The D1 Elite final comes to St. Charles, Mo. and while Lindenwood is a heavy favorite, the Lions would be foolish to take all of that to heart.

Sure Lindenwood beat Life 39-17 the last time they met at Hunter Stadium. Sure they beat Life 51-0 (!) in Marietta in March. But ... but Life has been working on turning that around since then. The last meeting between the two was seven weeks ago. A lot can happen in seven weeks.

Nominees For The MA Sorensen Award Are Finalized

For Lindenwood, their forward pack has been doing yeoman work, with lock McKenna Strong and prop Nina Tuilaepa helping set a platform that is a luxury for the backline attack. That's not to say that all they do is win rucks and watch the backs fly. They can run, they can work the ball wide.

It's an imposing backline all the same. Both Richelle Stephens and Caring de Freitas have been nominated for the MA Sorensen Award (as has Strong), and that's because they understand the game. Neither de Freitas nor Stephens dominate the scoreboard, but their teammates do. Finding space and putting players into it was what they do, sensations such as Eti Haungatau, Morgan Freeman, and Sativa Tarau-Peehikuru take advantage.

Life showed their level of improvement in the D1 Elite semifinal. Having lost to Central Washington 10-5 in Marietta on March 27, the Running Eagles turned it around and beat the Wildcats 29-20 April 17. The difference was mostly around finishing off pressure. Life added a better sense of urgency (but not panic) once they entered the CWU 22 and found they have the ability to score quickly. They can go wide and gain the edge, and then they go straight ahead without hesitation.

Life Sorensen Award nominee Saher Hamden and front-rower Jess Keating have been a power presence up front, but it's the attacking flair of Syd Cervinski and Sorensen nominee Susan Adegoke and that has to work for them. 

Life University has to make every chance count, that's indisputable. But they did just about that against Central Washington. But Lindenwood is very good at striking quickly and taking control of the situation; they average almost 60 points per game. It's not crucial that Lindenwood scores a couple of tries early for them to win it all, but that's probably what they plan to do anyway ... and if Life can get under their skin, it is Life that must strike quickly, and deny Lindenwood what they have imposed all season—their will.

Life vs Lindenwood will be live on FTF (ftflive.com/channels) at 8PM ET Saturday, May 1.