March really wasted no time bringing us upsets. If we've learned anything this year in college rugby, it's that this year is anybodies year. I would call college rugby somewhat predictable in seasons past. But, this season has been an absolute departure from predictability. The last two weeks we've seen a number of upsets. It's truly been an exciting time to be a college rugby fan. With that said here's this weeks rankings:
Navy stays on top. They are still undefeated and put a beat down on Western Ontario this weekend. They are set to face Cal in the coming weeks which should answer any questions about the Midshipmen. A new addition to the top 5, the Life University Running Eagles. The past few weeks Life has unquestionably earned a spot in the top 5. The Eagles beat Lindenwood and Arkansas State in subsequent matches and they look very sharp. They're always a physical squad with good skills. Their loss to Navy in the fall keeps them from claiming the number one spot, but at this point in the season they've earned #2.
The Gaels climb to #3 after wins over Central Washington and Cal Poly. Against Central the Gaels barely survived a second half surge. They looked beatable for the first time this season, so we will see how St. Mary's with some tough matchups this month.
Arkansas State drops to #4. They suffered a nine point loss to Life. They finish their regular season with Adrian College and Davenport. The Red Wolves desperately needed a win on Saturday to secure the #2 seed in the east. So likely Ark State will be forced to play an extra playoff game. Despite their loss to the Running Eagles, Ark State is dangerous. I wouldn't be surprised to seem them make a run in the playoffs and perhaps exact some revenge.
Central Washington moves up to #5. They pulled off a gutsy win over BYU on Saturday, beating the Cougars 21-12 in Ellensberg. As St. Mary's and BYU both learned, the wind at Tomlinson stadium is an ally for the Wildcats. Central did very well to put BYU under pressure with kicks that were hard to track in the wind. But more than their kicking game, the Central Washington defense was a bright spot against BYU. Their line speed on Saturday was some of the best I've seen this season. Phase after phase the Wildcats defended with impressive intensity. Was their alignment and spacing perfect? No. But they made up for that with their blistering line speed. When BYU attempted to attack the space, Central consistently choked off their attack. They forced BYU to go around them rather than through. If Central can keep up that kind of defensive effort, they might pull off more upsets moving forward.
Lindenwood moves back up to #6. The Lions put together a convincing win over Davenport on Saturday, 40-10. Their fall matchup was much closer so that's a good sign for the Lions to put some distance between them and Davenport.
BYU falls to #7 after a close loss to Central Washington. This is a big drop from #2, but the problem is that the top 10 teams really are so close in terms of skill. The slightest of mistakes, means a drop in the rankings. After their win over Cal, it seemed like they were obviously the best team in the west. Their attack looked unstoppable. But after a few weeks off, BYU didn't even look like the same team. There was little to no offloading and BYU struggled to find a way around the Central line speed. They played a respectable first half, but let the Wildcats score 20 points unanswered. BYU needs to sort out their attack with St. Mary's in two weeks. It's tough to win a match only scoring 12 points. March 16th will be gut check for the Cougars. If BYU can win their next two matches (Life and St. Mary's) they still have a shot at the #1 or #2 seed in the west.
The biggest upset of the weekend was pulled off by Army. In absolute mud bowl of a match, the Black Knights beat Cal 27-14. This one was a surprise for me for sure. The Black Knights have lost five matches this season, and still aren't even .500. But none of that mattered as they put a beatdown on the Bears. The conditions obviously favored Army, as Cal generally avoids kicking at all costs. There were lots of mistakes from both sides but more often then not, things went Army's way. If you missed the match, you can catch the replay on The Rugby Network. It really was an exciting match. The Black Knights also impressed me with their defense. For Army, it was the physicality of their forward pack. They had heaps of positive grade two man tackles. Their forwards dominated the contact area the entire match. Despite their incredible win on Saturday, their last three matches really won't do much to help their playoff chances. With their subpar fall campaign, I'll be interested to see if they earn a spot in the playoffs.
Cal falls to #9 after suffering their second loss in three weeks. I never count Cal out, Jack Clarke always seems to find a way. But they didn't look great against Army. They looked sloppy again on Saturday, granted the conditions were awful. Their decision makers are young but frankly need to make better decisions. Cal really struggled to maintain possession and take advantage of their opportunities.
Not many changes in the rankings outside of that. UCLA did pull of an exciting win over Arizona in Tucson. Grand Canyon pummeled Texas A&M. Anyways, more exciting rugby to come as teams finish up their regular season campaigns in March. We should see a D1A Playoff bracket as we head in to April. I will be making some predictions about the seeding so stay tuned!
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