Over 40 men's D1-level college games are on the slate this week.
Rugby East
It's a huge week in Rugby East with Kutztown at Mary Washington, with Kutztown coming off an impressive win over Walsh and UMW looking to rebound from a close loss to Army; Penn State also suffered a close loss and have just started the new era under new Head Coach Zac Mizell. They have a tough ask this week at Navy (GRR will be at that one). Navy has started quite well but are smart enough to not think that last year's 53-5 win over Penn State will repeat itself without a ton of work.
And Mount St. Mary's is at Queens. Both have stated well but this is the conference opener for Queens.
"I feel like we are healthy this year," said Queens Head Coach Frank McKinney, referring to injuries last season that his the liked of Trevion Reed, Kyle van Niekerk, Seth Vallance, Haydon Johsnon, and Chester Stanyon. Queens returned 10 started for this year, and have a strong recruiting class including graduated Charlotte Cardinals Zach Colson, Colby Marr, and Jacob Eroh. They also added Emile Van Dyk who was captain and MVP of Pearson High School in South Africa.
McKinney has scrumhalf Hilton Olivier back for one more year and Josh Schwartz has one more shot after being drafted by the Seattle Seawolves. JC Curry has become captain and moved positions, from flanker to inside center.
"This took a lot of conversation between the coaches," said McKinney. "When we asked JC, his response was 'whatever will help the team.' We are excited to have him lead this team."
Liberty
The game of note this week is probably AIC at Dartmouth on Sunday. AIC has won both of their teams by small margins in dramatic fashion. Meanwhile, Dartmouth exploded for a big win over Iona. Luke Morrow led the way for Big Green, attacking space well and setting up his teammates. Freshman front-rower Hudson Chiow (Gonzaga) was very good and played a full 80. This will be a good test for both.
Lonestar
This hybrid D1A/D1AA conference got a bit of a shakeup last week with Sam Houston State beating Texas A&M.
"Our set piece play, especially in the scrums, set us up for opportunities," said SHSU Head Coach Ramon Serrano. "Our depth proved beneficial in the heat and great sequences from our backs in crucial moments."
The SHSU speed is still a massive weapon for them and wing Dag Dowuona scored three tries while Devon Smith hit all four conversions (in a game they won by two) and set up Dowuona for two of his tries with kick-passes.
This week SHSU is favored against Angelo State and perhaps then the game to watch closely is UT San Antonio vs Rice. Both of these teams will be looking to make a splash in the conference.
More Conferences
Big 10 has four games with Ohio State at Michigan State being perhaps the one that has the biggest impact. All four games, though, will be crucial. Heart of America is in the same situation. Kansas at Kansas State is the big rivalry game.
Colorado starts the conference season at home against Wyoming. Head Coach Jone Naqica has a young, talented and fast team, bouncing back from the graduation of stalwarts like No. 8 Mason Kreiter and scrumhalf Sean Bowen. Sophomore transfer, Arnaud Agasse is one to watch, as is Irish exchange student Harry Kelley. The combination of these two plus captain Sam Masterson's skilled kicking should see CSU play a territorial game. Vice captains, hooker Rylan Palmer and No. 8 Aiden Wilson, lead from the front with their defense and hard running.
Colorado at Air Force is a key early Rocky Mountain content, and off-conference check out Wheeling at Davenport. That is a good test for both.
