Challenger Cup Offers Special Opportunity for Non-Playoff D1A Teams
Challenger Cup Offers Special Opportunity for Non-Playoff D1A Teams
The new plan from CRAA to have the Challenger Cup is kicking off this weekend.
Four teams will play in the quarterfinals with two teams, Mary Washington and Grand Canyon, getting a bye to the semifinals on April 19.
The final will be played May 3 as part of the CRAA's championship weekend in Indianapolis.
Air Force vs Ohio State
After a successful Bowl Series win in December, Air Force played UTEP and Colorado this spring as well as two teams while on tour in Italy. They won all four. The trip to Italy was part of their bi-annual Rugby Leadership Initiative.
Now finishing up the season with a playoff is welcomed by the Zoomies.
"We are excited to be invited and grateful to compete in the CRAA Challenger Cup and are looking forward to this matchup in Columbus against a very strong Ohio State team," said Air Force Academy program head Jeff Burrows. "Our seniors are especially excited for this match as it will be a re-match of sorts of the Fall Classic 2021 in Charlotte, NC when they were just beginning their rugby journey. They are looking forward to showing fans, their parents, and our alumni all that they have learned since that match almost four years ago and how they have mentored our players newer to the sport to maintain our team development and rugby culture. Credit goes to our players as they balance the rigors club rugby with their academics and military duties."
“The keys to our success are to play simple effective rugby and maintain ball possession in the right parts of the field," added Head Coach Phil Schwan. "We want to ensure constancy of our speed of play and dominate at the gain line, both offensively and defensively.“
For their part, Ohio State had a rough go of it in December's bowl games in part because of a slew of injuries right before the game with St. Thomas. But the Big 10 champs are establishing a new coaching staff, with the help of their longtime coaches and program directors. But it's not really a team in flux.
"First, we welcome being in the first ever Challengers Cup. I think it's a great idea by D1A to expand post-season opportunities," said Ohio State Program Director Tom Rooney. "Second, it's Air Force, a well-respected opponent over the years. Third, we all are learning playing into the spring how it affects the roster, player availability, and injuries."
"Team-wide it will be important to establish our physicality," said Coach Allan Hanson. "The academies are always fit and physical and the Zoomies are no different. Will be important for us to establish that aspect of our training early in this game. Adherence to the game plan and core skill execution are the two other important factors that will contribute to our success on the weekend.
"Many different variables at play when it comes to winning and losing; some things within our control, some things beyond our control. Because of this, success and a winning result are two different things for us. We are certain that if we give unwavering effort, implement the things we’ve worked on at training and execute on the core skills of our positions, that we will have success. If we have a successful day we have seen enough evidence to trust that this will put us in a position to get the desired result."
By the way, Hanson will be getting married on Saturday. The other new coach for the Buckeyes, Peter Malcolm, is in the wedding party. No word yet on whether they will have the game on the big screen during the reception (there is time for both Hanson and Malcolm to get to the game ... just sayin').
You can watch this game, kicking off at 4PM et, here>>
Utah State vs UC Santa Cruz
Utah State is coming off a nice win over Utah Valley University, and the Aggies have been lurking around GRR's D1A rankings this spring. Sam Gatherum, who was a leading player and No. 8 before injury sidelined him, has been helping coach, but he's back to health now and could take the field. Gatherum said the coaching staff of Matt Tualamali'i, Nate Walker, and Kenny Taufoou (brother of women's Eagle Hallie) have really helped USU improve.
""Matt has brought a lot of experience and knowledge and it was impactful right away," said Gatherum. "The culture has completely changed with how we practice. It used to be, just show up and have fun, and now it's more tailored to what we need as a team and how we should attack the other teams."
Walker has raised the expectations of the forwards and they continue to push themselves to control the physical side of the game. Taufoou has made the backs more organized and worked hard with the players to help get them mentally prepared.
"We are super excited to play in this game," said Gatherum. "We've had two weeks to prepare and it's been the best two weeks of practice I've ever had here as a player. I know we are all very grateful that we have a chance this Saturday to play meaninful rugby and compete for a cup. We've definitely been seeing the results of our hard work and UCSC is going to be a great game and we are excited for the opportunity to prove ourselves."
Loosehead prop Franco Tellechea has been huge for USU, breaking the gainline, scoring tries, and also taking over goalkicking duties. He has scored 53 points this semester, 38 of them from the kicking tee. Inside center Vita Foketi is a hard-hitter and a huge motivator for the Aggies.
"He is constantly getting on people to be better on defense and leading by example"
The Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz are making the trip and Head Coach Jeremy Sanford said the Slug Rugby Alumni and the Gold Society have been immensely important in making the season, and especially this trip, possible.
"We’re really excited to be taking part in the Challenger Cup," said Sanford. "Since returning to campus, we've been focusing on our tempo and making sure we are creating quick ball from the breakdown. Ideally I’d like us to focus on getting the basics right in attack and create pressure defensively. They're a big side, so we’ve got to compete at the point of contact and put their guys down."
UCSC ended up 2-6 in the California Conference but several of those losses were quite close, or competitive late. They have been able to regroup and recharge for this game, and don't let their record fool you—they've been tested by several tough teams and will be a tough out for Utah State.
"Win, lose or draw it will be fun to see how our style of play measures up beyond the cozy confines of the California Conference," said Sanford.
You can watch his game, kicking off Saturday at 1PM Mountain Time, here>>
