Men D2 College Rankings 2021 Week 7
If Furman had lost to Belmont Abbey it's likely Norwich, having beaten two highly-ranked teams in convincing fashion, would have been #1.
As it is, Furman did enough to hold onto the top spot. For now. Any of the top 10 could potentially make a run for a title. Unfortunately for many, having a team unable to play you ends up hurting the team able to take the field. For all their ability, Adrian and Marian have been forfeited to far too much, and you need to play to move up. Several teams in the rankings, five in fact, moved down because they were unable to play a game, and therefore couldn't provide enough of a case to move up. With other teams in action, then, inaction is not your friend.
Results in NEWCRC Set Up Key Showdowns Next Weekend
Norwich and UMass-Lowell are 4-0 in the New England Wide Conference, while Vermont and Coast Guard rebounded from tough losses to go to 3-1.
For Norwich it wasn't easy. Boston University led 7-5 at halftime. But a try from Arthur Martinez kept them close in the first half and then second-half scores from Anthony Kowalski, Patrick Gest, Jacob Sherman, and Jack Tellifson saw them through on Senior Day.
William Thompson's try for BU, with the conversion from Carlos Lozano, staked the Terriers to that slim lead, and in fact in the second half Jay Tagliani's try, with another Lozano conversion, put BU up 14-10. But Guest's try with Leo Clayburgh's conversion put the Cadets ahead to stay.
Great Midwest Playoff Picture Sharpens
Wisconsin-Whitewater put together an impressive display to beat UW-Platteville on Sunday 49-19 to move to 2-1 in the Great Midwest.
The games ran to form this week. Loyola set themselves up for a key clash with Northern Iowa next week by beating Northwestern 57-7. It was, in fact, the first points scored by Northwestern in conference play, but Loyola still won the Northside Cup between the two Chicago Northside schools.
Inside center Riley Miller scored four tries while Andrew Masterson, Josh Kilment, and Aiden Kelly were especially good on defense.
What's Going On In The MARC?
As expected the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference is a little confusing, and this week's results don't make it any more predictable.
No team is undefeated after both West Chester and Rowan lost this weekend. West Chester was upended by St. Joseph's 19-12 in a game where WCU had two tries they thought they'd scored not be given. Still, St. Joe's played a good defensive game and WCU made some poor decisions.
"Our mental game has to be better," said West Chester Head Coach Bjorn Haglid. "We have to be better in our decision-making and figuring out other teams weaknesses and exploiting them."
Then Rowan lost to Salisbury 12-10. After running out to a 10-0 lead Rowan ran into a bit of a brick wall as the Sharks inched their way back.
Memphis, Auburn Win Key Games in SCRC DII
Auburn and Memphis both won in the SCRC Men's DII conference, setting up those two, along with Middle Tennessee State, as the leading teams in the conference.
Memphis beat MTSU 26-17 in a game that certainly implied that everyone is pretty close (Memphis beat Auburn 12-7 earlier in the season).
But Memphis Head Coach Blake White had a different view.
"I feel like we blew about 20 opportunities," said White. "MTSU is good and they are very athletic. But we had chances and it was lack of execution—catching the ball—that hurt us."
At the same time, the Memphis team did not get discouraged and stuck to the game plan It began to pay off with Drew De Scantis playing excellent defense and Kameron Ealker being a force in the forwards.
The Tigers keeping at it saw them through.
Indiana Runs By Iona
Indiana took on Iona in an intriguing crossover meeting between the CRAA DIA Big Ten leader and the top team in the NCR Liberty.
Indiana was coming off a tight, tough game against Michigan State in the mud, found the drier turf in New Rochelle, NY more to their liking and opened up their offense. With nine tries from eight different players, Indiana ran out 55-14 winners over the Gaels.
“Crisp ball movement and heads-up play really allowed us to take advantage of our speed on the outside,” said IU Head Coach Eddie Abel. “The forwards also did great work in contact. The real key was our defense, again. We watched a lot of film and put in a plan to stop their big runners.”
They didn’t completely stop Iona, as the Gaels burst through for two, overall Indiana’s commitment to the tackle and their discipline held Iona in check.
Southern Conference Latest: UNCW Makes a Move
UNC-Wilmington won a key clash in the Southern Rugby Conference, Saturday, beating a tough Citadel team 41-31.
With the win, UNC-W moved to 2-1 in the Southern Conference Premier East, just behind 3-1 UNC Chapel Hill.
Inside center Jeffery Palmer scored twice for Wilmington and was huge on defense, while No. 8 Ben Savage had yet another monster game and also crossed the tryline twice.
Two more tries came from wing Dayton Whitley, who was dangerous on the counter-attack all day.
Wilmington did well to counter a larger Citadel team. While Citadel had the way of things in the scrums, UNCW worked hard to counter their size.
Navy, Army Win Again in DIA East
Army and Navy have set up their clash at FedEx Field nicely, with the two teams the only two in the hunt now for the Rugby East title.
Army is on the inside track as the Black Knights, after beating Kutztown 43-8 Saturday, has four wins out of four with four bonus points as well. All they need to do is beat Navy to secure the Rugby East title. Navy needs to beat Army and then run the table after that to take the conference. Every other team has two losses.
Navy rolled past Notre Dame College in impressive fashion 76-0, unleashing a solid scrum and defending well against a physical Falcons side. That put Navy at 2-0 with Army, Kutztown, and Penn State to come in conference play.
Davenport, Wheeling Tie
Davenport kicked a penalty goal as time expired to salvage a 29-29 tie against Wheeling University in a wild non-conference game for both teams.
The result is actually a positive note for both programs. Wheeling is working its way back to the higher levels and a tie with DIA Mid-South team Davenport is a good result to have. For Davenport, this continues their unbeaten string as they prepare for Mid-South Conference action, and coming back to tie the game at the death certainly showed some resolve in the Panthers camp.
"The start of the season has been great we've really taken quite a few steps forward in our play and style of play. We have certainly been working hard," said Davenport Head Coach Dustin Steedman. But, he added, the overall performance against Wheeling had some issues.
Tennessee Wins Clash of Unbeaten Teams in SCRC
Tennessee took a huge step toward being the #1 seed going into the SCRC playoffs with a 41-25 defeat of previously unbeaten Clemson.
The Clemson Tigers brought plenty of intensity to a massively physical game, and in fact led at halftime. But UT used the wind smartly in the second half and built a lead that Clemson couldn't overcome. As a result, while Clemson and Kentucky (who beat South Carolina on Saturday) lead the conference with 3-1 records, Tennessee, at 3-0, is in much better position to finish the regular season on top.
The Vols have three games left—Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia. They are favored in all of those clashes, although none of those games will be especially easy.
As for Saturday, "it was a heck of a game," said Tennessee Head Coach Marty Bradley. "Both teams are going to have a little bit of a limp tomorrow."
Two Huge, Close Games in MAC Make for Exciting Late Fall
In another example of how competitive it is in the Mid American Conference, GRR #11 Louisville beat GRR #12 Western Michigan 36-30 in a back-and-forth encounter.
Louisville trailed in the second half before a yellow card for a high tackle put WMU down a player, and the Cardinals punished the Broncos with two converted tries to help turn the game around.
"We had too many handling errors," lamented the winning Head Coach, Emil Walton. Despite that, Louisville battled back repeatedly in a game where the lead changed hand throughout.
Ohio State Rolls; MSU Shakes It Up
Ohio State won a key clash and Michigan State shook things up as the Big Ten entered its sixth weekend of competition.
The Buckeyes got a good performance from the players up front and hit Purdue hard early. Brendan Greenwell's early try set the tone and then scrumhalf Vince Carso scampered over after his pack had stolen a scrum put-in. Carso got his second after a series of runs from the OSU players and good continuity in the breakdown. Conor Forrestal converted all three and OSU was up 21-0.
Week 7 Pick 'Em
Congratulations to Scott Nies who one last week’s S&C Package from Universal Sports Strength & Conditioning and Kaleb Boleyn who currently sits atop the season standings.
This week, we’re giving away a $10 Rugby Imports https://www.rugbyimports.com/> Gift Card! To enter, submit your picks here https://forms.gle/dQYpMDA6etdsUEKy8>.
Week 7 Power Index Powered by Silverbacks Elite Rugby
Here's the latest from the Power Index, the data-driven ratings from Silverbacks Elite Rugby.
Upsets Continue in Red River
Last week, Sam Houston State sent Texas A&M tumbling down the Power Rankings. This week, it was Texas knocking off their arch-rivals, Oklahoma. Precedent and continuity are obviously out the window after the COVID year off. 2021 looks poised to provide a complete reshuffling of power in the Red River Conference!
Biggest Gains So Far
Newcomers to the Liberty Conference, Nazareth, have impressed with four wins from four games. They are the biggest gainers in terms of Rating Points so far this year (+15.04 RP). Will the Golden Flyers continue to roll now they have to take on their top two competitors in the Liberty-Empire table in Buffalo and Syracuse?
DIA, DIAA, and NCR DI Games This Weekend
We've got a playoff game, more games that have playoff implications, and some big rivalries; it's all in this week in DIAA, DIA, and NCR DI rugby.
Check back for scores.
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DIAA and NCR DI
SVU vs Queens in the Chesapeake is a must-win for both, really, with Queens eyeing the conference championship.
It's all on the line in the SCRC with Tennessee facing Clemson, Kentucky hosting South Carolina, and Georgia at Alabama. We talk about that in detail here:
