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FIFTEEN #1 Seeds Upset!

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From the Big 12 to the Empire 8, number one seeds were upset and eliminated from their Conference Championship bracket.

The biggest upset? Thomas More Saints defeated the mighty Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Independent bracket. Also in the Independent, the Liberty Flames advanced past the West Point Army Black Knights. Whoa!

This is why Helmet Bowl is the Greatest College Football Helmet Contest Ever! You decide which helmet advances. Not us. Not some talking head in New York or LA. Not some group of guys sitting around drinking beers deciding the best (unless you are drinking beers and voting).

Here are the other 14 upsets (each of the headlines are linked straight to voting).

Great Plains

The Morningside Mustangs defeated the Hastings Broncos to face the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers.

American Athletic Conference

The North Carolina State Wolfpack defeated Pitt Panthers to face the Louisville Cardinals.

Big 12

The Kansas State Wildcats came back to defeat Iowa State in the last few hours of voting. Now, they face the West Virginia Mountaineers. Both teams have worn more attractive helmets this season – send them in!

PAC 12

The Oregon State Beavers must be pleased to knock off the Oregon Ducks to advance to the PAC 12 Conference Championship where they face the Colorado Buffalos (who, by the way, defeated one of our favorite helmets – that of the Stanford Cardinals).

Southeastern Conference

Well, Georgia got beat this weekend on the gridiron, then drops out of Helmet Bowl due to a very strong Vanderbilt helmet. However, the upset was Ole Miss defeating #1 seeded Mississippi State.

Sun Belt

The Arkansas State Red Wolves beat the plain but attractive Georgia Southern Eagles helmet to face the nice Texas State San Marcos Bobcats in the Conference Championship.

Northeast Conference

The Sacred Heart Pioneers beat the perennially strong Wagner Seahawks, earning a contest with the Robert Morris Bobcats.

Pioneer Football League

The Stetson Hatters, no stranger to Conference Championships, defeated the Marist Red Foxes to face the Davidson Wildcats for the ultimate prize.

Southland

The Central Arkansas Bears beat a strong McNeese State helmet to face the Lamar Cardinals in the Championship.

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Hearkening back to Helmet Bowl I, the Central Missouri Mules have battled and battled against the Northwest Missouri Bearcats. This time, the Mules provide the upset. Now, they met the Nebraska Kearney Lopes for all the MIAA marbles.

Northeast 10

The Bentley Falcons swiped away the LIU Post Long Island Pioneers to face the cool Saint Anselm Hawks for the cheese.

Northern Sun

The Upper Iowa Peacocks always seem to find a way to be in the mix. They upset the St. Cloud State Huskies to give themselves a chance at a Conference Championship. Standing in the way: The Minnesota State Morehead Dragons. Great matchup here.

South Atlantic

The Newberry Wolves place a howling canine in a big block N and it works – at least it worked to upset the Lenoir=Rhyne Bears. Now, the Wolves must face a charging Limestone Saints team.

Empire 8

The Alfred Saxons put up a unique and attractive helmet – usually a winning combination. Not in Helmet Bowl III. The Utica Pioneers came along and defeated them to match up against the Saint John Fisher Cardinals for the trophy.

Conference Championship brackets underway

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So, we've got a bit of a technical glitch as the Conference Championships brackets get underway. Your votes count, you just can't see the totals.

What we know is that the more votes a helmet receives, the better its chances of winning the round.

We will get the system fixed and you'll see where your team stands soon. We will let you know on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Meanwhile

Now comes Joshua Coates, finance guy from Ohio who has been a Helmet Bowl fan from 2017 – from the beginning.

Josh sent us his Top Ten helmets a week ago, before the open polls for Conference play determined which teams qualified for the semi-finals.

Let’s see how he did.

TEN: LSU Tigers

The Tigers finished open voting with 2.5 percent of the SEC vote. They did not make the bracket.

NINE: Fitchburg State Falcons

These guys are the #1 Seed in the Massachusettes State Collegiate Athletic Conference where they face off against the Westfield State Owls.

EIGHT: Lakeland Muskies

Another DIII conference helmet – this time the Northern Athletics Collegiate where the Muskies bring their unique helmet in a the #1 Seed against the #4 Seed Concordia Chicago Cougars.

SEVEN: Rhodes Lynx

The #1 Seed in the Southern Athletic, the Lynx helmet shows a fierce enough cat, but that color – what is it? Salmon? They face the Trinity Tigers.

SIX: West Virginia State Yellow Jackets

Always a Helmet Bowl favorite, the Jackets took the most votes out of the Mountain East and now face the Wheeling Cardinals.

FIVE: SMU Mustangs

This cool vintage helmet sits in the middle of a gorgeous American Athletic Conference semi-final dominated rightly by the Navy Midshipmen.

FOUR: Fort Lewis Skyhawks

Josh picks another #1 Seed! This time in the Rocky Mountain Athletic, the Skyhawks face off against the Western State Colorado Mountaineers.

THREE: Linfield Wildcats

These guys are always around when Helmet Bowl talk is struck up. The Wildcats unique helmet (hat is that? A Sailor’s hat?) at always around the top of the Northwest Conference. Now, they face the Puget Sound Loggers – who won their way out of a three-way tiebreaker to compete in the semi-final bracket week.

TWO: Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm

The Storm is building a Helmet Bowl reputation –and a good one at that. They lead the Great American Conference and now face off against the Ouachita Baptist Tigers.

ONE: Culver-Stockton Wildcats

Did you see the Wildcat highlight at halftime of the Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts Sunday Night NFL game? Whoa! However, that kind of show is temporary. Winning a Conference title in Helmet Bowl lasts a little longer. Winning a Helmet Bowl National Championship is legendary. Nice pick, here, Josh.

The Wildcats are the #1 Seed in the Heart of America Athletic were they meet the tie-breaker winner Benedictine Ravens.

And, thanks for sending in your Top Ten.

To submit your Top Ten, please email helmetbowl@helmettracker.com.

HB3 Conference Championship Preview

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Look, things are getting serious.

About 500 teams were eliminated this week on Monday when the 3-week Conference Poll voting closed. Only the top four teams from each Conference advance to each championship bracket.

Then, 12 more teams were sent home due to the tie-breakers that finished earlier today.

Monday, the four-team Championship brackets launch. Half of those teams will be eliminated in week one. Then, the Conference Championship week will eliminate half the remaining teams again to crown the champions.

Tie Breakers

Check out some of these great helmets.

In case you missed it, here are the tie-breaker results.

In the Big 12, the Kansas State Wildcats easily defeated their rivals Kansas Jayhawks to win a first round match-up with the Iowa State Cyclones.

In the Big Sky, the Montana Grizzlies dismissed the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks to meet the cross-state rival Montana State Bobcats.

In the Central Intercollegiate Ahletics Conference, the Johnson C Smith Golden Bulls dropped a close match to the Bowie State Bulldogs. Number 1 Seed Virginia Union Panthers will face the Bulldogs in round 1.

In the Great Lakes Valley, the Quincy Hawks take their unique lid into the bracket against 1 Seed McKendree Bearcats. The William Jewel Cardinals go home.

The Culver-Stockton Wildcats waited through the Heart of America tie-breaker and now know they face the Benedictine Ravens. The Baker Wildcats will have to wait for Helmet Bowl IV.

The Harvard Crimson, a Helmet Bowl contender, advance over the Dartmouth Big Green to face #1 Seed Cornell Big Red.

In the Lone Star, the Tarleton State Texans advance to meet the UT Permian Basin Falcons. The Western New Mexico Mustangs wait until next year.

In a close Mountain West tie-breaker, the Boise State Broncos defeat the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to meet the perennial strong San Diego State Aztecs.

The Minot State Beavers fell just short of meeting the St. Cloud State Huskies in the Northern Sun bracket. Now its the Upper Iowa Peacocks.

The Upper Midwest says so long to the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers. The Crown Storm, with a very cool helmet than gained an impressive amount of votes (coming out of nowhere) will challenge the Panthers of Greenville University.

And finally, the Northwest Conference will see the Puget Sound Loggers square off against the Linfield Wildcats. As this was a three-way tie, we say “see ya” to the Pacific Lutheran Lutes and the Lewis & Clark Pioneers.

In addition to these Conference matchups, there are about 80 other conferences with two one-on-one matches launching at noon Monday.

Helmet Bowl III Week 4 Update

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The 3-week Conference Poll voting has completed and we have ties!

Jumping out at us immediately is the lockup between the Big 12 Kansas State Wildcats and the Kansas Jayhawks. They finish voting knotted up for fourth place.

Fourth place is the final spot in the Helmet Bowl III Conference Championship brackets. Leading the Big 12 are 1. Iowa State Cyclones 2. Texas Longhorns 3. West Virginia Mountaineers.

What now?

Thursday around noon we will launch a 24-hour tie-breaker poll for each of the ties.

Winner advances. Loser goes home.

Watch our account @helmetracker

Monday, we launch the Conference Championship brackets. Each one-on-one match-up lasts one week. The Championship brackets launch on Monday October 14 and we crown the Conference Champoinships October 21.

No Conference Three-peats for 3

Three of the 12 double Conference Champions – winners of their Conference in Helmet Bowl I and Helmet Bowl II, will not three-peat.

Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils – Southwestern Athletic Conference

The Delta Devils finish seventh and do not qualify for the Conference Championship bracket.

The Arkansas Pine-Bluff Lions win with two more votes than the loud and plain purple helmet of the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Rounding out the bracket will be the Southern University and A&M Jaguars and the Alcorn State Braves.

Valdosta State Blazers (GA) – Gulf South

The Blazers just could not muster this year, The #1 seed West Florida Argonauts are a force to contend with. Can the #2 North Greenville Crusaders swat away the West Alabama Tigers and build momentum. Could the Shorter Hawks, which surged this week to gain fourth-place from the Delta State Statesmen, surprise the Helmet Bowl world?  

Idaho State Bengals (OR) – Big Sky

The Bengals' helmet is a gem and we are sorry to see it go. Though Idaho State moved the needle a bit after last week's update, it wasn't enough to get past 7th place. Ugh.

Seeds here:

  1. Montana State Bobcats
  2. Eastern Washington Eagles
  3. Sacramento State Hornets
  4. Montana Grizzlies

Three-peat possibilities

New Jersey Lions – New Jersey Athletic Conference

The Lions will be seeded 2nd, but will struggle unless they can drum up voting. The William Paterson Pioneers coasted into the #1 Seed. In this strong voting conference, the Kean Cougars and Wesley Wolverines round out the bracket.

Gallaudet Bison – Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

The Helmet Bowl I National Champions begin to turn up the heat and we can't see them being beat in the Conference Championship bracket here. The bracket: Dean Bulldogs, Alfred State Pioneers, and Maritime Privateers.

Ottawa Braves – Kansas Collegiate Athletic

The Braves more than doubled the second place Bethany Bison in open poll voting with strong third-week voting. The Sterling Warriors and Bethel Threshers hold on to sneak into the bracket.

Oregon Ducks – Pac 12

The Buffs closed the gap to two votes, but ended up in second to the Ducks in hard-fought voting. The Stanford Cardinals and Oregon State Beavers round out the bracket. The Washington State Cougars miss the bracket by ONE VOTE.

Northwest Missouri Bearcats – Mid-America Intercollegiate  

The Bearcats win the #1 seed easily, but watch this closely as the Nebraska Karney Lopers moved from a lagging fourth place to finish second. Also in, the formindable Central Missouri Mules and Northeastern State RiverHawks.

College of Idaho Coyotes – Frontier

The Yotes finish with two-times the votes than second place Bulldogs of Montana Western. Southern Oregon Raiders, and YEAH! the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers bring their diagonally designed helmet into the bracket.

Finlandia Lions – Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

We love this bracket – great helmets, all. The Lions are seeded #1, followed by the unique Alma Scots helmet. The Hope Flying Dutchmen (with an oddly placed anchor) and the Kalamazoo Hornets round out the top four. If the winner of the MIAA wants an automatic bid into the National Championship, voting must increase dramatically here.

Misericordia Cougars – Middle Atlantic Conference

The Fairleigh Dickinson Devils drive votes to the #1 seed but the defending Cougars closed the gap this week for #2. In third and fourth: the Alvernia Golden Wolves and Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen.

Kennesaw State Owls (GA) – Big South

The Owls squeaked into the #1 seed by just 2 votes over the behind the Garner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs. The Campbell Fighting Camels and Charleston Southern Buccaneers qualify.

TOP TEN

Falling out of the TOP TEN Conferences with the most votes are: The American Athletic Conference (now 12th), and the Missouri Valley Football Conference (now 11th).

Entering the TOP TEN Conferences with the most votes are: the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic (6th), and the Centennial Conference (10th).

Bottom TWENTY

So important. When Conference Champjionship brackets launch Monday, we start keeping track of the number of votes that each team tallies. The top 60 Conference Champions gain an automatic bid into the Helmet Bowl National Championship Bracket of 64. That leaves out possibly 20 Conference Champions. If your team is in one of these two charts, you are in danger of celebrating your Conference Championship, then going home.

The bottom TEN Conferences with the least votes are:

Great Northwest Athletic Conference (NCAA II)
USA South Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Northwest Conference (NCAA III)
Presidents' Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Great Plains Athletic Conference (NAIA 1) 2019
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
Old Dominion Athletic Conference 2019
Heart of America Athletic Conference (NAIA 1)
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NCAA II)
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (NCAA II)
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (NCAA II)
Northeast-10 Conference (NCAA II)
Mid-South Conference (NAIA 1)
North Star Athletic Association (NAIA 1)
Sooner Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA 1) 2019 11 teams
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA II) 2019

Helmet Bowl III Week 3 Update

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Just a few days left in open Conference voting.

The Ferris State Bulldogs lead the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

For 16 days, voters have filed their choices in all 80 conference polls. Some teams lead by hundreds of votes, others by scores, and others by dozens. Some teams lead by just a handful of votes.

Conference voting ends at noon (Central) on Monday, September 30.

Conference Championship Brackets

In Helmet Bowl III Conference play, the top four teams in each conference qualify for the Conference Championship Brackets. The team with the most votes will be seeded #1 and will face off against the fourth seed. The second and third teams with the most votes will face each other. Bracket voting begins October 7 and each round lasts one week.

We crown Conference Champions On October 21.

Conference Champions Repeat

A dozen teams won their conference championship in Helmet Bowl I then repeated their winning ways in Helmet Bowl II.

How are they doing?

We checked the voting.

New Jersey Lions – New Jersey Athletic Conference

The Lions appear safely into the Conference Championship bracket, but trail the William Paterson Pioneers for the #1 Seed. In this strong voting conference, the Kean Cougars and Wesley Wolverines round out the bracket, so far.

Gallaudet Bison (DC) – Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

The Helmet Bowl I National Champions hold a strong lead in the Eastern Collegiate. Unless challenged by Monday, they will be seeded number one. The other three teams leading now, vie for the other seeds: Dean Bulldogs, Alfred STate Pioneers, and Maritime Privateers.

Ottawa Braves (KS) – Kansas Collegiate Athletic

The Braves always submit a wonderful image for their contest. They lead the Bethany Bison by just a dozen votes. However, it’s the third and fourth place teams in jeopardy. The Sterling Warriors and Bethel Threshers lead by just one and two votes respectively. Any of the Kansas Collegiate teams could qualify for the Conference Championship bracket.

Oregon Ducks (OR) – Pac 12

The Ducks lead the Buffs of Colorado by just six votes as of this writing. If they want to three-peat, votes must push hard; harder than Ralphie. The Stanford Cardinals and Oregon State Beavers may round out the bracket, but are challenged by the Washington State Cougards and the always attractive helmets of the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Look, if you don’t qualify for your Conference Championship, you sure aren’t gonna make it into the National Championship bracket. Get voting!

Idaho State Bengals (OR) – Big Sky

When we first looked to update the Big Sky the thought crossed our minds: Did the Idaho State leave this conference? The defending repeat Conference Champion Bengals are currently in EIGHTH place! The top four here: Montana State Bobcats, Eastern Washington Eagles, Sacramento State Hornets, and the Montana Grizzlies. However, less than three dozen votes separate the last place California-Davis Aggies from the Bobcats, so the Big Sky is truly up for grabs.  

Northwest Missouri Bearcats – Mid-America Intercollegiate  

The Bearcats provided a great struggle against the Central Missouri Mules in Helmet Bowl I conference voting. In HB3, so far, they rest in second place, trailing the Northeastern State RiverHawks. The Mules are in third, and the Nebraska Kearney Lopers hold down fourth place, just three votes ahead of the Missouri Western Griffons.

College of Idaho Coyotes – Frontier

The Yotes lead the Conference with strong voting ahead of the Montana Western Bulldogs, Southern Oregon Raiders, and Montana Tech Orediggers. Just one vote out of the bracket, as of now, are the diagonally designed helmets of the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers.

Finlandia Lions (MI) – Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Light voting here, but the Lions lead by four votes over a unique Alma Scots lid. The Hope Flying Dutchmen (with an oddly placed anchor) and the Kalamazoo Hornerts round out the top four. Yet, light voting means a couple of handfuls could push anyone into the conference bracket.

Misericordia Cougars (PA) – Middle Atlantic Conference

WHOA! The Fairleigh Dickinson Devils somehow got out the vote! WHOA! They lead the defending Cougars by a factor of about 8X the vote! In third and fourth: he Alvernia Golden Wolves and Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen. A bit of advice – avoid fourth place here as the 4th seed will be matched up against the Devils. Take a look at this conference – lots of strong helmets here.

Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils – Southwestern Athletic Conference

Seventh place.

The Delta Devils barely register in the Southwestern Athletic this time around. It’s not too late, we suppose, if they want to make a strong run before noon on Monday. They need to catch the fourth place Jaguars of Southern University and A&M. In first is the helmet of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lions, followed by the Prairie View A&M Panthers and the gold-chromed lid of the Alcorn State Braves.

Kennesaw State Owls (GA) – Big South

The Owls reached the quarterfinals of Helmet Bowl I as well as repeating as Conference Champions. Today they sit in third place behind the Garner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs and Campbell Fighting Camels (unique helmet, that). In fourth place, by just a few votes, is the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Just out of it is the Presbyterian College Blue Hose (the Blue Hose helmet gives no indication of what a Blue Hose is, or why).

Valdosta State Blazers (GA) – Gulf South

Another strong contender struggles. The Blazers, mired in seventh place, may be out of it. The first-place West Florida Argonauts and second-place North Greenville Crusaders are way WAY out front. The third-place West Alabama Tigers and fourth-place Delta State Statesmen could be caught for a place in the Conference Championship bracket.  

TOP TEN

The TOP TEN Conferences with the most votes are:

Sun Belt Conference (NCAA I – FBS)
Gulf South Conference (NCAA II)
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA II)
Southeastern Conference (NCAA I – FBS)
New Jersey Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (NCAA III)
Southland Conference (NCAA I – FCS)
American Southwest Conference (NCAA III)
American Athletic Conference (NCAA I – FBS)
Missouri Valley Football Conference (NCAA I – FCS)

Sun Belt remains the top vote-getter.

New to the TOP TEN: Gulf South and Missouri Valley conferences.

Dropping out of the top ten: Big 12 and Mid-Atlantic conferences.

Bottom TWENTY

Why is this important? Because only the top 60 Conference Champion vote-getters automatically qualify for the Helmet Bowl National Championship Bracket of 64. That leaves out possibly 20 Conference Champions. If your team is in one of these two charts, you are in danger of celebrating your Conference Championship, then going home.

The bottom TEN Conferences with the least votes are:

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (NCAA II)
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (NCAA II)
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
USA South Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Mid-South Conference (NAIA)
Northeast-10 Conference (NCAA II)
North Star Athletic Association (NAIA)
Sooner Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA 1)
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA II)

New to the bottom ten: Upper Midwest Athletic and USA South Athletic conferences.

No longer in the bottom ten: Norther Sun Intercollegiate (11th from last) and South Atlantic conferences.

Bottom 11 through 20:

North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Northwest Conference (NCAA III)
Presidents' Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (NCAA III)
Great Plains Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
Old Dominion Athletic Conference 2019
Heart of America Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA III)
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NCAA II)

South Atlantic Conference

In fact, the South Atlantic rose to the conference with the 25th most votes in Helmet Bowl III from the fifth from last.

WOW!

Let’s take a look at their helmets.

At the top are the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears with a healthy lead over 2) Limestone Saints (LAX powerhouse), 3) Carson-Newman Eagles, and 4) Newberry Wolves. The Tusculum Pioneers are just 4 votes shy of making the final bracket.

Your Top Ten

Got a list of top ten helmets? Shoot us an email at helmetbowl@helmettracker.com and we will feature your picks in next week’s update.

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