The first week of the playoffs is done, as well as the ECAC bowl games and a couple of make-up games postponed during the regular season. The quick hits follow, with detailed recaps and previews for the playoffs to come later in the week.
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST:
#1 MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR 34, #8 Redlands 13
#5 McMURRY 25, #4 Trinity (TX) 16
McMurry pulled off the mild road upset at previously unbeaten Trinity, justifying the NCAA’s decision to include at least one of two two-loss teams as at-large entries. UMHB had no trouble casting Redlands aside, so for one more week the ASC still has two teams in the field.
Unfortunately, they play one another Saturday as McMurry returns to Belton to face the Crusaders. They played on the same field earlier in the year, and UMHB escaped with a one-point victory. Think this might be a good one?
CENTENNIAL:
#5 Saint John Fisher 23, #4 JOHNS HOPKINS 12
The second longest winning streak in D-III is over, and with it the Centennial season comes to a close. Johns Hopkins was upset by Saint John Fisher thanks largely to what may have been the worst game of Hewitt Tomlin’s career.
CCIW:
#3 NORTH CENTRAL 59, #6 Dubuque 13 (video highlights embedded)
#6 Monmouth (IL) 33, #3 ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 27 (3ot)
North Central easily dealt with Dubuque, and will travel to Wabash on Saturday for the second round. Illinois Wesleyan will not be moving on, however, as they fell in three overtimes to Monmouth.
EASTERN:
#1 Delaware Valley 62, #8 NORWICH 10
Endicott 31, MOUNT IDA 22 (ECAC North Atlantic Bowl)
Norwich never even put up a fight, really, and so their season comes to a close. Mount Ida’s season also ended with a loss to Endicott in the ECAC North Atlantic Bowl.
EMPIRE 8:
#2 SALISBURY 62, #7 Western New England 24
#5 SAINT JOHN FISHER 23, #4 Johns Hopkins 12
ALFRED 41, Bridgewater State 10 (ECAC Northeast Bowl)
Both E8 teams advance to the second round, and they’re the only conference that can make that claim in D-III. Salisbury had no trouble at all, while Saint John Fisher won the turnover battle to put an end to Johns Hopkins. The second two-loss at-large team in this year’s field, Fisher again justified the NCAA’s decision to include them. Salisbury will host Kean on Saturday while Fisher travels to Delaware Valley. In other action, Alfred manhandled Bridgewater State in the ECAC Northeast Bowl.
HEARTLAND:
#4 FRANKLIN 24, #5 Thomas More 21
I expected a close game, and was not disappointed. Franklin edged past Thomas More, and will now have to travel to Whitewater to face a team that crushed them earlier in the year.
IOWA:
#3 North Central 59, #6 DUBUQUE 13
Dubuque’s season, as well as the IIAC’s, comes to a close with their brutal defeat at the hands of North Central.
LIBERTY:
#2 Wesley (DE) 35, #7 HOBART 28
Hobart played Wesley very close, and had a chance to tie the game late, but came up short. The Statesmen can’t be ashamed of the performance, but it does bring an end to the year for the Liberty League.
MICHIGAN:
#1 Wisconsin-Whitewater 59, #8 ALBION 0
Woof. Whitewater just mugged Albion, although it certainly wasn’t a surprise. That puts the MIAA to bed for the year.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC:
#1 DELAWARE VALLEY 62, #8 Norwich 10
LEBANON VALLEY 23, Saint Vincent 15 (ECAC Southwest Bowl)
WIDENER 48, Waynesburg 27 (ECAC South Atlantic Bowl)
Cortland State 14, ALBRIGHT 0 (ECAC Southeast Bowl)
Bethany (WV) 48, KING’S (PA) 0
Delaware Valley ripped Norwich to shreds; they’ll host Saint John Fisher on Saturday in the second round. King’s finished their regular season by getting crushed in their makeup game against Bethany, necessitated by the Susquehanna flood earlier in the year. Lastly, the MAC went 2-1 in their three ECAC bowl games, with Widener and Lebanon Valley dispatching teams from the PAC while Albright was shut down by Cortland State.
MIDWEST:
#6 MONMOUTH (IL) 33, #3 Illinois Wesleyan 27 (3ot)
#2 Wabash 38, #7 ILLINOIS COLLEGE 20
Concordia (IL) 56, LAKE FOREST 28
Illinois College turned out to be no real test for Wabash, but Monmouth pulled off the day’s biggest upset when they took down Illinois Wesleyan in three overtimes. The Scots will now travel to the Twin Cities to face Saint Thomas (MN). Lake Forest led Concordia 28-26 back in September when the game was suspended due to weather; Saturday, they got back together to finish things, and Concordia won the day 30-0.
MINNESOTA:
#2 SAINT THOMAS (MN) 48, #7 Saint Scholastica 2
Saint Thomas gave up a safety on the opening kickoff, then proceeded to kick Saint Scholastica all over the field. They’ll host Monmouth (IL) on Saturday.
NEW ENGLAND:
#2 Salisbury 62, #7 WESTERN NEW ENGLAND 24
ENDICOTT 31, Mount Ida 22 (ECAC North Atlantic Bowl)
SALVE REGINA 26, Worcester State 6 (ECAC Northwest Bowl)
Alfred 41, BRIDGEWATER STATE 10 (ECAC Northeast Bowl)
Western New England didn’t really put up much of a fight against Salisbury, and they’re done for the year. The league’s four bowl entrants went 2-2, but of course it was guaranteed that there’d be at least one win and one loss. Salve Regina and Endicott end their years with wins, while Bridgewater State and Worcester State go home on the losing end.
NESCAC:
Season complete.
NEW JERSEY:
#3 KEAN 34, #6 Christopher Newport 10
CORTLAND STATE 14, Albright 0 (ECAC Southeast Bowl)
Kean dispatched Christopher Newport with ease, and now travel to Salisbury for the second round. Cortland’s defense held the day as they shut out Albright in the ECAC Southeast Bowl.
NORTH COAST:
#2 WABASH 38, #7 Illinois College 20
Wabash dealt with Illinois College a lot easier than I had expected them to, and will now host North Central on Saturday in a key second-round contest.
NORTHERN:
#1 Mount Union 47, #8 BENEDICTINE (IL) 7
CONCORDIA (IL) 56, Lake Forest 28
Benedictine got rolled by Mount Union, and Concordia scored 30 unanswered points in the conclusion of their weather-suspended game from September against Lake Forest. That ends the NAC season.
NORTHWEST:
#3 LINFIELD 30, #6 Cal Lutheran 27
It took some effort, and the fending off of several chances to win or tie the game, but Linfield finally disposed of Cal Lutheran. This week, they’re headed all the way across the country to face Wesley (DE).
OHIO:
#1 MOUNT UNION 47, #8 Benedictine (IL) 7
Well, it’s not like you expected anything different here. Mount Union will now host Centre, a team actually capable of putting up a fight.
OLD DOMINION:
#4 Centre 51, #5 HAMPDEN-SYDNEY 41
It was a valiant effort, but Hampden-Sydney just couldn’t keep up with Centre in their little track meet. With that, the ODAC season comes to a close.
PRESIDENT’S:
#4 Franklin 24, #5 THOMAS MORE 21
Widener 48, WAYNESBURG 27 (ECAC South Atlantic Bowl)
Lebanon Valley 23, SAINT VINCENT 15 (ECAC Southwest Bowl)
BETHANY (WV) 48, King’s (PA) 0
Thomas More lost by a field goal to Franklin in one of the three best games of the day. Both bowl teams fell to their MAC counterparts, but one PAC team gets to end the year with a win: Bethany eviscerated King’s (PA) in their makeup game from earlier in the year.
SOUTHERN CAC:
#4 CENTRE 51, #5 Hampden-Sydney 41
#5 McMurry 25, #4 TRINITY (TX) 16
Trinity may have gotten revenge on the other SCAC schools for abandoning them when they captured the conference title, but the defectors got the last laugh this weekend. Trinity fell to McMurry, while Centre outraced Hampden-Sydney to stay alive. Centre will travel to Mount Union now, and it will be interesting to see whether their offense can hang with Union’s defense.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
#3 Linfield 30, #6 CAL LUTHERAN 27
#1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 34, #8 REDLANDS 13
Cal Lutheran tried their best, and had three chances to tie or win the game late, but came up short. Redlands didn’t fare as well. That concludes the SCIAC season.
UNIVERSITY:
Season complete.
UPPER MIDWEST:
#2 Saint Thomas (MN) 48, #7 SAINT SCHOLASTICA 2
Campbellsville 21, GREENVILLE 7 (NCCAA Victory Bowl)
Saint Scholastica began their foray into playoff action by scoring on the very first play of the game, netting a safety on the opening kickoff. It was all uphill from there, though, as Saint Thomas (MN) steamrolled the boys from Duluth. Greenville also fell in the National Christian College Athletic Association’s Victory Bowl. Thus ends the 2011 UMAC season.
USA SOUTH:
#3 Kean 34, #6 CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 10
Newport fell behind quickly in giving way to a far superior Kean squad. The USA South is now done for the year.
WISCONSIN:
#1 WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER 59, #8 Albion 0
I guess Whitewater decided it was time to play some football, because this, unbelievably, was their largest margin of victory all year — in fact, in only three games so far this year did Whitewater beat their opponent even half as badly as they crushed Albion. They’ll host Franklin, the team that until Saturday held the distinction of being Whitewater’s bloodiest victim of the year, in Saturday’s second round.
INDEPENDENTS:
#2 WESLEY (DE) 35, #7 Hobart 28
Wesley had a tougher go than they probably expected, needing a stop on Hobart’s final possession of the game to avoid overtime. They got it, and now they’ll host Linfield on Saturday.