There is not Small College division in NCR anymore, but really there still is; it's just called D3.
Still when we're talking about "last year" or anything historical, we're talking about NCR's Small College competition. And this year, we're talking about D3.
NERFU Can Babson Repeat?
Despite being very young in their charge for a national Small College title last year, Babson has a tough task ahead of them. They have graduated Reed Santos, who was outstanding at flyhalf, and center Jack Byszio transferred to Cal. So they are not exactly a sure thing. Remember also that Babson needed a last-minute try to beat Endicott in the 2023-24 Small College quarterfinals, so it's not like they were completely dominant in their run to the title.
This year Babson remains undefeated after beating the other undefeated team in New England, Holy Cross, 24-12 last weekend. That was a big win for the Beavers.
"We are a transformed team this year," said Babson Head Coach Carrick Pell. "We are incredibly young. Every match we’ve started at least five players who are in their 1st or 2nd year of playing rugby ever."
Last year the Babson backs led the scoring, while this year 21 of their 27 tries scored have come from the forwards. The backs are good, but Pell is still trying to find the right combinations.
Leading the way is loose forward Brice Muller, who was a sensation as a freshman last year and has come back bigger and stronger and an open field threat. Satchel Sevenau has taken over as captain and flyhalf—interestingly his first two years at Babson he was a lock and a flanker.
"He’s done a tremendous job and is getting better daily," enthused Pell.
Stevie Garofalo has grown after an outstanding spring in 7s and a summer playing 7s for Old Blue. He is an excellent finisher, but an injury is keeping him out of the lineup right now. So the guy scoring tries is Charles Price, who has a nose for turnovers and has scored 11 tries in four games. Freshman lock Finn Gargan out of Shawnigan Lake in British Columbia has provided an impact. He's young but at 6-6 he maintains Babson's height advantage that helped them so much last year. Another freshman, and brand new to rugby, is Thomas Sluyski who is poised to be a breakdown player at fullback.
"The one thing that has remained is the level of grit and resilience this team has demonstrated is even beyond that of last year," said Pell. However, he added, "we are a very long way from our potential. If we can get everyone healthy and continue to improve, we can be a team that will be able to claw our way into the playoffs."
Wayne State
The 2023 finalists Wayne State of Nebraska is now 3-0 playing an independent schedule. They won big over Colorado School of Mines (which, as you'll see below, is a big deal). They won over a Southern Nazarene side, and also against a University of Iowa 15. They have Kansas State, Iowa Central CC, and Drury left. It's pretty clear they've done enough to make the NCR playoffs as an independent.
Head Coach Bryn Chivers has a team that enjoys playing some wide open rugby and enjoys scoring tries. Vuyo Mdlalose leads a potent attack.
Upstate NY
This is a very tight conference with St. Lawrence and Hamilton both at 4-1. Most D3 conferences have an undefeated league-leader but not here. St. Lawrence were defeated by Clarkson 29-27 but beat SUNY Plattesville 34-33 and Hamilton 45-31. It will be a race to the top here.
Northern California
Cal Poly Humboldt is probably still the favorite to win here but it's early days. The Lumberjacks beat San Francisco State 46-0 and then lost to CRAA D1A team Sacramento State 65-17, but they will take some lessons from that.
"They exposed our weaknesses with our youth and our victory vs SFSU the week before probably set up our rookies for reality 101," said program head Vince Celotto. When CPH ran on their reserves against Sac State they were hit hard.
"We were solid in scrums and lineouts and probably surprised them in the set piece," added Celotto. "I think the positives for us is the coaches now have our players' attention and we will work on the weaknesses that hurt us."
Next up is Cal State Monterrey Bay and then they take on three CRAA D1AA teams in a row, so their won-lost record will not be an indicator of how strong Cal Poly Humboldt is.
Cardinals
Richmond and VMI are both undefeated, and behind them is a Hampden-Sydney team that just recently tied Virginia. The key game, however, will be November 1, when Richmond and VMI meet.
Allegheny
This conference is probably going to come down to Slippery Rock and Xavier. Slippery Rock is 4-1 and Xavier 2-0 and should probably meet up in the playoffs.
Great Midwest
Wisconsin Stout and Wisconsin Eau Claire are both unbeaten. They meet October 19.
High Peaks
This conference has been very interesting with Denver University, Colorado School of Mines, and New Mexico Tech pretty close to each other. The NMT Miners edged Mines 26-19 and two weeks ago won well over a tough Denver side. New Head Coach Jason Oliphant has worked hard to get his side ready to go and to that end started the players with individualized workout and nutrition plans so they were ready to go.
"All credit to the players, who rigorously followed the plan," Oliphant told GRR. "This allowed us to focus on the fundamentals of the game when the fall semester began. What has worked for us this year has been the ability to create an environment of accountability. This process has been led by the leadership group, who have done a commendable job. Although we are currently top of the log, I believe the greater achievement has been the players ability to balance a very strenuous academic course load with an equally demanding rugby schedule."
NMT has a mix of experienced and inexperienced players and four of their starters are new to the game this year.
NACR
Bryant leads at 3-0 with Springfield and Endicott at 2-1. Springfield beat Endicott this past weekend and Endicott faces Bryant this coming weekend, and that's a key one for both.
