The Whitewater-UMHB game is a definite contender to be talked about widely this week. Mary Hardin-Baylor athletics photo

Quick Hits rolls into Week 3 with a schedule that offers a little something for everyone. At the top, we’ve got an ultra rare matchup between top 5 teams, plus an annual Purple Power showdown- and they aren’t the same game! Beyond the double feature, this is also the week where some surprise 3–0 teams will emerge. The Centennial and Landmark square off in a seven-game challenge that could tilt regional strength of schedule, while out west the SCIAC returns from its conference-wide bye to see if it can build on a strong opening week. Our panel of six has the usual lineup of picks and predictions. Let’s get on with the Hits!

Our regular crew is Greg Thomas, Patrick Coleman, Logan Hansen of Hansen Ratings, Riley Zayas of True to the Cru, Carlo Guadagnino of Dingo Talk, and Kobe Manzo of D1 Rejects.

— Greg Thomas

Which game is the Game of the Week?

	Greg's take: No. 3 Johns Hopkins at No. 4 Susquehanna. Top 5 matchups are incredibly rare in the regular season, so when they happen, they’ve got to get the GotW spotlight. The Blue Jays have been impressive through the first two stages of their daunting non-conference gauntlet, while the River Hawks has looked phenomenal even in the absence of their All-American running back Rahshan La Mons. Both teams are looking to do one (or two) better than their 2024 semifinals appearance, and this game will give one an early edge in the Region 2 hierarchy.
	Patrick's take: No. 3 Johns Hopkins at No. 4 Susquehanna. Do I need to say more? I'm sure my colleagues here have it covered.
	Logan's take: No. 3 Johns Hopkins at No. 4 Susquehanna. Since 1997 there have been four regular season games between teams that made the semifinals the previous season. John Carroll vs. Mount Union (2003 & 2017), John Carroll vs. UW-Oshkosh (also 2017), and UW-Whitewater vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor (2022, which is a runner-up for GOTW this week). We don't get these sorts of games very often.
	Riley's take: No. 16 UW-Whitewater at No. 6 UMHB. I’d argue no game on the slate has quite as much at stake as this one. Both come from strong leagues where winning the AQ is far from a sure thing, making Pool C positioning vastly more important, and there is no question this will be a major resume-shaping win for one of these two. The battle in the trenches between the Warhawk offensive line and Crusader defensive front will be a test of strength and physicality, with both units showing immense potential early in this season, and I expect that will decide the ultimate outcome. And who doesn’t love the storyline of UW-Whitewater looking for revenge in Belton after UMHB upset the Warhawks on their home turf at this same time last year?
	Carlo's take: This is tough one- UW-Whitewater traveling to UMHB is a big one.  That being said, the game of the week is No. 3 Johns Hopkins traveling to No. 4 Susquehanna.
	Kobe's take: No. 16 UW-Whitewater at No. 6 UMHB. One of the Purple Powers takes a big step back towards the summit of D3 football while the other's playoff hopes become all-or-nothing. Safe to say UWW will get their first true "test" of the year with the added factor of some serious travel.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?

	Greg's take: “None” doesn’t exist in this dojo, so I’ll take No. 25 Brockport as my most likely upset in a week chock full of unlikely Top 25 upsets. Brockport had to work to get past Hobart at home with a late score last week.  RPI is a tough place to play and the Engineers would like nothing more than to bounce back from last week’s route at Utica.
	Patrick's take: I have scoured this list so many times and can't come up with a likely upset. So, among the unlikely options, I'll take No. 23 Trinity (Texas) at Pacific Lutheran. If it happens, it's because ... the charter flight was difficult? The time change? I don't know. Channeling their best 1999 national semifinal rematch vibes?
	Logan's take: We have three Top 25 matchups that should be close, two games between WIAC schools and D-II opponents, and three byes. That leaves 14 games to choose from. Thirteen of those 14 have win probabilities above 90%, leaving only No. 25 Brockport vs. RPI at a 70% win probability, in what will almost definitely be a low scoring, close game. Some fun with math: The odds RPI wins are equal to the cumulative odds any one of the other 13 teams playing unranked opponents loses.
	Riley's take: This doesn’t appear as a promising week for upsets, but No. 25 Brockport at RPI does have my attention. Brockport nearly fell victim to an upset against Hobart in Week 2 if not for a very late touchdown, and going on the road to RPI won’t be an easy test. RPI’s defense is best against the run, creating a potentially favorable matchup against a Brockport offense that leans on its ground game. If RPI manages to win that matchup and keep the score low, the Engineers should have a chance in the end.
	Carlo's take: Could be No. 24 Cortland after a good first two weeks out of Hartwick. So that’s who I’m going with.
	Kobe's take: No. 15 Hope. I imagine the Flying Dutchmen are ready for their long-awaited home opener... but this Mount St. Joseph team impressed me with their ability to come back from an early deficit vs Aurora. Lions looking to play spoiler with a potent passing attack, Hope defensive secondary has their work cut-out for them.

Who will be the most surprising 3–0 team after Week 3?

	Greg's take: Westminster (Mo.). The Blue Jays make the trip to Lyon this week where a win over the Scots would be the first 3-0 start to a season for Westminster since 2011.
	Patrick's take: N.C. Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops weren't particularly challenged by The Apprentice School last week either after the opening night beatdown of Averett. I believe N.C. Wesleyan can get to 3-0 after facing Sewanee at home.
	Logan's take: Juniata. The Eagles haven't won three games in an entire season since 2017, and a year ago they allowed an average of over 50 points per game. They didn't open up the season with a gauntlet of Top 25 programs, but in the preseason my model gave them less than a 1% chance of starting 3-0 and it thought their most likely record was 1-9. After back-to-back wins by a combined 3 points and a matchup upcoming against McDaniel, Juniata has a decent shot of starting 3-0 for the first time since 2016. Only 100 more consecutive wins to go until they can catch their volleyball team's record.
	Riley's take: Juniata. A year ago, Juniata finished 2-8, tallying its second win in Week 9. But in a phenomenal turnaround, the Eagles have already reached that mark in Week 2, and find themselves on the verge of surpassing it at McDaniel on Saturday. This is a team that won its first two games over Gettysburg and Allegheny by a combined three points, giving me confidence that they’ll be able to execute under pressure in what should be another down-to-the-wire contest. If they do get in the win column, it’ll be the program’s first 3-0 start since 2016.
	Carlo's take: Utica. Coach Blaise Faggiano and Tyler Szalkowski have the Moose rolling in upstate New York, Fear the Moose.
	Kobe's take: Hampden-Sydney. Shenandoah is 2-0 but I think the Tigers roll. HSC has put two solid opponents behind them with W's to show for it, and have very much impressed me!

Which under the radar game are you following?

	Greg's take: Lewis & Clark at Pomona-Pitzer. The Pioneers (have to squeeze that in while we can as L&C is unveiling a name change soon) could have been a candidate for the previous question. New Head Coach Brett Elliott has Lewis & Clark flying high in the first two weeks. We’ll see if that offense travels down to Southern California this week where they’ll be tested by a stingy Sagehens defense.
	Patrick's take: Averett at Gallaudet. It's the first Old Dominion Athletic Conference game for Gallaudet, and should provide a good measuring stick to let us and the Bison know how they will hold up in the best football conference they've ever played in.
	Logan's take: If you want to watch close games, you need to watch NESCAC football this year, and the game of the week in the NESCAC this week is Wesleyan at Tufts. These teams finished #1 & #2 last year, and with Trinity taking an early loss to Colby, they look to be the favorites in the conference title race (to the extent you can call anyone a favorite).
	Riley's take: Concordia (Wis.) at Wisconsin Lutheran. There’s a trophy on the line. There’s the tradition that comes with a longstanding rivalry. It’s the NACC opener. And both Concordia and WLC need a boost of positive momentum after difficult starts to 2025. It is the perfect recipe for a memorable edition of the Luther Cup, as a win would be a positive step for either side, along with starting NACC play 1-0. This should be low-scoring, but perhaps the rivalry atmosphere will give way to a breakout performance for one of these two offenses, both of whom are led by young quarterbacks.
	Carlo's take: Calvin at Heidelberg. Calvin looking to move to 3-0 while Heidelberg looks to bounce back from a loss to ONU.
	Kobe's take: I'm looking at Westminster(Pa.) at Case Western Reserve. Really feels like both these squads are not having the start of the year they envisioned... should be a step back in the right direction for one and solid competition for both.

Centennial vs. Landmark: Who wins the seven-game Centennial vs. Landmark Challenge this weekend?

	Greg's take: I think this lands 5-2 in favor of the Centennial, but the slate should produce a number of close games.
	Patrick's take: I have the Centennial, 4-3, with the biggest toss-ups beside JHU/Susquehanna (of course) being Juniata-McDaniel.
	Logan's take:  My model has the Centennial favored in all but 1 of these games (WestConn vs. Gettysburg), but most of the games should be close. Here are the projected win probabilities: Centennial Win% Landmark Win% Johns Hopkins 67% Susquehanna 33% Ursinus 76% Moravian 24% Muhlenberg 85% Wilkes 15% F&M 95% Catholic 5% Dickinson 65% Lycoming 35% McDaniel 67% Juniata 33% Gettysburg 14% WestConn 86%
	Riley's take: The Centennial wins it, but by a slim 4-3 margin. To me, the two most decisive games in determining the champion of this challenge will be Johns Hopkins at Susquehanna, and Dickinson at Lycoming, and I think both will go in the way of the Centennial.
	Carlo's take: Winners for Muhlenberg, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Johns Hopkins, Ursinus, and McDaniel.  I think the Centennial goes 5-2.
	Kobe's take: Have to go with the Centennial. Really feel strongly about this JHU squad at the top along with Muhlenberg going on the road, although some others could be close contests.

The SCIAC is back in action after a strong Week 1 and a bye in Week 2 — how many games will the SCIAC win this weekend?

	Greg's take: Another conference vs. conference challenge weekend where the matchups should produce a lot of close games.  The SCIAC can split the weekend with the NWC- I’ll take three wins for the SoCal six.
	Patrick's take: I get three ... but Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark make it interesting, and La Verne's first real game of the season is kind of a mystery.
	Logan's take: Just like the CC-Landmark challenge, these SCIAC-NWC matchups should have several good games, with a couple of tossups (La Verne/Willamette & P-P/L&C), a couple with the SCIAC school moderately favored (C-M-S/GFU & CLU/Puget Sound), and a couple with the NWC school moderately favored (Redlands/Whitworth & Chapman/Linfield). I think the SCIAC wins 3 games, but I wouldn't be shocked if they won 5, nor would I be shocked if they only win 1.
	Riley's take: 3. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (at George Fox) and Cal Lutheran (at Puget Sound) will pick up road wins in the Pacific Northwest, while La Verne, with quite possibly the latest season-opening start date of any team in D3 football’s recent history, gets in the win column at home against Willamette.
	Carlo's take: 3-3.  C-M-S, Cal Lutheran, La Verne all get the W.
	Kobe's take: SCIAC goes 2-4. Outside of Pomona and Claremont I don't have a lot of optimism for their matchups this week.

Got picks? Put them in the comments!