Seven D1A or D1AA games are on the slate this weekend, with every game but one being on the West Coast, and that other one being just one state inland.

Saint Mary's is coming off a very convincing win over Grand Canyon and gets to play another team from the Grand Canyon State, with the Arizona Wildcats, who host in Tucson. Arizona played a bunch of warmup games in the fall but their main competition so far was a win over San Diego November 9 and then a loss in the CRAA Fall Classic in a bowl game against Mount St. Mary's December 8. That loss was hugely beneficial for some of the younger players and tested the Wildcats well. Now, into a schedule that sees them play the Gaels, Cal, Trinity Western, UCLA, BYU, Army, and Central Washington, the Arizona team has little wiggle room to look for lessons now.

Saint Mary's Over GCU; Fires Cancel Storer 

University of British Columbia sends two teams South of the border to play D1AA power Western Washington and D1A power Central Washington. Both games will be live streamed (links below) and will be played at WWU in Bellingham, Wash. UBC has 13 games under their belt, playing in British Columbia's premier league and also finishing 3rd in Canada's national playoff. In that run the Ravens are 8-5, having lost to Pacific Pride (Rugby Canada's development program) twice, École de Technologie Supérieure in a one-point upset in the national semifinal, and losses to clubs Meraloma and UBC Old Boys.

They have beaten UVic and, in the national 3rd-4th game, University of Guelph.

With the Storer Classic tournament canceled because of the disruption the tournament would bring to the fighting of the LA-area wildfires, some teams have found other games to play. Claremont Colleges is at San Diego State instead, and Cal will play at Cal Poly.

Cal comes in with Charlie Walsh set to captain Cal for the second straight year, which is a rarity.

“Playing at Witter Rugby Field in front of friends and family is pretty special,” Walsh said. “Running out in front of a big crowd filled with Cal rugby alumni and playing with your best mates, all while representing a historic program in the Blue and Gold jersey is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m just grateful that I get another chance to do it all again.”

Walsh hopes to use his experience over the last four years to help inform his leadership style and guide his fellow teammates through the 2025 season.

“This team has a special place in my heart and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead them again,” Walsh told Cal Rugby communications. “My goal is to lead by action, first and foremost, and secondly, apply all the important lessons I’ve learned during the duration of my career here and give full measure. It’s awesome to have a lot of new faces this year, and they’ve all really begun to add value to the team. There’s a couple of things we’ve started to implement into the culture side of things that I believe will bring us closer as a group, and I’m excited to continue to build our culture for this year’s team. It’s a special group."

Cal Poly Head Coach Chris O'Brien said he was appreciate of Cal making the trip to San Luis Obispo for this short-notice game. 

"We have a good team and we feel good about it all, but it all depends on us staying healthy," said O'Brien. "We've got some new guys in from Marin and Granite Bay and from Southern California as well. We got some value out of playing some games in the fall and that's been a good buildup for us."

Keep an eye on the scrumhalf battle here between Cal's Solomon Williams and Cal Poly's Paddy Casey.