Day One of the CRC Qualifier for the Las Vegas Invitational is done with some impressive teams out of the running for that coveted spot in the NBC-covered tournament in Chester, Pa. in June.

There was plenty of drama both on and off the field at the tournament. Here's a quick rundown of how the pools went:

Pool A: St. Joseph's won comfortably, as expected, and James Madison finished second and seemed to be in the running for one of the two quarterfinal spots available to second-place teams (more on that later). With Creighton University a no-show, however, Lewis & Clark got a 1-2 record and 3rd place.

Pool B: Buffalo was the big surprise, upending Miami of Ohio to go 2-1. But Kutztown ran the table to win, as expected, with Columbia 4th.

Pool C: Air Force looked most impressive in going 3-0 and spreading the ball well. Dartmouth rebounded from a close loss to Air Force to beat Georgetown and Pitt well, and get into the hunt for a wild-card slot.

Pool D: In the pool of four seemingly equal teams, this was the closest pool of the bunch. Lindenwood struggled to get their offense going against Notre Dame College, and the two teams tied 10-10. Lindenwood and Notre Dame both battled past Bowling Green - NDC just edging the Falcons - and then NDC beat Oklahoma to finish 2-0-1. Lindenwood was also 2-0-1, and the Lions took the pool by superior points difference. Notre Dame College was the only second place team to have a record better than 2-1, and so took the 7th seed into the quarterfinals.

Pool E: Utah and AIC both beat Point Loma and Wheeling Jesuit, setting up the game of the day between the two 2-0 teams. AIC scored early thanks to a series of Utah penalties, and after Utah replied, they set up a brilliant move to put Christian Adams away in the corner. Adams eluded his chasers to round out under the posts. This was crucial, because not only was the conversion made, but Utah was penalized for a late hit on Adams after he touched the ball down.

So AIC got the try and a penalty at midfield, and Jihad Khabir tapped, chipped over the Utes defensive line, and went in to score once more. That put AIC up 17-5 at halftime.

AIC would score once more, but Utah came back to score twice to make it 22-19 with time winding down. AIC took a yellow card, and shorthanded, saw Utah head for the corner. Adams slammed into the Utah wing just before the tryline, taking both players into touch. The referee checked with his assistant on whether the tackle was too high, it wasn't, and blew for the end of the game. AIC had held on.

Utah seemingly was out of the running for a quarterfinal spot due to having a lower points difference than James Madison. But the Utes challenged a reported score, getting the referee to confirm they had scored more points than initially reported. That score change put Utah in, and JMU into the Plate.

In Pool F, Arkansas State ran the table, beating Notre Dame, Whittenberg, and Stony Brook by scores of 36-5, 29-5, and 38-0. They took first in their pool and the top seed with a +93 points difference.

And so the Cup Quarterfinals are (unofficially, but this is how we figured them):

#1 Arkansas State v #8 Utah

#2 St. Joseph's v #7 Notre Dame College

#3 Air Force v #6 Lindenwood

$4 AIC v #5 Kutztown

Tiebreakers for all 3-0 teams was points difference. Notre Dame College had the best record of any 2nd-place team at 2-0-1. Utah had the best points difference of the remaining 2-1 teams.

Of these teams, Arkansas State was clinical and hugely physical. St. Joe's did well and showed great skill in an easy pool. Air Force may well have the whole package. AIC was workmanlike in many ways but got some brilliant plays from Adams and Khabir. Kutztown was buttoned down in their approach and combined pace and power. Lindenwood is still working it out, but their defense is excellent. NDC played well as a team but needs to watch the turnovers. Utah, despite being the #8 seed, could well win this.