Happy Valentines Day, and Happy Chinese New Year! With both the AFLC and City Bowl’s seasons coming to an end, and the Super Bowl being played last week, the football action in China has come to a momentary pause, as the Year of the Dog draws upon us. But not long after Chinese New Year, the China University American Football League's Eastern Division will restart play, as its season, following the course of university calendars, is just over halfway finished. While the City Bowl will begin a new season, and indeed a new chapter in its history, in the Spring, and AFLC teams will begin playing preseason games at the same time, CUAFL teams will already be in a heated race for playoff spots, with 6 of them up for grabs. Here are the CUAFL’s current standings:

The defending champion Shanghai Institute of Technology Aurora (3-0-1) and Shanghai University of Engineering Science Sakers (3-0-1) lead the way thus far. The Suzhou University Rangers (3-0) and East China University of Political Science and Law Arbiters (3-0) are also undefeated, but as Group C teams, they will be required to defeat at least one team from Groups A or B to capture a playoff spot. The Rangers have been particularly impressive, as this is their first season playing competitive football, and by virtue of their 26-22 victory over last year's league runner-up the Shanghai Jiaotong University Lions, they have all but locked up a playoff berth. The Shanghai University Bombers have made a solid turnaround, as they went 1-5 in the 2016-17 season, but currently have a 2-2-1 record, recording an impressive 37-0 victory over the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Blue Devils in October. The 1-2-1 Tongji University Strikers, 1-2 Blue Devils, and 2-4 Lions are all in contention for the sixth and final playoff spot.

The Suzhou University Rangers (red) and Zhejiang Police College War Horses (black)





The first round of the CUAFL playoffs will begin on April 14th with a wild-card round, following a similar format to the NFL playoffs, as the 3rd-ranked team in the league will take on the 6th seed, and the 4th and 5th-seeded teams will face off in the weekend’s other matchup. Of the two surviving teams, the lower seed will then advance to play the league’s #1 seed, while the higher seed from the previous round will play the #2 seed, with the two semifinal games happening on the weekend of April 28th. The CUAFL’s 4th Championship Game, known as the Dawn Bowl, will then be held on May 13th.

The Shanghai University Bombers





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