Final Two Bowl Seeds Decided This Weekend

The stage is set for the ACRC Bowl Series, coming to Charlotte on Nov. 21-22, with the exception of two key players—the top teams from the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference. The SCRC championships are this weekend in Columbia, SC. Saturday’s tournament semifinals pit the top teams from the East and West divisions of the conference against the #2 team from the opposite camp. 

Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 15

Mississippi State (West 1) will play South Carolina (East 2)

Tennessee (East 1) will play Alabama (West 2) 

SCRC Finalists: The Breakdown 

The favorites to play for the championship on Sunday are Tennessee and South Carolina. The two teams met Nov. 8 in Knoxville, both unbeaten at the time, and Tennessee pulled out a 25-19 victory in come-from-behind fashion, winning by a penalty and late try. South Carolina is no doubt highly motivated to gain another chance to defeat their division rivals. 

If Tennessee does play South Carolina in the championship, they will have to overcome USC’s tenacious, speedy front line of scrumhalf Brian Keown and co-captains Tim Hamill (fullback) and Zach Gorman (lock)—and do it on the Gamecocks’ home turf. 

The powerful Volunteers can draw on the strength of standout players like senior flanker Ryan Roper and Senior Wing Lee Bogitsh. If they stay healthy through the tournament, they will be tough to beat. 

While USC and Tennessee are favored, all four teams meeting this weekend in Columbia are tough, talented and battle-tested. Mississippi State beat a scrappy Auburn team 38-12 this fall but lost a close game against Alabama 41-40. The Crimson Tide, for their part, lost a nail biter to Auburn 22-21. If Mississippi State and Alabama meet in the SCRC final, it’s truly anyone’s game. 

The ghost in the machine is Louisiana State, the true power in the West, whose season was suspended and games forfeited by the university after an alcohol infraction. It was LSU’s inaction that may have allowed Mississippi State and Alabama to rise to the top in the West. 

So put your bets on the Volunteers and Gamecocks this weekend—but remember anything can happen in the talent-packed SCRC.