Photo: Jackie Finlan
The Division I College Spring Ranking returns in modest form. There are actually more teams competing in Division I this year, but a couple of season-opening forfeits and one idle competition have limited the list to just 10. The ranking will, however, expand once teams play their first league games, and the update will be published next Monday, Feb. 5.
RELATED: Spring 2018 Preview • Fall 2017 Division I Final Ranking • Women’s Rugby Scores: Jan. 25-28
There are five leagues building toward the DI college spring championship, and those are the competitions from which the rankings are pulled. Record, strength of competition, progression through the season – these factors and more are considered when sorting the teams.
Missing from the ranking is the Pacific Mountain’s North, which kicks off this weekend, and teams that took a forfeit win in their league opener (Central Florida and Grand Canyon, for example). Once these teams plays games, they’ll be considered.
The Pacific Mountain’s West division has very quickly become a competition of interest. Chico State beat two of last year’s spring final four teams: two-time spring champion Davis and fourth-place Stanford. Read more. The Cardinal contested a double-header last weekend, defeating the Aggies on Friday and Humboldt 48-41 on Sunday.
On the opposite coast, Mason-Dixon’s UVA (4-0) has laid a foundation for solid gains this 2018. Its closest games came against Virginia Tech (4-1), which has posted big point differentials in its four wins, and Pittsburgh. UNC (3-0) is also undefeated, having played the two DI newcomers and last-place NC State. And we like South Carolina (2-2), which played UNC to a two-point loss in its first season in DI. It’s a nine-team league, so there’s still plenty of rugby to be played.
UC Santa Barbara has taken an early lead in the Gold Coast, defeating UCLA and UC San Diego by a combined 78-20 during last weekend’s double-header. The team had drawn attention with its pre-season win against Davis in northern California. Fellow Gold Coast mate CSU Northridge makes a long-awaited return to the rankings after its 45-34 win over Arizona.
Unlike last year, the DI Elite teams will not be interwoven with the DI spring ranking, even though the teams will funnel into the same Round of 16 playoffs. While the DI Elite is more of a category than a league, The Rugby Breakdown will be treating it like a unified competition for the purpose of coverage.
More detail to come, but as far as the rankings are concerned, all fall games – except tournaments, alumni games or JV games – are included in the record. The fall results listed mark a significant score from the fall. Teams won’t start playing until late February, so the ranking won’t update until then.
