For many college rugby teams, specific matchups take on special meaning and that's certainly the case for Saturday's D1A quarterfinal between 11th-seeded Navy and No. 3 seed Cal.

Just as when colleges visit West Point or the U.S. Naval Academy, a road trip to Berkeley, CA, against Cal has added meaning. The Bears have produced more U.S. national team players than any other college program (by a wide margin) and a few for other nations, too. Cal was the dominant college team for decades, and the program's approach helped bring about the growth of elite-level programs.

For Navy, this weekend's matchup presents not only the opportunity to advance to the D1A semifinals but also the chance to connect with the many, many USNA alumni in the San Francisco area.

Cal is coming off an 85-14 home victory over No. 14 seed Grand Canyon in last week's round of 16, while Navy shut out sixth-seeded Indiana 47-0 on the road.

"Against Indiana, we had to kind of do a smash and grab," Navy head coach Gavin Hickie said. "We took a bus from Annapolis (MD) to Bloomington (IN). We got up, played at 11 in the morning, and back on the bus for 12 hours. It was all business. We have a fairly large alumni group so we're going out on Thursday and we'll have more time before the game.

"So this is a case of getting ourselves settled and getting familiar with our surroundings."

Cal head coach Jack Clark had a long relationship of mutual respect with former Navy head coach Mike Flanagan, and many memorable games have been played between the two teams. Altogether, they have played 13 times in national knockout play.

"It isn't lost on us that we represent a single university in California and our opponent is the United States Naval Academy," Clark said. "We admire them because they represent the best of America. We are appreciative of what they are doing now and will do in the future in service to our country."

While playing Cal might be a necessity for Hickie and Navy—you have to get by the big programs to win the big trophies—it's also something they want.

"Anybody and everybody in the country wants Cal," Hickie said. "That's what you get when you're the best varsity program in the country. Yes, we want Cal, but everybody else does, too."

Last week, Navy held Indiana scoreless in a result that turned heads if only because it was the lone shutout of the opening round of the D1A playoffs.

"Defense is probably the easiest thing for us to work on," Hickie said. "We're still working on our organization. I don't need to fire up Midshipmen on their aggression or their commitment."

They'll need all of it but can take solace in the idea that it's possible to contain the Bears. Saint Mary's did it earlier this month, holding Cal to just two tries in a 21-12 win for the Gaels. Save for UBC and Arizona, no one else has kept Cal under 50 this season.