The next big discussion in college rugby might well be an old one - seasonality - as programs that prefer 15s in the fall and those that prefer 15s in the spring look for some kind of common ground.

For Davenport University rugby, that common ground was met last weekend, as Clemson visited Grand Rapids for a Mid-South Conference game.

For some years now Davenport has been making the argument that the weather in Michigan is really nice in the fall, and cold and snowy through much of the spring. Playing at home is almost impossible through March, and training isn’t easy, either. The Panthers wanted a couple of conference games in the fall, to at least even out their preparation.

So last week, Clemson obliged, and Davenport came away with a very nice 34-15 victory.

“We really appreciate Clemson coming to us this fall,” said Davenport head coach Harry King. “And we appreciate Arkansas State doing the same thing. If it wasn’t for teams committing to come up to Michigan in the fall, schedule-wise we couldn’t fit all our games in. It also shows where we truly are. It’s not just playing, it’s how tough it is to find training space. We need to be able to play in the fall more.”

Some injuries hit Davenport against Notre Dame, but the Panthers were able to rebound nicely against Clemson.

Led by Thomas Cheslek at No. 8 and Noah Zomberg at flyhalf, Davenport showed, “when they’re on, they’re on.”

Youngsters such as Zaire Gray and experienced players such as Drew Boatright were solid.

“We’ve got the team gelling and getting ready for some big games coming up.”

Next up for Davenport is Bowling Green, which was hit hard by Kentucky last week 54-5. Head coach Tony Mazzarella said sometimes you’re going to have a bad game like that. Maybe so, but the Falcons can ill afford to lose the plot against a Davenport team that is feeling confident.

So could these few fall conference games for Davenport herald a split season for the Mid-South? It’s unlikely, but the conversation is going to come up again. With more teams in the Midwest looking for tougher competition, we might be in for another shift.