Two Top-Ranked DII Teams Win In Playoffs
Norwich will face Furman in the Men’s DII College quarterfinals in a meeting of two top—ranked teams in the nation.
Norwich defeated Loyola-Chicago 26-8. Senior Nate Rolling continued his torrid pace and scored two tries in a game that was very tight for the first 40 minutes. Loyola led early, but a try from Rolling nudged Norwich ahead 5-3. Loyola scored a try to take the lead at halftime 8-5.
Played in heavy rains, the game suffered a bit as a result, but Norwich put it together in the second half. Noah Cook put his side ahead early with a try. Jeffrey Minicucci converted for the 12-8 lead. Kyle Clark went over, and then Rolling iced it with his 16th try of the season.
Furman handled the heavy rains well and ran to a 47-15 win over William Paterson. So now Norwich (ranked #1 by Goff Rugby Report) and Furman (ranked #2) take each other on.
RuggaMatrix America: So What About Those Playoffs?
In this latest RuggaMatrix America podcast, Alex Goff and Bruce McLane ask that question—are playoffs really necessary?
If they are, are they too big, too small, or the right idea for different teams?
As usual, they're not afraid to shake it up.
Men DII Playoffs: Previews And Picks
Two of the four teams that made last year's national men's DII college semis aren't back for another go, and that leaves things wide open this year.
With NC State and Iowa Central CC both in DIAA (and both in the playoffs in that division, by the way), only Wisconsin-Whitewater and Queens return. And there's no guarantee that those two will be in the semis again. Whitewater hasn't had its best season (even if they finished 2nd in the conference and won last week), while Queens hasn't really played a lot in recent weeks and remains a question-mark.
Here's how we see it; Goff Rugby Report rankings in parentheses:
Illinois State (#5) vs MSU-Moorhead (#20)
Montana State (#14) vs UMS&T (#13)
DIAA Playoff Time
It wasn't that hard last week to pick the games last week as there weren't too many, and we maybe were a little lucky as we got all six DIAA-vs-DIAA winners correct.
The winning margins? Actually not all that close, as we figured many of the games would be closer than they were. And we thought maybe Oklahoma might take down Lindenwood-Belleville. Why? Yeah, what were we thinking. OK, so Lindenwood-Belleville won easily.
So now this week we've got a couple of Lonestar games, but most of the attention is on the national Fall Playoffs.
So there's a little bit of that.
St. Joe's vs NC State is a fascinating matchup because you've got the 2018 fall runner-up, St. Joseph's, against the 2018 DII champion.
Gamebreakers DI College Nov 16
When we run these Gamebreaker columns, we try not to repeat names too often.
The reason is, there are players who do unsung work we’re trying to sing about. But, as the season progresses, you start to see the same names pop up again and a again. Eventually we have to repeat someone. This is that kind of week.
Fred Bleakley, Navy
Every defense that plays Navy is worried about this outside center. He runs at branches, not trunks, and he does it at full pace. Bleakley scored a try for Navy, but it wasn’t about that; it was about him challenging the opposing defense every time he has the ball. Navy beat Notre Dame College 29-27 on Saturday, and would not have had Bleakley not been there.
Colton Swapp, Utah Valley
Known in high school as a scrumhalf, Swapp is now an electric flyhalf who led the offense in a big win over Utah State.
Dartmouth Wins Ivies, But Brown Made It Tough
Dartmouth is the best team in the men’s Ivy League rugby conference.
There’s no doubt about that. The Big Green went into this past weekend’s final against Brown having won the conference each of the last 11 years. Given that Dartmouth came into the final averaging 73 points scored per conference game, there was every reason to believe they’d run through Brown the way they did on October 19, a game that ended 57-7 for the Big Green.
But it didn’t end that way. Yes, Dartmouth won, but the score was 18-12, and Brown had a shot to win it at the end and actually could have pulled away with the upset. They camped out inside the Dartmouth 22 in the final ten minutes, and with a try begging on the outside they had the setup intercepted.
That, as much as anything, is the big takeaway from the Ivy final. Brown was that close.
Central Michigan Could Step Into Playoffs Void
It appears that Grand Valley State's place in the USA Rugby Men's DII playoffs will be taken by Great Lakes Conference #3 Central Michigan.
With GVSU unable to play because of a series of injuries and family issues that decimated their roster, and Bethel (the Great Lakes #2) not playing for some time and already hit hard with injuries, CMU has stepped in to fill the spot.
Injuries, Family Issues Decimate GVSU; Lakers Bow Out Of Playoffs
According to CMU club vice president Brendan Urbanski, Central Michigan has agreed to make the trip to Furman University to take Grand Valley's place. They would presumably, play UMass-Lowell, the team GVSU was slated to face on Saturday.
Injuries, Family Issues Decimate GVSU; Lakers Bow Out Of Playoffs
Grand Valley State men's team has informed USA Rugby that it cannot play in the USA Rugby Men's DII College playoffs this coming weekend.
GVSU is not able to field a full team. Injuries to five starters, including captain and No. 8 Cam McLoughlin (pictured), who has a concussion, cut the roster. Then three players have had to pull out of school for personal reasons (including a death in the family and a major illness in the family). With a small roster anyway, and with at least three other players potentially unable to suit up, GVSU is now down to probably less than 15 players.
"I told the guys that's why we needed 32 on our roster, not 22," said Head Coach John Mullett. "As it is if we could field a team we'd have to ask for uncontested scrums, and in a playoff game? That's not right."
Loyola Pace, Defense Leads To Playoff Victory
Loyola University of Maryland defeated Bucknell 46-19 over the weekend to secure a trip to the National Small College Rugby Organization national playoffs.
Flyhalf Anthony McGrath led Loyola with two tries, and wing Jack Preston also got a pair, while fullback Dan Giannascoli, flanker Jake Walshe, and Tim Callaghan and Kyle Lin also touched down.
Loyola usually fields a fairly small pack but they scrum well, and the front row of Wyatt Staton-Todaro, Mark Cojocaru and Christian Hlewicki did very well on the day. Locks John Burkhardt and Mike Malcotti excellent on defense.
Bucknell's size was a problem for Loyola, but was negated in part by Loyola's pace around the paddock.
Navy Edges NDC In Thriller
A late penalty goal saw Navy edge Notre Dame College 29-27 Saturday in South Euclid, Ohio, n a game that saw seven lead changes.
The Falcons and the Midshipmen went at it all day, with neither team backing down.
Tennessee Win Finalizes DIAA Bracket
Tennessee defeated Kennesaw State in fairly convincing fashion to win the SCRC Saturday, taking revenge for an earlier 29-19 KSU win in league play.
The victory is somewhat muted in that it didn't really give the Vols a better matchup in the DIAA playoffs this coming weekend. The losing team is matched up with MAC champion Bowling Green. The winning team gets to face MAC runner-up Western Michigan, a team that Bowling Green beat 23-20 in the final. The two opponents are essentially equal.
(Click on the image at left to see the final DIAA bracket)
Interestingly, Western Michigan also beat the eventual conference champs in the regular season. This fall spells out that losing those supposedly critical games isn't the end of the run if you make the right adjustments.
Liberty Latest, NU And More
Northeastern University defeated Boston College in the Liberty DIA Conference Saturday, while the rest of the conference played challenge matches at Fairfield University.
The Huskies got early tries from lock Lowell Haska and No. 8 Alex Parciak, both converted by Darren Chan, for a 14-0 lead. But it was the second half that saw Northeastern take control. Center Jack Bambrick and then Chan, the scrumhalf, touched down early n the second half. Chan converted his try and tries from wing Ryan Connolly and reserve back Sam Moyle capped it off.
Northeast won 38-14.
The other top team in the Liberty Conference, Iona, took on St. Bonaventure in a challenge match. Iona led 10-5 at halftime, but they paid for it. With flanker Cam DiGiorgio out from an injury sustained Friday, the Gaels saw seven players hit with injuries.
DII Men College Latest: Round 1 Playoffs
The USA Rugby Men's DII College Round of 16 is complete after five teams got through Round 1 games.
Memphis is through after Southeastern Louisiana opted not to play the game. The other four games went off on Saturday.
Wisconsin-Whitewater ran out to a 27-0 lead over Thomas More, and while the Saints mounted a spirited comeback in the second half, the Warhawks held on 48-24.
It was actually the same story in the second game hosted by Thomas More. This was Loyola vs Middle Tennessee State. Loyola ran out to a 27-0 lead, and while MTSU did score two tries in the second half, so did Loyola and the Chicago team won 40-12.
DII Men College Games And Picks: Round 1
Very few games this weekend; this is the first round of the national playoffs.
We are determined not to bail on these picks and say "pick 'em" so we could well be wrong here.
There are not a lot of favorites here.
Check back for scores.
SCRC Comes Down To Final
Kennesaw State and Tennessee opened the SCRC season way back on September 14 and they will meet again Saturday to wrap things up.
KSU won that initial game 29-19, but that doesn’t mean it will be the same two months later.
Kennesaw State is looking solid, having beaten a very good Alabama team 57-19. Head Coach Randall Joseph got a big game out of center Ben Dorsey, who he calls “the workhorse.”
Tennessee was supposed to play Georgia, but UGA forfeited.
“It was unfortunate about the forfeit but the Chattanooga Men’s Club stepped up in the 11th hour to provide us a match,” said Head Coach Marty Bradley. “It was Senior Day so it was important for us to get a run.”
Bradley took his starting 15 off the field at halftime and the reserves got time, which, added Bradley, they very much deserved.
