CMS athletics photo by John Valenzuela

We began the weekend with 27 undefeated teams and ended with just 20 of them.

Seven weeks into the season, we’re looking for clarity, we’re looking for the arrows that will point us toward the 32 teams that will make it into the postseason and will get that ultimate shot of traveling the Road to Salem.

Some teams already look good for it: Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Thomas More, to name just a few. Nothing is a lock, of course, as this is an anything-can-happen type of game. But these teams have positioned themselves nicely at this point in the season.

Wartburg’s loss to Dubuque was a stunning portrait of just how unpredictable this season has become. It wasn’t just the loss; it was the fashion of the loss, with Wartburg’s 2014 offensive luster now long gone. Is Dubuque going to carry the IIAC’s banner with it into the playoffs?

And what about some of the nation’s most parity-packed conferences: the SCIAC and the ODAC and the Empire 8, the NEFC and CCIW? There conferences – and several others – are still wide open with tough games ahead for the upper teams.

Sure, Washington and Lee took down Guilford and Hampden-Sydney already this season, so things should have been a little easier on the back end, right? Randolph-Macon disagreed, and W&L needed a touchdown in the final 95 seconds of the game to secure the victory. And Macon was just 1-4 entering the contest. Elsewhere in the ODAC, Sydney rallied from a 21-point deficit to upend Emory and Henry, further twisting the makeup of the conference.

Anything can happen.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps scored 12 points in the final period to catapult itself past Redlands leaving a mashup of a 3-0 La Verne and three 2-1 teams in conference play competing for the SCIAC automatic bid. Let’s also not overlook the pair of 1-1 teams that still have a larger part of their conference schedule ahead of them and are still in the mix. And La Verne has had a winning record in conference play only once in the D3football.com era, so it’s not just that there is competition in the SCIAC that’s big news, it’s also important to note who that competition involves.

We can pretty much nix the idea of seeing any Empire 8 teams in the Top 25 for the coming week – more likely, for even longer. Ithaca, at No. 24, was the lone holdout, but Brockport just prettied up its resume a bit with a 27-17 win. Hartwick is the only team the conference that hasn’t beaten one of its mates; the others have at least two wins apiece. Cortland has just one loss, but it also has Brockport and rival Ithaca yet to contend with.

Anything can happen.

Want to roll the dice on Wheaton, North Central and Illinois Wesleyan in the CCIW? I’d pick the Thunder if I had to throw something out there right now, but none of these three has played either of the others yet, and each one has a spot in the Top 25 poll. No other conference in the nation can boast a three-way tie for first place, let alone a three-way tie that involves teams that are undefeated in conference play. It’s tempting to vacation in Illinois for the next to be able to see how these head-to-heads play out.

Without MIT as the dominant player in the NEFC and Endicott showing vulnerabilities early in its schedule, we may see Western New England make its first playoff appearance since 2011 or Coast Guard compete like never before. Salve Regina, as well as Endicott, is hanging around, too.

This season doesn’t feel like one of foregone conclusions. No season should be, but in some years, we see power teams reload and make their presence felt immediately. This year has been one of more transition – a shifting landscape where a lot of teams are finding their footing and trying desperately to get ahead of the team next to them. The past few weeks are evidence of this as the Top 25 has been rocked with multiple upsets by unranked challengers. This week is quieter, but make no mistake, it was in no way sleepy.

Anything can happen.                                    

Other things you need to know

• Linfield’s rout of Willamette secured the Wildcats their 60th consecutive winning season, a feat unmatched in all levels of college football. You can read what the school had to say about “The Streak” by clicking here.
• Salisbury broke a school record on Saturday against William Paterson with 651 rushing yards. The Sea Gulls are known for running their wickedly effective triple-option offense, and it is undoubtedly a beast to contend with for opponents in the newly realigned NJAC.

Five games

• Albion fans were looking forward to the showdown with Adrian, partly with the bent of revenge for last season and partly with some trepidation because last season showed exactly what could happen. Albion avenged its 2014 loss to the Bulldogs thanks to a balanced offense and turnover-free day.
• Berry is alone at the top of the SAA, toppling fellow third-year program Hendrix amid a raucous second and third quarters. The Vikings were bested in almost every statistical category but were still able to edge the Warriors 27-24.
• Gettysburg stumbled for the first time this season, handing the keys to the Centennial driver’s seat to Johns Hopkins – sort of. The Bullets fell 41-13 to Muhlenberg this week but will take on the JHU next weekend for a chance at redemption. If Gettysburg loses, an 8-2 finish is their best bet, with no playoff possibility in store.
• It was a scoreless second half, but St. Scholastica did all it needed to to take down Northwestern and earn control of the UMAC. Half of Dakota Paulson’s 84 passing yards came on two plays that each resulted in touchdowns.
• Maranatha Baptist didn’t play a Division III opponent, but what it did do was win a game for the first time since Sept. 7, 2013. It was a 52-46 scorefest, with Maranatha quarterback Tanner Carrillo leading the team with 411 yards passing and 67 rushing.

Weekend recap, columns, tweets and more

For the facts and figures of this weekend in football, check out D3football.com’s Top 25 recap and the national roundup.

There will be a handful of opportunities each week for me to showcase what’s going on nationally in Division III. On:

• Sundays, look for my reaction and recap of Saturday’s games in Snap Judgments;
• Thursdays, see my centerpiece feature story of the week;
• Fridays, read our Triple Take prediction column, where Pat, Keith and I give you some things to look out for in the following day’s games, including the top matchups and upset possibilities.

Between all that will be D3football.com’s regional columns, the ATN podcast, and the team of the week, among other things. Don’t go too far!

Follow me on Twitter at @NewsTipps, as well as D3football.com’s main account, @d3football.

(Also, if you are tweeting about Division III football, don't forget to use the #d3fb hashtag.)