Quote from: unionpalooza on August 12, 2026, 01:24:26 PMF*ck NPI.  Everything that is truly great about D3 is served by games like this.  A million times better than flying out to UW-Somebody to maximize NPI.  Show me a school that is making scheduling decisions that are bad for NPI and I'll show you a school that is living the D3 way.

My slightly warmer than tepid but not quite hot take on this is-- scheduling to beat the NPI is mostly a fool's errand.  There's no guarantee the non-con opponent(s) you schedule will be NPI helpers when the dust settles (yes, you can make educated guesses, but sometimes a 5-5 season happens to the best of us).  Goal 1 should always be to schedule 10 games.  If you've cleared that, then schedule games that are net positives for your institution- whether it's something that's important for the community like the Anchor Bowl, a competition opportunity against an institution that you have a larger partnership with, or a game in an area that is an important center for alumni relations or recruitment- do those games.  And then if you have those things down, sure, try to outsmart the NPI.  At the end of the day, you get in by winning your league or winning 9+ games.  After that, it's a crap shoot and your Week 1 scheduling choice probably has very little to do with what side of the bubble you end up on. 

Yeah- these institutions are vital parts of the Hampton Roads region. This event serves a bigger purpose than chasing NPI decimals. 

Quote from: that guy 31 on April 16, 2026, 03:55:39 PMCMS football schedule is posted. It includes 2 non-conference games and one matchup with each SCIAC team. Pomona game is game three which really stinks for CMS and PP fans.

Also the last week is blank and says "SCIAC Championship Weekend." I wonder if this just means they'll play a conference title game or if they are going to match up everyone based on records. Either way I don't like the sounds of it.

The divisions are gone (RIP Sun and Surf), but the SCIAC will have a 1 vs 2 championship in Week 11 to determine the AQ. 

We've got a segment in today's new ATN pod with WashU head coach Aaron Keen.  Should be a nice listen for those who want to get acquainted with the NCAC's newest football affiliate.

Quote from: D3fanboy on March 09, 2026, 10:10:38 AM

Quote from: edward de vere on March 08, 2026, 08:07:26 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on March 02, 2026, 02:54:30 PM[NCC coached by a guy scared to take the jump. 

Next time you see Larry Kehres tell him he was too  scared to take the jump.

even LK's final year (2012) is a completely different sport than in today's world.  The upper division money cannons are out of control, as evidenced by the rampant coach and player free agency.  While I'm sure that LK had his fair share of offers to move on, they likely were nowhere near the life-changing money that is being thrown around in today's college football.  Without some sort of reform, I highly doubt that we'll see any D3FB coaching legend lifers any longer.

Mostly I just want to get the quote embeds under control here, but also agree with the bolded above.  It will happen very occasionally, but not often.  The economics are just not going to support the best of the best staying in D3 for entire careers. 

Quote from: Gregory Sager on February 10, 2026, 12:18:37 PM

Quote from: CCIWFan69 on February 10, 2026, 08:54:54 AM

Quote from: hazzben on February 10, 2026, 07:54:31 AMBethel @ NCC
Mount @ Wheaton

Sept 5 is serving up some really good football in the Chicago suburbs. My son's varsity game is on Thursday that week. Might have to see about making a trip down and doing a few campus visits on Friday and Saturday!

Love that we are seeing great noncon games like this. Tip of the cap to Wheaton last year showing 2 top NPI losses were not something that kept a team from the field, or from making a run.

Hopefully, one day game and one night game but doubtful if it requires the added cost of a hotel.  Would be quite the doubleheader though!

Sorry, but unless one of the DuPage County football powers changes its schedule you're out of luck. NCC is showing a noon start vs. Bethel at Benedetti-Wehrli on Sept. 5, while the Wheaton website has the Orange and Blue kicking off against Mount Union at McCully that day at 1 pm.

Yeah, the road mileage for the visitors almost certainly precludes an evening kickoff.  Unfortunate- that would be an incredible D3FB double feature. 

Quote from: emma17 on January 07, 2026, 05:51:36 PMAnyone catch the FCS championship game? IL State vs. Montana State. What a game. I won't spoil the outcome in case you recorded. ISU had one heck of a run in the playoffs (4 loss team) and MT St has some real playmakers.

Two comments regarding the game:
1. How about the Stagg in Nashville/Vanderbilt? The FCS championship was held there. It's not any farther to travel for midwest teams.
2. The FCS championship game further cements my position on kicking and American football- they don't belong together. If kicking must be a part of the game- I believe the kicker (all kickers) must be either a starter on offense or defense and not a specialist.

In addition to eliminating clean/dry/non-bruised players from playing a critical role in a game of physicality, it would also greatly impact play calling to the betterment of the game imo.

I'm all for the Stagg Bowl going to any city/venue that is committed to providing a great experience for the student-athletes.  By accounts I've read, Nashville/Vandy did great by the FCS game. It seems people didn't exactly leave there pining for a return to Frisco. 

The next two Stagg Bowls are in Salem and back to Canton. After that, we don't know!  Here's hoping that there have been some good bids in this cycle. 

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 05, 2026, 12:19:14 PMI dont think Mount needs to run 80+ plays a game, but I really hope Jeff with a G was watching last night.  UWRF used  an athletic QB's legs and arm to get the ball to their playmakers in space and the greatest defense that D3FB has ever seen was visibly frustrated and could not stop it. 

Mount has ran the "top gun" type offense in the past when Burke was in Alliance.  They used to run it pretty damn fast, it was the "Oregon" offense back then.  I believe Dartt was on the offensive staff back then as well. Only a blind man would not have seen how much better the 2025 Raiders offense was when they played with pace instead of running the play clock down to 5 or less seconds

OC job is open now.  I trust you're applying as you've got all the answers, yes?

I would absolutely love to see the fish stringer come back out. 

Quote from: Pat Coleman on January 05, 2026, 01:48:08 PM

Quote from: emma17 on January 05, 2026, 01:52:54 AMBig shoutout to Pat and Keith on the broadcast. I especially appreciated their understanding of who UWRF and Coach Walker are. Traditional football says kick the field goals, but that's not who the Falcons are and Pat and Keith made that clear. Easy for fans unfamiliar with Coach Walker especially if they didn't listen to the pre game interviews. He made it clear what UWRF would do. He said he doesn't care what others say, including his father. True to his word.

I appreciate that and thank you for listening!

One of the more shocking moments in the game was the FG in the 1st quarter.  I really didn't think they would ever kick unless it was an end of half/end of game situation.

Quote from: NCC2010 on December 16, 2025, 11:28:36 AM

Quote from: CarollFan on December 16, 2025, 08:41:29 AMLet's not forget the OL. I seem to recall some questions early in the season. They seem to be performing well.

Without a doubt, the biggest difference between the start of the season and now is the performance of the offensive line. They have gotten better and more cohesive as the season has progressed, which should be expected since they had four new starters to incorporate.

I still remember NCC not scoring on four straight tries from inside the 2-yard line against Carthage in their second game of the season.

Kudos to OC/offensive line coach Eric Stuedemann—he consistently develops top-tier offensive linemen.

We'll have a little something for NCC OL fans on the site tomorrow!

Quote from: art76 on December 15, 2025, 09:29:29 AMCongrats on Podcast #400! I couldn't tell because of editing, but it was made to sound like Greg didn't catch the line from Mary Poppins about one of your favorite things - but it made me chuckle.

Looking forward to many more...

Ha! I totally missed it. 

Quote from: CarollFan on December 12, 2025, 09:43:46 AMPredictions

https://www.d3football.com/notables/2025/12/quick-hits-playoffs-week15

Some people predicting Bethel to score 31 on NCC?

Bethel is really, really good offensively.  North Central is phenomenal on defense, as we know, but this one could absolutely turn into a track meet. 

Quote from: USee on December 06, 2025, 04:43:08 PMWheaton 49
DePauw 24

Wheaton 483 total yards. 190 rushing and 293 passing
Matt Crider 22 carries 120 yds
Mark Forcucci 16-27 293 yds 4 TD's
Peter Johanik 2.5 Sacks (including a strip sack that resulted in scoop and score)

190 on a team that had allowed 143 total in 11 games this year. Bravo.  Outstanding effort everywhere, but especially that side of the ball today for the Thunder. 

This is why I do not coach. 

Not too bad for a group of guys that were running away from the challenge.