All Things D2 and D3 College Football 2023 Season Thread

[short ornery norwegian]

D3 playoff -
At-large bids go to Whitewater, Union, Wheaton and Coe. All went 9-1 in regular season.

according to D3 football.com, St. John's had a better strength of schedule score than Coe, but Coe had a better record that included a victory over a regionally-ranked opponent. So St. John's stays home.

1st-round matchups of note:

Bethel at UW-Whitewater - winner vs Mt. St. Joseph/Wheaton winner
Minnesota-Morris at UW-LaCrosse - winner vs Aurora/Coe winner
Illinois College at Wartburg - winner vs Whitworth/Chapman winner

 

[Panthadad2]

D3 playoff -
At-large bids go to Whitewater, Union, Wheaton and Coe. All went 9-1 in regular season.

according to D3 football.com, St. John's had a better strength of schedule score than Coe, but Coe had a better record that included a victory over a regionally-ranked opponent. So St. John's stays home.

1st-round matchups of note:

Bethel at UW-Whitewater - winner vs Mt. St. Joseph/Wheaton winner
Minnesota-Morris at UW-LaCrosse - winner vs Aurora/Coe winner
Illinois College at Wartburg - winner vs Whitworth/Chapman winner

Well, that decision by the selection committee puts a wrap on top teams playing each other in non-conference play. Record was given more weight than strength of schedule. That's too bad. Those games were fun.

 

[Tommyboy]

Well, that decision by the selection committee puts a wrap on top teams playing each other in non-conference play. Record was given more weight than strength of schedule. That's too bad. Those games were fun.

SJU lost to the Gustys, what are you talking about.

 

[RoseGoldy]

River Falls will be going to their third straight Isthmus bowl in Madison. Kind of the D3 equivalent of that mineral water bowl Mankato and Winona went to a couple times for D2

Not sure why but UW Platteville (where the men are men and the women are too) was chosen as the WIAC representative over River Falls (River Falls, work in malls) even though RF has better record. Odd

 

[disco]

How many points is UW LaCrosse going to put up on UMAC cannon fodder UM-Morris?

 

[fatgopher]

How many points is UW LaCrosse going to put up on UMAC cannon fodder UM-Morris?

Absolute beat-down. LaCrosse knows it and hopefully will take the foot off the gas early to preserve their key players for the playoff push.

 

[Gophs24]

SJU lost to the Gustys, what are you talking about.

i mean i get the qeustion. scheduling cupcakes instead of Whitewater and Trinity.
If they are 9-1 on the year with losing to Gustys but beating Bethel does that change things?

of course if they take care of business against the gustys its a moot point. they were in the drivers seat and should have beat a very average Gustys team so its there own fault....but still makes a team question scheduling tough non conference games.


Is Kristoff going to get looked at next year at QB for the Johnnies or whats the low down on him?

 

[Panthadad2]

i mean i get the qeustion. scheduling cupcakes instead of Whitewater and Trinity.
If they are 9-1 on the year with losing to Gustys but beating Bethel does that change things?

of course if they take care of business against the gustys its a moot point. they were in the drivers seat and should have beat a very average Gustys team so its there own fault....but still makes a team question scheduling tough non conference games.


Is Kristoff going to get looked at next year at QB for the Johnnies or whats the low down on him?

Johnnies would have made the plays with a win over a creampuff instead of a loss to a top 5 team. They still had two other top ranked wins against Trinity and Bethel which was better than all other at-large teams except Whitewater.

 

[Gophs24]

Johnnies would have made the plays with a win over a creampuff instead of a loss to a top 5 team. They still had two other top ranked wins against Trinity and Bethel which was better than all other at-large teams except Whitewater.

exactly.......i mean i said the exact same thing.....they should have beat the gustys.....

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Not sure why but UW Platteville (where the men are men and the women are too) was chosen as the WIAC representative over River Falls (River Falls, work in malls) even though RF has better record. Odd

I lived in Platteville from 88-92. worked at the local radio station. I wasn't the guy who called the UW-Platteville games, but I filled in on a couple of occasions. Platteville's head coach was George Chryst - father of former Badger coach Paul Chryst. Heck of a nice guy. they ran a double-wing offense that was very successful - a lot of local HS teams tried to copy it.

Platteville was also where I got to cover the Chicago Bears training camp. and I was there the day the local strip joint burned down - but I had nothing to do with that. (rumor in town was the owner of the building torched it for the insurance money.)

 

[IceBoxGopher]

Here are the results for the final NSIC week. Minnesota teams in bold.

• Minnesota State-Moorhead routed UMary, 35-7
• Southwest Minnesota State ran past Sioux Falls, 28-10
• Wayne State took down Concordia-St. Paul, 56-21
• Northern State defeated Northern Michigan, 44-20
• Minnesota Duluth won over Minnesota State-Mankato, 33-21
• Augustana defeated Bemidji State, 38-19
• Winona State edged Minot State, 13-7

Final standings

• Augustana, 10-1 (9-1) - NSIC Champions
• Minnesota State-Mankato, 9-2 (8-2)
• Minnesota-Duluth, 9-2 (8-2)
• Bemidji State, 8-2 (8-2)
• Wayne State, 8-3 (7-3)
• Minnesota State-Moorhead, 7-4 (6-4)
• Winona State, 5-6 (5-5)
• Northern State, 5-6 (4-6)
• Sioux Falls, 3-8 (3-7)
• Concordia-St. Paul, 3-8 (2-8)
• Mary, 2-9 (2-8)
• Southwest Minnesota State, 2-9 (2-8)
• Minot State, 1-10 (1-9)

Here’s what the playoff looks like for the NSIC:

• Minnesota State-Mankato at Augustana
• Bemidji State at Texas-Permian Basin

 

[disco]

Here are the results for the final NSIC week. Minnesota teams in bold.

• Minnesota State-Moorhead routed UMary, 35-7
• Southwest Minnesota State ran past Sioux Falls, 28-10
• Wayne State took down Concordia-St. Paul, 56-21
• Northern State defeated Northern Michigan, 44-20
• Minnesota Duluth won over Minnesota State-Mankato, 33-21
• Augustana defeated Bemidji State, 38-19
• Winona State edged Minot State, 13-7

Final standings

• Augustana, 10-1 (9-1) - NSIC Champions
• Minnesota State-Mankato, 9-2 (8-2)
• Minnesota-Duluth, 9-2 (8-2)
• Bemidji State, 8-2 (8-2)
• Wayne State, 8-3 (7-3)
• Minnesota State-Moorhead, 7-4 (6-4)
• Winona State, 5-6 (5-5)
• Northern State, 5-6 (4-6)
• Sioux Falls, 3-8 (3-7)
• Concordia-St. Paul, 3-8 (2-8)
• Mary, 2-9 (2-8)
• Southwest Minnesota State, 2-9 (2-8)
• Minot State, 1-10 (1-9)

Here’s what the playoff looks like for the NSIC:

• Minnesota State-Mankato at Augustana
• Bemidji State at Texas-Permian Basin

I assume Bemidji had the tiebreaker over Duluth?

 

[RoseGoldy]

LaCrosse knows it and hopefully will take the foot off the gas early to preserve their key players for the playoff push.

I lived in Platteville from 88-92. worked at the local radio station. I wasn't the guy who called the UW-Platteville games, but I filled in on a couple of occasions. Platteville's head coach was George Chryst - father of former Badger coach Paul Chryst. Heck of a nice guy. they ran a double-wing offense that was very successful - a lot of local HS teams tried to copy it.

Platteville was also where I got to cover the Chicago Bears training camp. and I was there the day the local strip joint burned down - but I had nothing to do with that. (rumor in town was the owner of the building torched it for the insurance money.)

I respect their athletic program. Bo Ryan did great there. Also a great engineering school. This is just anecdotal, but a work superior told me that their department always preferred the Platteville grads to the Madison grads as they had better hands on learning experience and also better work ethic.

 

[IceBoxGopher]

I assume Bemidji had the tiebreaker over Duluth?

That's what I'm getting. I thought Duluth's Mankato win would get them a shot but looks like they stayed on the bubble.

 

[I'm A Maroon 2!]

I lived in Platteville from 88-92. worked at the local radio station. I wasn't the guy who called the UW-Platteville games, but I filled in on a couple of occasions. Platteville's head coach was George Chryst - father of former Badger coach Paul Chryst. Heck of a nice guy. they ran a double-wing offense that was very successful - a lot of local HS teams tried to copy it.

Platteville was also where I got to cover the Chicago Bears training camp. and I was there the day the local strip joint burned down - but I had nothing to do with that. (rumor in town was the owner of the building torched it for the insurance money.)

I dread to see the "product" a Platteville strip joint would put out. Even for a college town.

 

[GopherDog1]

I dread to see the "product" a Platteville strip joint would put out. Even for a college town.

Too many bullet holes and stab wounds, just like the former BJ's Liquor Lounge in NE Minneapolis.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I dread to see the "product" a Platteville strip joint would put out. Even for a college town.

it was quite the story.
the very short version - guy owned a local bar. he was elected to the City Council. going through city ordinances, he realized there was nothing regulating entertainment at local establishments.
so one night, with no warning, he started having strippers. my boss was at a bar across the street. someone ran in the front door and yelled "They have strippers at Dolan's!" the bar emptied out and everyone ran across the street to check it out.

the town went nuts- old ladies showing up at Council meetings and complaining, etc.

at first he did land-rush business. then the novelty wore off and business declined. one night, the building caught on fire and it was a total loss. no more strippers.

and here's the kicker - the bar was called "Dolan's Inferno." so on the radio station, I got to report that, yes....."There was a fire at the Inferno." one of my proudest moments in journalism.

 

[swede2]

it was quite the story.
the very short version - guy owned a local bar. he was elected to the City Council. going through city ordinances, he realized there was nothing regulating entertainment at local establishments.
so one night, with no warning, he started having strippers. my boss was at a bar across the street. someone ran in the front door and yelled "They have strippers at Dolan's!" the bar emptied out and everyone ran across the street to check it out.

the town went nuts- old ladies showing up at Council meetings and complaining, etc.

at first he did land-rush business. then the novelty wore off and business declined. one night, the building caught on fire and it was a total loss. no more strippers.

and here's the kicker - the bar was called "Dolan's Inferno." so on the radio station, I got to report that, yes....."There was a fire at the Inferno." one of my proudest moments in journalism.

"my boss" aka SON

 

[disco]

Too many bullet holes and stab wounds, just like the former BJ's Liquor Lounge in NE Minneapolis.

You shall not besmirch the good name of the "party time dancers!"

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

In other D-III "football" news, St. Olaf has advanced to the "Great 8" of this year's D-III soccer tournament. To make it even sweeter, so far in the tourney they beat two of the pretend D-III teams from Wisconsin: Wisconsin-Superior in the first round and Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the third round (they beat Carleton in the second round).

2023 Division III Men's Soccer Official Bracket | NCAA.com

The official 2023 College Men's Soccer Bracket for Division III. Includes a printable bracket and links to buy NCAA championship tickets.

www.ncaa.com

 

[disco]

In other D-III "football" news, St. Olaf has advanced to the "Great 8" of this year's D-III soccer tournament. To make it even sweeter, so far in the tourney they beat two of the pretend D-III teams from Wisconsin: Wisconsin-Superior in the first round and Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the third round (they beat Carleton in the second round).

2023 Division III Men's Soccer Official Bracket | NCAA.com

The official 2023 College Men's Soccer Bracket for Division III. Includes a printable bracket and links to buy NCAA championship tickets.

www.ncaa.com

Mmm, UW-Superior is definitely the size of most midwestern D3 schools. They even left the WIAC for the UMAC. It's a pretty small school.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

reminder - D3 playoffs begin on Saturday

It appears that all games will have streaming video from host school's website.

Bethel at UW-Whitewater - Noon
----winner will face Mt. St. Joseph/Wheaton winner

Minnesota-Morris at UW-LaCrosse - Noon
---- winner will face Aurora/Coe winner

Illinois College at Wartburg - Noon
----- winner will face Whitworth/Chapman winner

---------
D2 Playoffs -

MN State-Mankato at Augustana SD - Noon (streaming video requires a fee)

 

[theTurning]

LaX up 52-0 at half

 

[short ornery norwegian]

And the Results - Sat, Nov 18

D3 Playoffs -

UW- Whitewater 42, Bethel 14
--Whitewater faces Wheaton (ill) next. Wheaton beat Mt St. Joseph 42-28

UW-LaCrosse 62, UM-Morris 7
-- La Crosse faces Aurora (ill) next. Aurora beat Coe 20-7

Wartburg 49, Illinois College 14
--Wartburg faces Whitworth (next. Whitworth beat Chapman 42-28)

-------------- -----------------

D2 Playoffs -

Augustana SD 51, MSU-Mankato 24
--Augustana faces Colorado School of Mines (bye)

Bemidji State 10, Texas-Permian Basin 3
-- Bemidji State faces Central Washington next. (CW beat Western Colorado 18-13)

 

[short ornery norwegian]

2023 MIAC Football Awards --

Offensive Player of the Year - WR Jake Breitbach, Gustavus
82 rec for 1,140 yds, 8TD. (4th best season for a WR in MIAC history)

Defensive Player of the Year - Carson DeKam, LB, Gustavus
72 tackles - 9.0 per game - 39 solo tackles - 6 tackles for loss - 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT

Top Lineman in the Conference - DL Collin Thompson, Concordia
30 tackles - 8.5 tackles for loss - 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 pass breakups

Rookie of the Year - Angel Reyes, OL, Concordia

Coach of the Year - Steve Johnson, Bethel

 

[Wehatebadgers]

And the Results - Sat, Nov 18

D3 Playoffs -

UW- Whitewater 42, Bethel 14
--Whitewater faces Wheaton (ill) next. Wheaton beat Mt St. Joseph 42-28

UW-LaCrosse 62, UM-Morris 7
-- La Crosse faces Aurora (ill) next. Aurora beat Coe 20-7

Wartburg 49, Illinois College 14
--Wartburg faces Whitworth (next. Whitworth beat Chapman 42-28)

-------------- -----------------

D2 Playoffs -

Augustana SD 51, MSU-Mankato 24
--Augustana faces Colorado School of Mines (bye)

Bemidji State 10, Texas-Permian Basin 3
-- Bemidji State faces Central Washington next. (CW beat Western Colorado 18-13)

Beavers will be at home this Saturday, kickoff at 1:00

 

[short ornery norwegian]

D2/D3 Playoff update - Sat, Nov 25

D3 - 2nd round

UW-LaCrosse 56, Aurora 35 (LaCrosse will play North Central (ill) in the Quarterfinals. North Central beat Trinity (TX) 71-28)

UW-Whitewater 49, Wheaton (ill) 42
Wartburg 42, Whitworth 20
--Whitewater plays Wartburg in the Quarterfinals

the other Quarter-finals are Alma vs Cortland &
John's Hopkins vs Randolph-Macon.
(Alma upset Mount Union).

----------------- -----------------
D2 - 2nd round

not a good day for the area teams

Colorado School of Mines rocked Augustana SD 56-10 (I apologize - couldn't help myself)

Central Washington edged Bemidji State 21-17.

the D23 Quarterfinals
Slippery Rock vs Kutztown
Lenoir-Rhyne vs Valdosta State
Harding vs Grand Valley State
Colorado School of Mines vs Central Washington

 

[Go Gophs]

Well, that decision by the selection committee puts a wrap on top teams playing each other in non-conference play. Record was given more weight than strength of schedule. That's too bad. Those games were fun.

The regional rankings stuff in D3 is mind boggling at times. One year it seems they give you more credit for scheduling tougher teams the next year it seems like the wins matter. My daughter plays softball for Bethel they went 20-0 in conference and finished like 33-3 overall last season.

They didn't even get to host a regional even though they were ranked like 8th in the nation. Instead went down to Central and swept them in 2 games.

This year they toughened up their non-conference heading to leadoff classic in Georgia early. We will see how it shakes out

 

[Panthadad2]

The regional rankings stuff in D3 is mind boggling at times. One year it seems they give you more credit for scheduling tougher teams the next year it seems like the wins matter. My daughter plays softball for Bethel they went 20-0 in conference and finished like 33-3 overall last season.

They didn't even get to host a regional even though they were ranked like 8th in the nation. Instead went down to Central and swept them in 2 games.

This year they toughened up their non-conference heading to leadoff classic is Georgia early. We will see how it shakes out

Congrats on a couple good seasons at Bethel. The pitching has been outstanding.

An issue with good MIAC teams is that they often don't face much competition in season. They are forced to travel because southern teams won't head north to play in a dome. If headed to Georgia, will they run into Berry? That school is tough as nails in softball.

 

[Go Gophs]

Congrats on a couple good seasons at Bethel. The pitching has been outstanding.

An issue with good MIAC teams is that they often don't face much competition in season. They are forced to travel because southern teams won't head north to play in a dome. If headed to Georgia, will they run into Berry? That school is tough as nails in softball.

Agree, for softball, it has been Bethel, St. Bens, Olaf and that's it for tourney type teams in the conference last couple years. Gustavus is up and coming now though, Coley Reis is their coach.

We don't get Berry, but they did play them in the supers 2 years ago. They are tough as nails.

Here is the schedule if you are interested: https://nfca.org/web_docs/LOC/2024/NFCA-D3-Leadoff-Classic-Schedule-2024.pdf