Men DII Coll Games Nov 12-13

The Men's DII College schedule for this weekend is suddenly far, far smaller than it has been the previous weeks.

Now that we're into the national playoffs, we've got nine games this weekend, all involving ranked teams, and most involving two ranked teams.

First, the league games. The NECRC finishes up on Saturday. If Rhode Island beats Middlebury and scores four tries, then URI will be at Plymouth State on Sunday. If, however, Middlebury wins or if URI fails to get a bonus-point win, Vermont will be at Plymouth State on Sunday.

As for the playoffs themselves, the rankings tell us that Illinois State will beat Grand Valley State, UNC-Charlotte will beat VMI, Principia will edge Mines, and ND State will beat US-Milwaukee. The rankings also predict wins for Southern Connecticut over York, Rhode Island or Vermont over Plymouth State, and Cortland over Bentley.

However, the rankings of these teams are very close in most instances, and home v away can sometimes be part of the equation. UNC-Charlotte should do well at home against VMI. Mines v Principia at a neutral site is probably a tossup. UW-Milwaukee at ND State is another tough one, but we're going to pick the slightly higher-ranked team at home - NDSU. 

York, despite being lower-ranked and on the road could be your best upset special. However, Bentley at Cortland could go Bentley's way, as well.