third quarter where he was ruled OOB.

We mention this in the pod today.  Just a really unfortunate miss on this play, IMO, and it's one that I think changes the way the rest of the game goes.  I know they had two more shots to get this in the end zone from the 2, but in a game where every yard was hard to come by, it's hard to see that one come back out of the end zone. 

Hopefully broadcast minimums for ESPN will make it palatable to extend replay to all rounds of the playoffs and not just the last two in future years. 

Quote from: CuriousCCIWfan on December 06, 2024, 03:00:49 PMBeing a Wheaton fan, I wish the NCC line would get alot of credit for much of their players stats. Having a son who is a running back, the line matters. And I was watching some games where Luke had all day in the pocket because of the wealth of riches on the NCC line, and if he wanted, he had some massive holes to run 20 yards without getting touched. Maybe a quarterback from a team like NPU should get more credit because he has to make split second decisions. Just my two cents.

North Central has been in the last four championships precisely because they became the premiere outfit in the division on the lines, especially the offensive line.