Saturday's DIAA Final is a clash of teams that are used to being underestimated.

UC Davis had a good team last year, but with Central Florida basically dominating the division, Davis was able to kind of sneak past observers (OK, us). And this year, with the fact that they changed coaches and graduated some big-time players, it was reasonable for people (OK, us) to think they might be vulnerable.

Instead, the Aggies have blown through the competition, playing smart tactical rugby with a controlled and intelligent defensive approach. They have worked their way through a pretty difficult league and played better and better. They needed to dig deep, said Coach Kal Incendy, and they have.

Notre Dame College also got overlooked. While we at GRR thought they had a good shot to win their ACRC Bowl Game, we also had AIC as the team to beat in 7s and in DIAA in the East. We were wrong on both counts (or maybe we were right and they were the team to beat, and NDC beat them). The Falcons destroy teams with their pace and athleticism, but they win with tight five prowess. 

So Saturday will be the next chapter in these teams used to being overlooked. We can't overlook them anymore, and we won't, but we also won't pick a winner. We'll just be sure to pay attention.