While much of the college landscape is thinking about 7s, at the highest level 15s is still the order of the day.
It's Kind of a Big Deal
Cal at Navy is previewed here. Navy has been holding into the #1 ranking but this game has the potential to topple them. In context, Central Washington already has beaten Army, and it could be, if Cal beats Navy, that Cal could be #1 ... but it could also be Central Washington.
California Conference
Saint Mary's is the top team in the conference and should still be in that position after this weekends game at UCSC. Not that Santa Cruz can't play, but the Gaels are certainly favored. UCSB is at Cal Poly and this is a potential banana skin for a Cal Poly team that is looking for a playoff place.
Cal Poly leads the conference right now but Saint Mary's has a couple of extra games to play and has already beaten the Mustangs. Cal Poly can clinch 2nd this week, however. And don't overlook Santa Clara, which can secure third with a win this weekend and a UCSC loss.
| California DIA | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Cal Poly | 5 | 1 | 0 | 330 | 145 | 185 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| Saint Mary's | 4 | 0 | 0 | 246 | 52 | 194 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Santa Clara | 3 | 2 | 0 | 176 | 181 | -5 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| UC Davis | 2 | 4 | 0 | 116 | 178 | -62 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| UCSB | 1 | 3 | 1 | 118 | 128 | -10 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 2 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 149 | -81 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| CSULB | 1 | 3 | 0 | 88 | 158 | -70 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| San Diego State | 0 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 198 | -151 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Mid-South
A big game looms March 18 with Life at Lindenwood. Before that game, Life has to handle Arkansas State. Lindenwood's 36-10 win over Davenport last week has the Lions atop the conference. But The Mid-South is still way up in the air and if Life wins this week, they can put themselves in position to wrest the conference from Lindenwood a week later. Whichever of those two gets its second loss can then look over their shoulder at Davenport, which plays Arkansas State next week. Potentially the March 25 game Davenport at Life could be the conference decider.
| Mid-South 2022-23 | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Lindenwood | 3 | 1 | 0 | 112 | 58 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Life | 2 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 45 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Davenport | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 85 | -35 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Arkansas State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 90 | -69 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
DIAA
Western Washington is on a roll now and should be the top team out of the Northwest. They could be poised to clash with (likely) University of San Diego and the top teams from the California DIAA to decide the spring ACR/CRAA DIAA finalist. We already know Sam Houston is in the Eastern semifinal, and the Heart of American decides its champion in two weeks with Iowa State vs Minnesota.
Leading the way in the California are Fresno State and Sacramento State. Both are unbeaten, although we caution you that there is plenty of rugby to be played in this conference. This week Sac State hosts Chico State in a big one. Fresno State hosts San Jose State. Wins for the home teams and they can serious plan for a playoff surge.
| California DIAA | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Sacramento State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 60 | 86 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Fresno State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 27 | 89 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Chico State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 54 | -3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| San Jose State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 50 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Nevada-Reno | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 51 | -34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stanford | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 160 | -115 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
