Eight teams claimed automatic bids last week; this week thirteen more can join them (and five absolutely will one way or another). Also, TWO new all-divison career record were set (both previously held by players from Westminster (MO), which was not even remotely coincidental), and you’ll just have to read to find out what those records were.
Automatic bids already claimed:
Centennial Conference: Johns Hopkins
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association: Albion
Midwest Conference: Monmouth (IL)
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Saint Thomas (MN)
Presidents’ Athletic Conference: Thomas More
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Cal Lutheran
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Saint Scholastica
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Wisconsin-Whitewater
bold indicates team will clinch their conference’s automatic bid with a win.
italics indicates team may clinch their conference’s automatic bid with a win, depending on other results.
7-1 Baldwin-Wallace at #2 Mount Union (Ohio)
2-6 Sul Ross State at #4 Mary Hardin-Baylor (American Southwest)
7-1 Wittenberg at #10 Wabash (North Coast)
#12 Delaware Valley at 7-1 Lycoming
#13 Wheaton (IL) at #6 North Central (CCIW)
7-1 Saint John Fisher at #11 Salisbury (Empire Eight)
#17 Montclair State at 5-3 Rowan
#25 Centre at #18 Trinity (TX) (Southern CAC)
#21 Illinois Wesleyan at 5-3 Carthage
#22 Franklin at 0-8 Earlham (Heartland)
3-4 Rensselaer at #24 Hobart (Liberty)
6-3 Norwich at 7-1 New York Maritime (ECFC)
8-1 Dubuque at 5-3 Coe (Iowa)
6-2 Benedictine (IL) at 0-8 Rockford (Northern)
8-1 Washington & Lee at 7-1 Hampden-Sydney (Old Dominion)
6-2 Ferrum at 6-2 Christopher Newport (USA South)
I have composed a handy primer for playoff formats and guidelines, because we’re getting very very close to starting to hand out bids.
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST:
Eliminated: Sul Ross State, Howard Payne, East Texas Baptist, Mississippi College, Hardin-Simmons, Texas Lutheran
Could go this week: McMurry, Louisiana
CLINCH ALERT: Mary Hardin-Baylor
Nothing happened that was both odd and relevant last week; odd and irrelevant was Sul Ross’s upset overtime win over Mississippi College. Sul Ross is not going to perform that feat again this week as they visit Mary Hardin-Baylor, and with a win UMHB will clinch a share of the conference title and the autobid, as they already have wins over Louisiana and McMurry.
CENTENNIAL:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Johns Hopkins (share of title, but autobid secured)
Johns Hopkins dispatched Ursinus with ease last week, clinching the Centennial autobid. Their quest for a perfect regular season should continue apace as they host Franklin & Marshall. Gettysburg and Susquehanna should win, while the other two games are up in the air.
CCIW:
Eliminated: North Park, Millikin, Augustana (IL), Elmhurst, Carthage
Could go this week: Wheaton (IL), Illinois Wesleyan
CLINCH ALERT: North Central
All three contenders won last week, although Illinois Wesleyan almost tripped up at Millikin.
One of the biggest games in D-III this week is Wheaton’s visit to North Central. A North Central win would clinch a share of the conference title and the automatic bid (and almost certainly eliminate Wheaton from at-large consideration as well). North Central would clinch the conference title outright should Illinois Wesleyan lose to Carthage, but that’s unlikely. If Wheaton were to win, there would be a three-way circular tie at 5-1 going into the final week assuming an IWU win as well; the relevant tiebreaker should all three teams win next week would be point differential in conference, so we’ll worry about that next week if it’s relevant. Should Wheaton win and IWU lose this week, the possibility still remains for a three-way tie at 4-2, and it would again come down to point differential… but the odds of both Wheaton and North Central losing next week beggar description.
EASTERN:
Eliminated: Husson, Anna Maria, Becker, Mount Ida, Castleton State
Could go this week: Gallaudet, New York Maritime
CLINCH ALERT: New York Maritime, Norwich
No surprises last week, which leads us to this week’s clash of conference unbeatens. Norwich would claim the conference title outright, running the table, with a win at Maritime. If Maritime wins and Gallaudet loses to Mount Ida, Maritime would clinch the automatic bid, but only a share of the title pending next week’s results. If Maritime and Gallaudet both win, Maritime would still claim the autobid with a win at Gallaudet next week, while a Gallaudet win would result in a three-way tie at 5-1, which would end up being resolved by opponent’s winning percentage.
Cue my tears of frustration at trying to sort that out.
EMPIRE 8:
Eliminated: Hartwick, Ithaca, Springfield, Alfred, Frostburg State, Utica
Could go this week: Saint John Fisher, Salisbury
CLINCH ALERT: Salisbury, Saint John Fisher
Saint John Fisher removed Utica from the race, and Ithaca got rid of Frostburg State. Salisbury’s undefeated season came to an end in a non-conference loss to Wesley which cost them exactly zero spots in this week’s poll.
Fisher travels to Salisbury this week, and since everyone else has so conveniently gotten out of the way, the winner will clinch a share of the conference title and the autobid. Simple as that. All three remaining games conference games are toss-ups, and irrelevant to the race.
HEARTLAND:
Eliminated: Earlham, Anderson, Manchester, Rose-Hulman, Bluffton,
Could go this week: Mount Saint Joseph, Rose-Hulman, Defiance, Bluffton, Mount Saint Joseph, Defiance, Hanover
CLINCH ALERT: Franklin
All went according to form, and since Franklin visits Hanover next week, everyone else is eliminated. Franklin could clinch the outright title and autobid with a win and a Hanover loss. The win part is a foregone conclusion, as Franklin visits Earlham. The Hanover loss part? Well, it’s certainly possible, as they visit Mount Saint Joseph. Not very likely, but it wouldn’t be a shocking upset either. Should both teams win, their game next week will determine the automatic bid, and whether Franklin wins the title outright or the two teams share it.
IOWA:
Eliminated: Loras, Cornell (IA), Buena Vista, Luther, Simpson (IA), Wartburg, Central (IA)
Could go this week: Coe
CLINCH ALERT: Dubuque
Dubuque’s Michael Zwiefel caught a pass a minute into the second half of UD’s 45-0 blanking of Luther. That catch was the 437th reception of his career, which broke the NCAA record across all divisions previously held by Westminster (MO)’s Scott Pingel. (See the Midwest recap below for more.) He added three more catches before the end of the afternoon, and now sits at 440.
Oh, my head hurts. Let’s get the easy part out of the way first: if Dubuque beats Coe, they win the outright conference title and the autobid. Now, if Coe wins… they’ll probably beat Cornell next week and make it academic, claiming the outright title.
If Coe wins this week but loses next week, then unless Wartburg beats Loras and Luther, and Central beats Simpson, Coe still wins the automatic bid. Should all of those things happen, Coe, Dubuque, and Central would be tied, and Dubuque would grab the autobid on the sole tiebreaker Coe loses (Coe, who made the playoffs last year, would be eliminated based on the Rose Bowl Rule, and Dubuque beat Central). There is no circumstance under which Wartburg, Central, or Simpson wins a tiebreaker.
Coe can’t clinch this week, and Dubuque cannot be eliminated, since there’s nothing that can happen this week which would prevent a Coe/Dubuque/Central tie. Well, except for Dubuque winning, but that would make all of this irrelevant anyway, right?
LIBERTY:
Eliminated: Merchant Marine, Worcester Tech, Saint Lawrence, Rochester
Could go this week: Rensselaer, Union (NY)
CLINCH ALERT: Hobart
Rochester is, in fact, done, despite the ability to end up in a three- or four-way tie for first. They cannot win any tiebreaker; they’d fall out of a four-way on head-to-head among the four schools, and the only way they can get to a three-way tie involves Merchant Marine beating both Union and Rensselaer, which would cause MMA to finish above RPI on head-to-head, thus causing Rochester to lose out on the “record against teams in descending order” step of the tiebreak.
Now that that’s out of the way… Hobart wins the title if they win this week (or next). Losing both is extremely unlikely; losing this week isn’t even much of a concern. If Hobart loses, a Union win (probable) this week eliminates Rensselaer anyway. RPI will still have a very, very slim shot if they win and Hobart and Union both lose this week, but I’m not even going to get into that mess unless we’re facing it. In the remaining game this week, Rochester should handle Saint Lawrence.
MICHIGAN:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Albion (clinched share of title and autobid)
Albion doubled up Adrian, ending their perfect season and stealing the automatic bid. A hard way for a season to basically come to nothing, as it’s almost impossible to think Adrian is going to receive an at-large when they never even got enough respect to crack the top 25 when they were undefeated. The winner of the Adrian/Hope game (likely Adrian) will still have a chance to share the conference title; whichever team it is should have no trouble next week, and Albion might very well lose their season finale against Trine.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC:
Eliminated: FDU-Florham, Stevenson, King’s (PA), Wilkes, Albright, Lebanon Valley
Could go this week: Lycoming
CLINCH ALERT: Delaware Valley (can clinch share of title)
Lycoming dispatched Lebanon Valley in a grinder, eliminating LVU from the race. It’s a three-team tussle now, with Delaware Valley holding all the cards.
This week’s game between DelVal and Lycoming is huge, not least because there’s no telling who’s going to win this one. If Delaware Valley wins, they claim a share of the title, Lycoming is eliminated, and the winner of next week’s game between DelVal and Widener gets the autobid. If Lycoming wins… two possibilities, both assuming Lycoming handles winless FDU-Florham in their finale. If DelVal then beats Widener, Lycoming shares the title with DVU and wins the autobid. If Widener beats DelVal, Widener shares the title with Lycoming and wins the autobid. In other words, Delaware Valley really needs to win this week.
MIDWEST:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Monmouth (IL) (clinched share of title and autobid)
The favorites all won, with the net result being that Monmouth secured the autobid. The second career record to fall this week belongs to Monmouth QB Alex Tanney, who eclipsed Westminster’s Justin Peery’s career mark of 148 career TD passes by hitting Mike Blodgett twice in the first quarter. Peery, of course, was the quarterback responsible for the bulk of Scott Pingel’s receptions, and Pingel’s NCAA record also fell on Saturday (see Iowa recap above). Tanney struck again in the second quarter to reach an even 150 before taking the rest of the day off.
This week is the final week of conference play, and Monmouth will claim the outright title with a win over their arch-rivals Knox, who happen to be 0-9, so… yeah. Illinois College, Ripon, Saint Norbert and Carroll (WI) should also win.
MINNESOTA:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Saint Thomas (MN) (clinched share of title and autobid)
Saint Thomas handled Gustavus to claim the autobid, and a win over Carleton this week will seal the outright title. Saint Olaf will need to beat Saint John’s this week and Concordia next week to grab a share of the title should the Tommies lose, but the odds of UST losing are pretty slim.
NEW ENGLAND:
BOGAN DIVISION CHAMPION: Framingham State
BOYD DIVISION CHAMPION: Western New England
Western New England squeaked past previously unbeaten Endicott to claim the Boyd Division title, while Framingham State slogged out a hard-fought victory against Coast Guard to win the Bogan. WNE and Framingham will meet at WNE on November 12, time TBA, for the conference title.
This week, expect wins from Bridgewater State, Maine Maritime, Framingham, Westfield State, WNE, Salve Regina, Plymouth State, and Endicott.
NESCAC:
Eliminated: Tufts, Colby, Middlebury, Hamilton, Bowdoin, Bates, Wesleyan (CT), Williams
Could go this week: nobody
CLINCH ALERT: Amherst, Trinity (CT) (winner clinches share of title)
Amherst and Trinity both won, setting up this week’s matchup of unbeatens. The winner will clinch a share of the title, but must also win next week to secure the outright crown, unless the loser loses again. Bowdoin should win this week; the other three games are all tossups.
NEW JERSEY:
Eliminated: Western Connecticut State, Morrisville State, William Paterson, Brockport State, Buffalo State, College of New Jersey, Cortland State
Could go this week: Rowan
CLINCH ALERT: Kean, Montclair State (either could clinch a share of title)
Montclair and Kean both won, which took Cortland and CoNJ out of the picture. (Cortland could theoretically tie for the conference title, but cannot claim the autobid, as they’d fail on all tiebreakers.)
Montclair is a slight favorite over Rowan, while Kean should handle William Paterson. If one wins and the other loses, the team which wins will secure a share of the conference title. If either team wins, Rowan is eliminated; a Rowan win along with a Kean win sets up the possibility of a tie at 6-2, but Rowan would come out on the short end of the tiebreakers because they’re the only team among the three that lost to Cortland. Should Montclair and Kean both lose, Rowan could claim the autobid the following week with a win and a Montclair win over Kean. There’s some other possibilities related to multi-team ties, but we’ll worry about that next week if Rowan beats Montclair. In other games this week, Buffalo State, Cortland, and CoNJ should win.
NORTH COAST:
Eliminated: Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan, Hiram, Wooster, Oberlin, Denison, Allegheny
Could go this week: Wittenberg, Wabash
CLINCH ALERT: Wabash, Wittenberg (winner clinches automatic bid)
Wabash shook off Allegheny, and this week they’ll host Wittenberg in the defacto NCAC championship game. The winner will claim the automatic bid. If it’s Wabash, they’ll also claim the outright title; if it’s Wittenberg, they’ll only claim a share pending next week’s game with Wooster. Elsewhere, Allegheny and Wooster should win, while Oberlin/Ohio Wesleyan could go either way.
NORTHERN:
Eliminated: Rockford, Maranatha Baptist, Aurora
Could go this week: Lakeland, Concordia (WI), Wisconsin Lutheran, Concordia (IL)
CLINCH ALERT: Benedictine (IL)
Wisconsin Lutheran staved off elimination, though it’s probably just a temporary reprieve. With the exception of Concordia (IL), all the teams at risk this week are gone if Benedictine knocks off winless Rockford, which is pretty much assured, and will secure a share of the title for Benedictine. They’d also be gone if they themselves lose, which is the likely case for Concordia (WI). (WLU and Lakeland should win, but no promises.) If Benedictine wins and Concordia (WI) beats Concordia (IL), it’s all over, and Benedictine clinches the title outright. Unlikely, however, as CUC should knock off CUW.
NORTHWEST:
Eliminated: Puget Sound, Pacific (OR), Willamette, Whitworth, Pacific Lutheran
Could go this week: nobody
CLINCH ALERT: Linfield, Lewis & Clark (either could clinch share of title)
It’s real simple. It doesn’t even matter what happens this week, really; the winner of next week’s game between Linfield and Lewis & Clark earns the autobid. If they both win (or lose) this week, that will also mean the outright conference title. If one, and only one, of the two wins this week, then the team that won claims a share of the title; the other would have to win next week to survive.
OHIO:
Eliminated: Wilmington (OH), Otterbein, Marietta, Capital, Muskingum, Ohio Northern, Heidelberg
Could go this week: John Carroll, Baldwin-Wallace
CLINCH ALERT: Mount Union (would clinch share of title and autobid with win)
Mount Union will secure the autobid with a win over Baldwin-Wallace. A loss would allow Baldwin-Wallace to win the autobid should they knock off John Carroll next week. John Carroll is also theoretically alive if they beat Heidelberg, as two Mount Union losses and a Carroll win over B-W would create a three-way tie at 7-2, and each would be 1-1 in the circle; as things stand now, Mount Union would be the first team eliminated from the tiebreakers, handing Carroll the autobid.
Ohio Northern, Muskingum, and Otterbein should also win this week.
OLD DOMINION:
Eliminated: Guilford, Emory & Henry, Catholic, Bridgewater, Randolph-Macon
Could go this week: Hampden-Sydney
CLINCH ALERT: Washington & Lee, Hampden-Sydney (winner earns autobid)
The leaders kept pace, and therefore this week’s visit to Hampden-Sydney by Washington & Lee will decide the autobid. If W&L wins, they also win the title outright; HSC would win a share. Straightforward.
PRESIDENT’S:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Thomas More (outright title and autobid)
Thomas More handled business at Westminster, and won the conference title outright. They should win again this week to complete running the table; Westminster, Bethany, and Washington & Jefferson should win as well.
SOUTHERN CAC:
Eliminated: Austin, Sewanee, Rhodes, Birmingham-Southern, Millsaps
Could go this week: Centre, Trinity (TX)
CLINCH ALERT: Trinity (TX), Centre (winner earns autobid)
There may be a meeting of unbeatens next week (see: Linfield/Lewis & Clark), but if either of those teams falls the Centre/Trinity game this week would be the final regular season meeting of unbeatens in D-III this year. I give Trinity the slightest of edges here, helped by having the home field advantage. The winner claims at least a share of the title and the SCAC autobid (possible the final SCAC autobid, barring some sort of administrative miracle); Trinity, who’s remaining in the conference, will desperately want to prevent Centre, who’s leaving, from taking the trophy with them.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Cal Lutheran (clinched share of title and autobid)
I don’t even know what I was thinking last week when I said Redlands would remain alive with a win. They are not; Cal Lutheran won the autobid with a devastating victory over CMS. Redlands can still win a share of the title, should they beat Whittier; Occidental would need to upset Cal Lutheran next week.
This week, Occidental, Cal Lutheran, La Verne, and Redlands should all win.
UNIVERSITY:
Eliminated: nobody
Could go this week: Chicago, Carnegie Mellon
Washington sort of upset Carnegie Mellon, and they join Case Western atop the standings after one week of conference play. Washington and Case meet this week, and the winner is guaranteed a share of the conference title. I expect that to be Case. Chicago and Carnegie Mellon meet in the other game, and I don’t know who’s going to win that one. What I do know is that the loser is eliminated.
As for the Pool B bid, Case would be in the discussion should they win out, but Wesley would have to stumble, I believe. Wesley’s profile is just too strong for an equal record to overcome here.
UPPER MIDWEST:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Saint Scholastica (clinched outright title and autobid)
We already knew Saint Scholastica had this wrapped up when we went to press last week, as they played on Friday night. This week, expect wins from Minnesota-Morris, Northwestern, Westminster, Eureka, and Scholastica.
USA SOUTH:
Eliminated: Greensboro, Methodist, Averett, North Carolina Wesleyan, Maryville (TN), Shenandoah
Could go this week: Christopher Newport, Ferrum
CLINCH ALERT: Ferrum, Christopher Newport (winner earns autobid)
Ferrum will likely beat Christopher Newport, but regardless the winner earns the autobid and a share of the title. You know the drill.
WISCONSIN:
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Wisconsin-Whitewater (clinched share of title and autobid)
In another case of me not being careful enough, I missed the ramifications of last week’s possibilities. To win: losses by Eau Claire and Oshkosh, combined with Whitewater’s win, handed the automatic bid to Whitewater. It’s still possible for a three-way tie involving Whitewater, Platteville, and Oshkosh at 5-2, but Whitewater beat both of those teams already. It’s also possible for either Stout or Oshkosh (not both) to tie Whitewater at 5-2, but Whitewater has also already beaten Stout. It’s over.
INDEPENDENTS:
Wesley probably has claimed the Pool B bid after knocking off Salisbury; they’d have to fall flat on their faces at this point. Macalester fell to Augsburg, and what looked like a promising seaosn is now toasty. All three independents should win this week, however.