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D1A Rankings: New #1

 D1A Rankings




What an exciting weekend in D1A rugby. Lindenwood pulled off a comeback win in a tight match with BYU. Arkansas State looked to be in top form as they trounced a respectable Davenport team. Navy took on their rival, Army, and stole a win with a penalty kick at the death. Indiana won the BIG 10 championship in a convincing fashion over Michigan State. 

Here are some notable statistics from the fall season. Arkansas let the top 25 offensively, scoring 66.6 points per game on average. They've looked very sharp this fall and have put up some impressive score lines, especially their 38-8 win over Davenport. With head coach Dominic Shaw in just his third year with the program, I would say that Arkansas State is a program on the rise. If they can carry their momentum into the spring, they could be very dangerous. The worst scoring team in the top 25 is Army. They only scored an average of 18.6 points per game, although they did slide up in the rankings after going toe to toe with undefeated Navy. Army's attack has looked disorganized and far removed from the crispness of their national championship team just two seasons ago. I think they could definitely turn things around if they continue to play as they did against Navy. It was truly a gutsy performance from Army.

Defensively, the top team is Arizona. The Wildcats are always strong in the contact area, led by hard hitters like Abe Turpen. This fall proved no different, allowing a measly 25 points over the course of four matches. The worst defensive team this fall is a team that is new to the top 25. Utah Valley University has allowed 46 points per game in their 2-4 campaign. This fall has been a bit disappointing for the Wolverines. They have two MLR players as coaches and are basically pulling from the same talent pool as BYU (they are about 5 miles apart). They have good athletes and plenty of size. Yet, UVU just couldn't seem to find its footing this year. Obviously, they need to find more structure on both sides of the ball and attempt to shore up the holes in their disjointed defense. 


Now on to the rankings. We have a new number 1! Surprise! Is this a controversial decision to move an undefeated Navy out of the number one spot? Yes! But after much deliberation, I think these rankings are pretty accurate. Navy would've kept their number one spot, but they nearly lost to Army. Navy won the match on a last-second penalty kick. In my opinion, that is not a convincing win at all. Army is 3-5-1 and has had some bad losses this fall. If you can't beat a team with a losing record by more than 2 points, you're probably not the #1 team in the nation. Now of course people will make the excuse that it was a rivalry game. In my experience, the best teams play their best games when the pressure is on. When your rival comes into town, if you're really number one, you come in clutch. Navy did not. They quite frankly choked and barely escaped a loss. For that reason, they are demoted. 

Lindenwood, on the other hand, does look like number one. They've gone down to the wire against two teams in the top ten in the last two weeks. They had an incredible match against a tough BYU side. This season Lindenwood has made all the right plays at all the right times. Their scrums looked unstoppable against a sizeable BYU pack. If they can continue to finish games as strong as they finished against BYU, they could make a run to the championship. Is Lindenwood a perfect team? By no means. But if Navy and Lindenwood played today, I would bet on LU.

BYU moves down in the rankings after a heartbreaking loss to LU. It was completely their game to lose, and they did just that. They gave away critical penalties, lost their own set piece in dangerous territory, and couldn't finish on line breaks. For most of the match, they looked like the better team. BYU couldn't handle LU scrums and didn't finish like the Lions did. If BYU wants to win those big games, they need to be more consistent in the set piece and more patient on attack. 

Finally on to the surprise of the fall season, Arkansas State. Arkansas State was 5-0 behind their high-powered offense. After a convincing win over Davenport, Ark State jumps to #5 in the rankings. They've really looked solid this fall, much better than any prior season. They have some physical athletes across the board and are quite fit. They've had three games this season in which they've scored more than 80 points. I'm excited to see them play in the spring. Hopefully, they will continue to play stiff competition and prove themselves. 


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