Fourth-ranked BYU might be undercooked going into this weekend’s road test at No. 1 Saint Mary’s, but Cougars head coach David Smyth figures the best way to avoid that is to turn up the heat.

BYU had hoped to come into this Sunday's matchup in Moraga, California, with four games already played. But weather called off the Cougars' game against Colorado State last week, leaving just a 53-22 victory over Grand Canyon, a 49-14 loss to the Glendale Merlins, and a 111-9 (!) rout of Colorado on their resume.

Watch BYU At Saint Mary's LIVE

DATE: Saturday, Feb. 17 | TIME: 1 PM PST | Where: Moraga, CA

“This time of year for us always a challenge,” Smyth said. “But we enjoy it It’s always a good trip for us to go out to the Bay Area. It’s a good barometer to show us where we are.”

BYU has been able to pull out victories against Saint Mary’s at home, but have on occasion lost to the Gaels in Moraga.

“It is the start of the season, but you just have to get on with it, and the best way to learn and get better is to stare the beast in the face, and Saint Mary’s is the beast at the moment,” Smyth said. “We’re looking forward to it. The most important thing for us is ball control and ball possession. If you turn the ball over against Saint Mary’s, you’ll end up under your own posts more than you would have hoped.”

Ball control is crucial for BYU, but Smyth is being a bit modest, given that his team can punish mistakes from long range quite nicely, too. Just look at last year’s game between the Cougars and the Gaels in Provo, Utah. One mistake, really, was the difference BYU's 43-35 win, and that mistake was returned about 95 meters for a Cougars try.

“Every team on our schedule is a rival, because we play teams we feel play good rugby and are trying to do the things we’re trying to do,” Smyth said. “Hopefully in the process of doing that we’re putting young men in contention for higher honors. That, at the end of the day, is what we all want to see.”

BYU will be without all-everything hooker Alex Vorster, who is coming back from a concussion. A couple of other starters, including Tua Laei, are also nursing injuries and will be game-day decisions.

Watch out for sophomore flanker Tosh Wilcox, who has emerged as a hard-charging open side who can get a ton of work done, and former High School All-Americans Calvin Whiting and Zach Webber, who have, with the ever-dangerous Kevin Schofield, taken over that backline.

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