We had to expand our Women’s DII College Fall rankings from Top 20 to Top 25. As the fall playoffs approach, there are just too many teams ramping up their performances, and they should be recognized.

The top nine teams stayed relatively stable, as all but one team kept their undefeated records intact. Although there were extenuating circumstances to Rutgers’ 17-10 loss to Hofstra, there’s still ramifications for a defeat. Rutgers didn’t get any help last weekend, when Siena forfeited its quarterfinal (that it had played-in for), and looks forward to the Tri-State semifinals on Sunday.

Hofstra was considered for a Top 25 spot, but Albany made a better case, especially after its 62-12 quarterfinal win over Hofstra. Albany may be 3-3 but two of those losses came to Rutgers and Vassar, and Albany put up a good fight. The third loss was a close one to Hofstra during regular season, a misstep for which the upstate New York team has compensated.

Mid-Atlantic leaders Kutztown and Bloomsburg are still ahead of the conference, but Delaware joined the ranking after giving the former a nice push last weekend. The game went 37-12 to the Lady Bears, but we think the experience will go a long way for a team that had cancellations and forfeits mar its regular season.

While Stonehill and Ithaca retain their spots, we’ve added teams from their respective conferences: St. Michael’s and Geneseo could be considered oversights for being left off of the previous rankings. The Vermont side is easily Stonehill’s tensest rival, and after the 25-12 win over Roger Williams (a team that Stonehill needed all 80 minutes to beat), St. Michael’s has proven that it deserves the nod. The Rugby Northeast leaders will play each other on Nov. 7 and determine whether a position swap is needed. Geneseo gave Ithaca its closest game of the season, but it occurred so early on that we wanted to see how both teams evolved through the fall. Geneseo is still good at 6-1 and knocked off previously ranked Buffalo State 34-20. Upstate New York heads into semifinals this weekend and all three teams will be there.

The Capital conference has been exciting this year. The small colleges are beating the DII teams in the South pool; Salisbury tied Towson; and Mary Washington was only eight points better than George Washington. The playoffs will only involve the top two teams from the North and Central pools, since South’s DII teams are winless thus far. The conference championship will be contested on Nov. 7-8, and we’re very eager to see if the traditional leaders return to the final or if an improving field sends a new representative.

One of our games to watch last weekend was Rocky Mountain’s Colorado Mesa vs. Colorado College, and it didn’t disappoint. The pair were undefeated heading into the contest, but the Mavericks proved the stronger, 20-12. It’ll be no surprise if the two end up in the conference final.

Coast Guard slid from #13 to #15 after tying the previous #15 team, Vermont, in regular season play. UVM then lost a heart-breaker to Hartford, and Smith jumped into the #2 spot in the conference.

UW Steven’s Point didn’t deserve the demotion to #19, and it had more to do with the movement above them. Point is heading to the Great Waters final against the winner of UW Whitewater (which won a thrilling 30-27 game over University of Chicago) vs. Univ. Illinois-Chicago being played this weekend. Great Waters got three seeds to the DII Round of 32, and so that third-place match must be contested as well.

We’re eager to give Eastern Kentucky a boost, especially after its 137-0 win over Ball State in the Ohio Valley quarterfinals. The team lines up against Kentucky this weekend, and if victorious, will play the victor of Univ. Cincinnati vs. Miami in the conference final.

Arkansas isn’t being punished for its loss to a DI women’s club, and we’re glad they’re pushing themselves. But they put together a light fall schedule and had a cancellation further thin it out, and there are just too many teams playing dense, competitive lineups right now. Same with Slippery Rock. The Allegheny leader isn’t being punished for playing in a hybrid league, but the season boils down to home-and-away games against West Virginia and IUP. Slippery Rock plays its rematch against IUP this weekend and the victor heads straight to the DII Round of 32.