October ends in Men's D1-level college with some major rivalries and playoff-deciders.
D1A
Colorado vs Colorado State is a highlight game. It's a rivalry and it also is important for both teams in deciding where things fall for them in the Rocky Mountain.
The same could be said of Utah vs BYU, except that BYU is heavily favored. So, to be brutally honest, Utah needs to keep it relatively close.
In the Rugby East, Mount St. Mary's is currently ranked #5 by the CRAA Power Rankings. That's generous, but a nod to their strength of schedule so far. Army is at #6. That's maybe right-on or a little high (Saint Mary's and BYU are ranked behind them). But certainly this game will have an enormous influence on future rankings, playoff seedings, and all that.
NCR D1
Marian plays Rio Grande and the winner is 2nd in the Big Rivers East and that should set them up as a semifinalist.
Wheeling plays St. Bonaventure and this game is the one shot for someone to catch Bonnies in the ARC. Queens and Walsh would loooove for Wheeling to win that game and open up the chance for 1st.
If Wheeling does indeed win, and Walsh beats Belmont Abbey, as expected, and Queens beat Kutztown, as expected, we will go into next week with the following scenario:
St. Bonaventure 3-1-1 17pts
Walsh 3-0-1 17 pts
Queens 2-1-1 15pts
Wheeling 2-1-1 2-1-1 14pts
And then Wheeling plays Belmont Abbey on Halloween night, and Queens plays Walsh. Conversely, with a bonus-point win for St. Bonaventure they can pretty much secure 1st in the ARC.
D1AA
Texas A&M vs Sam Houston State basically decides who is tops in the Lonestar. SHSU has been getting better through the fall and could well take this.
Boston College takes on Northeastern is perfectly situated with both teams explosive, dominant, and 5-0 in the Liberty.
Bowling Green vs Western Michigan decides who is 2nd in the MAC. In the MARC, St. Joe's faces Virginia Tech to decide who is the top team in the MARC North. Both teams have strong defenses and so we might not get a run-and-gun game.
West Chester sits in 1st in the MARC North right now but the winner of the SJU-vs-VT match will take over that spot.
