Eight teams will advance to the fall D1AA playoffs this November, and we know for sure that there will be four conferences that send their champions to the postseason.
Some of these leagues have changed their own schedules to make sure they are able to accommodate the USA Rugby playoffs, too.
Here's a rundown of which teams are in good shape.
Chesapeake
As we spelled out earlier, Mary Washington is in the driver's seat, with Mount St. Mary's -- perhaps ruing its opening loss to Virginia -- chasing.
Don't count out James Madison, which sits at 2-1 (so are Virginia Tech and Maryland, but they have already lost to either UMW or MSM). Key games coming up? Mount St. Mary's at James Madison on Oct. 21 and Mary Washington finishing against JMU and MSM on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, respectively.
Here are the current standings:
| Chesapeake Standings | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Mary Washington | 4 | 0 | 0 | 262 | 43 | 219 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Mount St. Mary's | 3 | 1 | 0 | 154 | 118 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| Salisbury | 2 | 2 | 0 | 154 | 118 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Virginia Tech | 2 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 53 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| James Madison | 2 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 55 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Maryland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 109 | -1 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Towson | 1 | 3 | 0 | 102 | 147 | -45 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Virginia | 1 | 4 | 0 | 95 | 216 | -121 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Georgetown | 0 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 204 | -152 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Right now the team in the D1AA playoffs for sure would be Mary Washington, but MSM and JMU, or perhaps Maryland or Virginia Tech, would have an argument for an at-large bid. This will be the first time the Chesapeake teams participate in the D1AA playoffs, as the league was just getting started last fall.
SCRC
Another conference that is back in the playoffs after a year off, the SCRC will hold its two-game playoffs on Nov. 4-5. East favorite Kentucky won two games over the weekend, scoring over 200 points in the process, so those games tell you exactly zero except that the Wildcats can score. Georgia is 2-1 after winning two very close games, but Tennessee probably should bypass the Bulldogs soon.
In the West, South Carolina logged a key victory over Alabama and then shut out Florida 65-0, which is for sure a result to think about because the Gators are solid. It's pretty clear that the semifinalists will be Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama. Right now UK and USC are looking the strongest.
| SCRC East | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| Kentucky | 3 | 0 | 0 | 251 | 50 | 201 | 12 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 65 | -6 | 8 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 64 | -6 | 4 |
| Mississippi State | 1 | 2 | 0 | 69 | 131 | -62 | 4 |
| Ole Miss | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 194 | -167 | 0 |
| SCRC West | W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | Pts |
| South Carolina | 2 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 15 | 84 | 8 |
| Alabama | 1 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 47 | 7 | 4 |
| Florida | 1 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 111 | -48 | 4 |
| Auburn | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 0 |
The losing finalist in the SCRC, if the team wants, could very well be an at-large playoff candidate.
Mid-Atlantic
Formerly the Keystone, the MARC will probably see St. Joe's win. Rowan has started very well, but this conference has surprised before.
| MARC East | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Rowan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 36 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Temple | 1 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 54 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| West Chester | 1 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 62 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Villanova | 0 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 93 | -41 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| MARC West | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Saint Joseph's | 2 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 28 | 91 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 84 | -39 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| IUP | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 31 | -6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 60 | -46 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ivy League
Dartmouth dominates. Yale is also undefeated. These two play this coming weekend.
| Ivy League | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Dartmouth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 32 | 168 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| Yale | 3 | 0 | 0 | 188 | 7 | 181 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Brown | 2 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 68 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Harvard | 2 | 1 | 0 | 148 | 87 | 61 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Princeton | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 89 | -56 | 0 | -1 | 3 |
| Penn | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 85 | -48 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Columbia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 159 | -140 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cornell | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 247 | -222 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Will Dartmouth play in the D1AA playoffs? Will the Ivy League teams play in the fall or the spring? USA Rugby needs to know.
MAC
Bowling Green has been the dominant team in the MAC for years and that remains the case this fall. Cincinnati is good, and the South is, once again, very competitive.
Louisville pushed Bowling Green and is in a good position to win the South. While WMU is listed as first, BG already beat Western Michigan.
| MAC North | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Western Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 106 | 34 | 72 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Bowling Green | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| NIU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Michigan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 91 | -86 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MAC South | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Louisville | 2 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 52 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Miami | 1 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 56 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Ohio | 1 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 50 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Cincinnati | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Dayton | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The top team from the South has a legit shot at an at-large bid. (There's a MAC playoff, but we think Bowling Green will win that since the Falcons have already beaten Louisville. Still, the Cardinals are the biggest contenders other than Bowling Green.)
Heart of America
This conference won't finish this fall, so it won't have any playoff teams until the spring. However, its teams have started, so here are the standings.
| Heart of America | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Iowa State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 0 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 5 | 70 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Kansas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Truman State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 95 | -49 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Kansas State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 36 | -12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | -49 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Independents
Lindenwood-Belleville is pushing for a spot and barring some unforeseen circumstance has probably done enough already to earn an at-large spot in the playoffs.
AIC or NEC could conceivably do this, also, but it's L-B that has filled out all the forms and confirmed that the Lynx will be playing not only in this fall playoffs but, if they win, in the spring grand final as well.
Because Lindenwood-Belleville is a candidate, we will see four conference winners, plus an independent (most likely), and then there's room for three more. If the Ivy League, which has a playoff this fall instead of the spring, pushes for a fall spot, then it's only two at-large bids.