The rivalry between BYU and St. Mary’s continues, with the latest installment in Moraga Saturday.

It’s a relatively contentious one, albeit only in specific circles. St. Mary’s Head Coach Tim O’Brien said this week he likes this game not only for the challenge it brings, but because he likes the BYU coaches personally, and loves talking about coaching with them. We can only assume the feeling is mutual, as BYU makes this trip every year.

On the field, it’s not as friendly. BYU plays a very physical style, as they should, and a physical team can sometimes cross the line. That’s just a function of how they play, though, and St. Mary’s doesn’t back down, and keeps playing their quite physical approach, and that’s why this game is so much fun.

Last year, St. Mary’s were close in their home match on February 28. In that game, as we noted in our post-match analysis, the second half was called very early, St. Mary’s was denied a try that seemed good, and BYU was very fortunate not to have received an earlier yellow card for cynical and repeated offside. 

It was fair to suggest that maybe St. Mary’s could have pulled that game out at the end. But it’s also fair to say that BYU’s 35-26 scoreline against the Gaels a month later probably flattered St. Mary’s somewhat, and positioned BYU squarely as the top team in the nation.

So what happens this weekend? St. Mary’s has way, way more game time under the team’s belt than BYU this season. The Gaels have played, and won, and looked pretty spectacular at times. They have, as usual, players who come in from nowhere to make contributions. They still attack from everywhere, and are happy to live, and die, by that double-edged sword.

But injuries and graduation make this a rebuilding St. Mary’s team. Nick Schlobohm, an unsung but effective performer for the Gaels, was coming back from injury and could have played this weekend, but he suffered a setback. There remain questions about the midfield attack, although Dyland Audsley still is a superb player.

Captained by scrumhalf Luke Mocke, BYU has enormous power up front, with hooker Alex Vorster, front-rower Zane Mendenhall, and flanker Arawa Elkington perhaps the most well-known out of a hard-nosed group.

The backs have a lot of experience together, but will have to adjust to life without flyhalf Jonny Linehan, who is now punting for the BYU football team. Josh and Jared Whippy are still capable of breaking a defense open, Tua Laei is scary, and Ryan Blaser is an experienced had on the wing.

But they haven’t played a whole lot of late, and certainly not against competition of the level of St. Mary’s. This could be a chance for the Gaels to get a result, but it might also be a chance for the Cougars to confirm that, untested or not, they are the team to beat in the USA.

Best of luck then, to referee Pete Smith, who will certainly be tested by both teams as they try to find an edge. Likely all of it will be re-hashed by the coaches over dinner Saturday night.

BYU v St. Mary's will be streamed live on Saturday, Feb 20, 2016 at 1pm PST. Click here to view.