RugbyMag released their College 7s Rankings (subscription required to view) last night and they noted in the preceding article that there was dissension in the journalistic ranks that Texas A&M dropped from #11 to #12. I posit that dissension should extend to Texas' drop from #16 to #17, as well.
The Aggies' drop is due to San Diego State's tournament win at Santa Barbara this past weekend. To the Aztecs' credit, they won out the tournament and they are well-coached (The Polar Bear, Matt Hawkins, at the helm). However, their overall tournament scoring (for and against) records are not as impressive as Texas A&M's at the SEC 7s (where the Aggies won both the Varsity and the JV division) or at the ARC 7s qualifier in Norman, OK (where the Aggies dropped one in pool play to Colorado St, but beat them in the Varsity final and placed TWO teams in the JV semi-finals). Bottom line, Texas A&M's consistency at multiple levels gives them a lot of depth combined with a lot of minutes. With two more ARC 7s tournaments left before Nationals, Coach Mills will be looking to hone that already-sharp edge.
Now Texas has a different story. They have split the club up into a dedicated 7s team and two XVs teams (one will compete in the ARC and the other in the SWC). However, Texas maintained a #1 seed throughout the SWC 7s tournaments. In the qualifying tournament, they blanked TCU (which is having a strong start to the year and played well in all of the SWC tournaments) and came from behind in the 2nd half of the final to defeat a VERY strong and aggressive St Edward's 7. Texas also has two more ARC 7s tournaments to play before Nationals, so their experience level will only increase.
Where do I think these two should be ranked?
Texas A&M should be at #10. They can beat Delaware and SDSU right now and they've got depth in 7s that few clubs (college or men's) enjoy.
Texas should be at #14, at the least. Neither Virginia, nor VaTech showed enough patience on offense and organization on defense in the ACRL final to impress (and any complaints about the less-than-optimal weather conditions on the day will impress me less). The Longhorns would run over these two teams.
Where do I think these two should be ranked?
Texas A&M should be at #10. They can beat Delaware and SDSU right now and they've got depth in 7s that few clubs (college or men's) enjoy.
Texas should be at #14, at the least. Neither Virginia, nor VaTech showed enough patience on offense and organization on defense in the ACRL final to impress (and any complaints about the less-than-optimal weather conditions on the day will impress me less). The Longhorns would run over these two teams.