Last year, D1A chose, wisely, to remodel its playoff format by creating an East and a West bracket, each with eight teams. 

From the seven competing conferences (Big Ten, California, Rugby East, Mid-South, Pacific, Red River, and Rocky Mountain) come seven automatic qualifiers to the tournament, who get to host a Sweet 16 matchup. 

The Liberty is the eighth conference, but opts not to send a team to the postseason. Therefore, the remaining nine teams are selected based upon their ranking in the D1A official rankings. 

Here is our updated prediction as to how the seedings will wind up:

East #1 - Life (Mid-South)

After losing its first game in three years two weekends ago, the Life Running Eagles got back to their winning ways against #2 ranked Lindenwood in a back and forth contest that came down to the final play. Life appears to have corrected some of its mistakes from the loss to Arkansas State, and should they get through the next game against Lindenwood without suffering three yellow cards, it may not be as close. 

West #1 - Cal (Pacific)

Cal has gotten off to a flying start this season as they look to go one better than last season's heartbreaking loss to Life in the national title game. At the moment, they're in the midst of a two-game annual series with Canada's finest collegiate team, University of British Columbia, with the first game going to Cal 36-21. Cal will be battle-tested come playoff time, with games against Saint Mary's and Army still on the docket. 

East #2 - Army (Rugby East)

Army actually finished second in the highly competitive Rugby East, but with winners Kutztown opting out of spring postseason play, the Black Knights will assume the role of conference champion. They had a strong fall campaign, highlighted by big wins over Iona and Penn State. Army's remaining schedule, however, has a few massive ties ahead. They'll take on Cal, Central Washington, Penn State, and Navy before the playoffs begin. 

West #2 - Saint Mary's (California)

The Gaels have been undefeated to this point, although many will say they ought to have lost the BYU game a couple of weeks ago. However, Saint Mary's was given a lifeline and took full advantage to beat the Cougars, and outside of that match they've been completely dominant. With a victory over Cal at the end of the regular season, the Gaels could find themselves in the #1 spot of the Western bracket. 

East #3 - Indiana (Big Ten)

Indiana fought through a tight Big Ten to win yet another conference title and find themselves once again in the D1A playoffs. Having played their entire conference season in the fall, the Hoosiers will need some quality hit outs before they head into the playoffs. 

West #3 - BYU (Rocky Mountain)

The Cougars could, and probably should, be in the #2 spot right now. They went up to Moraga, CA to take on Saint Mary's, and had the Gaels dead in the water before a questionable refereeing decision ultimately cost them the game. Anyhow, BYU appears to have found its way back to the top after a couple-year hiatus from the upper echelons of collegiate rugby. 

East #4 - Texas A&M (Red River)

The Aggies are sitting pretty in the Red River South, going undefeated thus far and having already booked a spot in the conference title game. There they will face first place Red River North side Oklahoma, whom they lost to on the final play of the conference title game a year ago. 

West #4 - Central Washington (At-Large)

The Wildcats scored a huge win earlier in the spring when they defeated Arizona 32-28. But the going will get much tougher in the coming weeks, as Central Washington faces BYU, Army, and Saint Mary's in an upcoming four-week span. 

East #5 - Lindenwood (At-Large)

Lindenwood could very easily own the top spot overall in the East, but a loss over the weekend to Life has put their Mid-South title hopes in jeopardy. They will get a rematch with the Running Eagles later in the season, so there's still a good chance they jump Life in the standings, but the Lions will most likely have to win out. 

West #5 - Arizona (At-Large)

After a couple of tough losses, a close one to Central Washington and a not-so-close one to Cal, the Wildcats recorded a very important one-point win over UCLA. With a huge blowout win over San Diego State and a comfortable victory against Grand Canyon also under their belts, Arizona is looking to be almost a lock for an at-large bid in the West. 

East #6 - Arkansas State (At-Large)

The Red Wolves have had a wild month of February, and it wouldn't take a great deal of convincing to say they could easily be the East #1 seed as well. Despite suffering an 18-point loss to Lindenwood on February 8th, Arkansas State rebounded and defeated #1 ranked Life a week later, ending their 29-game D1A win streak. They followed up that performance with an 82-8 drubbing of Clemson. 

West #6 - UCLA (At-Large)

UCLA is on a two-game losing streak after trouncing Cal Poly 65-7 in January. However, one of those losses was to Cal, and the other a 27-26 defeat to Arizona. They'll have a chance to turn some heads this weekend when they host #5 ranked Saint Mary's. 

East #7 - Navy (At-Large)

Navy has been idle for a while, but they had a pretty fantastic fall season, going 8-2 with their only losses a pair of one-score defeats to Life and Lindenwood. After their long layoff, the Midshipmen will get right into the nitty gritty when they play Arkansas State, Saint Mary's, and Army down the stretch heading into playoffs. 

West #7 - Grand Canyon (At-Large)

The Antelopes haven't beaten a top-ranked team yet, but they have had some decent results, including a 13-10 win over Cal Poly, and a 25-13 defeat to in-state rivals Arizona. With a pair of conference matchups against San Diego State and UC Davis, Grand Canyon needs to win out to solidify a spot in the West top eight. 

East #8 - Davenport (At-Large)

In what will surely be the toughest decision of the year for the D1A committee, choosing the final at-large team is going to cause headaches. Penn State and Notre Dame College will both also have strong claims to this spot, so how these teams finish off their spring seasons will go a long way towards determining who gets the last seed. Davenport will have two huge tests in March, when they face Life and Arkansas State to round out their Mid-South campaign. 

West #8 - Cal Poly (At-Large)

Cal Poly had a brutal start to the spring, losing to UCLA by 58 points and dropping a nailbiter to Grand Canyon. However, they put a strong showing in on the road against Saint Mary's, and have won two straight since then. They finish the year with three winnable games against Santa Barbara, Texas A&M, and San Diego State.