All Things 2024 College Football D2 and D3 Thread

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D3 Football playoffs - 1st round games:

Bethel 31, Coe 26 -- Coe scored a 4th Qtr TD, and got the ball back with about 2 minutes left, but turned it over on downs. Cooper Drews had 268 yds passing for Bethel; Aaron Ellingson run for 80 yds and 2TD's, and caught a TD pass.

Bethel will play Lake Forest in the 2nd round.

UW-La Crosse 59, Northwestern-St. Paul 14 La Crosse was led by QB Kyle Haas with 257 yds passing and 4 TD's. La Crosse led 45-7 at halftime.

La Crosse will play at St. John's next week.

also in the 2nd round next Saturday, UW-Platteville will face Wartburg.
 

and just for shites and giggles:

the FCS playoff bracket is out.

This is a 24-team field. 8 first-round games on Sat, 11/30. Top 8 seeds get 1st-round byes.

1st-round games include unseeded Drake vs #13 Tarleton State. the winner plays South Dakota in the 2nd round.

the 2nd round is Sat, Dec 7
Montana State is the #1 seed. they play the winner of UT Martin/New Hampshire in the 2nd round.
North Dakota State is the #2 seed. they play the winner of Northern Arizona/Abilene Christian in the 2nd round.
South Dakota State is the #3 Seed. they play the winner of Tennessee State/Montana in the 2nd round.
South Dakota is the #4 seed. as noted, they play the winner of Drake/Tarleton State in the 2nd round.

all 1st and 2nd round games on ESPN+.

Quarterfinals on Fri & Sat, Dec 13-14 on ESPN, ABC and ESPN+.

Semi-Finals on Sat, Dec 21 on ABC
Finals on Sun, Jan 5 on ESPN.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
and just for shites and giggles:

the FCS playoff bracket is out.

This is a 24-team field. 8 first-round games on Sat, 11/30. Top 8 seeds get 1st-round byes.

1st-round games include unseeded Drake vs #13 Tarleton State. the winner plays South Dakota in the 2nd round.

the 2nd round is Sat, Dec 7
Montana State is the #1 seed. they play the winner of UT Martin/New Hampshire in the 2nd round.
North Dakota State is the #2 seed. they play the winner of Northern Arizona/Abilene Christian in the 2nd round.
South Dakota State is the #3 Seed. they play the winner of Tennessee State/Montana in the 2nd round.
South Dakota is the #4 seed. as noted, they play the winner of Drake/Tarleton State in the 2nd round.

all 1st and 2nd round games on ESPN+.

Quarterfinals on Fri & Sat, Dec 13-14 on ESPN, ABC and ESPN+.

Semi-Finals on Sat, Dec 21 on ABC
Finals on Sun, Jan 5 on ESPN.
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Fun side note, it's amusing to me how Northern Arizona has a domed stadium. I know North Dakota, South Dakota, NDSU, Idaho and Idaho State play in domes, and it makes more sense with colder weather rolling through there.

For Arizona, though? You'd think they'd have an outdoor space. Seems like there was a real push for domes as the next big thing from 1970-1995, though.

Some schools with domes are:
Syracuse is now the only Power 4 team to use a dome-style stadium, though others play in-doors with newer designs. UTSA also plays in the Alamodome, opened in 1993. That was meant as a push to draw in the NFL. At that level, The RCA Dome, Metrodome, Kingdom, Georgiadome, Superdome and Silverdome all opened in the 70s and 80s.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
Fun side note, it's amusing to me how Northern Arizona has a domed stadium. I know North Dakota, South Dakota, NDSU, Idaho and Idaho State play in domes, and it makes more sense with colder weather rolling through there.

For Arizona, though? You'd think they'd have an outdoor space. Seems like there was a real push for domes as the next big thing from 1970-1995, though.

Some schools with domes are:
Syracuse is now the only Power 4 team to use a dome-style stadium, though others play in-doors with newer designs. UTSA also plays in the Alamodome, opened in 1993. That was meant as a push to draw in the NFL. At that level, The RCA Dome, Metrodome, Kingdom, Georgiadome, Superdome and Silverdome all opened in the 70s and 80s.
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Isn't Northern Arizona in Flagstaff? It's not exactly Tuscon. Plenty of snow and cold at least by SW standards.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
Fun side note, it's amusing to me how Northern Arizona has a domed stadium. I know North Dakota, South Dakota, NDSU, Idaho and Idaho State play in domes, and it makes more sense with colder weather rolling through there.

For Arizona, though? You'd think they'd have an outdoor space. Seems like there was a real push for domes as the next big thing from 1970-1995, though.

Some schools with domes are:
Syracuse is now the only Power 4 team to use a dome-style stadium, though others play in-doors with newer designs. UTSA also plays in the Alamodome, opened in 1993. That was meant as a push to draw in the NFL. At that level, The RCA Dome, Metrodome, Kingdom, Georgiadome, Superdome and Silverdome all opened in the 70s and 80s.
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Flagstaff is at 7,000 feet and gets winter weather. Great place to visit IMO.
 



My best friend's son plays for Bemidji St. They upset a Texas team to make the second round of the playoffs and now face something called Western Colorado. Not sure where that is, but I imagine a lot of snow and mountains. Go Beavers!
 

Sparlimb said:
My best friend's son plays for Bemidji St. They upset a Texas team to make the second round of the playoffs and now face something called Western Colorado. Not sure where that is, but I imagine a lot of snow and mountains. Go Beavers!
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Alma mater of Austin Ekeler - Go beavs!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
D3 Football playoffs - 1st round games:

Bethel 31, Coe 26 -- Coe scored a 4th Qtr TD, and got the ball back with about 2 minutes left, but turned it over on downs. Cooper Drews had 268 yds passing for Bethel; Aaron Ellingson run for 80 yds and 2TD's, and caught a TD pass.

Bethel will play Lake Forest in the 2nd round.

UW-La Crosse 59, Northwestern-St. Paul 14 La Crosse was led by QB Kyle Haas with 257 yds passing and 4 TD's. La Crosse led 45-7 at halftime.

La Crosse will play at St. John's next week.

also in the 2nd round next Saturday, UW-Platteville will face Wartburg.
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a balmy 13 degrees for the high on Saturday in Collegeville with a brisk 15-20 MPH wind coming from the northwest.
 



Sparlimb said:
My best friend's son plays for Bemidji St. They upset a Texas team to make the second round of the playoffs and now face something called Western Colorado. Not sure where that is, but I imagine a lot of snow and mountains. Go Beavers!
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As an MSUM grad, I hate it. It's like watching Iowa and/or Wisconsin have great seasons as a Gopher fan.
 


Tommyboy said:
Bethel will end up going farther in the play offs once again.
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I watched some of Bethel's game. they had to battle to beat Coe College. this year's Bethel team IMHO is not as strong as last year's group.

that does not mean that St. John's is necessarily going to go further in the playoffs - but I don't see Bethel winning its next game unless they play a lot better.

having said that, I think La Crosse will give St. John's a game. but I would still bet on St. John's to advance.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I watched some of Bethel's game. they had to battle to beat Coe College. this year's Bethel team IMHO is not as strong as last year's group.

that does not mean that St. John's is necessarily going to go further in the playoffs - but I don't see Bethel winning its next game unless they play a lot better.

having said that, I think La Crosse will give St. John's a game. but I would still bet on St. John's to advance.
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St. John's is the better team but it has a LOT harder matchup this week against UW La Crosse. That's a coin flip opponent. Bethel should crush Lake Forest by 4-5 TDs. Not sure how Lake Forest ended up with a first round bye. Their conference, The Midwest Conference, is one of the weakest in D3.

So yeah, it's totally possible Bethel goes further than St. John's this year just based on how the brackets were arranged.
 




Panthadad2 said:
Do Bemidji and Moorhead consider themselves big time rivals nowadays?
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It's the Dragons' second longest rivalry behind Concordia, and that isn't played anymore. This year's game was the 90th meeting and the 75th game for their axe rivalry trophy. 2029 will mark the 100th anniversary of their first game.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
It's the Dragons' second longest rivalry behind Concordia, and that isn't played anymore. This year's game was the 90th meeting and the 75th game for their axe rivalry trophy. 2029 will mark the 100th anniversary of their first game.
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I didn't realize it went that long.

Yeah, I miss the Dragon vs Cobber rivalry. Almost to the point I wish the Cobs would move up to D2 just to renew that series.
 

Panthadad2 said:
St. John's is the better team but it has a LOT harder matchup this week against UW La Crosse. That's a coin flip opponent. Bethel should crush Lake Forest by 4-5 TDs. Not sure how Lake Forest ended up with a first round bye. Their conference, The Midwest Conference, is one of the weakest in D3.

So yeah, it's totally possible Bethel goes further than St. John's this year just based on how the brackets were arranged.
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mea culpa. somehow my brain got Lake Forest and North Central mixed up. in my defense, they are both from Illinois. so I thought Bethel was playing a much stronger opponent - as in, "they're playing that team from Illinois...."

in that case, Bethel does have a much better chance of advancing. but I still like St. John's to advance over La Crosse.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
mea culpa. somehow my brain got Lake Forest and North Central mixed up. in my defense, they are both from Illinois. so I thought Bethel was playing a much stronger opponent - as in, "they're playing that team from Illinois...."

in that case, Bethel does have a much better chance of advancing. but I still like St. John's to advance over La Crosse.
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The advantage to Bethel pretty much ends this weekend.

I have to give La Crosse their props. They took D2 power Grand Valley State to the limit at their house earlier this season, but St. Johns is still probably favored to win.
 

Panthadad2 said:
The advantage to Bethel pretty much ends this weekend.

I have to give La Crosse their props. They took D2 power Grand Valley State to the limit at their house earlier this season, but St. Johns is still probably favored to win.
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SJU almost lost to Concordia and the Wisconsin team almost beat a top D2 team. SJU cannot run the ball and throws the ball 40 times a game. It will be like 10 degrees.
 

Tommyboy said:
SJU almost lost to Concordia and the Wisconsin team almost beat a top D2 team. SJU cannot run the ball and throws the ball 40 times a game. It will be like 10 degrees.
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The Johnnies have been throwing the ball in blizzard like conditions going back to the prime Gags years. It can be a huge advantage to the receivers.

It should be a great game. La Crosse also traditionally loves to throw the ball...but I won't be paying to watch it.
 


Panthadad2 said:
The Johnnies have been throwing the ball in blizzard like conditions going back to the prime Gags years. It can be a huge advantage to the receivers.

It should be a great game. La Crosse also traditionally loves to throw the ball...but I won't be paying to watch it.
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Last weekend, all the first round games were on ESPN+, so I would imagine they will be on there again.
 

swede2 said:
Why suddenly so sour in SJU?
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He probably thinks that since their QB is 64 years old and on Social Security, that his old bones will be acting up in the cold weather.
 

Panthadad2 said:
I didn't realize it went that long.

Yeah, I miss the Dragon vs Cobber rivalry. Almost to the point I wish the Cobs would move up to D2 just to renew that series.
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Cobbers/Dragons was a great rivalry to start the season. The NE corner of Concordia's campus and SW corner of MSUM are a block apart. There were years where the visiting team would walk to the other campus.
 

GFBfan said:
Last weekend, all the first round games were on ESPN+, so I would imagine they will be on there again.
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That's good. I watched a different playoff game last weekend on ESPN+ but assumed the Johnnies would make it pay per view somehow.
 

Panthadad2 said:
That's good. I watched a different playoff game last weekend on ESPN+ but assumed the Johnnies would make it pay per view somehow.
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NCAA controls the rights for the Playoffs going forward (sold to ESPN), not the Johnnies.
 

Just checked the schedule on ESPN+ and they do list the D3 games on Saturday. Also have the FCS games. And the D2 games if that is your thing. Get your cold turkey sandwiches ready along with the beverage of your choice.
 

Going to brave the elements at the sju game today. I gotta imagine home field for all teams this weekend has to marginally worse with the students home for thanksgiving break and the weather in this case
 

today's games: (involving Midwest teams) -- all games available on ESPN+

D3: UW-La Crosse vs St. John's (noon)
--- UW-Platteville vs Wartburg (noon)
--- Bethel vs Lake Forest (noon)

D2: MSU-Mankato vs Colorado State-Pueblo (2pm)
--- Western Colorado vs Bemidji State (2pm)

FCS: Drake vs Tarleton State (2pm)
--- (South Dakota, South Dakota State & North Dakota State all with byes today)
 

Johnnie’s robbed of a completed catch in the red zone, sju 3-0 at the half
 

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