Yes, yes there are NCR playoffs, but there are other games of note this week also.
Boston College opted out of the NCR playoffs to face off with University of Notre Dame in a matchup that mirrors this weekend's football game. It's a longtime rivalry between the two schools and carries a ton of meaning, so, yes, you can see the logic behind that. (PS, this game has been snowed out.)
It's also a crossover between a D1AA program that has had some success in BC and a D1A-level program (not officially D1A but in a D1A-level conference) that finished 3rd in the Big Ten.
Another one of note is Davenport vs Lindenwood. Davenport is currently 2-0 (!) in the Mid-South and enjoying the fruits of improved preparation and performance. For Lindenwood, it's been a quiet but busy fall, playing opponents that are good tests for their younger players. But last week, of course, the Lions beat Army.
The Lions kept the pressure in Army territory early in the first half and were rewarded with a scrum eight meters out—from there Rhys Smith crashed in with a hard inside line and Eduan van Heerden picked off the back of the ruck to score.
Scrumhalf Matteo Peignon picked a ball off the back of a scrum and offloads to Duncan Krige for a really nice try. A penalty from Peignon made it 15-0 at halftime. In the second half a nice take from a high ball by Runako Brynard set up van Heerden for his second. Army finally was able to score 50 minutes in off a tap-and-go, but tries from Kayleb O’Donoghue (lineout-and-maul) and Cian Darling (35-meter pick-and-go) finished it off 36-7 for Lindenwood.
“I felt like the guys rose to the occasion well," said captain Neal Moylett. "We didn’t get overwhelmed by the hype around the game, stuck to our plan, and believed in each other from the opening minute.”
Army had played Navy the week before and were undoubtedly bruised by that game. It's tough to play games of that caliber back-to-back, which is what D1A is all about.
"This whole week we were focused on ourselves," added Rhys Smith. "We know that Army loves to play a physical style of rugby, and we knew that we had to bring it to them from the opening kickoff. We played with passion in our hearts, and our defense put out a statement that proved to ourselves that we can do it."
(Reporting on this game thanks to Zachary Thorum)
So Lindewood vs Davenport is another big game for both teams. Can Davenport go into the New Year 3-0? It will be very tough to accomplish that, but Davenport has already shaken up the Mid-South hierarchy.
NCR Stuff
We have a fun couple of videos predicting the quarterfinals.
We have eight games as teams look to win trophies in two divisions. The addition of Indiana and the improvement of Queens make the D1 bracket a bit of a tossup. In D1AA, we at GRR World Headquarters would be surprised if we didn't see Tennessee and Louisville come out on top when the semis are done December 3.
