Turf to Fly This Week in DIA Games

Of the DIA games we've got this week all are between DIA opponents (as opposed to crossovers with DIAA teams), and almost all are in-conference.

So that means this is a serious week for the entire division.

Mid-South

Lindenwood gets a chance to back up last week's win at Life with a result at Arkansas State. For Lindenwood, their ability to punish mistakes with the goalkicking of Evan Williams certainly helps them and so does their defense. They have hardly been scored upon through their warmup fall and against Life gave up just the one try. Head Coach Josh Macy talked about not worrying about outcomes and worrying instead about getting the little things right, and Life Head Coach Colton Cariaga agreed, saying maybe his side was worrying too much about outcomes.

Latest standings:

PAC

Cal visits Arizona in a PAC Rugby Conference game, and then with the holiday on Monday the Bears stay in the desert and play Grand Canyon on the 21st.

"It will be so good to play some rugby," Cal Head Coach Jack Clark said. "I know the team is really looking forward to some competition. Three matches within three days will be just what we need."  

Three games because he's counting the reserve-grade game against the Wildcats. Remember that Arizona and Grand Canyon tied 28-28, so this will be another interesting side-by-side comparison. Grand Canyon came back to tie that game, and then last week led 17-0 before Cal Poly stormed back and almost won.

This is only the second PAC game. Arizona won the first 39-36 over UCLA.

Red River

Texas A&M remains the top dog here, but Baylor is chasing them. North Texas at the Aggies and Longhorns at Baylor will tell us a lot.

Non-Conference Games

We already mentioned Cal at GCU—that's only the second time these two teams have played in a 15s match. Also on the slate is UCLA at Saint Mary's, which is a chance for Saint Mary's probably to shuffle their backline around once again. UCLA has plenty of talent but everything is still just coming together. Saint Mary's has way more game time under their belts.

Delving Into Saint Mary's vs BYU

And BYU, coming off a loss at Saint Mary's, takes on a Central Washington team that hasn't given up a try against a collegiate opponent this year. Wins of 46-3 over Western Washington, 24-0 over Trinity Western, and 88-0 over the University of Washington spells out defense to us. Head Coach Todd Thornley has been moving some players around, mostly due to injuries. He will have a tough task against a very handy BYU team led by Tayson Hammer at center, Dylan Parry at scrumhalf, and prop forward Billy Tenney. 

California Conference

There were three games scheduled in the California Conference, but the tragic death of SDSU hooker and club secretary Max Tamulonis February 8 after a hiking accident means that the Cal Poly at SDSU game will be rescheduled. The team held a vigil for Tamulonis Thursday night. The 21-year-old slipped and fell during a hike on February 7, was taken to a hospital, and later died. However, he was an organ donor and his organs were donated to help five people.

Santa Clara is at Grand Canyon and UC Davis at UCSB.

Check back for scores.