It's an important weekend for D1AA, NCR D1, and D1A, but it's also a bit of the calm before the storm for some.

Teammates and Playoffs

This subhead is an inside joke. It refers to the Ancient Greek concepts of Timê (tee-may) and Kleos (clay-oss). Timê is the spoils and rewards of battle ... like a trophy. Kleos is the unending honor a warrior receives in battle. Your inestimable editor, when he first heard of these concepts, thought it sounded like "Teammates and Playoffs" and while the related definitions are switched, it kind of connects—Playoffs would be the spoils of competition; the trophy. Teammates is what you always take with you as a rugby player, regardless of outcome.

So we do have some playoffs.

In D1AA the Heart of America finishes up with an all-day event with eight teams playing four games to figure out the full placements.

All-Iowa Conference Final In Heart of American Showcase Saturday

In the combined D1A/NCR D1 conference of the Big 10, they're doing the same thing (plus a B-side championship that they take very seriously).

The East Division Champions, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, hosted a pesky Wisconsin Badger squad for the first Cup Semifinals match. The first half was the epitome of back-and-forth as both teams would follow a score by their opponent with one of their own. The half ended with Wisconsin in the lead, 19-14.  

When play resumed, it took Notre Dame only 8 minutes to overtake the lead. The Irish scored a second converted try a short time later to go up 28-19. Soon Wisconsin answered with a converted try of their own to bring the score to 28-26. This scoreline was short-lived as Notre Dame recovered the subsequent restart and quickly responded with the final try of the match. The Irish came away with the victory, 35-26. 

In the second Cup semifinal, Ohio State traveled to Bloomington, Ind. for a rematch of their October 12 contest against Indiana University. 

As play started, Ohio State hustled out to an early lead, which held for the first half, 19-13. When the second half whistle blew, the Buckeyes continued their attack to quickly score their fourth try of the match and increase their lead to 26-13. Indiana subsequently scored a converted try soon after to push the score to 26-20. However, the Hooisers were unable to hold back the Buckeyes as they scored yet another converted try, 33-20. With 5 minutes remaining, the Hooisers scored another converted try, but they were unable to overtake the Buckeyes before the final whistle. Final score, Ohio State 33 - Indiana 27. 

So that sets up the placement matched for Sunday, Nov. 10:

In the Liberty Conference there are no NCR D1 playoffs, but there are for the D1AA level. UMass plays BC in the conference final Saturday.

Boston College, UMass to Liberty DIAA Final

MARC finishes off its D1AA playoffs with semis on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

Big Rivers caps off its playoffs as well with their finals.

Wheeling Speed Sees Them to Big Rivers Final

Thomas More Puts in a Full 80 in Big Rivers Semifinal Win

And the SCRC also finds a champion with Kentucky vs Clemson.

Kentucky, Clemson On to SCRC Final

And a traditionally close final four for the MAC gets going.

Not Playoffs

The Midwest continues on with Lindenwood facing longtime rivals Davenport.

Lindenwood is coming off a well-taken win over Arkansas State, running out to a 24-7 lead at halftime and cruising to a 36-7 victory. 

"I think we took big steps trusting the game plan and utilizing set pieces to give our attack a strong platform to launch from," said Forwards Coach Corey Harmann. "The boys did very well at letting mistakes not affect them, moving on, and executing the next job. Defensively, we brought immense pressure in the midfield and when Arkansas State made any type of half break, we scrambled well to make the tackle, reload, and launch hard defensively to stifle any additional attack."

Here's how the Midwest standings look:

And a couple of other notes: Auburn vs Florida is dependent on tropical storms. The Bahamian national team visits St. Thomas of Florida.