This weekend's college action should have some significant impact on the D1A rankings, and, by extension, the playoffs.

Is Cal Poly For Real?

Saint Mary's beat Cal Poly 36-17 on Saturday to clinch the California Conference and likely home-field advantage through the entire playoffs. But that game was a bit of a scare for the Gaels and spelled out what has been overlooked in these pages, and possibly elsewhere—namely, that Cal Poly is pretty good.

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March 31: Life vs. Clemson | April 7: Cal vs. Saint Mary's

The Mustangs are 9-3 in 15s games, having beaten just about everyone you'd expect them to this season. They lost to Cal and Saint Mary's, and really their only blemish was a 33-27 decision to UC Davis on January 27.

Note also that Cal Poly's chief rival, San Diego State, lost a very creditable 42-41 decision to Arizona over the weekend.

Since then, UC Davis has hit some rough patches, but 17 points against Saint Mary's also indicates that perhaps Cal Poly is getting better.

Utah's Playoff Hopes Dim

Cal beat Utah 80-0. In a very up-and-down season for the Utes, this probably indicates the death knell for their D1A playoff hopes. Cal, meanwhile, has clinched the PAC Rugby Conference and should host a round of 16 game.

BYU Earns Big Win Over CWU

BYU's 46-26 victory over Central Washington has secured the Cougars a place among the upper echelon. Meanwhile, Central's loss to Utah Valley and BYU means that the Wildcats do not have a victory over a D1A team. The closest game was probably the 27-15 loss to Lindenwood on Jan. 27. 

It's worth remembering that CWU shut out Western Washington (one of the best teams in D1AA) and that teams who haven't won games have made the playoffs before (Davenport), but Central Washington must certainly take a hit in the rankings.

Grand Canyon, Utah Valley Get A Boost

GCU beat UC Davis and Santa Clara and is now 6-2 against D1A opposition, having lost to Arizona and BYU and beaten San Diego State and Utah. UVU is under some additional scrutiny for player eligibility; however, its coaches say everything's good. On the field, things are even better, as UVU beat Central Washington and Utah State.

Watch for both of these teams to move up in FloRugby's D1A rankings.

Who's #1?

Is Saint Mary's faltering (a little) against Cal Poly enough to dethrone the Gaels? What about the fact that No. 2-ranked Life beat Davenport by more than 90, or that No. 3 Cal beat Utah 80-0? It's a legitimate argument. These three are better than the rest, it appears, and maybe they could all be No. 1 at any given moment.

LSU Slams Texas

LSU beat Texas by 54 points and so should get a big bump in the rankings. Texas A&M appears to be the better team in the Red River, but are the Aggies going to end up ranked the highest? We'll see.

Playoff Spaces Limited

Life has not clinched the Mid-South. Next week's matchup against Lindenwood should decide that. But Colorado State, Cal, Saint Mary's, Indiana, and Penn State are already conference champions. BYU, Life, Lindenwood, Arizona, Navy, Army, Grand Canyon, and Notre Dame College likely have done enough to make the playoffs. That's 13 teams, including one which will be the Mid-South champ.

As for the other three spots, one will be the winner of Baylor vs. Texas A&M for the Red River title and one should be the winner of San Diego State and Cal Poly on April 7. That leaves one more place for the likes of Arkansas State, Baylor or LSU, UCLA, Utah Valley, or maybe Ohio State (we think not judging from overall D1A rankings) to chase after.

Can UVU make everyone trust its paperwork? That might be the big question. Arkansas State struggled this year, a little.