Photo courtesy Davenport University Non-Varsity Sports
UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect the change in venue (TBD) of the western regional playoffs. It is no longer at Illinois State.
There’s less than a month before the USA Rugby DI college fall playoffs, which begin with a quarterfinal play-in round on Nov. 11-12. Teams will then be split into eastern and western pools for the Round of 8, and finalists will contest the fall championship the weekend of Dec. 2-3 in Greenville, S.C. Official brackets have not yet been circulated.
RELATED: Championship Round-up for Fall 2017 • Resource: Conference Members & Contacts • 2016 DI Fall Playoffs Results
AUTOMATIC BERTHS (ABs) to the DI fall quarterfinals (Nov. 18-19) go to conference winners, unless one’s conference is hybrid or small, then a play-in match may be required. Rocky Mountain, Midwest, Northeast and Big 10 get ABs, and if the bracket aligns with last year then Lone Star (formerly Southwest) will also get an AB.
The quarterfinal play-in round (Nov. 11-12) precedes the Round of 8 and is for conference runners-up and independent teams. This wild card round has the potential to be dramatic this year, as conferences like Rocky Mountain have expanded with playoff-minded teams, and the independent pool has deepened. Some of that expansion has been offset by reductions elsewhere – the DI Mid-American teams were absorbed by the DII Great Lakes conference, and the Ivy League has been plagued by forfeits.
Generally, the field looks stronger this year. Below is an update on where conferences stand with less than a month before the quarterfinal play-ins:
Photo: Kat Stutesman
ROCKY MOUNTAIN is home to Air Force (3-0), the current DI fall champion, which needs two good performances against Colorado State (0-4) and Montana State (3-1) to secure a repeat conference title. The Bobcats currently lead the conference standings, but its 20-17 loss to Utah State (3-1) could prove costly, as standings determine final place.
The MIDWEST saw its share of forfeits but Minnesota and Northern Illinois proved consistent. The Gophers played its toughest game against Northern Illinois (read more) en route to its repeat conference title, and NIU confirmed that it has submitted an at-large application for the playoffs.
Texas A&M is returning to playoffs, this time representing LONE STAR, a DI/II hybrid league. The Aggies decimated the competition so hopefully it lines up some competitive friendlies before playoffs. Last year, the team lost to Air Force in the first round before beating Big 10 runner-up Rutgers the following day. Interview with Texas A&M coach Nick James is underway.
The aforementioned conferences should be sending their champs to the western half of the fall quarterfinals – again, the official brackets have not been released. The following conferences should funnel into the eastern portion of quarterfinals at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis:
UCONN (4-0) has showed no signs of slowing in the NORTHEAST, having defeated Northeastern (2-1) 33-5 last weekend. Ten of the league’s top 20 leading point-scorers featured in that match. This year, the Northeast is the only conference to schedule full league playoffs, with quarterfinal play-ins and a final four. The DI teams also fill out their falls with crossover matches – a luxury of the densely populated region.
Photo: Mike Schurr
Penn State and Notre Dame (5-0) are again the clear leaders in their respective BIG 10 pools. The Irish beat Purdue 63-17 last weekend, as Fernanda Arjona led all scorers with four tries. Penn State played its second double-header of the fall last weekend, defeating Rutgers 68-5 and UVA 89-5, and will continue the trend this weekend against Michigan on Saturday and Lindenwood Sunday.
When it comes to playoffs, the IVY LEAGUE is unique. Since three of the four teams are NIRA-aligned, only Princeton is actually available for the USA Rugby DI fall playoffs. But the Tigers have forfeited games this fall, and with Brown also forfeiting last weekend, there won’t be an Ivy League final four this year. Only Dartmouth and Harvard will contest the final game, which has relocated to Hanover, N.H. The other four Ivy teams compete in a club division and the victor will feature in the USA Rugby DII fall playoffs.
Navy Photo: Colleen McCloskey
INDEPENDENTS
For the third-straight game, Davenport scored more than 100 points against a DI team. Last weekend, the Panthers posted 137 unanswered points on Clemson, which has returned to DI with the spring-based Mason-Dixon conference. Women’s Junior All-American Olivia Ortiz scored 42 points on six tries and six conversions. Read more. Davenport travels to UVA this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see where the Panthers end up for the fall regional playoffs.
Kent State and Michigan fell to Davenport by similar margins. The Golden Flashes joined Allegheny this year and is the lone DI team in the hybrid league, which includes three other DII teams. Kent State should contest a play-in match if it applies for an at-large berth. Same with Navy, which unfortunately had its game against Air Force canceled. That game would have been a good barometer, but the Midshipmen will take on Army Sunday.
