Over 60 D1-level college teams are playing this weekend.

Some of these games are hugely important conference matchups—Texas A&M at Baylor on Friday evening, Bowling Green vs Cincinnati, I0wa at Iowa State (!). Some are still quote-unquote warmups.

As usual with these warmup games, sometimes they end up bring more like scrimmages; sometimes they have open subs. Sometimes they're like playoff games.

Notre Dame vs Walsh will be a kind of new era moment for Walsh and a tough test on Friday night for a Notre Dame side still getting the pieces put together. Head Coach Justin Hickey was perhaps a little relieved to get away from Michigan in a Big 10 match 24-20. He then ran out a somewhat different lineup against a nicely-growing Indiana Tech side, and while it was more of a scrimmage, Tech won that game.

"Michigan is always pesky and they were much improved," Hickey told GRR. "They know how to grind you down at home and we kind of got sucked into playing that way too. We were a bit smarter in the first half, but they always force you into working hard at the breakdown."

The Fighting Irish got out of trouble well and finished well, which was perhaps the difference. Hickey wasn't overjoyed at the team's execution in the middle section of the field.

This road game at Walsh will be the last away match for a while. From September 12 to October 17 the Irish play eight fixtures, and only one, at Michigan State, is on the road.

“We'll just put our heads down grind on the road and then settle down for a nice, long homestand,” said Hickey.

Dartmouth is at Fordham in an important early Liberty Conference game to see which of these two will be chasing all-conquering Brown.

Dartmouth Head Coach Kyle Sumsion has plenty of experience coming back, including Old Glory draftee hooker Jamie Phillips, who caps off his final 15s season before signing with the MLR team. Center Gabe Riordan will captain the side and brings a ton of maturity to the job. Other players are coming in after some helpful summer experience. The Big Green are looking solid.

"We're not worrying too much about anyone else or who we need to chase," Sumsion told GRR. "We've got some great leaders and we're just focused on us."

OK ... What Else

Ohio State vs Tennessee always ends up being a big game for both.

Tennessee is coming off a 64-0 win over Queens University's 2nds and their 2nds and 3rds beating Kentucky's 2nds and 3rds. Head Coach Scott Tungay comes out of that feeling pretty chuffed about his depth.

The results, he said. "are a testament to the hard work and bravery of the players across the entire Tennessee Rugby program. It's pleasing to see the senior class, who were my first group of freshmen here at Tennessee, carry the high standards of our pre-season onto the field." 

Ohio State has been inching its way toward a Rugby East schedule. They are looking to challenge themselves, and solid freshmen and sophomores from last season are now more seasoned. 

Mount St. Mary's meets Davenport in Cleveland in a neutral-site game. GRR will be at that game as we will be at UND at Walsh. It's nice when teams cooperate and play a Friday game to help us out. Keep a close eye on Iowa vs Iowa State in the Heart of America.

@MountRugby gets ready for @DUAthletics in Cleveland. Neutral site games, what's going on in some of the preseason matches, and some other thoughts. pic.twitter.com/8iNVoOfkuI

— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) September 5, 2025