From eight quarterfinalists, a new Division I national champion will soon be crowned. The Road to Houston starts Saturday, with the opening round of the playoffs kicking off around the country on the campuses of the higher seed.
At 1 p.m. EST Saturday, No. 2 Brown hosts fifth-ranked Walsh at Marvel Field in Providence, RI. The Bears enter the contest 8-0, having not lost since falling to St. Bonaventure in last year’s semifinals. Their last win was a resounding 99-5 over Fordham.
The 2022 national champion Bears are hungry to return to glory, but they’ll have to fend off a team of 2023 national champs to do so, as Walsh is chocked full of Notre Dame College transfers. The Cavaliers have had an up-and-down inaugural campaign, but enter the playoffs riding momentum from back-to-back wins over Penn State and Indiana.
Facing either the Cavaliers or Bears in the semifinals Dec. 7 at Penn State-Berks will be the winner of Thomas More versus St. Bonaventure in Crestview Hills, KY. The sixth-ranked Saints are Big Rivers champions, knocking off Wheeling in the conference final. The 2022 national champion Bonnies are a middling 4-3 this fall, but fresh off a pair of victories. 22-14 over No. 10 Belmont Abbey to wrap up the regular season and coming out on top of Dartmouth 41-17 in the play-in round.
Hosting Wheeling at Stinson Rugby Field in South Bend, IN is 11th-ranked Notre Dame. As the top team out of the Big Ten, the Fighting Irish enter the playoffs as the higher seed against the Cardinals, ranked seventh in the latest coaches poll. Wheeling’s loss to Thomas More in the Big Rivers final snapped a four-game winning streak for the Cardinals, who rebounded to beat Kutztown in last week’s play-in game, 34-28. The Irish are an impressive 8-2 this fall, with key wins over Bowling Green, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Facing either Wheeling or Notre Dame in the semifinals will be top-ranked Queens or No. 4 American International College, who face off at 6 p.m. ET in Charlotte, NC Friday. The Royals are 8-2 this fall, scoring big wins over Mary Washington, Mount St. Mary’s, Belmont Abbey and Life. AIC enters 7-1, finishing second in the Liberty Conference. The Yellowjackets’ lone loss was to Brown.
