Tyler Pacheco had a huge game for the Panthers of Chapman last week, and that week wasn't even Panther themed. Chapman athletics photo by Larry Newman

It’s spooky season in Division III, and there’s plenty to be afraid of with upsets, traps, and black cats lurking on the schedule. Week 9 brings tricks, treats, and tension as conference races tighten and playoff pictures begin to take shape.

We’re keeping it seasonal in Quick Hits this week: picking who’ll hand out a Halloween upset treat, which high-powered offense will suddenly go ghost, and how many Panthers will land on their feet with a win. Don’t be scared, it’s time for the Week 9 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: Monmouth at Chicago. After opening week losses to nationally ranked opponents, the Scots and the Maroons have both rattled off six wins in a row and separated themselves by two games in the MWC. This game is going to decide a conference champion-in-waiting (we’ll need one more week to finalize the champion) and more than deserves a watch on Saturday afternoon.
	Patrick's take: No. 8 UW-Whitewater at No. 9 UW-River Falls. Can a WIAC contender win a road game against another contender for just the second time this season? Will Kaleb Blaha be ready to go? Are there really any other questions?
	Logan's take: No. 8 UW-Whitewater at No. 9 UW-River Falls. UW-Whitewater is in a cohort with North Central and Wartburg that has an argument for best defense in the country. And UW-River Falls and North Central are the two teams with an argument for the best offense in the country. In these sorts of matchups, I feel like it's always the other side of the ball that makes the difference. UWW's rushing offense is great, but their passing game has struggled (ranked 156th in total yards). UWRF's rushing defense is holding teams below 100 yards a game, but they rank 206th in passing yards allowed.
	Riley's take: No. 8 UW-Whitewater at No. 9 UW-River Falls. After narrowly falling to Oshkosh in the WIAC opener, UWRF has looked like a different team. The Falcons beat Platteville at home on the heels of that loss, and now get another chance at a Top 10 home win four weeks later. Whitewater is coming off a resume-building win of its own over Platteville, and to me, this feels like a classic case of elite offense vs. elite defense. UWRF has thrown for more yards than anyone else in the WIAC, UWW has intercepted more passes than anyone else in the WIAC. UWRF leads the league in rushing TDs, UWW has allowed just two rushing TDs all season. That’s the kind of matchup we have in River Falls.
	Carlo's take: I’m torn between the battle in the WIAC between No. 8 UW-Whitewater and No. 9 UW-River Falls, and the battle in the Centennial between No. 24 Muhlenberg and No. 3 Johns Hopkins.  Both are games your are not going to want to miss.
	Kobe's take: No. 3 Johns Hopkins at No. 24 Muhlenberg. The Blue Jays can't afford to get out to a late start like they did against Carnegie Mellon, and this game is almost serving as the Centennial Championship. That's the reason I would take this over some really solid WIAC games also taking place just because of the unpredictability of that conference. JHU will have one more test to close out the year at Franklin and Marshall, but if they take care of business this weekend they have all but locked up the league yet again.

Which Top 25 team is most likely to be upset?

	Greg's take: No. 22 Baldwin Wallace. There are not many enticing options for Top 25 upsets this week, so I’ll pick the Yellow Jackets here- new to the Top 25 this week, going on the road to face Muskingum on Senior Day. Those are conditions conducive to an upset.
	Patrick's take: I'm going to play the None card. I don't see it in the cards this week.
	Logan's take: None. It's not an official rule or anything, but I try to stay away from matchups between Top 25 teams here. We have 4 of those matchups this week, and the only one where the higher ranked team isn't favored by at least 16 points is No. 8 UWW at No. 9 UWRF. The odds that all other ranked teams win this week is around 55%. The only ranked vs. unranked matchup with a win probability below 90% is Randolph-Macon vs. Shenandoah, where RMC has an 89% win probability.
	Riley's take: Upsets don’t look likely this week, but I'm going to call out No. 21 Randolph-Macon and Shenandoah’s slight chance to cause some chaos on the road. Shenandoah has won four straight and seems to be in rhythm offensively, having moved the chains on an ODAC-leading 54.4% of third downs while establishing a presence through the air with first-year QB Mekhi Brown. R-MC is the toughest defense the Hornets will face this season, and on paper, that’s going to be enough for the Yellow Jackets to win. But if Shenandoah catches a few breaks offensively, this could certainly end up as a tight game.
	Carlo's take: No. 21 Randolph-Macon needs to be careful with Shenandoah.
	Kobe's take: No. 3 Johns Hopkins. While I do think they would be my heavy favorite, going on the road will be a test this week and I don't see many other matchups I can see even being very competitive outside of the few games that feature two ranked teams.

Outside the Top 25, which team with give its fans a Halloween treat with an upset win?

	Greg's take: Coast Guard, 6-1 and playing at home against 4-3 Salve Regina, is actually an underdog this week. Here’s one where I disagree a bit with Logan’s predictive ratings and as long as the Bears don’t get caught looking ahead to next week’s game with Springfield, I think they’ll stay perfect in NEWMAC play this year.
	Patrick's take: 'm going to go with Hartwick, and trying to play this on somewhat harder mode since Hartwick is only give a 30.3% chance to win against Morrisville State.
	Logan's take: Augustana (37.4%) hosting Illinois Wesleyan. I feel like this might end up being a popular pick. The common opponents game is a complete wash, with both teams faring equally well/poorly against their conference opponents, but both teams have just enough highs & lows this season for me to think some positive variance for the home team will get them the W.
	Riley's take: Methodist, who hosts N.C. Wesleyan after consecutive weeks on the road. The line on this game, per Hansen Ratings, is -9.1, but the Monarchs' run defense is trending up, and that’s a good sign for Methodist fans. N.C. Wesleyan has been reliant on the run for much of this season, so taking that away – as they did in holding Belhaven to 2.1 yards/carry last week – could pave the way to an upset and Methodist’s first conference win of the season.
	Carlo's take: Lewis and Clark over Linfield and Lyon over Austin.
	Kobe's take: UChicago only getting a 12% chance to win against Monmouth feels low to me, this could be a high-scoring affair that honestly could go either way in my opinion. Maroons might pull it out.

Which under the radar game are you following?

	Greg's take: Benedictine at St. Norbert. The NACC championship has been all but settled, but there’s still high leverage NACCtion to take place in De Pere this weekend. Benedictine and St. Norbert are currently tied for second at 4-1 in conference play. With a spot in the Lakefront Bowl still up for grabs, the winner of this game earns a powerful advantage in the chase for that postseason opportunity.
	Patrick's take: Rowan at TCNJ. The Profs are not happy with how their season has ended up, and TCNJ's 6-1 comes with the benefit of not having played CNU or Rowan yet. Rowan played last week against option lite, or spread option last week, so taking the natural progression to defending the straight up triple option won't be as much of a shock as it could be.
	Logan's take: Cal Lutheran at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. CMS isn't having the season they expected this year. They're at risk of having a losing record for the first time since 2017, and they only have one win in conference. On the other side of the field, a win by the Kingsmen would clinch only their third winning season since 2012. CLU won the first matchup 22-17 with a last minute TD run. SCIAC games are always entertaining (as evidenced by the 4 OT periods in its 3 games last week), and this will be no exception.
	Riley's take: Marietta at Wilmington. Behind QB Isaac Ross and a high-octane passing attack, WIlmington has already tripled its win total from 2024 and is just one win away from its first four-win campaign since 2008. But Marietta is equally as hungry for a win on Saturday, having taken four straight losses after a 3-0 start. There’s certainly a good chance this one turns into a bit of a barnburner.
	Carlo's take: I have two this week.  Shenandoah at No. 21 Randolph Macon out of the ODAC and Southern Virginia at Belhaven in the USA South.
	Kobe's take: Wesleyan at Williams. This will be the 130th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and the Ephs, who both are currently tied for second place in the NESCAC. This win could make the Wesleyan-Trinity game at the end of the year a title game.

Which offense that has been lighting up the scoreboard goes eerily quiet this week?

	Greg's take: UW-River Falls. The Falcons are a high flying, high-octane juggernaut almost every week of the season- except during Whitewater week. The Warhawks have found ways to short circuit  the River Falls offense yielding just 7 and 14 points in the last two meetings- and this Warhawk defense is just as good. I think River Falls gets more than the 7 they got last year, but well below their season average of 48.9 points per game.
	Patrick's take: This question practically dares us to pick UW-River Falls and I am here for the bait!
	Logan's take: UW-River Falls. River Falls' tempo tends to either catch people by surprise or breaks their will. I don't expect either to be the case on Saturday. UW-Whitewater has allowed an average of 19 ppg to the "Top Gun Offense" in the last four seasons, and only 21 points total the last two seasons. Add into the mix my opinion that this is probably the best UWW defense since their Stagg Bowl teams, Blaha's potential injury, and this feels like an easy pick.
	Riley's take: I’m putting my trust in Chicago’s defense to hold Monmouth well below its 49.7 points per game in Saturday’s clash between the MWC’s top two teams. Chicago’s defense is especially sharp against the run, and that’s going to be key if Chicago wants to keep it close. Monmouth leads the league in rushing TDs (24), but the Maroons have surrendered just one TD on the ground all season.
	Carlo's take: UW-River Falls and Washington & Jefferson.
	Kobe's take: Geneva! (Yes this is a loophole because they have a bye, but I suppose this is a win for me?) But really, I'd say out of the teams that ARE playing I would go with Berry. The Vikings are going on the road to Centre whose defense held Trinity to just 19 points a week ago, and while Centre's offense still may not be able to keep up that defense will be raring to go.

Panthers are the official black cat of Division III- how many Panthers get wins win Week 9?

	Greg's take: 5. All six are favored, but six for six feels like a long shot. Give me Chapman, Greenville, Hanover, LaGrange, and Middlebury to win with Plymouth State catching a mild upset on the road at Framingham State.
	Patrick's take: Heck yeah -- I say all six of them!
	Logan's take: My model thinks every pack of panthers is favored this weekend, with Plymouth State having the most competitive matchup. I think 5 of the 6 get a W, but I'm going to preclude more precise predictions or picks of which panthers prevail.
	Riley's take: Six. The Panthers finish Week 9 with a clean sweep. Even with four of the six on the road, I think all four (Greenville, Hanover, LaGrange, Middlebury) win by two possessions or more, with Chapman and Plymouth State adding home wins to their respective resumes.
	Carlo's take: Four. Chapman, Middlebury, Plymouth State, and LaGrange.
	Kobe's take: I've got Chapman, Hanover, LaGrange, Middlebury and Plymouth State all in the W column this week! (sorry Greenville)

Results through Week 8:

After a perfect Week 8, Greg has retaken the top spot! I wasn't sure how to score the "1 win team to win" question, but decided to only give points for getting every team correct. https://t.co/jGUxGL3YtE pic.twitter.com/MAXJN8P3ud

— Logan Hansen (@LogHanRatings) October 31, 2025

Got picks? Put them in the comments!