The DII College Spring Top 20 is difficult because there is very little cross-conference play before the regional playoffs. Less like the fall, where concentrations of conferences see lots of perspective-yielding friendlies and tournament games, some assumptions must be made to the relative strength of spring leagues. The ranking is a balance of the conferences’ recent history at regional playoffs, to the current health of the league, to individual teams’ results, to the depth of roster.
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On February 1, USA Rugby announced the location of the 2017 college championships (Life University) and confirmed that a women’s DII national championship would be held. Up until that point, the national governing body hadn’t committed to the national event, given last year’s circumstances. In terms of the rankings, that simply means that DII fall champion Davenport University will be reflected instead of being confined to the fall rankings. The Panthers won the fall title 37-0 over Winona in early December and is the team to beat.
Reigning DII spring champion Tulane gets the #2 nod. SIRC West mate Alabama pushed the Green Wave to a five-point decision in the season-opener, and that warranted a favorable rank. SIRC Central’s Kennesaw State and SIRC East’s Clemson are undefeated in their respective pools as well, and we’re watching Georgia, too. Fortunately, the conference quarterfinals will translate those records. On March 4, the top-two teams from each pool will contest crossover playoffs, and the victors will advance to the final four weekend on March 18-19.
The Capital finalists come in next. This Maryland-Virginia-based league is contained to the fall, and although Towson and Mary Washington will be different teams in the spring, we know how they perform and the strength of their competition. And the duo played one hell of a final, which was decided by two points. If there was a chance that the Capital received three berths to the DII Round of 16, then George Washington would definitely be on the list.
Last year’s top West Coast team – Humboldt – went DI in 2017, and the presumption was that perpetual runner-up UN Reno would move into that top spot. Instead, either Fresno State or Santa Clara will be named conference champion this year. The Bulldogs produced some upsets in 2016, and this year, they’re pushing harder. Last weekend, for example, Fresno State traveled north to play DI spring champion UC Davis’ B side. The success that Santa Clara has had is astonishing. The team lacks numbers, but it seems to thrive under that restraint. It’s going to hurt on those back-to-back playoff weekends, but right now, Santa Clara is working. The two play this weekend.
Similarly, the Gold Coast has produced new leaders this year. University of Southern California, UC Riverside and Long Beach State all having losing records, while UC Irvine and Claremont remain undefeated. Claremont is actually an NSCRO team as of this season and just secured a semifinal berth to the small-school Pacific championship after beating Occidental 36-10 Saturday. But we’re keeping the Foxes in, as the team has a chance to win the DII conference title. UC Irvine and Claremont play this weekend. Grand Canyon has also proven a worthy addition to the league, dropping close losses to UCI and Claremont recently.
The West Coast, Gold Coast and Cascade conferences will populate the western portion of the DII spring Round of 16. Western Washington has assumed the lead role in the Pacific Northwest league, and reigning champ Western Oregon has provided the best competition to date. As has been the case in the recent past, forfeits mar the schedule, and the Vikings have had their previous two games canceled. Fortunately, Western Washington will see Western Oregon on March 4.
It’s still pretty early in the Carolinas season, but the University of South Carolina (USC) and UNC Charlotte are looking strong again. The two played to within 10 points of each other in the league opener – Gamecocks prevailed – and USC punched up its competitive lineup with a friendly against DII senior club Charlotte. Coastal Carolina has also worked into the rankings, defeating a traditionally strong College of Charleston 20-17. We’re also keeping an eye on UNC Wilmington, which is undefeated after defeating Appalachian State 50-29.
Rounding out the Top 20 are Florida and Mid-America teams. Eckerd is the clear leader in Florida, which has seen some forfeits this season. Mid-America has restructured into two pools, with the West pool being more dependable in terms of competition (still, we’re watching undefeated Missouri in the East). Kansas State looked like the clear favorite after the fall portion of the season, but then John Brown defeated the standings leader 39-32 on Saturday. Fruitless efforts to report in more detail ensued (click here for the score sheet) as John Brown University was a leading candidate for Canterbury Player of the Week. Mid-America hasn’t sent a team deep into the DII spring playoffs in some time, so maybe an expanded league will make more noise this year.
