Power Rankings | BUCS 2018/19 Week Four: Division One
The BUCS season is upon us, and so our Power Rankings return along with your opportunity to have your say on how things stack up across the three tiers of the University game!
We’re collating this year’s rankings via the highly successful format used this past summer - polling not only our own team of BUCS correspondents but also giving all of our passionate Patreon supporters the opportunity to determine how these rankings stack up!
Each contributor submitted their own picks of who’s top dogs in each tier, and then we tallied it all up to create these amalgamated rankings!
If you want your say on who’s top dog in each tier? You can join our Patreon for just $1 a month and directly contribute to the growth of the game, and DC’s survival!
Head to https://www.patreon.com/dblcoverage to learn more.
Cut:
Cardiff Cobras - A second straight loss for the Cobras sees them fall from the top ten. They’re putting up points, but have simply been outpaced in their last two outings. If they can’t get back on the winning path this weekend against Exeter, playoffs might start looking out of reach.
UEA Pirates - the Pirates failed to put a single point on toughest rivals, Kent, and so slip out of their #9 spot from last week. We’ll see them again when they host Canterbury in Week Six, but it could take something special to reappear in the top ten.
Honourable Mentions:
The Reading Knights just narrowly miss out on a spot this week, as things get rather congested at the top of the middle tier! Another win in their charity game versus the Stingers might be enough to earn them a spot in Week Six… else we suspect it might come down to a crucial Week Seven showdown against the Burners
Meanwhile, the Sheffield Sabres have followed up their day one loss with two confident victories over the Tyrants, and most recently the Fury. This sets up a tasty looking showdown against the Rams this Sunday, with a win here almost certainly securing a rankings spot for the first time since the preseason rankings.
10. UCLan Rams (Down Six)
Ouch! The Rams weren’t even in action at the weekend, but results elsewhere see them take a tumble right down the rankings!
With both Sheffield sides putting in strong performances at the weekend, suddenly the Rams’ scorelines don’t look nearly as impressive - they’re putting up nice numbers, but seemingly allowing too many scores to their opponents as the Sabres and Warriors each kept the Fury and Tyrants to a score each, respectively.
They take on the Sabres this Sunday, where we’ll learn a lot about the shape of the 1A Yorks/Lancs.
9. Loughborough Students (Down Eight)
Even more ouch! Our pollsters are a fickle lot and certainly seem to eager punish favourites that falter!
he biggest fall this week belongs to Loughborough, who lost out 8-0 at the weekend to the Coventry Jets.
The 1A Midlands is looking oh-so-juicy at the minute, and makes Loughborough’s game this weekend against the NTU Renegades all the more crucial to determining who the top dog in this conference is.
8. Coventry Jets (Re-entry)
The Coventry Jets return to the rankings having made a brief initial appearance in the preseason polls, following their outstanding promotion campaign.
They opened their year with a near-upset against NTU and went one step further last Sunday when they shutdown Loughborough to edge a tense 8-0 win. They head to a bye before getting a chance to cement their position as contenders in their conference with another tilt against Loughborough in Week Six.
7. Brunel Burners (Down One)
A small slip in the rankings following the Burners, following their bye.
They travel to the Cougars this Sunday, and with Kingston struggling so far this season the Burners are hot favourites to emerge from this weekend with a 4-0 record!
6. Sheffield Hallam Warriors (Re-Entry)
The Warriors put the Tyrants to the sword at the weekend as Hallam came close to posting up a fifty-burger on the Manchester outfit.
The impressively lopsided scoreline sees Sheffield back in the rankings, and if they can follow up with a similar performance against the Fury on Sunday it’ll confirm that Hallam are back to being the contenders we expect them to be each year.
5. Northumbria Mustangs ( = )
With perhaps a more modest victory than expected against the Tigers, the Mustangs stay put in the #5 spot.
They’ve got a week off, before taking on the Knights for a second time in Week Six. These two tore chunks out of one another in a tense defensive duel back in Week Three and the season’s shaping up to set this fixture up as a potential title clincher even before we’ve hit the midseason break!
4. Edinburgh Napier Knights (Up Four)
The Knights charge back up the rankings following their strong scoreline versus the Sharks.
Their defence could well be the toughest in the conference, though it might be the 0-32 result is a tad flattering as the two teams were deadlocked for much of the fixture, before a flurry of fourth-quarter scores gave the Scotsmen their big win.
They take on a well-rested Newcastle for the first time this season on Sunday.
3. Southampton Stags ( = )
The Stags hosted their third-straight fixture, and made the most of it - taking an early lead over the Demons that they never relinquished.
They’ll head to a well-earned by, before hitting the road for the first time against a Killer Bees side that proved it can sting when it took down the Cobras at the weekend.
2. NTU Renegades (Up Five)
Biggest climbers this week, the Jets’ win over Loughborough makes the Renegades the lone undefeated outfit in the 1A Midlands!
They put in another confident shutout win against the Wolves, but will likely have this weekend’s fixture versus Loughborough circled on their calendars since the schedules were released.
1. Kent Falcons ( Up One )
A shutout victory over conference rivals UEA allows the Falcons to fly high in the #1 spot once more! They’ve established themselves as top dogs in the South East once again, and look set to head to the Christmas break with a perfect record - barring a significant upset!
They’ll head to a bye, before a trip to Imperial College beckons in Week Six where we suspect anything less than a fifty burger performance will be viewed as a disappointment.
