CRAA Fall Classic Matchups Set for Saturday
CRAA Fall Classic Matchups Set for Saturday
The College Rugby Association of America Fall Classic lineup of games is set for this coming weekend.
Four games will be shown on The Rugby Network live from American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC Saturday, December 2.
Women's Fall D1 Championship
Friday will see Air Force take on Northeastern and Colorado Mesa face UConn in the semifinals. The winners will face off at the Fall Classic on Saturday at 4PM.
Meet the Four Teams Challenging for a CRAA Women's D1 Title
Mint City Bowl
Ohio State takes on Penn State in a rematch of last year's Mint City Bowl. This is a very nice rivalry and a good barometer of the competitive balance between Ohio State and Rugby East. Ohio State is going through a little bit of a rebuilding year and is quite young, but still took 3rd in the Big 10. Penn State is winless in the Rugby East but it's a pretty competitive winless. Three of their six conferences losses were within a try, and that includes Notre Dame College, St. Bonaventure, and Mary Washington. They were also competitive with Army and Kutztown, and beat Clemson in a non-conference game. This past weekend the Nittany Lions lost 36-24 to Davenport, which showed they are taking strides.
Kickoff Noon ET Dec 2.
Hornet's Nest Bowl
Arkansas State faces Southern Virginia in a game between a now-independent D1A team and a Rugby East side that has shown major improvement. ASU has beaten Iowa Central, Adrian, Texas A&M, and Davenport leading into this game. Their ability to score quickly has been impressive and, since they are an independent team, every game is massively important because it's the rankings above all else that decides what their playoff prospects are.
SVU has a new coaching team and a new approach and they showed what their potential is when they beat Kutztown 34-33 on the final play of the game. They followed that up with a close loss vs Mary Washington and this game will be an excellent measuring stick of how var the Knights have come.
Kickoff 2PM ET Dec. 2.
Battle for the Castle
A new Bowl for CRAA sees Mount St. Mary's vs Michigan State. This has been an excellent season for Michigan State as they made the final of the Big 10. Wins over Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Illinois highlighted the Spartans' fall. MSM, meanwhile, has enjoyed their CRAA Rugby East season. Along with non-conference wins over Belmont Abbey and Thomas More, the Mountaineers have beaten Southern Virginia, Kutztown, St. Bonaventure, and Queens, good for 4th overall in the conference.
Kickoff 6PM ET Dec. 2.
