All Things D2 and D3 College Football 2023 Season Thread

[State of Football]

Gustavus controls their own destiny as only in division games count towards Championship week games.
Northwoods:
Gustavus: 2-0 4-3/3-2
Carleton: 2-1 6-1/4-1
St. Johns: 1-1 5-2/4-1
St. Olaf: 1-1 4-3/3-2
St. Scholastica: 0-3 2-5/1-4

GAC had Bethel beaten too. They’re good

 

[Schnauzer]

https://x.com/GustieAthletics/status/1716114167311003672?s=20


https://x.com/GustieAthletics/status/1716114167311003672?s=20

 

[Panthadad2]

https://x.com/GustieAthletics/status/1716114167311003672?s=20


https://x.com/GustieAthletics/status/1716114167311003672?s=20

The play at :58 of the first video was pretty incredible. The Johnnie defender clearly thought he had a pick.

 

[Panthadad2]

Gustavus controls their own destiny as only in division games count towards Championship week games.
Northwoods:
Gustavus: 2-0 4-3/3-2
Carleton: 2-1 6-1/4-1
St. Johns: 1-1 5-2/4-1
St. Olaf: 1-1 4-3/3-2
St. Scholastica: 0-3 2-5/1-4

Three teams now control their own destiny. GAC, Bethel and Concordia. The next two weeks will determine if the Cobs are pretenders or contenders with games vs. the Auggie and Royals. GAC might get tested by Carleton but probably just bought a seat in the conference championship game.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

FWIW - UW-River Falls beat UW-Stevens Point 75-14 on Saturday. led 55-7 at half.

River Falls had 863 yards total offense - 350 rushing and 513 passing. 3 QB's combined to go 36 of 49 passing for 513 yds with 7 TD's and 0 Int. the bleepin' 3rd-string QB was 4 for 4 for 42 yds and a TD. UWRF had 41 1st downs for the game. They ran 94 plays on offense.

Their drive chart for the game:
TD
Fumble
TD
TD
TD
TD
downs
TD
TD
TD
--------(half)
TD
Fumble
TD
punt
fumble
TD

 

[theTurning]

Kaleb Blaha in the portal pls

 

[IceBoxGopher]

Recent D2 Coaches Poll, NSIC teams in bold, Minnesota in italics

1. Colorado School of Mines 8-0
2. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) 8-0
3. Grand Valley St. (Mich.)
4. Harding (Ark.) 8-0
5. Benedict (S.C.) 8-0
6. Slippery Rock (Pa.) (1) 8-0
7. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 8-0
8. Ferris St. (Mich.) 5-2
9. Western Colorado 8-0
10. Indianapolis (Ind.) 7-0
11. Davenport (Mich.) 7-0
12. Augustana (S.D.) 8-0
13. Minnesota St. Mankato 7-1
14. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 7-1
15. Central Missouri 7-1
16. Bemidji St. (Minn.) 6-1
17. Delta St. (Miss.) 7-1
18. West Florida 6-2
19. Tiffin (Ohio) 8-0
20. Shepherd (W.Va.) 7-1
21. Truman St. (Mo.) 7-1
22. Texas-Permian Basin 7-1
23. Virginia Union 7-1
24. Valdosta St. (Ga.) 7-1
25. Minnesota-Duluth 7-1

 

[short ornery norwegian]

D3 football.com with the new D3 rankings
(no new teams in the top 25 - just shuffled the order slightly)

1. North Central (ill)
2. Mount Union
3. Wartburg
4. UW-LaCrosse
5. UW-Whitwater
6. Trinity (TX)
7. UW-River Falls (#8 last week)
---
18. St. John's (MN) (#7 last week)

others receiving votes included Bethel (30th overall), UW-Oshkosh (36th overall)

 

[Tommyboy]

Kaleb Blaha in the portal pls

I remember watching him primarily as a WR on 7 on 7 team in HS. He was a back up QB on the MPLS team. Was a Safety in Winona and wanted to play QB.

 

[RoseGoldy]

River falls away at stout. Stout doesn’t have the defense to hold off blaha nor do they have the offense to keep up. Guessing it’ll be 42-28 or something like that

 

[IceBoxGopher]

Results from the NSIC today:

• Concordia St. Paul defeated Northern State, 20-14
• Mary edged Minot State, 27-23
• Bemidji State won over Minnesota Duluth, 38-31
• Minnesota State Mankato ran past Southwest Minnesota State, 30-12
• Minnesota State Moorhead survived against Winona State, 20-17
• Pittsburgh State (KS) crushed Sioux Falls, 55-6
• Wayne State took down undefeated Augustana, 14-12

 

[short ornery norwegian]

MIAC Football results 10-28

Gustavus 41, St. Olaf 40 (ot)
St. John's 62, St. Scholastica 7
Hamline 38, Macalester 27
Bethel 40, Carleton 0
Concordia 30, Augsburg 10

Gustavus - St. Olaf wild game. Oles were up 31-20 in 4th qtr. Gusties scored to make it 31-26 (2pt att no good). Gusties get ball back and score with 0:20 left in game to go up 34-31. Oles complete two passes and kick FG with 0:03 left to tie score. 1st OT - Gusties get TD and PAT to go up 41-34. Oles get TD and go for 2pt to win, but pass fails.

St. John's QB threw 7 TD passes in win over Scholastica. led 49-7 at half.

Bethel defense held Carleton to 124 yds net offense.

Standings:
Northwoods:
Gustavus 5-3/4-2/3-0 in div
St. John's 6-2/5-1/2-1
Carleton 6-2/4-2/2-1
St. Olaf 4-4/3-3/1-2
St. Scholastica 2-6/1-5/0-4

Skyline:
Bethel 6-2/5-1/3-0
Concordia 5-3/4-2/3-0
Augsburg 5-3/3-3/1-2
Hamline 3-5/1-5/1-3
Macalester 2-6/0-6/0-3

next week's games (last week of regular season)
St. John's at St. Olaf
Concordia at Bethel
Carleton at Gustavus
Augsburg at Macalester
Hamline at St. Scholastica

 

[RoseGoldy]

Blaha ran all over stout defense. 6 (!!!) rushing touchdowns

 

[IceBoxGopher]

NSIC standings after this week. Minnesota teams in bold.

• Augustana: 8-1 (7-1)
• Minnesota State-Mankato: 8-1 (7-1)
• Bemidji State: 7-1 (7-1)
• Minnesota Duluth: 7-2 (6-2)
• Wayne State College: 6-3 (5-3)
• Minnesota State-Moorhead: 6-3 (5-3)
• Winona State: 4-5 (4-4)
• Northern State: 4-5 (4-5)
• Sioux Falls: 3-6 (3-5)
• Concordia St. Paul: 3-6 (2-6)
• Southwest Minnesota State: 1-8 (1-7)
• University of Mary: 1-8 (1-7)
• Minot State: 1-8 (1-8)

Next week's games:

• Southwest Minnesota State at Mary
• Concordia-St. Paul at Minnesota-Duluth
• Minnesota State-Mankato at Winona State
• Minnesota State-Moorhead at Bemidji State
• Wayne State at Sioux Falls
• Minot State at Michigan Tech
• Augustana at Northern State

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Blaha ran all over stout defense. 6 (!!!) rushing touchdowns

Kaleb Blaha: passing 24 of 33, 234 yds, 1 TD
------------ rushing 40-301, 6TD

team had 88 plays on offense - Blaha ran or threw on 64 of the 88 snaps.

 

[Panthadad2]

Only in small college football. Johns Hopkins lines up to kick the game winning field goal over Muhlenberg. The worst kick in the history of college football hits the h-back square in the nutsack, yet he is still able to run it in for the game winning touchdown.

 

[Panthadad2]

Kaleb Blaha: passing 24 of 33, 234 yds, 1 TD
------------ rushing 40-301, 6TD

team had 88 plays on offense - Blaha ran or threw on 64 of the 88 snaps.

That kid can play. The running backs on that team probably have fresh legs!

 

[RoseGoldy]

That kid can play. The running backs on that team probably have fresh legs!

I think he has another year of eligibility too. Listed as a Junior

 

[MaxyJR1]

Bethel HC Steve Johnson announces he will retire at the end of the season. His 35th.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

D3 Football.com with the new D3 football ratings.

very little change.

1. North Central (ill)
2. Mount Union
3. Wartburg
4. UW-LaCrosse
5. UW-Whitewater
6. Trinity (TX)
7. UW-River Falls

19. St. John's (MN) down from 18 (but only team w/2 losses in top 25)

only 1 new school in top 25 - Coe College from Iowa.

UW-Oshkosh and Bethel received a few votes. in 33rd and 34th place overall.

 

[Tommyboy]

D3 Football.com with the new D3 football ratings.

very little change.

1. North Central (ill)
2. Mount Union
3. Wartburg
4. UW-LaCrosse
5. UW-Whitewater
6. Trinity (TX)
7. UW-River Falls

19. St. John's (MN) down from 18 (but only team w/2 losses in top 25)

only 1 new school in top 25 - Coe College from Iowa.

UW-Oshkosh and Bethel received a few votes. in 33rd and 34th place overall.

I think the top 6a teams would beat St. Scholastica. SJU cannot beat an unrated team and is still in the top 20. What is the rest of the teams like?

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I think the top 6a teams would beat St. Scholastica. SJU cannot beat an unrated team and is still in the top 20. What is the rest of the teams like?

I will respectfully disagree. I don't see any HS team beating a D3 college team. Maybe - and I say maybe - if you took a state championship team from TX, FL, GA or CA, they might be able to give a D3 team a game. but you're still talking about 17-year old kids facing players who are older, more mature, and have benefitted from several years in a college strength and conditioning program.

now, this year's version is not one of St. John's better teams, but they still have a QB who is among the top D3 passers in the country. their defense is the issue.

 

[RoseGoldy]

River falls vs la crosse this weekend in river falls. This one could be for the Wiac title

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

Bethel HC Steve Johnson announces he will retire at the end of the season. His 35th.

He will be missed. Heck of a run. People don't realize just how bad Bethel was before he arrived.

 

[Panthadad2]

He will be missed. Heck of a run. People don't realize just how bad Bethel was before he arrived.

Bethel before Johnson was like Scholastica is now, overmatched. Granted, the whole school and athletic programs and have grown and improved significantly since then.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I think the top 6a teams would beat St. Scholastica. SJU cannot beat an unrated team and is still in the top 20. What is the rest of the teams like?

EP would not beat any MIAC team. 16-18 year old team is not beating 18-23 year olds.

 

[Tommyboy]

I will respectfully disagree. I don't see any HS team beating a D3 college team. Maybe - and I say maybe - if you took a state championship team from TX, FL, GA or CA, they might be able to give a D3 team a game. but you're still talking about 17-year old kids facing players who are older, more mature, and have benefitted from several years in a college strength and conditioning program.

now, this year's version is not one of St. John's better teams, but they still have a QB who is among the top D3 passers in the country. their defense is the issue.

It would be fun to watch. SJU has had like two rushing TD's the whole season. a 5'5" safety intercepted the football on a 10 yard pass to win the game. SJU racks up stats that do not mean anything, when they go up against good teams they cannot run the ball. They threw the ball 60 against Concordia.

 

[MaxyJR1]

MIAC Football results 10-28

Gustavus 41, St. Olaf 40 (ot)
St. John's 62, St. Scholastica 7
Hamline 38, Macalester 27
Bethel 40, Carleton 0
Concordia 30, Augsburg 10

Gustavus - St. Olaf wild game. Oles were up 31-20 in 4th qtr. Gusties scored to make it 31-26 (2pt att no good). Gusties get ball back and score with 0:20 left in game to go up 34-31. Oles complete two passes and kick FG with 0:03 left to tie score. 1st OT - Gusties get TD and PAT to go up 41-34. Oles get TD and go for 2pt to win, but pass fails.

St. John's QB threw 7 TD passes in win over Scholastica. led 49-7 at half.

Bethel defense held Carleton to 124 yds net offense.

Standings:
Northwoods:
Gustavus 5-3/4-2/3-0 in div
St. John's 6-2/5-1/2-1
Carleton 6-2/4-2/2-1
St. Olaf 4-4/3-3/1-2
St. Scholastica 2-6/1-5/0-4

Skyline:
Bethel 6-2/5-1/3-0
Concordia 5-3/4-2/3-0
Augsburg 5-3/3-3/1-2
Hamline 3-5/1-5/1-3
Macalester 2-6/0-6/0-3

next week's games (last week of regular season)
St. John's at St. Olaf
Concordia at Bethel
Carleton at Gustavus
Augsburg at Macalester
Hamline at St. Scholastica

I believe the Championship game will be:

Winner of Bethel vs Concordia against:

Gustavus if they beat Carleton
St. Johns if they win and Carleton beats Gustavus.
Carleton if they beat Gustavus and St. Olaf beats St. Johns.

 

[Panthadad2]

I believe the Championship game will be:

Winner of Bethel vs Concordia against:

Gustavus if they beat Carleton
St. Johns if they win and Carleton beats Gustavus.
Carleton if they beat Gustavus and St. Olaf beats St. Johns.

The MIAC has had a weird year. It's like a D3 version of the Big12 where defense is optional. The good teams can usually keep the opponent's run game in check, but the whole conference sucks against the pass. I think this is why there have been multiple upsets.

Augsburg come back win vs. GAC (passing comeback win with only 22 seconds to work with)
GAC upsets St. Johns (high scoring passing game)
Carleton upsets Concordia (passing comeback overcoming a 14 point 4th quarter deficit)
Bethel beats GAC late (drives field in less than one minute to win).

Gustavus should beat Carleton and Bethel should beat Concordia this week, but anything could happen.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

from what I've seen, the MIAC is more of a "skill" league as opposed to a "physical" league. The teams like Bethel that play tough, physical football have an advantage as long as they can have a lead or keep the game close.

Bethel may not be pretty, but right now, I think I might take them to win it all, especially since Johnson announced his retirement. the team is going to want to send him out with a win.