The biggest news of the weekend came out of Annapolis, as the U.S. Naval Academy beat visiting Davenport University 50-12. The Panthers have not lost a regular-season game to a same-division team in years, if ever. Thus, while Navy’s move from #8 to #2 might be aggressive, the Midshipmen’s accomplishment is noteworthy.
RELATED: Women’s Rugby Scores Sept. 28-29
The Panthers scored the first (Jasmine Hernandez) and final (Megan Bird) tries of the game, but everything in between was Navy.
“The girls really played together and made an effort to attack the gain line in every phase and support the ball well along the way,” Navy head coach Murph McCarthy praised the team. “Our defense has gotten pretty stingy along the fringes and we are coming up together, and it was disruptive.”
The road doesn’t ease for Davenport, which travels to Notre Dame for a Sunday game against DI Elite Penn State. But the Panthers will be better for it come playoffs. This weekend, Navy is scheduled to host No. 1-ranked Air Force, which shut out Colorado 109-0 last Sunday.
The idle teams – UCONN, Indiana, North Texas – didn’t move, and nor did those that played non-league games. Utah State weathered a BYU onslaught and scored four tries against the Cougars, which feature in the spring rankings. After having its Purdue game postponed by weather, Notre Dame was fresh for a 62-5 win over Ohio State, which aligned with the hybrid Allegheny conference this season as it rebuilds.
Ten players scored in Minnesota’s shut out over Northern Illinois, with flanker Brooke Doerscher, flyhalf Megan Navratil, outside center Emily Johnston and fullback Grace Bryson putting in multi-try performances. Bryson, Johnston and Navratil also kicked conversions. Stay tuned for an interview with Gophers coach Mikayla Miller.
Michigan State remained consistent with its 24-5 win over Michigan, but Northeastern showed some vulnerability against UMASS, resulting in a drop. Unranked Boston and Rhode Island beat UMASS by large margins, but if it wasn’t for a missed conversion to end the game, this match would have gone into overtime. Time will put this result into perspective – a harbinger for things to come or an off day for the Maddogs – but for now we split the difference with a rankings drop.
Texas A&M joined the ranking after back-to-back big results. Last year’s champion, Sam Houston State, tied Texas 37-37, and the Aggies beat Texas by 32 points.
Oct. 5-6 Matches
Big 10
Michigan State – Indiana
Notre Dame – Penn State
Independent
Air Force – Navy
Davenport – Penn State
Ivy League
Penn – Cornell
Midwest
Wisconsin – Iowa
Iowa State – Northern Illinois
Minnesota – Winona State
Northeast
Rhode Island – UConn
Boston College – Boston
Rocky Mountain
Montana State – Utah State
Wyoming – Colorado State
Texas
Texas Tech – Oklahoma
Texas State – UT San Antonio
Angelo State – North Texas