Seven ranked D1A teams were in action this weekend and they're all worth a look for different reasons.

Opening up the list is Navy (Ranked #3 by GRR), which looked very, very impressive in a 65-3 win over Mary Washington (#11).

One of the big things about Navy is that they are not afraid to run in a reserve with 50 or 60 minutes to go. If a player empties his tank early, they adjust, because their depth is excellent. Plenty of players who start find themselves on the bench, and that bench is often heavy on the forwards. Head Coach Gavin Hickie expects a work rate, and he gets it.

Their defeat of a Mary Washington team still finding its way under a new coach was pretty straightforward—win the kicking contest, be accurate and brutal in lineouts, be great in scrums. All of the flashy stuff comes from there. 

"The journey of this year's team is really exciting because we're seeing signs of significant improvements in certain areas," said Hickie. "We are starting fast in both halves. Our defense is overall pretty special this year, particularly in terms of our connection and line speed. To only give up three points that came on a penalty, we'll give that up all day. This was a very good win to begin the Rugby East schedule and I am proud of the team in the first conference game of the season"
 
Roanin Krieger kept his scoring pace up, logging 30 points with eight conversions (and no misses), three penalty goals, and a try.

Seven players scored Navy's eight tries with Kade Williams getting two.
 
"It's very important that we remain focused these next two weeks and I don't doubt that because we're going to be itching to get to our next game," said Hickie. "We've got some time to make sure we are where we want to be when we face our next opponent. We have time to clean up the areas we weren't satisfied with and the areas we are satisfied with, we'll keep pushing and work on getting better."

Next up is #9 Mount St. Mary's and then #2 Life University.

Two other ranked teams faced off with the start of the Rocky Mountain Conference. Air Force (#20) has a new Head Coach in former Eagle John Cullen.

"The strength of our team are our defense and work rate," said Cullen before the match with #24 Utah State. "Our goal this year is to out-work everyone we play and play at a pace that other teams can't keep up with."

This time around it was Utah State on top, with the Aggies winning 40-29. Two tries from flyhalf and vice captain Matthew Gatherum, and 12 points from fullback and captain Austin Clark (a try, two conversions, and a penalty) helped pace Utah State. Lock Holden Mickell and hooker Franco Tellechea also touched down, with Tellechea adding eight points with the boot for a total of 13.