For the second-straight year, SCRC champion Kentucky will face the MAC Champion in the national championship game, as the Wildcats take on Bowling Green to decide the Division I-AA title Saturday in Houston, TX. 

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Undefeated Kentucky (11-0) held off Clemson in the conference final, 8-7, bested St. Joe’s, 63-17, in the quarterfinals and UMass, 39-22, in the semifinals to return to Texas. The Wildcats also scored friendly wins over Division I Marian and varsity Drury this fall.  

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Bowling Green (12-1) defeated 2023 national runner-up Louisville twice to reclaim the conference crown, before beating Clemson, 29-18, in the quarterfinals and Virginia Tech, 20-18, in the semifinals. The Falcons’ lone loss was to DI quarterfinalist Notre Dame, but they also beat DI Michigan, 47-12, in August. 

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17 of Kentucky’s 23-person squad from last year’s final was back in the lineup for the Wildcats’ semifinal win over the Minutemen, including 11 starters and a pair of All-Americans in flyhalf Jack Phillips and flanker Holden Hahn. 

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Kentucky’s national championship winning halfbacks, centers and two-thirds of its deep three, all return. The Keough brothers, center Luke and wing Joe, are a dynamic pair, and No. 8 Everett Marret is a load at the back of the scrum.

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Bowling Green also has a trio of All-Americans in No. 8 Phil Tracey, a 2023 DI-AA selection, inside center Joe Apel, and grad transfer Brian Arnold, a 2022 and 2023 DII All-American at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Arnold won two 7s national titles and a 15s national championship with the Crimson Hawks, and could claim a fourth personal national title with a win over Kentucky.

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Prop Evan Holderer is also a prolific try scorer, and combines with Tracey for a lethal one-two punch of ball carriers in the pack. Inside center Joe Apel adds most of Bowling Green’s points from tee and is a talented back. 

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Just four hours and the Ohio river separate Bowling Green, OH and Lexington, KY, but the Falcons and Wildcats haven’t met on the pitch since at least before COVID, and their only common opponent this season is Clemson, the Tigers falling to Kentucky by one and BGSU by 11. 

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That conference final was the only one-score game for Kentucky all year, while the Falcons have won three contests by a combined four points this fall, two one-point wins over Louisville and two-point semifinal win over Virginia Tech Saturday with a walk-off Appel penalty at the death.  

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Bowling Green and Kentucky kick off at 2:00 p.m. CST Saturday at SaberCats Stadium. The match will be streamed live on The Rugby Network with a TRN+ Ticket.