The undefeated BYU Cougars head to Phoenix, AZ this weekend to take on fellow CPD Western Conference foe Arizona State this Saturday at 3pm local time.
The meeting between the Sun Devils and the Cougars is the second in as many years as BYU hosted ASU on South Field last year winning 80-0.
Despite the lopsided victory from last year BYU’s head coach David Smyth knows this is a new season and ASU is a very much improved squad.
“We’re certainly looking forward to our trip To ASU,” Smyth said, “From all reports Gary Lane and his team are doing some great things. They’ve had some very impressive games as of late against top teams and we expect a very big challenge for our boys.”
ASU, which is currently ranked #10 nationally by RugbyMag.com, posted some strong showings recently in losses to top teams like #5 Army (L 16-9) and #8 Penn State (L 35-16).
And most notably the Sun Devils held 2011 National Champion Cal Berkeley to a 17-7 scoreline with just 20 minutes in the game before the Golden Bears broke through and ran away winning 59-7.
ASU last year finished third in the CPD Western Conference behind conference champs BYU and runners-up the University of Utah.
Entering the 2012 conference opener Cougar captain Ryan Roundy is looking for his team to start their regular season off right.
“We know what our goals are this year,” Roundy said, “And one of them is winning our conference. Post-season playoff seeds and everything else hinge on how we play in conference. So we know we need to be ready for ASU and be ready to play our best.”
Due to field irrigation maintenance issues at ASU’s Soccer Stadium, the match has been moved to Mountain Point High School in Chandler. Kick-off is still slated for 3pm and admission is set for $5 per person.
With over 14,000 registered alumni in the greater Phoenix area BYU’s Smyth is looking forward to having a strong BYU crowd cheering on the Cougars.
“The other good thing about this trip is the opportunity to reconnect with some of our alumni,” he said, “It just makes sense for us to be playing there against a quality opponent like ASU.”
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