By Kaitlyn Rice
More than bragging rights are on the line this Saturday when the rugby team takes on the University of Utah for the Wasatch Cup at Utah?s soccer field at noon.
This meeting with the Utes is the first installment in a home-and-away se-ries between the two teams. The win-ner of this game earns the league victory and gets a bye to the national championships, while the loser must enter the Pacific Coast playoffs.
The Cougars have won the last three Wasatch Cup matches and won 31-27 last year in Provo.
?This game is always big,? BYU captain Steve St. Pierre said. ?Last year was a tight one and with every-thing on the line we need to make sure that we come into this game with the right focus and intensity from the very beginning.?
BYU has had a strong season so far with an undefeated record of 8-0. The Cougars defeated the semipro Super League Barbarians last week 32-20 and are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.
We?ve been on a good run lately,? head coach David Smyth said, ?but Saturday will present us with our biggest challenge to date because it is our rivalry game. You can throw the form book out the window, you just have to lace them up and get after it. Utah is a great team. It should be a great day for rugby.?
