With the changing and shifting collegiate landscape, we've tried a number of different collegiate rankings and we think we've finally settled on a plan.
We've combined D1A and NCR D1. We've combined D1A, NCR D1, and D1AA. We've moved and then separated it. We've ranked based on seasonality. It's been a bit of an experiment the last couple of years. Well we've reached some conclusions.
D1AA Questions
The key conclusion over the last couple of years is that the argument that "there's overlap between D1AA and D1A" is essentially over. You might get one or two D1AA teams capable of beating the odd D1A team, but in terms of the difficulty of the season, as well as overall ability, there's not real contest—Virginia Tech showed that by going winless in the Rugby East last year and then winning NCR's D1AA playoff.
So there will be no more mixed rankings of D1AA teams and other divisions. We might explore forth the question of whether the best D1AA team could compete in D1A, but that's about as far as well go.
Mix D1A and NCR D1?
D1A vs NCR D1 is a little more difficult because of course there's some overlap. Once again Rugby East helped us with that. St. Bonaventure and Queens did well in Rugby East, including against D1A teams, and did well in NCR's D1 playoffs. But because our rankings efforts in D1A are actually used within the D1A official power rankings, we're going to keep these rankings separate ... mostly. Probably every month we'll post a combined ranking to tell you where we think everyone sits (no one will like that!). But overall we will have a weekly (we hope) D1A ranking and a weekly (we hope) NCR D1 ranking.
Fall Play vs Spring Play
Several readers asked us to rank only teams that are playing. So there'd be a fall ranking and a spring ranking for some divisions. We tried that. We don't like it. Basically instead what we do is rank based on answering the question: "if Team A plays Team B right now, who wins?" For many teams that are not active in the fall, playing a team that is active in the fall is difficult. So they will drop down. But the very, very best spring-centric college programs could, in our humble opinion, win a game even if you called them on Thursday and said "you're playing on Saturday, boys."
So, yes, the policy of you're not playing so you move down is not equal. Cal, Saint Mary's, and Central Washington will hang onto their rankings more easily than will some other teams that play in the spring. The same goes for fall-central teams. The thing is, the cultural shift for D1A, with expanded playoffs and more emphasis on 15s means it's less likely to see a ranked team from the fall drop down due to inactivity in the spring.
The upshot, then, is we're ranking all D1A teams all the time.
And this is our first week. See below. And be assured that as the season goes anyone can move into these rankings ... based on results and performances. Think we ignored you? Easy. Play well.
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