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(These rankings were originally run Oct. 3 in our premier section)
Davenport and Dartmouth continue to leave no doubt as to why they're the top two teams in the country, as both posted impressive scores over conference foes. Davenport probably won't be truly tested until Oct. 15 when the Panthers travel to Bloomington to face Indiana, the same day Dartmouth faces its toughest Ivy foe in Princeton.
The Tigers have jumped out to a 3-0 start in Ivy play, and they're absolutely pounding opponents. They've twice put up 60-plus points, and they enter the fray at No. 19. The Ivy hasn't exactly provided stellar teams in recent years (outside of Dartmouth). Yes, Harvard made a run to the semifinals last year, but they did so on the back of an easy playoff path. We'll know more about just how good Princeton is after the Big Green encounter.
Also new to the rankings this week is Virginia Tech. The Hokies put up an impressive 46-17 win over visiting Clemson Friday. It's preseason and teams approach these warmup games differently, but a win that big can't be ignored.
Neither can the biggest upset of the season so far -- Maryland's 36-26 defeat of Tennessee. The Volunteers went on a mini-tour of the DC area over the weekend and split their two games, falling to the Terps but beating Virginia. These were Tennessee's first 15s matches of the fall, as they played in SEC 7s last Saturday. Maryland, likewise, is just two weeks removed from the Atlantic Coast Invitationals 7s. The Vols meet the Hokies Oct. 15.
Bowling Green scored a narrow victory over Indiana in the game of the week, but a three-point victory or loss won't separate the Mideast rivals much in our list.
Wisconsin, who lost to IU in the preseason, made a statement with a 36-0 win at previously 2-0 Iowa. Perhaps the Badgers' loss to the Mudsharks could also be attributed to a 7s hangover.
A pair of idle teams tumbled out of the Top 25. Winning teams have to be rewarded for being so, and when the California, Texas and Deep South teams get underway just as the currently active teams slow down, things will balance out. Buffalo beat ranked St. Bonaventure but remains on the outside looking in. Why? If we ranked Buffalo for beating a ranked team, we'd have to rank Binghamton and Syracuse (1-3) for beating Buffalo. It's a strong sign that the Empire Conference is so competitive, but the teams that make up that league haven't done well enough outside of the conference to warrant three or four of them being ranked for beating each other.
1 (1) Davenport 2-0 Won 82-13 over Purdue
2 (2) Dartmouth 3-0 Won 60-0 over Yale
3 (3) UC Santa Barbara 0-0 Idle
4 (4) San Diego State 0-0 Idle
5 (6) LSU 0-0 Idle (first game Oct. 15 against Texas State)
6 (7) Stanford 0-0 Idle (first game Nov. 5 against San Jose State)
7 (8) Miami (OH) 1-0 Idle
8 (9) Bowling Green 2-0 Won 30-27 over Indiana
9 (11) Florida 1-0 Won 48-10 over UCF 9
10 (10) Claremont Colleges 0-0 Idle
11 (12) Indiana 2-1 Lost 30-27 to Bowling Green
12 (23) Maryland 1-0 Won 36-26 over Tennessee
13 (13) Sacramento State 0-0 Idle (first game is Oct. 29 vs. Oregon)
14 (5) Tennessee 1-1 Won 13-7 over Virginia, lost 36-26 to Maryland
15 (15) Wisconsin 2-1 Won 36-0 over Iowa
16 (17) Minnesota 2-0 Won 22-15 over UW-Stout
17 (18) Florida State 1-0 Won 66-0 over Valdosta State
18 (20) Northeastern 3-0 Won 34-3 over Middlebury
19 (Unr.) Princeton 3-0 Won 60-12 over Cornell
20 (14) South Carolina 0-0 Idle
21 (16) Oregon State 0-0 Idle
22 (21) Loyola Marymount 0-0 Idle (first game Nov. 12 against UCLA)
23 (19) St. Bonaventure 2-1 Lost 5-0 to Buffalo
24 (Unr.) Virginia Tech 1-0 Won 46-17 over Clemson
25 (20) Kansas State 0-0 Idle (first game Oct. 8 against Oklahoma State)
Dropped out:
25 (25) Chico State 0-0 Idle
25 (24) Texas State 0-0 Idle
Knocking on the door:
Iona 2-0 Won 27-8 over Kings Point
Iowa 2-1 Lost 36-0 to Wisconsin
Binghamton 2-0 Idle |
