It's easy to overlook Utah State.
The Aggies play in the Rocky Mountain Conference with some higher-profile teams, such as BYU, Utah, Air Force, Colorado, and Colorado State. But USU has done pretty well for itself as a rugby entity, and last year made the semis of the D1A Challenge Cup.
Nobody else might have expectations, but Utah State does.
"We saw where we could go in the Challenge Cup," said flyhalf and team leader Matt Gatherum. "Before going into that we hadn't thought about it, about how we stand up on a national level. But we think we can pick up where we left off."
Opening the season, Utah State beat Air Force 40-29. Gatherum scored twice and fullback and captain Austin Clark added a try, two conversions, and a penalty. Lock Holden Mickell and hooker Franco Tellechea also scored tries, with Tellechea adding two penalties and a conversion.
Adding to that was scrumhalf Calvin Wilson, who showcases a high work rate and keep the tempo of the game moving, and outside center Roman Walker, who has developed nicely in the midfield.
For Gatherum, this
