Photo: Bobby Gable
With the fall portion of the collegiate season now at rest, it’s time for season-end rankings – which differ from the season-end finish. For those teams that competed toward to the USA Rugby Division I College Fall Championship, the rankings factor in the relative strength of the eastern and western portions of the playoff brackets.
RELATED: DI College Fall Championship Brackets • Davenport Adapts & Wins • Resources: Contacts, League Members, etc.
The DI fall playoffs began with two play-in games followed by quarterfinals, which were divided into two pools – east and west. Davenport won the west and played its closest game against Air Force – a 15-5 decision – in the semifinals. Minnesota placed third in the pool after defeating Texas A&M 53-0 in the consolation game. Notre Dame won the eastern pool after defeating UCONN by six points in the semifinals. Navy defeated Boston University for third in that grouping.
In merging the teams into one ranking, we talked with some coaches who experienced these cross-regional games, especially as the list extended outside of playoff teams.
DI COLLEGE 2017 FALL RANKING
1. DAVENPORT – Independent Davenport defeated Michigan State, Minnesota, Air Force and Notre Dame en route to the DI fall championship. Read more.
2. AIR FORCE – The 2016 fall champion advanced to the fall semifinals and lost 15-5 to eventual titleholder Davenport. Panthers head coach Greg Teliczan endorsed Air Force as its toughest opponent in the post-season.
3. NOTRE DAME – The Big 10 top seed competed in the eastern portion of the bracket and began with a 40-17 quarterfinal win over Boston. In the semifinals, the Fighting Irish trailed UCONN until minute 75 and surged for the 26-20 win and final’s berth. Notre Dame lost 89-24 to Davenport in the championship.
4. MINNESOTA – Davenport coach Teliczan indicated that Minnesota and Notre Dame were very close in competition. The Gophers bowed out in the fall quarterfinals with a 49-5 loss to Davenport and then rallied with a 53-0 shutout against Texas A&M.
5. UCONN – The Northeast champion played two heart-palpitating games in Annapolis. The Huskies needed overtime to defeat Navy 12-7 in the quarterfinals, and then lost 26-20 to Notre Dame in the semifinals. The Huskies led Notre Dame until minute 75.
6. NAVY – The Midshipmen returned to the post-season and pushed 2015 fall champion UCONN into overtime, but lost 12-7 in the quarterfinals. Navy rallied in consolation semifinals with a 17-5 over Boston.
7. TEXAS A&M –The repeat Lonestar (previously Southwest) conference champion lost 27-12 to Air Force in the DI fall quarterfinals and then followed with a 53-0 loss to Minnesota.
8. BOSTON – The Northeast runner-up earned its fall quarterfinal berth after defeating Kent State 33-12 in the play-ins. In Annapolis, Boston lost 40-17 to Notre Dame and 17-5 to Navy.
Now we get into the teams outside of the DI fall quarterfinals …
9. MONTANA STATE – We think the Rocky Mountain conference could supply a solid second team to the post-season, especially with the addition of Montana State (3-2) and Utah State (3-2) to the DI conference. Air Force coach Amy Rusert supported that notion, comparing her team’s quarterfinal against Texas A&M. Montana State gets the nod here for the most consistent results in the regular season, with its two losses coming at the hands of Utah State (20-17 in Utah) and Air Force (24-0 – the most competitive result in the conference).
10. MICHIGAN STATE. The Spartans finished second in the Big 10’s eastern pool behind Notre Dame, and earned high praise from Fighting Irish coach Ricardo Ramirez. Michigan State took a thumping to Davenport in the play-ins, but Teliczan, too, was impressed with his opponent’s vigor to the final whistle.
11. KENT STATE. The Golden Flashes shifted to a fall-based schedule when it relocated from the Mason Dixon to the Allegheny conference, and took an at-large bid to the play-in round. The Ohio team fell 33-12 to Boston.
12. NORTHERN ILLINOIS. Lost 36-5 to Minnesota for the Midwest berth to the DI fall quarterfinals and applied for an at-large bid to the play-ins, but to no avail. It was a disappointment for NIU, which was willing to travel for a taste of cross-regional play, especially with its senior-rich roster.
When the collegiate season resumes, teams will be playing toward the DI spring championship and the DI Elite national championship. DI spring-based teams are rooted in the western part of the country, Florida and Mason-Dixon conference.
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