This Weekend in Men's DI College Rugby

It's the second week of conference competition for most teams in Men's DI; here's a rundown of what's on the docket:

In non-conference action, Kutztown hosts Delaware. KU beat Stony Brook 56-17 over the weekend with three tries from Kina Kolafu and two from Robert Storz, but assistant coach Larry Chester said there was much more the Bears could have done. Their backline was speedy but mid-season precision wasn't there, especially in set piece. Meanwhile, Delaware won well over St. Joseph's and look to build on that.

Dartmouth is still working with some player turnover and they lost to Boston College last weekend. Now they handle AIC, who won their opening conference game. Notre Dame College won big  over Kentucky, and the Falcons continue on to pursue their independent schedule. Oklahoma looks to rebound from a loss to Tennessee by hosting Tulsa University and a Tulsa U21 team.

Ohio State and Bowling Green both won nicely last week, with Ohio State handling Pitt and Bowling Green beating West Virginia. BGSU Director of Rugby Roger Mazzarella said the Falcons could have done a bit better.

“A little bit of nerves along with trying too hard to make things happen led to some sloppy play at the start,” said Mazzarella. “West Virginia certainly did a lot to help their cause by coming up fast and hitting hard.” 

In conference play, Stony Brook enters an Empire conference that has seen plenty of changes already. The Sea Wolves host Fordham, while last week's winners Colgate visit Binghamton and SUNY Brockport pays at Syracuse.

In the ECRC, BC visits Albany, UConn is at Middlebury, and Northeastern is at UMass. But the game to really watch is Fairfield, new joining DI from DII, visiting New England College, newly joining DI from NSCRO. Fairfield is 1-0, and NEC 0-1 in conference play.

The ACRL starts up with Clemson playing two games - and the understanding is that the Tigers, under new coach Steve Lynch, will run out two completely different lineups for the games against Wake Forest (Friday) and North Carolina (Saturday). NC State also visits Virginia.

The Ivy League also starts up and the talk is that Yale, which had that impressive run into the playoffs last year, is strong and expecting to start strong. They host Penn, while Cornell, always a team to worry about, hosts Columbia.

The Keystone starts up wiht Pitt at Millersville and Villanova at St. Joe's. Both Pitt, led by captains David Zimmerman and Connor Janawitz, and St. Joe's, led by captains Jimmy Wolfer and Thomas Cuddihy, got knocked around last week, so they need to build some confidence.

The MAC has a full slate, with Western Michigan having started very well.

In the Rugby East, Wheeling Jesuit hosting Penn State is the big game, with WJU looking to stakes their claim to being the top team in that very competitive conference. It's a completely full slate in the SCRC and a a big clash between upstarts Alabama and Mississippi State this weekend.

The SIRC also gets going in the South, with defending conference champion Central Florida, which has made the DIAA final three years in a row and won it twice. The Knights are at Suth Florida.

And it's the beginning of things for the Big Ten Universities. Indiana is back in good standing and eligible for the playoffs. You know they are shooting for it.