Deciders in NCR D1AA Loom

10.15.2026College Men

West Chester vs Rutgers 2026. Photo Alex Goff.

West Chester has been on a roll. Photo Alex Goff.

Author: Alex Goff

South Carolina shook up the NCR D1AA pecking order with this past week's 15-3 defeat of defending champs Tennessee.

The Gamecocks put in a brilliant defensive effort. Tennessee was repeatedly frustrated in almost everything they tries to do.

"We made everything difficult for them, played smart, physical rugby, and stayed disciplined in less-than-ideal conditions," said USC Head Coach Jason Paquette. Most importantly, they battled for a full 80 minutes.

"This was a hard-earned victory," said the coach. "And it was another important step forward for our program."

What this also did was shake up the SCRC, and basically make it all about USC and Kentucky. At least this weekend. The winner of that game will be in a solid position to be undefeated for the rest of the conference season.

After that game, USC will take on Clemson, by no means a pushover, and Kentucky plays Tennessee, wounded, but not out of it. So we could potentially see three teams at 4-1. There are no playoffs in the SCRC now, so it's all about conference games. If you don't win the conference you have to hope you did enough for another seed, or two, for the conference.

Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) Men's D1AA Standings October 13, 2026

October 13, 2026

Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC)

Also important this week in D1AA, Mizzou takes on Kansas. While Oklahoma seems to be the top team in the Great Plains, Missouri has emerged as a major contender.

Mizzou: A Breakout Season or a New Path?

The MARC is weirdly stratified. There are some strong teams, and a couple of middle-strength teams, and then a level of teams who are struggling to get competitive scores.

As a result, how would observers know how strong the best teams are?

West Chester remains at 5-0. A talented team that has shown they can really put it together, the Rams are favored in their next couple of teams.

The only team close to them is St. Joseph's, also 5-0. They also have been winning big, so it's tough to know exactly where they sit.

West Chester is led by flankers Jason Creelman and Cory McCabe, who seem to do a lot for the team on and off the field. They did lose fullback Luigi Carleo to injury but still are coming off a good win over James Madison and speedster Alex McCloud is scoring tries.

For SJU, that back row of PJ Degnan, Jake Andre, and Brandon Bispo, with flyhalf Jeff George running the attack nicely, have not been pushed too much.

The upshot? November 7 at St. Joe's. That will decide who is top in the MARC.

In the Lonestar, three D1AA teams are 2-0: Texas A&M, North Texas, and Texas State. This week, UNT plays Texas State, so one of those teams will be pushed back a bit.

A&M plays Texas, and then over the next two weeks take on UNT and Texas State. We're not in the serious push to find the conference winner. Will anyone else get a seed out of the Lonestar, or will it only be the winners? Right now it looks like just the one team, so a lot hangs on the next few weeks.

With their two-point win over Iona Northeastern is in control in the Liberty, and they don't play the other unbeaten team, Boston College. BC, for their part, play Iona on October 24.

And in the MAC, it's down to Louisville vs Bowling Green. These two met in Kentucky and the Cardinals took that one. Now at Bowling Green, the Falcons will want a revenge win to get a chance at 1st.