Fall break is hitting the colleges at different intervals, but the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) rankings track the activity. Both the Division I and Division II fall lists are below. Conference championships begin the last weekend in October, and then CRAA fall 15s playoffs start with Nov. 12 Wild Card rounds. The Rounds of 8/4 occur Nov. 19-20 but no word on a location yet. Finals held at the Fall Classic (Dec. 3-4 @ Charlotte, N.C.).

RELATED: Women’s Rugby Scores: Oct. 6-10

CRAA FALL DIV I

Navy moved to No. 3 after a 69-8 loss to DI Elite Central Washington, which beat Penn State by a similar margin two days prior. The result says more about the Wildcats’ prowess, but Navy drops a couple of spots in this round. Yes, the Midshipmen have inarguably the toughest schedule in DI CRAA, but there has to be recourse for losses at some point. This weekend, Navy travels out to Davenport Univ., now an NCAA D2 program, in a rematch of the 2021 CRAA DI Fall Championship match.

But it’s not all about Navy; Utah State deserves the bump. The Rocky Mountain leader is getting in its games and winning them handily, the latest being a 40-12 victory against Air Force. In other conference news, Colorado State won its rivalry match against Colorado 34-12, reinforcing the rankings order. This weekend, the Rams head nine hours north to Montana State (which beat Wyoming 64-0 last week), while the rest of the ranked teams enjoy a bye.

Northeastern Univ. had its Rugby Northeast conference match against Boston Univ. recorded as a forfeit win, but the Maddogs hustled to replace the fixture. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (New England Wide DII conference) had its game cancelled, too, so the teams connected for a friendly. Northeastern won 72-0 with a mixed A & B side. It was another good opportunity to work the depth, but Northeastern could use another tune-up like it did against Univ. New England. UMass, which was idle this past week, is in a similar boat in terms of game time and will travel to Northeastern on Sunday.

UCONN held steady at No. 4 after a 68-0 win against Rhode Island. Wing Shayla Barker led all point-scorers with 15 on three tries, while No. 8 Margaret Devlin contribute 12 on two tries and a conversion. Prop Anna Shellman (2), hooker Olga Wilson, lock Rebekah Eckman, flanker Emma Fitch, scrumhalf Aliah Segui and outside center Keisha Durden also scored tries. Reserve Izabella Raviv knocked over three conversions. The Huskies filled their upcoming bye week with a friendly against Univ. New Haven, an NCAA D2 Univ. New Haven, but there’s high anticipation for the Oct. 29 match against Northeastern.

CRAA FALL DIV II

Minor adjustments in Week 5, the notable change being the addition of Providence College. The Friars ousted UMass Lowell from the rankings with a 45-10 last weekend. Read more about Providence’s four-year rebuild, which is paying off in the Rugby Northeast.

Vassar College improved to 3-0 after a 48-15 win against Rennsalaer Polytechnic Institute, who has been the Brewers’ toughest league competition so far. Asia Baker and Sophia Bailey scored three tries apiece, while Andie Authers and Claire Zickl dotted down once each. Zoe Lynch added four conversions for eight points. The question that’s forming is: RPI or Columbia? The latter beat Marist 55-17 last weekend, and RPI beat the Red Foxes by a similar scoreline, and also has two league wins. Columbia and RPI face each other Oct. 29, and maybe the answer will be: Both.

The Colorado School of Mines was meant to host New Mexico State originally but filled the weekend with a scrimmage against Denver Univ. The team has two rest weekends before facing Colorado Mesa Univ. on Oct. 29 for the conference championship. The Mavericks, which were idle last week, will tune up against DI Colorado State on Oct. 23.

In top-two teams in New England Wide posted shutouts. Vermont beat New Hampshire 55-0, and Coast Guard beat Maine 99-0. With only four teams in Tier 1, members play each other home and away during the season. This Saturday, a rematch of UVM vs. Coast Guard occurs in Connecticut. UVM won the first round 18-10.

In the Mid-Atlantic conference, Temple Univ. played its first league match, a 61-0 win against Rowan. The Owls continue to build momentum against Drexel this Saturday – hopefully in 15s form, as the Dragons played three 7s games against Delaware last weekend. Bloomsburg will also be active with a friendly against Scranton.