It is a meaningful but small group of games this weekend in D1A as Spring Break hits a few teams.
The big game has to be Central Washington at Cal. We talked about CWU's competitiveness that is tempered by a frustrating lack of closing out games.
Comeback Time as Saint Mary's Hauls in Tough Central Washington
Basically it's only two games, with BYU and Saint Mary's there for the taking and yet not so much taken. Cal, meanwhile, closed out their game against BYU 24-21.
“Central Washington is similar to BYU in their physicality,” said Cal Head Coach Jack Clark. “They’re among the better teams in the country and will no doubt test our resolve. Sometimes playing hard or skillfully is enough, in this instance we will need to play both hard and well to be successful.”
This game will be tonight, Friday, night, at 6PM PT. The game will be live-streamed here>>
No less significant is the rematch of Saint Mary's and BYU. The two had met February 12 in a game won by Saint Mary's 39-28. Delving Into Saint Mary's vs BYU. If Saint Mary's wins this is there an argument for #1? Cal has been tightening their grip on that spot of late.
That game will be at 2PM ET Noon MT live here>>
In the California Conference a Santa Clara team increasing in confidence takes on UC Davis. Cal Poly, still looking for a spot maybe in the playoffs (it seems like they are often almost-in or almost-out) play an improving UC Santa Barbara.
| California Conference | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Grand Canyon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 173 | 147 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Saint Mary's | 3 | 0 | 0 | 204 | 29 | 175 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Cal Poly | 2 | 2 | 0 | 184 | 136 | 48 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Santa Clara | 2 | 3 | 0 | 140 | 258 | -118 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 1 | 2 | 0 | 79 | 93 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| San Diego State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 26 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| UC Davis | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 166 | -117 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As you can see from the standings, Saint Mary's and Grand Canyon are at the top so really there's a race for 3rd.
In the Mid-South, Davenport and Arkansas State are both winless, so this game carries a ton of weight. As usual, Davenport plays a couple of conference games in the fall, then digs out of the snow and finishes up in the spring. It's a tough go for them as indicated by their 40-7 loss to Life last week. Davenport plays ASU, Lindenwood, and then ASU again over the next three Saturdays. The other game left in this conference is Life at Lindenwood on March 26 which likely will be the conference decider.
| Mid-South Standings | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Lindenwood | 4 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 36 | 73 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Life | 4 | 1 | 0 | 122 | 73 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Davenport | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 97 | -59 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Arkansas State | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 91 | -63 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Check back for scores.
| 3/11 | Central Washington | 19-48 | California | Non-Conference |
| 3/12 | Davenport | 22-24 | Arkansas State | Mid-South |
| 3/12 | Cal Poly | 53-17 | UC Santa Barbara | California |
| 3/12 | Santa Clara | 32-63 | UC Davis | California |
| 3/12 | Saint Mary's | 60-29 | BYU | Non-Conference |
