Army kicks off a west coast tour, facing Cal and Central Washington in the space of a few days.
That's potentially the highlight of a busy D1A and D1AA weekend, but that shouldn't rub the luster off the other games.
D1A
West Point is looking to replicate the success of last winter/spring, when they worked a series of challenging games to prepare for the D1A playoffs, and used that preparation to win the national championship. Navy, which won the Rugby East in the fall, just ahead of West Point, is doing the same thing with University of Western Ontario this weekend, then Cal in Annapolis on a rare east coast trip for the Bears. Penn State, Army, and Mount St. Mary's rounds out that spring for the Midshipmen.
For West Point, along with Cal, CWU, and Navy, they take on Arkansas State on April 1. But right now they are looking at a massive challenge in Berkeley in which their forwards will have to be on-point.
Also this weekend in D1A, Saint Mary's hosts BYU. The Cougars are 7-1, having lost to Life in the fall and then having beaten Grand Canyon and Arizona in February. This is BYU's final road game before an extended homestand that includes CWU, Utah State, Utah, and Cal.
The PAC top two is at stake in Los Angeles as Arizona visits UCLA. The winner will end up #2 in the conference behind Cal, which has already run through the conference 3-0.
Things get quiet in the Red River as this was their makeup weekend, and they didn't need it, and then there's spring break before the finals.
In the Mid-South, Lindenwood hosts Davenport. We are at the mid-point of the Mid-South with three teams—Life, Lindenwood, and Davenport—at 2-1. Arkansas State is 0-3 but pushed Lindenwood last time out so they remain a team to worry about. Life leads the conference right now thanks to bonus points, but they dropped a fall road game to Davenport.
D1AA
We went into some details with the Florida Conference here: Florida Conference Still on a Knife Edge
Check out also our look at Sam Houston State: Having Fun out There: Bearkats Star Stokley on How SHSU Keeps Winning
Western Washington is playing very well and takes on Oregon State in Corvallis this weekend. They are flying high right now and showcasing some dynamic play from their outer backs. It's a bit of a quiet time in the California DIAA league. Chico State will want to make a move against Stanford.
