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What's next? That's a great question this time of year, and we tackle that big question in a few ways in our January podcast, the first one of 2024.

Cortland, now the reigning and defending national champs, says what's next is turning the page, but before they do, we sit down with Red Dragons head coach Curt Fitzpatrick to reflect on a great (the greatest?) Stagg Bowl, and the aftermath, while talking about recruiting and the trans...

We wrap up another season, here on the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast. Perhaps not as well as the Cortland defense wrapped up Luke Lehnen on the two-point conversion attempt pictured here on the page, but we try.

Was this the best Stagg Bowl ever? We've only seen about half of them in person, but our crew does its best to answer that question. Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas are joined by Keith McMillan, Ryan Tipps, and F...

It's great to be back in Salem covering a Stagg Bowl, and Patrick and Greg and Frank Rossi are here to preview Stagg Bowl with North Central and Cortland.

For North Central, it's the fourth time in a row they've been to a Stagg Bowl, and in four different places, so how does their experience stack up? For Cortland, it's the first Stagg Bowl, but does their experience playing the Cortaca Jug game in Yankee Stadium help this group pr...

Just as we expected -- one amazing national semifinal and one blowout. Never mind that people generally thought it would be the other way around -- not our predictions, by the way, which did not have North Central winning in a blowout.

We talk through the Cortland win against Randolph-Macon, hear the reactions of players Cole Burgess and Jack Winey as told to Keith McMillan, talk about what we learned and whether Saturday's defensi...

Yep, that's correct. You see the colors above, and nary a Purple Power to be found. No more UW-Whitewater, no Mount Union, and of course, none of those other prominent purple powerhouses that failed to make the field. Instead, you've got the familiar red of North Central, plus Cortland as actual Red Dragons, along with the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon and the orange of Wartburg.

These teams got here through a pretty fantastic q...

We used to do this preview podcasts all the time, before life and day jobs interfered. But it's great to get back in the saddle, and do some longer interviews in this edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast.

Founding co-host Keith McMillan sits down for an in-depth conversation with Randolph-Macon coach Pedro Arruza as his team gets ready to take on Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals. Arruza's career as a head coach...

We can't say in any way, shape or form that we called it. But in podcast 343, we did identify Alma as a team that could challenge Mount Union. But when push comes to shove, no, Alma scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Mount Union was not something any of us saw coming. 

The magnitude of the victory may not have sunk in yet for everyone at Alma. We catch up with Scots quarterback Carter St. John, who talks us through t...

In our first week of playoffs, the teams that should have been hosting went and won on the road anyway, and while we only had a couple of games go down to the final possession, those were certainly thrilling, memorable games. Endicott gets so close to winning a playoff game once again. Susquehanna almost avoided […]

The post ATN Podcast 344: Running down the first round appeared first on D3football.com » D3football.com A...

Oh man. 

Back in 2011, Patrick wrote a piece on Selection Sunday morning with the headline "Two-loss teams need not apply," essentially calling out the NCAA football committee for not even considering two-loss teams in previous years and wondering if that would change.

It did change. It changed that season and in multiple seasons which followed. As the seasons have progressed, getting comfortable that a strong SOS would be rewarded...

If you were are hoping your team can get some help in getting into the NCAA playoffs as an at-large team, we got so close to being able to give you what you wanted on Saturday. But in the end, a few places where teams were on the ropes turned out to be all about chalk and we'll all be holding our collective breath for another week of what should be epic games.

Maybe, just maybe teams got some help when the status quo was preserved ...

The game between Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg ended in a pretty epic way on Saturday. So did Belhaven’s unbeaten streak this season, at the hands of Maryville. And a 20-year long streak went by the wayside this weekend as well. Matt Mitchell talks about getting back onto the field at exactly the right time for […]

The post ATN Podcast 341: Epic endings appeared first on D3football.com » D3football.com Around the Nation P...

The season of regional rankings, mock brackets and things such as Pool C teams is upon us, and how better to get things started than by having a conversation with the chair of the Division III football championship committee? 

We start every year with burning questions, and Northwestern (Minn.) head coach Matt Moore was kind enough to sit down and chat with Pat Coleman on campus earlier this week and give the most honest and open a...

UW-Whitewater and UW-River Falls met in another of the big battles that should determine who goes to the playoffs out of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, whether it's one, two or three teams. And even though one of the most decorated offensive players on the field was held in check -- not to mention off the field -- for the vast majority of the game, River Falls still had a shot at the end.

We chat with UW-Whitewa...

It seems there can be little doubt that Division III football is at its best on a Saturday afternoon when the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is playing its conference games. They might draw 20,000-plus fans, they might go to double overtime, but whatever the weekend, it always seems at least one or two of the games is going to be entertaining, if not epic.

But Division III is also at its best when it is forward-looki...

W is for Wartburg. W is for Wolverines. And W is for winning.

The connection is purely alphabetical, but we know that the top teams had some big wins on Saturday, one for a bell that is little, and made of brass; one that is against a key conference rival; and one that was on the road after a big turnaround.

Berry had Trinity on the ropes before the Tigers' defense recovered in the second half. They had us looking super closely in ...

It's not often the outcome of a single game can turn perceptions in Division III on their head, especially a game in September. But last Friday night, Endicott not only defeated No. 5 Hardin-Simmons, the Gulls defeated the Cowboys soundly. And Pat was there to witness, interview and report.

Did Hardin-Simmons losing their starting quarterback and their All-Region linebacker make a difference? What did we see on the ground in Beverl...

This week didn't feature five games between Top 25 teams, but as we've known for years in Division III football, that doesn't make it any less thrilling. 

Out of 116 games, you're going to see a little bit of everything, such as a game where three touchdowns were scored in the final 60 seconds. A walk-off field goal for a Top 25 upset. A 0-3 team ranked in the Top 25 (first time for everything). Game balls handed out to players who...

It was a fun night for Trinity (Texas) fans in San Antonio, and the same for fans of Eastern on a rainy night in Philadelphia. Oberlin got a losing streak out of the way, King's looks good at 2-0, Susquehanna got a win off of the Brockport bullpen, and UW-Whitewater followed a Week 1 statement with a Week 2 statement.

Yes, Trinity got over the hump of beating Mary Hardin-Baylor for the first time in more than two decades. Is that e...