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