The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) regular season extends until Nov. 9, but the playoffs for all three divisions are nearly solidified. After this weekend’s matches, expect semifinal pairings to be confirmed for DI and DII (DIII is a final only this year). The higher seeds will host on Nov. 16, and then the six finalists will report to Dartmouth College on Nov. 23 for the title matches. [lead photo: @patmoroney]

DIVISION I

Division I has been thrilling this fall. There have been a slew of single-digit decisions, a couple of ties, and big-time stakes every weekend. There were a good 6-7 teams with viable shots at the post-season, but now the berths come down to a couple of key matches. Who’s looking good?

Dartmouth (6-0) and Harvard (5-1-1) have guaranteed their places in the post-season, and they spent last Saturday adding to their win columns. Dartmouth beat Quinnipiac (2-2-2) 31-15 and will wrap up the regular season against Brown (4-1-1) this Saturday. Regardless of what happens on Nov. 2, the undefeated Big Green will host its semifinal on Nov. 16.

Harvard spent its final game week before playoffs beating Navy 74-7. The Crimson will feature in the Nov. 16 semifinals, however, the team must await the outcome of Dartmouth vs. Brown before knowing whether it’ll host that playoff match. If Brown wins this Saturday, then the Rhode Island team could leap-frog Harvard.

And that’s the one caveat with Power Rankings, which are more involved than traditional standings. They’re valuable and add more of a narrative to the rankings, e.g., “Is a close loss to a strong team more valuable than a blowout win against a weaker team?” It’s like a weighted GPA versus the standard 4.0 GPA scale. With that said, it can be difficult to know exactly what a team needs to do to advance up the list. Check out the latest Power Rankings, which were updated today.

Photo: Pat Moroney @patmoroney

Power Rankings or not, it’s win-or-go-home season, and every game is important. That weight was felt during last Saturday’s Brown vs. Army game. They’re both semifinal contenders, and Brown strengthened its chances with a 40-33 win. Army (4-2) led at points during the first half, but then a big third-quarter response from Brown provided the cushion needed for the victory. Read both Brown’s and Army’s recaps. Brown ends the regular season with Dartmouth, and Army plays Navy then Long Island is a sub-varsity match. The Black Knights are favored in both contests.

Quinnipiac is also in the running for the DI post-season. The Bobcats tied both Harvard and Brown early in the season, but then dropped its last two games to Army (14-10) and Dartmouth. On Saturday, the Bobcats travel to 2-3 Sacred Heart (who were hard done by a Mount St. Mary’s forfeit, a game that is not reflected in its Power Rankings record) for the Connecticut rivalry match. Quinnipiac has never lost this match, but in 2023, the difference was just five points. The Bobcats need to win this game to be in contention for semis.

Also of note, Princeton (1-5) picked up its first DI NIRA 15s win of the season with a 49-12 victory against Mount St. Mary’s University.

DIVISION II

Division II is a bit more transparent, since there are just five teams that are post-season eligible, but that’s not to say the competition is drama free. Last weekend, AIC traveled to Davenport and beat the reigning champ 40-31. Watch FloRugby highlights. And the young Frostburg State hosted New Haven and put 20 points between itself and the Chargers, 58-38 the final. West Chester is nestled right there in the middle and will wrap up the regular season with a DI friendly against Mount St. Mary’s this Saturday. Frostburg has a DII friendly against Emory & Henry on Friday, and AIC and New Haven will contest their conference match on Sunday. AIC is favored in that showdown, and a Yellow Jackets win would mean the following semifinal matchups for Nov. 16:

#4 Frostburg @ #1 AIC
#3 West Chester @ #2 Davenport

One thing we’re watching is Davenport’s numbers. The bench is light, but hopefully a few weeks of recovery will replenish the squad.

DIVISION III

The DIII final was set at the beginning of the season, as there are just two programs playing regulation 15s this fall: reigning champ Bowdoin College and Univ. New England. As such, there is no semifinal round for DIII playoffs. 2023 semifinalist Norwich University and runner-up Adrian College moved to NCR this school year to pursue more and different competition (their departure from NIRA doesn’t necessarily mean they lost their NCAA status). Bowdoin and New England will report to Dartmouth on Nov. 16 for the DIII final. When they played each other last weekend, the Polar Bears won 99-0. Lulu Linkas led all point-scorers with 34 points on three tries, eight conversions and a penalty kick.