It was a very busy NCR D1 weekend and we saw, for the most part, teams logging results that the rankings expected.
Our biggest conundrum is what to do about Notre Dame and Brown. With Brown winning that game 90-0 the Fighting Irish should probably be dropped out of the rankings. They were, however, competitive with UCLA and did beat Michigan and Michigan State.
Brown, for their part, could well be the #1 team. But everyone we have in the the top five has performed as expected. The key game for Brown should come in a week and a half when they play Dartmouth for the Liberty title. The winner of that game could well move to #1.
Queens has been very good and they have taken bigger steps since their 22-21 loss to St. Bonaventure. The Royals were in control against Wheeling and they set up a wonderful clash with Walsh this coming weekend.
Bonnies won well over Kutztown (which is notable because of all the close games in the ARC).
Big movers, then, are Southern Nazarene, who have been winning in an independent schedule. And really the Crimson Storm has done all that would be asked of them in a difficult-to-assess independent schedule. Next week they play UCLA and will need that game to hold onto that #7 ranking.
Indiana moves up in part because Wheeling, UCLA, and Notre Dame all move down. Fairfield moves up in part because they have direct comparisons with UCLA—against Brown and Dartmouth. Fairfield lost both of those games by a total of 49-77. UCLA lost both of those matchups 43-82. It's close, but overall Fairfield seems worthy of the higher ranking.
