It’s all finalized in the Mid-American Conference as the playoff matchup are set.

In the North, Bowling Green hammered Ball State 74-7 to finish 3-1; the Falcons already had secured 2nd in the North behind Western Michigan, so that doesn’t change. Central Michigan doubled up Kent State to finished 2-2.

In the South, Ohio edged Miami 32-28 to secure the #1 seed, and Dayton, which beat Miami midweek in a makeup game, beat Louisville 57-17. That was the crucial week for Dayton as they went from 1-1 to 3-1 and leapfrogged Cincinnati for 2nd.

So in the semis, Dayton will take on Western Michigan, and Bowling Green will face Oioh.

For Ohio, winning the MAC South far exceeded their expectations. The Bobcats rugby program was suspended for a season and came back just last year. Loaded with young players, they expected to play well … eventually. But instead they started the season with a nailbiting 29-27 win over Cincinnati. The players may not have know it, but the coaches did know that the opening win was crucial.

"With just four games counting in the standings, every game is important," said Ohio Coach Willie Griffes. "If you make a misstep, yoiu're in trouble. UC was a good team and we knew that game would possibly be the difference between making the playoffs and not." 

But after that, Ohio’s chances were in doubt when they tied Louisville 26-26 on September 26. Since Louisville finished the season winless, that would have been an indication that Ohio might struggle.

"We started the game badly, and had to come back," said Griffes. "With a young team on the road, we're still learning. We kind of dug ourselves a hole and then crawled out of it."

After that, close wins over Dayton and Miami finished off a 3-0-1 in-division season. All four standings games for the Bobcats were within a try.

"Every game was close, but we didn't really focus much on the scoreboard," said Griffes. "We just kept working on our game plan - we'd installed a new offensive approach this fall - and figured if we played a good territory game the score would take care of itself. But the close games also show, I think, that the MAC is getting better, more competitive. All of the teams are strong, not just Bowling Green or Miami. We're all getting better."

Among them, Ohio.

With captain and No. 8 Corey Gut powering ahead and scrumhalf Dan Morgan playing well, Ohio has been able to weather the close games. Defensively, flanker Austin Houser has been a revelation, while Trenton Macke is the team's top scorer.

"We really don't care who scores, and we've had some injuries and players unavailable," said Griffes. "And players have filled in. We've been like that, and the guys in those close games have shown that they don't panic when it's close, and they know how to close out games."

Editor's Note: This article is re-written with quotes from the team coach. Originally it contained quotes from a player who was listed by the conference as the club president. He is no longer the club president - a fact we were unaware of, but should have seen since he is not CIPP'd with the team. Therefore, we have removed the former president's quotes and used coach Willie Griffes's quotes instead.