One of our stated goals right at the top was to avoid repeating teams and stadiums as much as possible, and that is somewhat unavoidable here. That's because we have a midwest Friday night game in UW-Whitewater at UW-La Crosse that is a perfect launching-off point for a three-game swing in the midwest. We're going to be a couple weeks past peak color in this part of the country, but on Saturday afternoon you will have a great look at what's left in one of the best settings for Division III football, the natural bowl in which Clemens Stadium rests. That's for Gustavus Adolphus at St. John's. Arrive early for the tailgating, and for that matter, to get a good seat. Or, for that matter, a seat at all. It's homecoming weekend at St. John's, so parking, breathing room and everything will be at a premium. So while it will take you a little while to get out of Collegeville, you'll only need a little over an hour to get to your third game, a 6 p.m. kickoff for St. Scholastica at Northwestern. First point: bundle up, because it won't be warm. But secondly, this is a game that could decide the UMAC championship, so you'll get a good look at another potential playoff team in the winner. Plus Northwestern has a nice new stadium. Worth the trip.

• Full Week 7 schedule

Alright, this is a good slate but there are other possibilities as well. You could instead start with Dickinson at Johns Hopkins on Friday night and make your way westward and pick up both Mount Union at Heidelberg and Oberlin at Wooster, each with plenty of time, if you don't mind the seven-hour drive overnight out of Baltimore.

Total: Three games, 316 miles start to finish.