Statistically Speaking - Week Ten

* Junior Brandon Copeland's 217 receiving yards this past weekend against Randolph-Macon set a school record. The previous record was 183 yards by Marcus Richardson on September 2, 2000, against McDaniel. Copeland's 217 yards vaults him to No. 7 on the all-time receiving list with 1,209 for his career.

* Senior linebacker Craig Smith tallied a team-high eight tackles last week, giving him 202 for his career. He becomes the 22nd player in school history with 200 or more tackles.

* Since people are still inquiring about Bridgewater's postseason chances, let me take a quick look at where we stand...

Assuming the current front-runners of the 21 conferences who earn automatic bids end up winning out, there is the list of the 31 schools with two or less regional losses that would be considered for the remaining 11 playoffs spots (listed to the right of each school is what group they are in (B or C), their quality of wins index (QoWi), their regional record, their overall record, and the game they have remaining). I have them listed in order of their QoWi:

Wesley (B/C, 11.800, 5-0, 9-0) vs 1-7 Morrisville State
Wheaton (C, 11.444, 8-1, 8-1) vs 3-6 Illinois Wesleyan
Hobart (C, 11.125, 7-1, 7-1) vs 7-2 Rochester
St. John Fisher (C, 11.111, 8-1, 8-1) at 7-2 Alfred
Hardin-Simmons (C, 10.875, 7-1, 7-1) vs 3-6 McMurry
Capital (C, 10.667, 8-1, 8-1) at 7-2 Baldwin-Wallace
Franklin (C, 10.444, 8-1, 8-1) vs 4-5 Hanover
Whitworth (B/C, 10.375, 8-0, 9-0) vs 7-2 Puget Sound
Alfred (C, 10.333, 7-2, 7-2) vs 8-1 St. John Fisher
Wabash (C, 10.333, 7-2, 7-2) vs 6-3 DePauw
Wartburg (C, 10.333, 8-1, 8-1) vs 5-4 Dubuque
Carnegie Mellon (B/C, 10.250, 8-0, 9-0) at 5-4 Thiel
Bethel (C, 10.222, 8-1, 8-1) at 9-0 St. John's
Coast Guard (C, 10.111, 8-1, 8-1) vs 10-0 Curry
Wash. & Jeff. (B/C, 10.000, 7-1, 8-1) at 4-5 Bethany
Wooster (C, 10.000, 7-2, 7-2) at 4-5 Kenyon
Baldwin-Wallace (C, 9.889, 7-2, 7-2) vs 8-1 Capital
Cortland State (C, 9.500, 7-1, 8-1) vs 7-2 Ithaca
Linfield (B/C, 9.500, 4-2, 5-3) at 0-8 Lewis and Clark
UW-La Crosse (C, 9.500, 5-1, 7-1) at 5-4 UW-Oshkosh
Rochester (C, 9.375, 6-2, 7-2) at 7-1 Hobart
Ithaca (C, 9.250, 6-2, 7-2) at 8-1 Cortland State
Bridgewater (C, 9.111, 7-2, 7-2) at 3-6 Catholic
Bridgewater State (C, 9.000, 7-2, 7-2) ---
Delaware Valley (C, 9.000, 7-2, 7-2) at 6-3 Widener
Puget Sound (B/C, 8.889, 7-2, 7-2) at 9-0 Whitworth
St. Olaf (C, 8.875, 6-2, 7-2) at 6-3 St. Thomas
Greenville (C, 8.500, 6-2, 6-3) at 5-4 Washington U.
Ursinus (C, 8.286, 5-2, 7-2) vs 8-1 Dickinson
Cal Lutheran (C, 8.125, 6-2, 6-2) at 3-5 Redlands
Minn.-Morris (B/C, 8.000, 3-2, 7-2) vs 3-6 Con.-Moorhead

Good news is that last week, Bridgewater was one of 39 schools with two or less regional losses being considered for the 11 at-large playoff bids. This week, that list shrunk to 31. Another good thing is that last week, there were 33 schools with a better QoWi than the Eagles - this week, only 22. So the list is getting shorter.

If you aren't familiar with how the Division III playoffs are set up or how the NCAA committee chooses the 11 at-large teams, go to D3football.com's FAQs before you read any further.

If the regular season ended after this past weekend, Wesley, Whitworth, Carnegie Mellon and Washington & Jefferson would likely get the four Pool B bids. That would place the remaining Pool B teams (Linfield, Puget Sound and Minn.-Morris) into Pool C.

Of the remaining teams, 11 have only one regional loss. Since all 11 have a better QoWi than the Eagles, that would pretty much guarantee that Bridgewater (or any two-loss team) would not even be considered.

But since there is one week remaining, eight of the one-loss schools have their regular season finale against a team with a winning record - and some even play one another.

If Bridgewater wins their final game against Catholic, and all the favored teams win their respective games, the Eagles will be one of about 20 schools being considered for the seven Pool C playoff berths. That sounds like our chances aren't that good, but with a win over a playoff-bound team (Washington & Lee), the committee might seriously consider the Eagles if they need to choose a two-loss team.