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National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) published pre-season rankings for 10 Division III teams, and now after a couple weeks of play, the Coaches Poll expands to 20 teams. There is lots of movement to account for these early-season showings, and the following lends some context to the reorganization. The Rugby Breakdown is not involved in actually ranking these teams. For a rounder look at NCR, check out the DI review, the DI-AA recap and DII post. [lead photo: Jackie Finlan]
Two teams that had been listed in the pre-season power ranking fell off of the Coaches Poll. Upstate New York’s SUNY Cortland lost games to Potsdam and Niagara, both of which are now in the Top 20. Northern Michigan isn’t scheduled to play a game until Oct. 3, and so the Great Waters team might join the Top 20 after its first runout.
Endicott College (1) came into the season ranked #2 and bumped up after defeating fellow North Atlantic opponent Yale (12) 65-5. The Gulls will look to build momentum tonight against Smith, while the Bulldogs hope the weather holds off for its Plymouth State match tomorrow.
Eastern Pennsylvania’s East Stroudsburg (2) bumped up one spot after a 38-0 win against Lafayette, 57-5 win against Loyola Univ. of Maryland (19), and 88-12 win against DII Kutztown in a friendly scrimmage. Susquehanna is Saturday. Fellow EPRU team Loyola is meant to face Lafayette on Saturday.
Reigning national champion Colorado School of Mines (3) slipped two spots, but has a great match scheduled for Sunday against DII Colorado Mesa University — a solid, classic rivalry that should provide good insight into this year’s team. The High Peaks team has beaten Univ. Northern Colorado 62-7 so far.
The Rugby Northeast has three teams in the Top 20: Colby College (4), Keene State (10) and Middlebury (17). Colby has beaten Bentley 83-0 thus far and has Univ. Maine Orono next. Keene State logged a 24-12 win against DII Providence College and has St. Michael’s Saturday. Middlebury scrimmaged Univ. Vermont and will play its first game Sunday against Bentley.
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Siena (5) gained one spot since the pre-season rankings after its 26-22 win against fellow Tri-State team Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (7). On Saturday, Siena faces Hofstra, a Long Island team that RPI beat 74-0 already.
Niagara University (6) is the top-ranked team out of Upstate New York, a conference with five teams in the Top 20. The Purple Foxes are challenging themselves in Division II and 1-2 thus far with losses to Syracuse (63-26), SUNY Binghamton (34-25), and a recent 39-29 win against Cornell. Univ. Buffalo is schedule for Saturday. • Colgate (9) is also playing up in DII, testing itself against DI St. Bonaventure’s B side (43-10 loss), Buffalo (42-0 win) and SUNY Binghamton (34-15 loss). Syracuse is Saturday. • SUNY Potsdam (13) beat Ithaca College (20) 67-44 and Cortland 43-17, and have SUNY Oswego • Ithaca beat Oswego 49-31 already and on Sunday faces Clarkson (18), which beat Cortland 37-10 to earn a spot on the rankings.
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UW Stevens Point (8) slid three spots after beating Michigan Tech 65-12. The Great Waters team is scheduled to play UW La Crosse on Oct. 3. UW Stout (16) is also in the Top 20 ranking and its 42-38 loss to College of St. Benedict (14) put the Minnesota team into the rankings. The Northern Lights team also beat UW La Crosse 65-14. Stout has Michigan Tech this Saturday.
North Dakota (11) is 2-0 in Northern Lights after beating Bemidji State 76-0 and Wayne State College (15) 27-22. The team has UW Platteville on Saturday but the NCR app is already showing a 28-0 forfeit win to UND. For Wayne State, that single-digit loss to the She-Devils saw the Wildcats slip six spots, but the team did travel light and will look to rebound on Oct. 3 against South Dakota State.