{"id":1038,"date":"2026-04-11T04:11:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T04:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2026-04-11T04:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T04:14:06","slug":"backs-against-the-wall-mustangs-battle-cougars-in-utah-in-first-round-of-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038","title":{"rendered":"‘Backs against the wall’: Mustangs battle Cougars in Utah in first round of playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Mustangs go head-to-head with the BYU Cougars in the first round of the D1A playoffs Saturday, April 11, in Utah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kickoff is 1 p.m. Mountain Time, noon Pacific. on BYU’s South Field<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the fifth seed in the West bracket, the Mustangs earned a spot to play fourth-seeded Utah in Provo — 800 miles and 11.5 hours away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you go against BYU — they\u2019re a very mature team,” head coach Chris O’Brien said. “But it\u2019s not very often in college rugby where you get a second chance to play someone, so I think the guys are pretty excited about their second chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
The Mustangs lost to the Cougars back in November, 21-12, with rain falling during the 11 a.m. match in San Luis Obispo. O’Brien said mistakes plagued the Mustangs then, like handling errors inside their 22-meter line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O’Brien said BYU’s No. 8 is quick off the base of the lineout, and the inside center is a strong runner. He said the team’s side and physicality are notable, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBYU is one of the best lineout teams in the country; they push teams around,” he said. “So it\u2019s handling, it\u2019s being disciplined in our defense on lineouts. We\u2019ve been working a lot on that \u2014 a lot on our defensive shape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cougars are on a four-game skid against some of the nation’s top programs: A 64-21 loss to Cal in February; 39-31 loss to Arizona on March 7; a 54-28 loss to Navy on March 13; and a 45-12 loss to St. Mary’s on March 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some notable wins for the Cougars include a 29-26 victory over Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and a 47-24 road win over the Bruins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mustangs lost to the Bruins, 31-21, in their final match of the season on March 21. O’Brien said his group has had a good two weeks of training in the meantime — and his group is excited to get another chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur backs are against the wall,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s always fun to be the little guy trying to beat the big guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full playoff bracket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Mustangs go head-to-head with the BYU Cougars in the first round of the D1A playoffs Saturday, April 11, in Utah. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Mountain Time, noon Pacific. on BYU’s South Field As the fifth seed in the West bracket, the Mustangs earned a spot to play fourth-seeded Utah in Provo — 800 miles and 11.5 hours away. \u201cWhen … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","latest_post"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Kickoff is 1 p.m. Mountain Time, noon Pacific. on BYU’s South Field As the fifth seed in the West bracket, the Mustangs earned a spot to play fourth-seeded Utah in Provo — 800 miles and 11.5 hours away. \u201cWhen …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mustang Rugby Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-11T04:11:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-11T04:14:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CP-Men-vs-WW-University-19240-resized.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1638\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ken Allard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ken Allard\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ken Allard\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ac28297d32e399a53d1ed4a229c3b425\"},\"headline\":\"‘Backs against the wall’: Mustangs battle Cougars in Utah in first round of playoffs\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-11T04:11:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-11T04:14:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038\"},\"wordCount\":362,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CP-Men-vs-WW-University-19240-resized.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mustangrugby.org\/?p=1038\",\"name\":\"'Backs against the wall': Mustangs battle Cougars in Utah in first round of playoffs - 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