As we all know Appalachian State started the season by shocking everyone in the college football world when they upset Michigan, but they wanted to finish the season winning their third straight FCS Division championship. Delaware, led by two former University of Pittsburgh players, tried to put a stop to it, but could not do it. ASU had control of the entire game to win their third title in 3 years, 49-21.

The Division II game was probably the best game of the weekend. Valdosta State scored with under 30 seconds to go in the game to win the championship over Northwest Missouri State 25-20.

For the third time in 3 years, Mount Union played UW-Whitewater in the Division III championship. But for the first time in that time frame UW-Whitewater came out on top. The Raiders made a game of it in the second half, but UW-Whitewater pulled away to win 31-21.

Congratulations to Appalachian State, Valdosta State, and UW-Whitewater.

For the first time in three seasons, the Division II Championship will not include Grand Valley State. Northwest Missouri used its homefield advantage to beat GVSU 34-16. That loss snapped the Lakers’ 40 game winning streak. In the other semifinal, California (PA) had a chance to win the game late, but threw an interception in the endzone which sealed the victory for Valdosta State, 28-24. Valdosta State will face Northwest Missouri, kickoff for Saturday’s Championship Game is set for 11:00 AM at Braly Municipal Stadium. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

In the one Division III semifinal, the Purple Raiders of Mt. Union continued their reign of dominance by beating Bethel 62-14. Mt Union was leading at the half, 41-0. Standing in the way of the Purple Raiders’ third consecutive title will be their familiar foe, UW-Whitewater. They held on to beat Mary Hardin-Baylor 16-7. The game between Mt. Union and UW-Whitewater will be a rematch of the 2005 and 2006 game where Mt. Union won them both. The 35th Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl is set for Saturday, December 15, at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN.

Mary Hardin-Baylor continues their improbably run with a victory over Wesley. Number one overall seed Mount Union dispatches St John Fisher easy. The semifinals are next week

Mount Union Bracket
St John Fisher 10 at Mount Union 52

Central Bracket
Bethel 27 at Central 13

Washington and Jefferson Bracket
Mary Hardin-Baylor 27 at Wesley 10

UW-Whitewater Bracket
Wabash 7 at UW-Whitewater 47

Semifinals
Bethel at Mount Union
Mary Hardin-Baylor at UW-Whitewater

Mount Union won again to make it to the quarterfinals. Not many upsets this week in second round play.

Mount Union Bracket
New Jersey 7 at Mount Union 59
Curry 7 at St John Fisher 38

St John Fisher plays at Mount Union

Central Bracket
St John’s 7 at Central 37
UW-Eau Claire 12 at Bethel 21

Bethel plays at Central

Washington and Jefferson Bracket
North Carolina Wesleyan 0 at Mary Hardin-Baylor 64
Muhlenberg 21 at Wesley 38

Mary Hardin-Baylor plays at Wesley

UW-Whitewater Bracket
North Central 28 at UW-Whitewater 59
Wabash 38 at Case Western Reserve 23

Wabash plays at UW-Whitewater

The Division II playoffs started yesterday with all 32 teams in action. For the first time in D-III history a number 1 seed lost in the first round as W&J lost. The scores are listed by Region and the winners move on to play next Saturday in the second round.

Mount Union Bracket
Mount Union 42 Ithaca 18
New Jersey 17 RPI 14
Curry 42 Hartwick 21
St. John Fisher 24 Hobart 7

New Jersey will play at Mount Union.
Curry will play at St John Fisher.

Central Bracket
Central 38 Olivet 17
St. John’s 41 Redlands 13
UW-Eau Claire 24 St. Norbert 20
Bethel 28 Concordia (Wis.) 0

St John’s will play at Central.
UW-Eau Claire will play at Bethel.

Washington and Jefferson Bracket
North Carolina Wesleyan 35 Washington and Jefferson 34 OT
Mary Hardin-Baylor 52 Trinity (Texas) 23
Muhlenberg 31 Salisbury 21
Wesley 45 Hampden-Sydney 17

North Carolina Wesleyan plays at Mary Hardin-Baylor
Muhlenberg plays at Wesley.

UW-Whitewater Bracket
UW-Whitewater 34 Capital 14
North Central 44 Franklin 42
Wabash 31 Mt. St. Joseph 21
Case Western Reserve 21 Widener 20

North Central will play at UW-Whitewater
Wabash will play at Case Western Reserve.

The 32 team Division III football bracket was released today. Mount Union is the two time defending champion and a #1 seed again this year. First round play starts November 17 and play continues until December 15, 2007 when the champion will be crowned at the Stagg Bowl XXXV in Salem Virginia.

Mount Union Bracket

8. Ithaca (8-2) at 1. Mount Union (10-0)
6. New Jersey (8-2) at 4. RPI (8-1)
7. Hartwick (8-2) at 3. Curry (11-0)
5. Hobart (8-2) at 2. St. John Fisher (9-1)

Central Bracket

8. Olivet (6-4) at 1. Central (10-0)
5. Redlands (8-1) at 4. St. John’s (9-1)
6. UW-Eau Claire (8-2) at 3. St. Norbert (10-0)
7. Concordia, Wis. (7-3) at 2. Bethel (9-1)

Washington and Jefferson Bracket

8. N.C. Wesleyan (8-2) at 1. Wash. & Jeff. (10-0)
6. Trinity, Texas (9-1) at 4. Mary Hardin-Baylor (9-1)
5. Salisbury (9-1) at 3. Muhlenberg (10-0)
7. Hampden-Sydney (8-2) at 2. Wesley (9-1)

UW-Whitewater Bracket

7. Capital (8-2) at 1 UW-Whitewater (9-1)
5. North Central (8-2) at 4. Franklin (9-1)
Mt. St. Joseph (9-1) at 3. Wabash (9-1)
8. Widener (8-2) at 2. Case Western Reserve (10-0)

For the semifinal games, the winners of the Mt Union and Central brackets will play in one semifinal while the winners of the W&J and UW-Whitewater brackets will play in the other. In The Bleachers will continue to follow the D-III playoffs, so stop back each week to see how your team did.

They don’t get much publicity, but they should. Since 1993 they have won 9 uncontested National Titles. I am talking about Division III’s Mount Union Raiders. In today’s You Tubesday we take a look at their run through the Division III playoffs, culminating with their Mount Union 35-16 win over UW-Whitewater in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

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Mount Union 26 vs St John Fisher 16
Wisconsin Whitewater 44 vs Wesley 7

The XXIV Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia will be Mount Union vs Wisconsin Whitewater, December 16th at 4pm EST on ESPN2.

MT. UNION 17, Capital 14
WESLEY 34, NH-Baylor 20
ST. JOHN FISHER 31, Rowan 0
UW-WHITEWATER 17, St Johns 14

Rowan 21 vs Wilkes 14
Mt Union 35 vs Wheaton 3
Capital 41 vs North Central Col 13
Wesley 37 vs Carnegie Mellon 0
St John Fisher 27 vs Springfield 21
Mary Hardn Bylr 30 vs Washington & Jefferson 27
Wisc Whitewater 24 vs Wisc Lacrosse 21
St Johns Minn 21 vs Whitworth 3