Well, we’ve had a bit of time to shake off the shock and maybe a little bit of awe from the D1A final.

Many thought Life would win this past Saturday's title game in Santa Clara, CA, but few (notably Miss Pass co-host Adam Armstrong) thought it would be a 60-5 runaway over Cal.

The Running Eagles made it a runaway by virtue of winning the point of contact. Early thundering hits by Life set the tone, and then the Running Eagles' ability to quickly turn a scoring opportunity into points humbled the Bears.

Wheeler Shows His Class

Life wing Harley Wheeler, a Tennessee product who isn’t always in the limelight, put himself there in the final by scoring three tries and consistently meeting force with force in the tackle. Simply put, when he went forward, others went backward or fell off. He was very impressive as a finisher.

Cal’s players and coaches were gutted, yet enormously gracious in defeat, applauding the Life effort and taking their beating like grown-ups.

Wheeler went over to the Bears players and hugged a few. He had played on the USA age-grade teams with a couple and they are friends. His effort to go over to the Cal players was a nice gesture.

No Weight Behind Critiques Of Life

There’s been a lot of talk about the makeup of the Life team, and it really is time to put it to bed. The Running Eagles have players from overseas, but no more than anyone else (run the numbers, you’ll see this is true).

Life isn’t as tough to get into as some other colleges, but so what? These are students taking classes to learn something and become contributing members of society. One could say that some of the things some students learn in college aren’t half as useful as the stuff they teach at Life University (journalism, for example).

If you want to start judging college rugby teams based on the selectivity of the university involved, then why not just have a tournament involving CalTech, MIT, Harvard, and the University of Chicago and call it good.

I have interviewed college rugby players from all over the country. Players from Life are as articulate and intelligent (or more so) than any I have spoken to over the years.

Coaches Deserve A Hat Tip

Life’s championship should be credited to the hard work of the players, for sure, but don’t forget the coaching staff. Second-year Running Eagles head coach Colton Cariaga was a hard-running, skillful—if not especially big—back who became an All-American at Life. And guess what? His backline is full of those guys.

Scott Lawrence, Life's director of high performance systems, is quite possibly the best rugby coach in the country. He has helped produce national champions whenever he has stepped on the sidelines. His defensive acumen is superb, and during the playoff run, the Running Eagles gave up 36 points in four games against Central Washington, Army, Penn State, and Cal. Lawrence is really that good—there’s no doubt—he just doesn’t care about the recognition.

College Landscape Has Changed

I have spent much time over the years talking to Bears coach Jack Clark about how to bring up the level of the college game. Don’t hate the winner, Clark would say. Hate the fact few are good enough to compete against the elite teams.

Well, it’s a new day now, and what we wanted is coming to pass. There are probably five or six teams good enough to win a national title. And there will be more. Right now, Life appears to be well ahead of the rest. That’s likely temporary. The real situation is that Navy almost beat Cal and Saint Mary’s beat Cal and BYU but lost to Lindenwood, which lost to Cal. BYU lost to Penn State by a try, and PSU beat Army by a point, twice, while the Black Knights beat Navy by only three.