A couple of readers have asked us whether we take into account performance in 7s when making these rankings; we don't.
A team that is very good at 7s isn't always very good at 15s (ahem, UCLA). But at the same time, sometimes you learn something about a team in its 7s games. So, for example, Cal has picked up a ton of injuries. That makes us think that maybe the Golden Bears are vulnerable. We'll ponder this as the 15s season gets closer for the West Coast teams.
The other question we're being asked is, whether teams who aren't playing 15s now are immune from moving down. The answer to this is, no, not at all. But we need to see the results from the East Coast and Midwest teams. Right now, the only teams that could break into the top four are Kutztown and Navy. And since Navy already beat Kutztown, it comes down to Navy.
Well, good news. Navy has Penn State, Lindenwood, and Life coming up. Those are all major rankings games that could shift the balance.
And no one asked about this, but it's worth looking at—we think Iona is very good, and could be ranked higher. We also think that Ohio State is pretty good and could be ranked higher. But ... Army lost to Notre Dame College, and also beat Iona but a wide margin. Iona beat Indiana quite convincingly, and Indiana beat Ohio State. That is why the teams are stacked as they are.
Someone has to break through with a result that makes us throw out one of those results. The easiest one would be if Ohio State plays Indiana in the Big Ten final, and wins. Army beating Penn State might cause us to toss out a close loss to NDC.
A reminder, this is how we vote in USA Rugby's D1A rankings. Fordham and Syracuse move up. Illinois is now at #21. And Colorado moves up ten spots ... watch out for them.
Last week we were 14-4 in picking winners. The four wrong picks include a "pick 'em" game that was not that close. We were in the ballpark on six margins of victory. Overall, not bad, but we could be better.
Goff Rugby Report D1A Rankings: Week 7 | |||
| Rank | Prev | Team | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Life | |
| 2 | 2 | Cal | 7s |
| 3 | 3 | St Mary's | |
| 4 | 4 | Lindenwood | |
| 5 | 5 | Navy | Beat Clemson (24) |
| 6 | 6 | Kutztown | Beat Notre Dame College (10) |
| 7 | 8 | Arkansas State | |
| 8 | 11 | Davenport | Beat Penn State (7) |
| 9 | 7 | Penn State | Lost to Davenport (11) |
| 10 | 9 | BYU | Beat Utah State (31) |
| 11 | 10 | Notre Dame College | Lost to Kutztown (6) |
| 12 | 13 | Army | Beat St. Bonaventure (19) |
| 13 | 14 | Iona | Beat Univ. Notre Dame (28) |
| 14 | 15 | Indiana | Beat Michigan State (29) |
| 15 | 16 | Ohio State | Beat Illinois (21) |
| 16 | 18 | Colorado State | Beat Wyoming |
| 17 | 12 | Arizona | 7s |
| 18 | 19 | St. Bonaventure | Lost to Army (13) |
| 19 | 20 | UCLA | 7s |
| 20 | 17 | Central Washington | |
| Goff Rugby Report D1A Rankings: Week 7 | |||
| 21 | 21 | Illinois | Lost to Ohio State (16) |
| 22 | 32 | Colorado | Beat Air Force (40) |
| 23 | 22 | Grand Canyon | |
| 24 | 23 | UC Davis | 7s |
| 25 | 24 | Clemson | Lost to Navy (5) |
| 26 | 25 | Texas A&M | |
| 27 | 26 | Oklahoma | |
| 28 | 27 | San Diego State | 7s |
| 29 | 28 | Notre Dame | Lost to Iona (14) |
| 30 | 30 | Boston College | |
| 31 | 29 | Michigan State | Lost to Indiana (15) |
| 32 | 36 | Michigan | Beat Wisconsin (35) |
| 33 | 33 | Northeastern | Beat Tufts |
| 34 | 35 | Wisconsin | Lost Michigan (36) |
| 35 | 38 | American International College | Beat Stony Brook |
| 36 | 43 | Syracuse | Beat Binghamton (52) |
| 37 | 37 | Minnesota | |
| 38 | 44 | Fordham | Beat Fairfield (49) |
| 39 | 34 | Utah Valley | |
| 40 | 40 | Air Force | Lost to Colorado (32) |
| Goff Rugby Report D1A Rankings: Week 7 | |||
