With the fall collegiate season at rest, it’s time for The Rugby Breakdown’s Division II College Fall Ranking. Even though 28 teams advanced to the fall playoffs (there were four byes), the list is capped at 10. Too much conjecture is involved otherwise, especially when considering the scarcity of film available before the semifinal stage as well as the point differentials during the early playoff phases.
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This ranking is not a regurgitation of the teams’ final places; it weighs the strength of each team with the help of coaches and players. So if a semifinalist indicated that its Round of 16 opponent was more competitive than its quarterfinal opponent, then the rankings would reflect as much.
Limiting the list to 10 means omitting teams that had memorable conference seasons (Cortland’s return from NSCRO comes to mind, as does Bloomsburg’s overtime win for the MARC championship against Kutztown). Had a ranking been done before the regional playoffs, these teams would have likely made an appearance. These rankings, however, begin with the Fall Round of 32.
Finally, in the name of consistency, we remind you that these teams participated in the DII College FALL Championship, the counterpart to the DII College SPRING Championship, which will commence in April 2018. Like Division I, there are seasonal champions, not national champions.
DIVISION II COLLEGE FALL RANKING
1. Winona State (Minn.) – Put in a massive second-half comeback to beat Vassar College 38-36 in the DII fall championship. Read more.
2. Vassar College (N.Y.) – Endured a heart-breaking two-point loss to Winona State in DII fall championship
3. Coast Guard (Conn.) – The Bears beat Vassar in the second half of the teams’ semifinal but it wasn’t enough in the 36-22 loss. The academy defeated Cincinnati 37-7 for third overall.
4. Colorado School of Mines (Colo.) – Rocky Mountain champ played eventual fall champion Winona State to a 37-26 quarterfinal loss, which occurred on day two of a doubleheader weekend. Winona coach Josh Krzewinski indicated that Mines was the tougher opponent compared to Cincinnati.
5. Cincinnati (Ohio) – The fall final four newcomer dropped a 46-17 semifinal to Winona State and 37-7 third-place game to Coast Guard.
6. Marist (N.Y.) – Although the Tri-State’s third-place team, Marist advanced to the fall quarterfinals and gave Coast Guard its best game of the season until that point. Marist bean with a 53-10 win over Rugby Northeast #2 Stonehill, followed with a 57-10 win over MARC champion Bloomsburg, and then fell 22-0 to Coast Guard in the quarterfinals.
7. Colby (Maine) – After defeating New Hampshire 36-17, the New England Small College champion played Vassar to a 25-5 loss in the Fall Round of 16. Brewers coach Tony Brown indicated that the Maine team was a tougher opponent than quarterfinalist Buffalo State.
8. Buffalo State (N.Y.) – The Banshees took a bye through the Fall Round of 32, defeated Bryant 25-15 in the Round of 16, and then fell 49-12 to Vassar in the quarterfinals. While Buffalo State advanced farther than the No. 7-ranked team, common opponent Vassar endorsed Colby as the stronger side.
9. Bryant (Mass.) – Defeated MARC runner-up Kutztown 25-17 in the Fall Round of 32 and then fell 10 points short of Buffalo State.
10. UW LaCrosse (Wisc.) – Defeated North Dakota 50-15 and then fell 27-0 to Colorado Mines in the Round of 16
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