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Massive Weekend In DIA College

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Massive Weekend In DIA College

AM and Texas met in the fall, too, and A&M won. Alex Goff photo.

There is so much rankings action this week in DIA Rugby it's hard to know where to start.

Let's start with the new #1 Cal. The Bears open their annual two-game series with the University of British Columbia.

"The Thunderbirds are always a challenge, but this seems a steeper test than most years," said Cal Head Coach Jack Clark. "They've been playing and playing well since early September and are now towards the end of an outstanding season. This being said, it's our job to make this match a contest. We want UBC to be great and we want to give them a game of which we can be proud. It will take a brave and spirited performance on our part."

UBC plays in BC's top men's club season, and so they usually come into this opener a bit more season than Cal. This year, the Thunderbirds are in 1st place in the BC Premier League. 

Last season, Cal split their annual home-and-away series with UBC, winning the match at home (24-22) and dropping the contest on the road (28-24). A win for Cal will certainly solidify the #1 ranking, but a loss won't necessarily mean the Bears will drop out.

However, if Cal doesn't play well, and Lindenwood beats Life in Marietta, then you could see Lindenwood jump up to #1. 

"In our first game we started nine freshmen and they were a bit shell-shocked," said ASU Head Coach Blake White. "But our forwards stepped up and our props, especially, did well. We're making mistakes but we're getting better."

Further down the rankings, Arizona vs UCLA is the game that will likely decide who will finish 2nd in the PAC Rugby Conference behind Cal. That is a game between #13 Arizona and #17 UCLA—Goff Rugby Report's own rankings actually has these two teams ranked even closer—#12 and #13. (Watch Cal vs Arizona from last week.)

And then there's Utah. Not ranked in the D1A Top 20, the Utes are an unknown quantity, and could shake things up if they beat Central Washington in Ellensburg. It's likely CWU win this, but if Utah wins, the Utes could jump into the top 10.

And finally, Texas A&M is poised to play in the Red River championship game March 28 against Oklahoma. This weekend, the Aggies meet Texas in Houston as a curtain-raiser for the Houston Saber Cats vs Old Glory DC Major League Rugby game. A&M vs UT will be the FTF / ElevenSports Game of the Week. Kickoff is 3:30PM Central Time.

Check back for scores.

Date Away at Home Conference GRR Picks
2/22/20 Lindenwood (2) 22-29 Life (5) Mid-South Life by 3
2/22/20 Arizona (13) 27-26 UCLA (17) PAC Arizona by 3
2/22/20 Utah Ccld Central Washington (11) Independent CWU by 20
2/22/20 UC Davis (37) 17-38 Cal Poly (28) California Conf. Cal Poly by 10
2/22/20 Saint Mary's (4) 90-0 San Diego St California Conf. Saint Mary's by 35
2/22/20 Santa Clara (35) 5-27 UC Santa Barbara California Conf. Santa Clara 12
2/22/20 Texas (39) 19-91 Texas A&M (27) Red River A&M by 15
2/22/20 Oklahoma (34) 62-5 Texas Tech Red River OU by 20
2/22/20 North Texas (38) 44-7 LSU Red River UNT by 12
2/22/20 Clemson 8-82 Arkansas St (3) Mid-South ASU by 20
2/22/20 UBC 21-36 Cal (1) Non-Conference Cal by 4