GRR: IUP
In probably the highest,profile Men's D2 college game of the weekend, IUP rode a torrid second half to pull away from Grand Valley State 48-19.
While this was not a conference game for either team, it mattered in terms of how they might be seeded if these teams make the NCR D2 playoffs, which they are expected to do.
Paced by an impressive weekend by Don Holmes, IUP won its second straight NCR D2 championship, beating Northern Iowa in an entertaining and close-run final 38-29 Sunday.
It will be Northern Iowa and IUP in the final of NCR Men's D2 championship after both won semifinals Friday night in Houston, but it wasn't an easy run, especially for the defending champs.
Earlier in the evening, UNI held off Cinderalla team Towson 41-26.
Goff Rugby Report's recent obsession has been whether iron actually sharpens iron or not.
For the most part we at GRR World Headquarters believe it does—teams that have to struggle and that have to work their way through difficult conferences are better prepared for playoff rugby than those who have an easy time of it. There are exceptions, of course, but generally the adage holds.
We're down to four teams in Men's D2 college rugby as Sunday saw the NCR D2 quarterfinals.
GRR's #1-ranked IUP won their closest game of the year, edging a tenacious UNC-Wilmington 29-24 to advance to the semifinals in Houston in three weeks.