Well we've come to some conference culminations this weekend and some playoffs right after.
Let's get to it.
The Big 10 decides its final placements with all eight teams playing a game this weekend at the University of Notre Dame. The championship game is Ohio State vs Indiana, and while both teams have had their ups and downs this fall, they produced a scintillating final in 2021 and should do so again. Indiana saw two of their top players, Will Chevalier and Noah Brown, go with the USA 7s team to Hong Kong. It was tough trip and a tough trip back and while Brown will be available off the bench, it's unlikely we'll see Chevalier. that puts the very capable Sam Storey at fullback and the Wall brothers, Parker and Peyton, in the midfield. Key man for Indiana is captain Pat Murtagh, who is a workhorse, and they still have the cantankerous and always imposing Russel Lemaster, now at hooker and running strong (see photo).
Ohio State, which just won the B-side championship over Illinois (the Big 10 has always run a very robust Bs league), have had to deal with some injuries in the front row, which has always been the Buckeyes' bread and butter. But they likely will have teeth-rattler Nick Zolikoff at flanker and a superb halfback combination of Vince Carso (2021-22 Big 10 MVP) and Conor Forrestal.
It's playoff time in the Heart of America, and this is a weird one. The original plan was to have the semifinals and finals on the same weekend. Not so anymore. The final, as we understand it, will be played this weekend, but the final will be played in the spring as a kickoff to an ACR / CRAA run for both finalists. It will be interesting to see who is hot now and whether they can keep the momentum going for months in the future. In addition, sometimes you get players who are set to graduate at the end of fall, so the lineup that wins a semifinal may not be the lineup we see in the spring final.
Right now the matchups of Kansas vs Minnesota and Iowa State vs Arkansas are very tough to call.
The Mid-American Conference decides its champion in a two-day, two-game format. Will Louisville be able to do it twice? Yes, yes Bowling Green has to beat Western Michigan to make the final and that's no guarantee, but if, as expected, we see a BGSU vs Louisville final, we're interested to see if the Cardinals can beat BG twice—the Falcons have a habit of taking a regular-season loss and learning from it.
The winner of this playoff goes to the NCR playoffs, unless it's Western Michigan, because reasons.
The MARC doesn't do a playoff but instead just the league season. And, all nice and pretty, the regular season standings come down to St. Joseph's vs James Madison. Both of these teams have a place in the NCR D1AA quarterfinals; it's now just a case of figuring out which team has to play Binghamton.
Also ...
We find out if there's a debate about the top team in the Rugby East. If St. Bonaventure beats Navy, the total points will have Navy 1st, but Bonnies, Army, and Navy all with one loss. There's a division split, and if we followed that Army, Navy, and St. Bonaventure would all be 4-1, with either Army or Navy in 1st (Navy would need to get a bonus point). And then there's Queens, which is 5-1 (3-0) and set to play Mount St. Mary's. They have the Rugby East South sewn up but the overall conference standings should have them tied with Army for 2nd or, potentially, 3rd. If Bonnies loses and Queens wins, Queens probably gets the #1 playoff seed into the NCR playoffs and St. Bonaventure takes #2.
And Notre Dame College vs Penn State would decide ... oh, wait ... no seed for NDC or Kutztown (Displeasure Boiling Over Surrounding NCR D1 Bracket). NDC can get to .500 which is a big deal. Note KU v MSM has been postponed until Sunday due to weather.
There are some NCR play-in games this weekend also in D1 and D1AA.
Belmont Abbey's conference game with Lander wasn't needed as the Crusaders have already clinched the Southern D1AA Conference. Except they are not D1AA ... they were moved up to D1, and will play Big Rivers runners-up Wheeling for a spot in the quarterfinals. Siena was also moved up to D1 mid-season and will play Liberty #3 Fairfield for an NCR playoff spot.
South Carolina plays Tennessee in what is billed as the SCRC Championship, but it's kind of not because Kentucky is 4-0 and beat USC this season. However, Kentucky is not an NCR team and will instead play a bowl game at the CRAA Fall Classic. So this is really a playoff seeding game with the winner playing Virginia Tech in the NCR quarters and the loser playing either Bowling Green or Louisville.
From the Liberty, funnily enough, the championship game has no bearing on the NCR playoffs as Boston College won't participate. So BC plays Binghamton, but Binghamton is already the top seed into the NCR D1AA quarters. UMass plays Stony Brook for 3rd and another playoff spot.
Also there's the little matter of Army at Lindenwood. No big deal.
