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Playoff and Rivalry Implications in D1A Weekend

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Playoff and Rivalry Implications in D1A Weekend

Saint Mary's beat Cal last year. Karen Drinkwater photo.

Eight D1A games are on the slate this week and every one has something to look at.

See the rankings at left.

Saint Mary's at Cal

This is probably the best rivalry in the college game. Like a lot of great rivalries, there's a commonality among the players—many were adversaries or even teammates in high school. High-flying Cal fullback Max Schumacher won a national championship at Jesuit and his co-captain was Joe Marchant, who props and skippers Saint Mary's. That's just one example.

You also need competitiveness. A rivalry where one team has a significant upper hand isn't much of a rivalry. In the last 10 meetings of these two powerhouse teams, going back to 2012, each team has won five times. Four of the games were decided by a try or less, and really last year's 32-14 Saint Mary's win is the only game since 2014 decided by more than two scores. And that, of course, with Cal playing only three games (Saint Mary's was their second) was a bit of an anomaly anyway.

Oh, and total points scored in those 10 games? Saint Mary's 263, Cal 262. Yeah, it's a rivalry. Both come into this game have clinched (or essentially clinched) their conferences. Both have some players logging outstanding seasons, such as lock and captain Sam Golla for Cal, and explosive center Erich Storti for Saint Mary's. Both have played BYU, Central Washington, UCLA, and Grand Canyon, and recorded somewhat similar scores (BYU was much closer to Cal, CWU much closer to Saint Mary's).

Bragging rights, rivalry right, all of that is at stake. Playoff seeding-wise, the winner will be assured a first-round bye, but it's likely the loser will get one, too. In a way that doesn't matter as much as everything else.

ASU v Davenport and Life v Lindenwood

The Mid-South is decided and Lindenwood is the winner and will host a playoff game. But a win by Life will ensure they stay up there in the rankings, which they will need to be to ensure a good bracket. Arkansas State vs Davenport could very well decided whether these teams make the playoffs. If Arkansas State wins, they should be in, as ASU has already beaten Davenport and would secure 3rd in the Mid-South with a 2-4 record. If Davenport wins, then all bets are off and we might so both teams in or both teams miss out.


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Penn State vs Navy

Navy has hung around the Top 10 for a while, but needs this win to ensure a playoff spot. Penn State has been a bit on the outside looking in, but a good performance, even if they don't win, might seem the bubble up to a playoff spot.

When these two teams met in the fall Navy won 37-22. 

Details Confirmed on CRAA 15s Finals Weekend

Central Washington vs Army

West Point's preparation run has been impressive, with wins over Queens University Charlotte, Life, and Arkansas State. Now they host Central Washington. CWU Head Coach Todd Thornley will be wanting to test his players on the road in a hostile environment; Army Head Coach Matt Sherman has been consistently testing his players in playoff environments, because waiting quietly for the maelstrom doesn't work.

This game will be shown live at 2PM ET here>>

Finally Utah plays Utah State in a game that is important for their development but won't nudge the rankings too far as both teams are really building toward the future.(PS we had Cal Poly playing BYU on our GRR World HQ Supercomputer database for some reason—that game's not happening.)

Check back for scores.

 

3/26 Arkansas State 14-12 Davenport Mid-South
3/26 Life 7-39 Lindenwood Mid-South
3/26 Saint Mary's 24-31 California Non-Conference
3/26 Central Washington 29-37 Army Non-Conference
3/26 Utah State 26-43 Utah Non-Conference
3/26 San Diego State 12-57 Grand Canyon California
3/26 Penn State 40-24 Navy Non-Conference