The ACRC Bowl Series has finalized its schedule, with ten games involving 19 ranked teams.

The games will be webcast live (check back to Goff Rugby Report for the live feeds). Next Level Rugby will run the feed, with Ryan Ginty and Alex Goff providing commentary. John Broker and one other will provide commentary for the Iona v Delaware Ice Bucket Challenge Bowl.

The games will have a very big influence on which team ends the fall ranked #1.

Here are the games, rankings, and initial previews:

Friday, Nov. 20, Rugby Athletic Center, Charlotte, NC

4:50 pm ET UMass (47) v NC State (33, ACRL #2).

This is a tough game to call as these teams have not really faced each other. And in fact, they have not even faced teams that have faced each other. The best connection would be this: NC State beat Maryland 26-22, and Maryland lost 61-29 to Navy. Dartmouth lost to Navy 55-29, thus implying that Dartmouth and Maryland are close, and that means that Dartmouth is probably not quite as strong as NC State.

Dartmouth also lost to AIC 79-14, while UMass lost to AIC 41-11. Dartmouth and UMass also played BC, with Dartmouth losing marginally worse than UMass.

So Dartmouth seems maybe not quite as strong as UMass (even though they are ranked higher) based on those results, and Dartmouth seems a little bit more not quite as strong as NC State (who is ranked higher than Dartmouth). Based on this, and the fact that the Wolfpack are essentially playing at home, we’re predicting a close NC State victory.

 

6:40pm ET Notre Dame College (41) v Syracuse (23 Empire Champion)

Syracuse is a conference champion, and has beaten Stony Brook (and also lost to them earlier in the fall). Notre Dame College has had a solid run and competed well with Navy, and also lost to St. Bonaventure and Davenport. Syracuse lost to Queens University in a close game. Like the previous game, there is really no connection between the two teams. Iona beat Stony Brook by more than Syracuse beat Stony Brook by, but not much. Iona defeated St. Bonaventure, which beat NDC. We think Syracuse wins, but it’s close. NDC may have too much pace for Syracuse, so watch out.

 

8:30pm ET Boston College (21, ECRC #2 ) v Alabama (24, SCRC #3)

This is another excellent matchup. It’s going to be very close. These teams don’t cross paths much, but are both very solid, and both have been competitive with teams we rate highly. It will be close.

 

Saturday Nov. 21, New Rochelle, NY

Ice Bucket Challenge Bowl - 1pm ET Iona (15) v Delaware (30)

This will be a good matchup but will end up being Iona’s day. Both teams have played Kutztown (Iona’s result much better), Wheeling Jesuit (Delaware’s better), and Penn State (results pretty much the same). This should be a competitive game, but we think it’s Iona’s.

 

Saturday, Nov, 21, Rugby Athletic Center, Charlotte, NC

11:20am ET St. Bonaventure (45) v Western Michigan (27, MAC #2)

St. Bonaventure doesn’t back down, and is ranked at #45 basically because of a lot of losses, even though we’re sure they are a solid team. Western Michigan beat Bowling Green, and then lost to BGSU. Both have been in big games. We think WMU is favored, but it won’t be easy.

 

1:10pm ET North Texas (50, SWC Champion) v Rutgers (Not ranked)

Rutgers has pushed some of the stronger teams in Keystone, while North Texas has won their games, but in a conference that many think is not strong. We’ll see. This is a complete pick ‘em game.

 

3pm ET Stony Brook (29, Empire #2) v Cincinnati (37)

Cincinnati was really, really close to being a playoff team in the MAC, and beat Bowling Green in a non-conference game. Stony Brook was one of the top two in an Empire Conference that is still working to prove it is as strong as, say, the ECRC. We’ll see about this one. Our rankings usually favor wins over close losses, unless the close losses are in super-strong conferences. Here, who knows? Watch for Cincinnati to want to prove something.

 

4:50pm ET AIC (1, ECRC Champion) v Clemson (9, ACRL Champion)

Has Clemson not played Life and received a bit of a hiding they might be top four. Still the Tigers have been dominant in the ACRL just as AIC has been dominant in the ECRC. They are somewhat different types of teams, but will give us a really entertaining game. We’ll have to go with AIC as the favorite, but this is a perfect matchup. This game should go down to the wire. If Clemson wins big, they could be #1. If AIC wins big, they may well hold onto #1. But AIC can win and slip from the top spot in the rankings based on overall performance.

 

6:40 ET Tennessee (10, SCRC Finalist) v South Carolina (12, SCRC Finalist)

This is, of course, the SCRC Final. Tennessee is ranked higher because the Vols beat the Gamecocks 17-14 the last time the two teams met. We’ve seen a few teams this fall lose in the regular season and win the rematch in the playoffs (Bowling Green, Syracuse, James Madison) … so why not here? There is nothing between these two teams. Now, if one of these two teams wins big, then we might be looking at a team worth of #1. Tennessee, especially, could do this.

 

8:30pm ET Indiana (2, Big Ten Champion) v Kutztown (5, Rugby East Champion)

Kutztown did actually lose to Penn State, but has beaten everyone else. Indiana has rolled through the Big Ten and also beat Davenport. They are close. Either could be the best team of the fall, and if Kutztown had played a better first half against Penn State, they’d be #1 still. KU’s defense is good enough to keep Indiana in check. If that happens, then the Bears have an excellent shot at winning. A solid win by either could mean #1 in the rankings.