Gamebreakers in DI College This Week
We concentrate on the Big Ten Finals Day, because we were there so it was easier for us to see some standout players, but we've got major performers from all over.
Here goes:
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Matt Meehan, Army
The co-captain and hooker for West Point was inspirational in a 26-17 victory over Lindenwood, leading the Black Knights with two tries and setting the tone in the set piece and around the field. In a ferocious physical battle Meehan stood tall.
DIAA-Level Men College Rankings Week 12
It's tough to drop a #1 team when that team is idle, but we've got a good reason.
Tennessee was always close to being #1, and they have continued to win games without a slipup. And then remember they beat Ohio State, and Ohio State just won the Big Ten, so that in itself would be enough to bump up a DIAA team.
Men D2 College Rankings 2021 Week 11
Not much happened this week and yet a lot did.
The thing about D2 college rugby is that when teams play across conference borders, the result can force you to take a look at everyone in the conference. So Marist beating Vermont makes us consider, hey, maybe not only is Marist better than the rankings were saying, but maybe the Merchant Marine Academy and RPI are a little better too.
We had a couple of lower-ranked teams beat higher-ranked teams, but none that were massive surprises except Marist over Vermont. UNC-Charlotte (4) and UNC-Wilmington (8) weren't ranked that far apart and playing a tight game. Auburn and Georgia Tech were always close; it was just Georgia Tech's win over Memphis (which, we suspect, changed their lineup because they had the #1 spot sewn up) that had moved Georgia Tech up. They were, of course, still close, at 24-22.
Bowling Green Takes MAC In Weekend of Momentum Shifts
Bowling Green repeated as Mid-American Conference Champions Sunday, beating Western Michigan 48-15 in the final and making it six finals wins since 2014.
The only time Bowling Green hasn't won the conference outright was in 2018, when weather canceled the final and BGSU and Western Michigan were declared co-champions, and in 2020 when there was no tournament. Bowling Green have met in every final played starting in 2014 except in 2016 when BGSU defeated University of Cincinnati in the championship match.
This year BGSU met Cincinnati in the semifinal, and while the Bearcats lost to the Falcons 72-7 during the regular season, the playoff game was nowhere near as one-sided.
Davenport Puts Scare into Life University
Davenport and Life battled to a very tight Mid-South opener over the weekend, and while Life won, it was not a sure thing.
Tries from Karch Hoffman and Orrin Bizer staked Life to a 17-7 lead in the first half (Bradley Crane added a penalty and converted both tries). Davenport's try was a brilliantly executed punishment of a turnover.
Life was up 3-0 and threatening when a loose pass just sort of rolled along the backline. Davenport wing Enrico Carmona Fiorentini raced in and booted the ball downfield. The ball died at the 22 but he nudged it forward with his foot and outpaced the cover defense to fall on it and score. Fullback Matthew DeVilliers converted.
Dramatic Marist-Vermont Game Finalizes Men's D2 Bracket
There were four play-in games scheduled for the NCR men's D2 playoffs, and here's how they all ended up.
Virginia's game with Bucknell wasn't played as Bucknell suffered too many injuries from the previous week's MARC playoffs and couldn't field a team. So Virginia advanced.
Marquette had no trouble shutting out St. Louis University. With excellent goalkicking and counter-attacking from Cormac Gallagher at fullback and a really strong season from Ben Vanhandel at scrumhalf as well as the front row of Matt Mier, Brian Cooke, and Joey Artinian, Marquette was able to handle missing a couple of regular starters and controlled the game from the outset, winning 43-0.
Southeast NCR All-Stars Program
The Southeast section of the National Collegiate Rugby Organization have today announced their intention to compete in the NCR Allstar and Rising Stars tournament at the Houston Sabercats Stadium in January.
The team also announced its team name—The Bears—along with their coaching staff.
NCR Releases DIAA FInal Eight
NCR's DIAA brackets are set.
As reported Sunday on GRR, there was a little shuffling, partly due to how the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference handled its tiebreakers, and partly due to the fact that West Chester will be in the middle of exams and needed their players to get back to campus quickly.
NCR D1 Playoff Bracket Set; Our Preview
The NCR D1 playoff bracket is set; here's how it looks.
(Note that the numbers in tbe bracket graphic are NCR's rankings of their D1 teams.)
St. Bonaventure takes on Mary Washington. Bonnies has had one of its best seasons, finishing 3rd in the Rugby East with a 3-2 record, and recording first-ever wins over Penn State and Kutztown. (Rugby East is also a D1A Conference and the top two teams there, Army and Navy, are not in the NCR playoff sphere.)
"Having the guys respond the way they have, especially coming out of the pandemic [shutdown] has been really gratifying for the our staff," said Head Coach Tui Osborne. "We have a good mix of seniors and young players and they have come together well."
Against Kutztown, which was a little over a week ago and was a tense 17-12 decision, Bonnies players had to dig deep.
Men's Small College Playoffs Finalized
NCR/s Men's Small College bracket has been finalized, with 14 teams in the Cohen Cup playoffs and 13 in the Challenge Cup bracket.
Men's Small-College Championship to be Renamed Steve Cohen Cup
New Mexico Tech and Humboldt State get byes, partly, certainly, because of their geographic isolation.
D2 Bracket Update
The NCR play-in game between Marist and Vermont was suspended Saturday due to lightning, but was completed Sunday, finalizing the Round of 16 teams.
Marist was not favored to win. Tri-State teams have historically struggled in the national playoffs, but playing a very good Vermont team they just didn't worry about that. Marist took an early 7-0 lead and held that lead 30 minutes into the game.
That's when the lightning came and eventually the game had to be suspended. However, UVM got back on the road on Sunday and finished the game, with Marist outscoring Vermont 25-22 the rest of the way to win 32-22.
That was the last game in the play-ins, and below is the updated bracket graphic.
MARC Finishes Season, Hawks Win and NCR Playoff Matchups Set
St. Jose[h's has won the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference after a 36-0 shutout of Rutgers.
The Hawks exploded for five tries in the first half and looked set to gallop away, but cruised through the second half as they look ahead now to the NCR playoffs.
Also in the MARC, Rowan and West Chester played to a 14-14 tie. The teams entered halftime deadlocked 0-0 in what was clearly a defensive tussle, and neither could break away.
Meanwhile, Salisbury and James Madison had the opposite experience, combining for 86 points as the Sharks downed JMU 46-40.
Ohio State Comeback Highlights Big Ten Finals Day
After the Big Ten Championship game, someone called out to Ohio State Head Coach Tom Rooney—“Hey Tom, don’t you feel 25 pounds lighter with that monkey off your back?”
The monkey was indeed sent somewhere else as Ohio State, which has been runner-up more times than they could count but had never won the Big Ten since the conference began holding a championship game, came back from 29-19 down to beat Indiana 33-29 and win the conference for the first time in 10 years.
“We got some key turnovers and interceptions, but in the end the guys trusted the system,” said Rooney. “And it feels good.”
Army Takes Down Lindenwood
Army West Point have made a massive statement with a 26-17 defeat of Lindenwood Friday night at the US Military Academy.
The Black Knights struck quickly, gettings tries from Dominic Tianga, playing center, hooker Matt Meehan, and. Wing Nolan Green for a 19-3 lead after 21 minutes.
Lindewood got over the line just before the break, but ten minuted into the second half Meehan grabbed his second.
Army held on desperately from there, allowing one Lindenwood try but none after that.
While official D1A ranking had Lindenwood ranked ahead of Army going into this match, it wasn't by much and GRR's vote had Army ahead of Lindenwood at #3.
Official D1A Rankings and How GRR Voted
Davenport's win over Notre Dame had an effect in the official D1A rankings and moves the Panthers up a spot.
Illinois also moves up. We will see where everyone shakes out in the Big Ten this weekend.
See the official rankings and how GRR voted below.
Surging Davenport Looks to Mid-South Starter
Big Ten Holds Four-Game Championship Weekend in Chicago
